Numeric vs Function First vs Ben Auto Design Shifters

I picked up a 2008 Boxster RS 60 Spyder back in December and love everything about it except for the stock shifter. I read dozens of threads and decided to stick to OEM and installed the Porsche 997 SSK (First DIY project on this car). It was an immediate improvement over the 15 year old stock shifter with its worn plastics. But, it's still not as crisp and tight as I want it to be. The shift action is still a bit vague, especially going from 2-3 and I don't enjoy the side to side play when it's in gear. Probably should have started this thread and took some more time making the right decision before dumping money into the OEM SSK, but oh well. Now I am trying to find the best shifter for my needs. This is a weekend only car and will be 100% street driven. $$$ Numeric - https://store.numericracing.com/prod...86-987-996-997 Everything I read about the Numeric shifter points to it being very mechanical and a good choice for heavy track duty or 10/10ths driving. I want the shifter to be smooth and mechanical at the same time if that makes sense, so that the feel is similar to the rest of the car's interaction points (steering, brakes, clutch, and seat). I am not sure if Numeric will fit the personality of my Boxster, as it's not an all out GT or track car. $$ Function First Shift Right Solution + Slightly Short Shifter (Black or Blue) - https://www.function-first.com/produ...42793782509721 FF recently started offering a short shifter with ball bearing mechanical lever pivot in addition to their SRS kit, which pretty much eliminates all plastic except for the shifter housing. This is what I am leaning to and probably should have gone this route considering it's slightly cheaper than a new OEM SSK. I have to decide between the black (10% shorter than 997) or the blue (23% shorter than 997, but a little longer than oem SSK at 33%). I get the feeling that this kit will offer the experience I am after. Which is a refined mechanical shift, not too short of a throw, without any fore/aft or side-side play, but without being overtly mechanical/raw like the Numeric. $ Ben Auto Design Shifter and Side Lever - https://www.uniwerksdesign.com/produ...short-shifter/ Ben is producing his own shifter and side lever instead of modifying the blue eBay SSKs, so this is on my radar. This is the most value oriented option and seems to offer a similar experience to FF with a few exceptions. The shifter sits a little higher, but OEM boot and knob still work with it, not sure how I would feel about the raised shifter knob. And it only comes as a short shifter with a 33% reduction in throw, similar to the OEM SSK. I am mostly ruling out the Numeric shifter because I just feel it will be too much for a street car and what I am looking for. I am having a tough time deciding between the FF and BAD shifter kit. Hoping to get some opinions on this over discussed topic. Obligatory pictures of the RS 60 Spyder:

I am definitely following this thread. I want to upgrade my shifter in my 2005 Boxster S but have not had time yet to do the research. Mark

I have an OEM short shifter (factory installed) and installed the Function First SRS Retrofit Kit. It is great and does everything it was advertised to do. If you like the throw of the OEM SSK that you already installed, then I recommend just adding the SRS Retrofit Kit. If after installing the kit you find there is still some fore-aft play in the shifter, then that is at the transmission end and is either worn out cable ends which Function First also has an excellent solution for. Or more likely, it could be worn out rubber in the shift lever at the transmission As discussed in this thread https://www.planet-9.com/threads/cayman-shifter-linkage-mod.154537/

Thanks for the feedback. I'd rather not hack into the OEM SSK, sell it and recoup some money. I can just buy the SRS + Slightly Short Shifter from FF and install that whole thing into the original shifter housing I still have in the garage. But if Ben shifter does the same, it's about a $180 cheaper than FF. I read the whole thread and the difference seems marginal. I don't have fore and aft play, it's more side to side.

@FindingRush Gorgeous car. A couple thoughts on the shifter. 1) If the shifter cables have not been replaced you might consider doing that as the cables can snap without any warning potentially leaving you stranded. There are plenty of discussions here about using the updated Porsche cables versus Numeric Racing. 2) Unlike many manual transmission cars where the shifter is more directly connected to the transmission, our midengined cars rely on cables so the feel is not nearly as direct. Of course, there are options which can make the feel more direct than stock. 3) In my view the Numeric shifter is not something that should be thought of as being only for the track. I don't have one myself, but I think most people who have it consider it a plus for street driving as well. The feel of the shifter, like the other touch points in the car (pedals, steering, seats, etc) are very personal choices. One thing you could try is going to a PCA gathering of some sort and chatting with folks to see if they might have modified shifters. Perhaps they will let you sit in their car and get a feel for theirs.

I have both the Numeric shifter and cables in my 07 Cayman . I have had this system for 6 years without an issue and love the way it shifts both up and down. It matches my suspension which includes Tarett's Race LCA's all the way around and Ohlin R&T coilovers.

Thanks for your excellent input. 1. Cables are on my radar, but will need to wait a little longer. Just spent a bunch of money buying the car, getting it paint corrected, and it's due for a major service at 35k miles (Oil/filter, brake fluid, transmission fluid, spark plugs /coil pack) 2. Yea immediately learned this when I researched why the stock Porsche shifter is not as good as a Honda S2K or Miata shifter 3. Fair statement, but my wallet and mind keeps pointing to the Function First as the best option for me. After installing the OEM SSK, I learned that I prefer a longer throw and would probably appreciate the FF SRS + Slightly Short Shifter with a 10% shorter throw than 997 OEM This is a great idea, I will look for the next PCA event and head there to see if anyone is willing.

Thanks, I have no doubt it's an amazing setup, but looks like your 987 is fully setup for the track. I want the smoothest feeling mechanical shifter for a street only car. I like to keep my car as OEM+ as possible.

That's why I do not have a wing or splitters in front. No roll bar behind my head either. Unless you look under the car, you would not know about the other stuff.

I think I've tried damn near everything shifter-wise at this point. Currently I've got the Ben Auto short shifter with side lever and the Numeric cables . It all works well but even the standard Ben model raises the knob a couple centimeters which I don't love but I've gotten used to it. I'm planning to keep this setup but if I were doing it again I'd probably go with the OEM SSK shifter plus the Function First shift right kit. I'd strongly recommend doing something about the rubber in the left transmission input, tightening that up makes a big difference: Cayman Shifter Linkage Mod Hello all, I'm excited to have joined the Planet-9 forum. It's been a great resource for my 2008 987 Cayman DE1. I figured I would make my first post a source rather than a request. I have seen many posts discussing shifter play and improvements. I noticed some room for improvement in the... www.planet-9.com Upping the weight of the OEM shift knob using some tungsten putty is another cheap and easy way to improve shift feel: https://www.planet-9.com/threads/diy-adding-weight-to-the-porsche-987-oem-shift-knob.253641/ At this point I've got pretty much all the play I can out of the system, there's still a small amount of side-side wiggle but that appears to be in the transmission itself and not in the linkage so not much to do about that.

Is the Ben shifter a shorter throw than the OEM SSK? I installed the OEM SSK, but I think I prefer a longer throw. When I change the cables, I will definitely change the shifter linkage to the newer part.

It's supposedly shorter than stock but I don't remember how much? You might try mailing Uniwerks who sell it, they were helpful when I had some questions on the install and could probably give more details. this is what I bought: Ben Auto Design - Porsche 911 / Boxster Short Shifter - uniWerks Design This is the way to improve the feel of your 1997-2012 Porsche 911 / Cayman / Boxster! Here it is!! www.uniwerksdesign.com This video looks like it has some comparisons?

Someone really covered the subject; thank you. I however have been fine with the 981 and 718 sport shifters

i did the Ben shifter a couple years ago. It took a couple hours to do and yielded a decent improvement. If I had $700 laying around, I’d have gone with Numeric . For my use, backroads romps mostly, it’s on point.

I did a Numeric shifter and cables in 2018. They are working perfectly with 40k miles on them. The ball bearings are working very well and downshifting is accurate each and every shift. Still no slop. Try down shifting into first gear at 22 mph and see what happens to other shifters and cables. For those gays who say, well race gear is just too much from my taste, it lasts time and time again.

Tldr stock s2000 shifter still GOAT. NO shifter can make this a 10/10, it still feels like cables, the transmission will always feel a little vague. It is a MASSIVE improvement over stock. Already did the solid cable linkages. I installed brand new shifter side cable ends as well. This as good as it gets. you Must do both sides to get rid of the slop and rubbery bs. Installed last night, took me about 3 hours, works good as can be expected, much shorter than I thought (black version) .. maybe I should've got the white (preference). Zero slop, rifle precision, should've come from factory like this imo. Glad I didn't pay 4 figures I wouldve been disappointed. The most difficult part was cutting out the stock shifter from the plastic housing and snaprings vs dropping in a ready to go Numeric . Although it's half price, could possibly cost more than numeric install if you pay someone to do the modding. The Numeric could be worth its weight for some people Thanks to function first for making an excellent product alternative. I am vrey happy with my choices given my goals and budget. Stock is yucky, no ball bearings, silicon tube bearings? the GOAT