Random observation I had relates to odd fastener selection. These two screws are the same thread and length, but the heads are a little different. I think Porsche’s fastener procurement team isn’t always on top of inventory. At least this isn’t as weird as when I did the brakes.
On the first install of the Numeric shifter, you can see the shifter cable closer to the driver is at a bit of an angle to the other cable on the passenger side. This is not like the factory unit. Moving the shifter from left to right, such as moving from neutral over to first gear, moves the driver-side cable forward and backward. Moving the shifter forward and backward, such as when pushing the shifter into third gear, moves the passenger side cable.
A known issue is that there may not be enough clearance between the driver-side cable and the center tunnel casting. You can see the rub marks here. It’s possible the casting tool has shifted a little bit over the years. A typical casting tolerance for metal for something around this size can be +/- 1.0mm, so you can see how some parts may get this rub. An option is to put some spacers underneath the shifter to create the clearance.
I decided to grind down the metal a bit.
While doing many fitment checks to check the progress of the grinding, I felt friction in the movement of the cables. The metal shafts of the cables were rubbing against the metal guide tubes. So, I added some Bel-Ray motorcycle bearing lube to smooth things out a bit.
6 comments
Install the Numeric cables because they make a significant improvement and because the stock cable ends have a reputation for breaking.
Took me two days to do the shifter and cables. Miserable work. Adjusting the cable ends on the transmission is fiddly but the vids online help it make sense. Routing the cables in the engine bay sucks. Trying not to break or damage the interior trim pieces made for slow going. Sometime more force than you want to use is the answer. Sometimes a better tool or technique is required.
Regardless, it sucks. The end result is worth it though. They are that good.
Appreciate the insight. So I’ll plan on a 2-day install. I’ve taken apart most of what is needed in the interior to do the cable swap; the only part I haven’t removed yet is the center tunnel and armrest. Looks like I should bundle it in with an air filter and oil change job. Maybe a header swap.
Numeric video on the cable swap into a 718.
https://youtu.be/-5yQTwCA5EY?si=pn1VrN2GOPMohDIw
Thanks for this- Based on how involved this was, I will wait until I wear the stock linkage out to move to Numeric.
I am very interested in the headers, so I hope you pull the trigger on this.
I would say my experience was abnormal. It seems my car was just at the extremes of the tolerance ranges. The grinding I did to the base of the shifter to offset it is unnecessary, just a tweak that I did. Having some washers ready to act as spacers and knowing how to adjust the cables in case you can’t get into reverse cuts off pretty much all the extra time. It really should be less than an hour job.
am I the only one that finds how much extra crap you had to do to make this shifter work ridiculous? its a $700+ part going into $70k+ car and you still had to grind down the part and the car and trim interior plastics…? kinda shameful… Acuity does a 10x better job for shifters half the price for shitbox hondas
I do think they should have done a design update given it’s a known issue on some vehicles to have the clash. And I would have engineered in a few other tweaks. But, it does seem my car is a bit more out of the norm as far as fitment issues.