At the autocross today, I shifted from first to second and found that my shift lever became a floppy useless prop. Luckily there was a guy there that owned a german car repair shop and took a look and confirmed my suspicion that one of the shift cables broke. Everything seemed connected fine at the shift lever and at the transmission so a cable probably snapped in the middle somewhere. We were able to get it into second at the transmission and that gave me one shift to third, so since it was almost all highway home I was able to limp back. Had to do one
launch
at a light in 3rd gear which was less dramatic than I expected so hopefully it didn't shave too much life off my clutch...
Now I gotta replace them. I see at
suncoast
it's like $750 for cables because they say the OEM ones were discontinued and you need some adapters for the "new" design. Pelican lists shift cables for just $400 but no note about new vs old design. I also see a fair number of aftermarket options. I'd like to replace them with something much less likely to snap (from searching this seems a not at all uncommon problem) and if possible something with some better feel. I've had my car two years now and the shifter is my biggest gripe, it's always felt like crap, very rubbery and sloppy.
So I'm wondering:
1. Are the "new"
porsche
cables any better in terms of durability or feel? Or if not what are my best bet for aftermarket ones? Preferably cheaper than $750...
2. Is this pretty DIY friendly? From a brief look it doesn't seem too bad, some disassembling the center console and getting to the engine bay, but I've been looking for an excuse to repaint the center console anyway.
I installed
Numeric Racing Cables
about 4 years ago. They are almost twice the thickness of stock cables. I added a
Porsche
Short Shifter at the same time. This combination gave me the mechanical feel I was looking for with somewhat less slop. The connector at the left side of the transmission popped off the ball joint a couple of times. They have a replacement connector that I highly recommend. I has a clip on it to prevent slipping off. Easy to install especially if done at install.
Installation is do it yourself. About half the time was in taking off the console. First time I removed it so it was painfully slow compared to now. Make sure to cut the grommet at the firewall carefully and reuse it as you can. Takes a little rigging but you want to make sure to seal that off nicely. Pay attention to the routing and use the instructions if you use
Numeric cables
. It routes slightly differently around the intake plenum.
Depending on your level of ability and comfort, should take in the 4 hour range to get done.
Good luck
+1 on the
Numeric cables
.
I also recommend the
Numeric cables
and short shifter kit. This combination allow you to feel the detents of transmission as the shifter forks slide in and out of gear. First gear is now much more accessible, even when the transmission fluid is cold. These modifications are a great addition to your manual shifter car. Almost at the top of my mod list.
The new OEM synthetic cables are a big improvement over the older design as
Porsche
has removed the sharp bend in the cables before connecting to the transmission. The bend is usually where the cables break. An additional cable hanger is mandatory and a bear to install.
Numeric cables
are steel, much stronger and do transmit more NVH, but they also have a rubber like sheath available for $30.00 to reduce the transmission whine.
Do you know when Porsche started using these new cables in production and on which models?
Thanks!
Go with the Numeric cables - it will feel like a different car. The shifing will be very positive and "notchy". I put them in my self. It's not real easy but if you can do a brake job or something with that level of difficulty you can do the cables. I ordered my cables then put the car up on stands and did the disassembly while I waited for the cables to arrive. It took maybe 3 hours to disassemble and another 4 hours to put it all back together. You absolutely will want to but the wrench that Numeric sells for tightening the cable at the gearbox end - it's the only wrench that will fit in that rather awkward location. You don't need the cable adjustment tool that Porsche sells - adjusting is really very simple. I was most concerned with the adjustment but found that it is incredibly easy to do. Numeric has an installation video that makes the process very easy.
