Just had these paddle shifters installed. They are awesome!!!

 

Whose kit and what was the cost?thx

 

Yes, more details please!!!

 

where did you get it?
cheers

 

The paddle shifter mod is not something I'd recommend to faint hearted. The shifters were not manufactured exclusively for Porsche. Instead, it is an universal one, which I found by chance here in Seoul. They are made of aluminum and the quality is pretty good. It has a nice, crisp feel to it when shifting. It won't decrease the shifting time as no mods were done to the actual tiptronic transmission. I've kept the steering wheel tiptronic buttons and they still work fine. But now I have an option to put a piece of plastic or something between the buttons and the steering wheel to prevent accidental shifting. I usually don't like to mod my Porsches but this is something that was definitely worth the risk since I was not happy with other available paddle shifter/steering wheel options for 996. I did not want to swap the steering wheel with an aftermarket, which in my opinion, doesn't look nearly as good as the 996 steering wheel.

I had a good fortune with an excellent mechanic. Although he had no experience working with Porsches, he was willing to try. In keeping with his excellent reputation, I'd have to say he was very skillful. His hands never shook as he cut through the steering wheel. He somehow reminded me of Lutzo Kovacyk from Virginia Beach. First, we had to probe with a needle around where the shifters would be placed to make sure we had enough clearance, i.e. no metal structural parts. Installation involved removing the airbag and the steering wheel, then cutting a 1/4 inch deep rectangular hole through leather and rubbery plastic. Shifters were placed on the steering wheel without adhesive. The rubbery plastic on the steering wheel provided enough tension to hold the shifters securely. The steering wheel was placed back on. We found out which wires were for up and down shifts respectively and tapped onto them. The original tiptronic wires were not cut and they still function perfectly. The installation took us about two hours with a brief break for lunch. I attached additional photos. Let me know if anyone would still like to pursue the endeavor and I'll see what I can to do help.

 

With the Carnewal after-market wheels, the paddles remain stationary while the wheel turns, so the paddles are always in the same place. Also the right paddle up-shifts and the left paddle down-shifts. If I were going to modify the steering wheel, I would want that functionality, and not just slightly different switches.

 

I looked into mounting the paddles on the steering column as well. Unfortunately with all the stalks, there is no room to mount the paddles on the steering column.

Here are more photos...cheers.

 

i got a manual, but id like to do this if i get a tip one day

so post up the wiring- also where you got the paddles-

good job!

 

Very nice yes. Where did you get the paddles?

 

When I first test drove some cars with paddle shifters long ago (e.g. BMW M3 w/SMG), I wondered why the paddles were on the steering wheel instead of the column. There was a lot of "hunting" to find the paddles as they moved with the wheel and I thought column mounting would be better. Since then, I've realized that it depends on how you plan to use them.

For street driving, I'd prefer them on the column since you typically shift your hands much more on the steering wheel and it's easier to find them on the column. However, on the track, you're taught to keep your hands on the wheel at the same spot all the time (i.e. don't shift them around), and the paddles are better on the wheel so you don't take your hands off the wheel. I assume that's one of the reasons why it seems that paddles are on the wheel more in high performance cars.

Of course, that doesn't work for me anyway since I have a stick right now.

 

For those in US, there is a retailer:

http://www.auto-innovatio.com/magent...ifter-kit.html

Hope this helps

 

now all we need is a DIY thread with the wiring, tnx OP