Has anyone ever driven a mini cooper s? shifting those gears are the smoothest i've ever experienced. And i've owned 3 porsches (944, Boxster, 996), 4 BMW's (320i, 325i, 323, X-5) and 2 VW's (Scirocco, GTI-VR6).
I have an 03 996, bought the car off lease, and the previous owner installed a ssk, not sure what type, but my gears are so notchy. Any ideas, or has anyone ever gone from a ssk back to factory? My boxster had a factory shifter and it was fine as far as i was concerned.

 

Hey, Yes some do! As the air temp drops it takes longer for the gear box and oil to get up to temp. What oil is in your trans axle, may be to heavy. Does the car shift the same in the summer heat.I hope this helps.
Here to help,
Tim

 

I had a B&M SSK in a C6 Vette that I hated too - super notchy and not at all smooth. Drive a TSX or an S2000 and you see what a gearbox should shift like.

That said, I like my stock 996 shifter!

 

Adjust your cables and it will be smooth as silk .

 

Alot of guys are putting the 997 GT3 shifter in. It fits in the 996 and its a little shorter than stock and its supposed to be WAY smoother than a B&M SSK. Its only $160 at Suncoast. Check it out, doesnt hurt to try it.

 

Try swapping it for a factory short shift kit. I have only heard good things from those who have made the switch. It retains the P-Car smooth shifting action while reducing throws considerably. I think Corey actually swapped in a 997 factory SSK into his 996 with good results.

 

Sounds weird. I hated my shifter before the B&M SSK. The B&M is amazing...almost as good as my S2000.

 

I miss my SSK, i want to reinstall one in this TT.I will trade anyone, but I drive my car daily so not really possible

 

After installing the B&M the throws are almost the same as the the stock unit I had, what did I screw up?

This is after following the instructions to the T

 

I had a B & M style SSK on my 5-spd 99' Box,I LOVED IT. Installed the same thing on my 6-spd Box S(same tranny as the 996).......HATED IT!

Just pick up a 997 shifter assembly and keep your current on in one piece and sell it on eBay.

 

Adjust the cables! Just one of those tiny tiny little notched makes a big diff.

 

I started a thread in the 996 section on RL that has some discussion on swapping the stock shifter with the 997 shifter (997 GT3/stock 997 shifter...same part). I really like the result. I think I measured about a 13% decrease in shift length from standard. The B&M was about 35% shorter for reference. I think it is a great comprimise.

 

Yes I did, and It's not nochy at all. Gundo said it feels identical to his factory installed 997 SSK on his 997. In fact the 997 part number superceeds the 996 SSK part number, so what I did was actually factory approved

 

Thanks John.

 

How difficult is it to adjust the cables? Is it a diy job? Is a notchy shifter a shifter design issue or a cable adjustment issue?