Daniel Dudley

I think that is a lot of it Ed. Lots of mechanics just replace the worn second gear syncros, which will not always make up for a worn box. But Borg Warner syncros are much stronger and positive in action.

People who prefer tha G50 box often feel STRONGLY that it is a better box. I understand the reasons why, and this is why I encourage people to find out for themselves.

groovzilla

don't mean to keep grinding on this(no pun intended)but a non-rebuilt 915 w/140K facinates me - i've owned probably 10 911sc's over the past 35 years and all either had rebuilt 915's or had bad syncros that were not repaired.

were you the original owner of the car (that had 140K) and put all those miles on it without any transmission syncro issues?

Peter Zimmermann

Negative. I refreshed the 915, in a customer 1981 SC, at 85,000 miles, and bought that car at 117,000 miles. My wife and I put 105,000 miles on from that mileage. The car was sold at that point, and the next owner continued to use my shop for all maintenance and repairs, and put approximately 65,000 more miles on the car. The car was again sold, at which point I lost contact with it. That means that the repaired transmission had 202,000 miles, and was still going strong with no complaints.

Yes, a large number of 915s have had synchro repairs done between 75 and 100K miles, and many of those had a problem with second gear, not first. My shop serviced many 915s with far more than 100,000 miles on them. At major service intervals (every 15K miles) we would change the trans oil expecting to finally find some dog teeth stuck to the drain plug magnet. It seemed like some of them would never give up - Kudos to their owners/drivers.

It's all about touch.

Ed Hughes

I put almost ~30% of the miles on. I think there are a lot of 100k+ trans out there. Maybe it is serendipity when someone who has no problems learning how to properly drive a 915 trans, gets a good one.

bobaines

While I know this is 915 vs. G50, I will add that my 901 recently got rebuilt after 125,000 mi with 1st and 2ed syncros getting tired. It felt like new after rebuild and has 10,000 great miles since (two round trips to California For RRIV and Treffen plus Hill Country Rally).

It is all about touch.

If you try to shift like a Hurst or Muncie, neither a 901 or a 915 will holdup.

I did put a G50 in a hotrod 3.2ss project and a 993 6 speed in a 964 so I do like those as well. They are all good but they are different.

dshepp806

Yes,..very "different", indeed.

Doyle

Ed Hughes

That's for sure....it's no wonder Porsche had to come up with the G50, to "suit" their growing mass of customers.

dshepp806

Customers who are experiencing/require a degree of improvement over the previous...they "suited" them well, I would add (not to be overly dramatic....)

Best to all!

Doyle

Ed Hughes

Or, it got to the point where not-so-mechanically inclined/perceptive people were buying 911's, so they adapted to the masses. Not a lot different than the electronic nannies of today's car world to "protect" the public from themselves.

salukijac

Are we still talking about the company that put the ignition key on the left of the steering wheel to save a couple of seconds?

Sorry I couldn't resist.

Ed Hughes

....and they drilled the keys too, so save a fraction of an oz!

theiceman

actually i read someplace that this is a myth .. they did it actually to save 2 ft of wire ... really i actually read that ..

marcel964

It tried both, first a 915, is was not a new rebuild one, but also not a shot one, something in the middle is the best description. Then i tried a G50, which kept my more smiling.

Is the G50 better than a 915? I dont know, maybe I am just a bad driver and call the G50 more monkey proof!

Peter Zimmermann

My shop was one of the few independents that spent a lot of money every month with our two closest local dealers. As a courtesy, a Porsche rep would stop by every two or three months to say hello and check on us. We were told, by him, that the real reason for the hydraulic clutch was to increase 911 sales...to women. It turned out that when Porsche did marketing studies, they learned that women favored a soft clutch, so...

Of course, I had no way to verify the reps comments, but they seemed accurate.

dshepp806

This guy favors the same "soft" clutch!!!!!!!! An interesting story, Pete! I remember reading that it had a lot to do with increasing the specs to handle additional torque, etc.....Still, it's evident that they didn't take the approach to "improve" (beef-up) the 915 to accomodate, but chose a different path with the Borg-stuff....an improvement (again) in my eyes (of course, NOT to be "dramatic",....)

As to Ed's comment on the ""not-so-mechanically inclined/perceptive people"", it doesn't take that kind of person to DRIVE the car, eh? To feel that difference.... So, that's an N/A. Those people do exist (certainly),..and many of them frikin race for a living......

I would say that the maintenance intervals on the fluid changeout would certainly impact the 915's longevity, in addition to correct (915) setup by people who know what they're doing,..that's a given...

Bottomk line: that G50 "touch" (pick your gender) is oh so quite nice...I do believe on my 89 S.A. Edition the throw was shortened.....maybe that's the deal? (hehe)

I like BOTH gearboxes (and have driven'/owned them both...),..but the G50 did it for me....I find my gears easily,..and quite quickly....(not to sound "dramatic")

BEST!

Doyle