wheeler

Just picked up a 2006 Cayman S with the Numeric shifter AND cables already installed! What a treat to finally get to try this!! It is extremely direct, extremely mechanical. If you've ever sat in or driven a GT3 RS or newer Viper, you will understand what I'm talking about. Metal on metal. I personally think it's awesome in a second car like our Cayman, not sure I would want it in my 997 unless I were going next level track car sort of thing. As I said earlier, I did the 997.2 GT3 shifter in my 09 997 and it's great, but still nothing like this. I think there is a lot of magic happening with the cables, so if you're doing the mod...GET THE CABLES. Let's put it this way, if I were to resell the Cayman, I would probably put a stock shifter back in, I think most pedestrians would think something is "broken". LOL

One thing I'm noticing on mine is from neutral, the throw forward into 1st, 3rd, 5th is shorter than the throw backward into 2nd and 4th...is this normal or maybe not adjusted right?

Bruce In Philly

The shifter has three pivot holes to leghthen or shorten the throw. I have it set for stock.... I am one of the few who doesn't like a short shifter.

I have the shifter and not the cables. More mechanical feel and I like it. A fun project, but only if you like such stuff.. Otherwise ... It is an extensive tweak.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

wheeler

Previous owner said it was set in the longest throw, it's definitely shorter, but not bad, just the neutral is not 50/50 in the middle.

I will say, on a Cayman...it's WAYYYYYYY freaking better than stock. The stock cayman shifter is absolutely stirring mud, even compared to a stock 997 the cayman is horrible and vague. And talk about extensive tweak...putting lowering springs on currently!! My 4 letter vocabulary has gone to the next level. Ridiculous. Rear suspension completely undone...half shafts and all!!!

cjl

You aren't kidding - it was a fun project, but you have to disassemble the bottom of the center console , remove the entire central tunnel (I'd normally call it a transmission tunnel, but that's not really accurate with this car) including the handbrake and compartment, and pull off the front and top engine covers to route the cables. Fortunately, on the transmission side, the cable attachment points are fairly easy to get to from under the car. If you were just doing the shifter alone, you could probably do it in about an hour or two if you know what you're doing when disassembling the console, but it could easily be a lot longer if you haven't taken that area apart before.

As for the forward vs reverse throws and neutral position, there's a certain degree of adjustment available by turning the adjustment nut where the cables attach to the shifter, as that lengthens or shortens the cable a bit, changing the lever position in neutral. I spent a fairly extensive time on my back under the car when I put the shifter in while a friend shifted, and I can assure you that it's going all the way into every gear properly (and I kind of liked where it centered), but there's a reasonable amount of adjustment available depending on the feel you want. You really need to take off the full shifter cover to do this though, so it's nontrivial to get to. Also, if you do this, make sure to use a light threadlocker or something on the adjustment nut when it's in the final position, since if it vibrates loose while driving, you can lose your shift linkage.

The throw length on the other hand is easy to adjust - just pop off the bottom of the shift boot and the adjustment is right there. It can be done in 5 minutes (just don't drop the screws).


(I'm the former owner of Wheeler's cayman)

ALEV8

I have an SSK in my 06, likely B&M. I hate how much slop it has. Car is right at 100k. Been either eyeing a DIY and save my cash or just get the Numeric.

purcell21

I just completed the install on my 987.2 and it went as planned and according to this excellent post and the Numeric install doc, up until the final step of reinstalling the shift ****. Mine came off easily during the initial steps, so I wasn't expecting it to be difficult to reinstall. The problem was that it wasn't sliding far enough down the Numeric lever for the locking collar to grab it.

During my two hours of debugging this issue, I finally took the shift **** apart, which isn't difficult, and put just the guts on the lever with the locking collar below it and I still couldn't push it on hard enough for them to meet. So, I took an X-acto knife to the top of the white rubber material so I could see into the guts to see how far down the lever was. Inside the guts, there are notches on each side that fit into the groove at the top of the lever and I just whacked it with a rubber mallet and down it went.

I then removed the guts and the collar from the lever, assembled the boot/ring/collar as one unit again and added the silver (dash side) part to the **** guts and put them on and locked them together. Then all that's left is to put the leather half on, attach the screws and pop the top back on.

If I had it to do over again, I would probably not disassemble the shift **** before trying to whack the whole thing with a rubber mallet, but with a thick towel or something so I'm not hitting the shift **** directly. But I think taking it apart, cutting the top out and actually seeing that the lever was getting stuck on the notches gave me to confidence to whack it with the mallet.

In hindsight, I think my **** came off easily during the initial steps because whomever did the shift cable replacement job for the previous owner never pushed it all the way down where it locks into the notches on the lever. Somewhere in these Numeric or SSK threads someone has a picture of the stock shift lever beside the Numeric. You'll notice how quickly the Numeric gets "fat" whereas the stock one doesn't. That's what prevents the **** and collar from meeting unless the **** is ALL the way down and locked into place. So it's actually a safety feature on the Numeric.

DC911S

Don't take the shft **** apart as its a pain to get that lock ring to line up with the **** and the boot. Just take the **** and boot off as one piece. Pry up the boot and pull the **** and boot as one piece.

myw

USMC_DS1, THANKs again, on friday it looks the L1 rod end on my numeric shifter cable popped off the shifter. a weak plastic coupler - connector is to blame and i had to take apart the centre console (again).

cable still strong

thanks yet AGAIN for this thread.

GT2RSobsessed

Just got my Numeric Shifter installed + PTX transmission fluid changed on my 997.2 this past Monday at my Indy. Feels great!! Within the first 3 shifts I knew it was a huge improvement from stock shifter. I noted that it was not much harder to get into Reverse on the Medium setting compared to stock. My Tech test drove the car immediately after the shifter change and then again after PTX transmission fluid change. He said he did not feel the difference. I only test drove with the Tech after everything was complete.

awfilms

Still so tempted to buy one but i don't drive my car enough /:

GT2RSobsessed

Does anyone have this shifter on the shortest setting? How does it compare to the middle setting? I just wonder how much harder it is to put in gear and how much shorter the throw is.

I don't drive mine enough as well, but I'll enjoy it more than ever now that the Numeric shifter is installed. The throw on the stock felt too long and not that precise.

awfilms

One reason why i hate the stock shifter. Few friends have CAE and it's amazing.

nowakm99

I finally took the leap and had the Numeric shifter installed in my 2012 Cayman S, which I've owned for 2 years. This is an incredible mod that has exceeded my expectations in every way. The shifts are now crisp and direct and so much better than the vague and sloppy stock shifter. I tried out both the Porsche SSK and the Numeric prior to purchasing and found that the SSK sits roughly in the middle between the stock shifter and numeric. The numeric was slightly more expensive, but worth every penny.

I ended up having this installed at the dealership and was amazed that it took the tech about an hour and 15 minutes for the entire job. I could have done this myself, but have read enough posts about guys having to made readjustments after the original install that I wanted it done right the first time.

On a somewhat related note, I tried out the shifter on the new 718 Boxster while waiting for the work to be done and noticed that the shifter on the new car is significantly improved. Kudos to Porsche for addressing this as the 987 shifter left a lot to be desired.

quickxotica

Reviving this thread just to add another voice to the pro-Numeric chorus. I installed the Numeric shifter in my 997.2S last weekend as a fun father-daughter project. We only did the shifter, not the cables or cable-ends. So far I am happy, coming from the stock unit in this car. I had previously installed a B&M SSK in my 996.2 and this Numeric unit definitely feels less notchy and is more satisfying to use than the B&M. The Numeric's throws are short, positive and fun. I have it on the middle setting and will probably leave it there.

This thread and the links within it have the best install instructions. The instructions Numeric provides on their website are fine, but this thread is much more detailed.

That is all.

USMC_DS1

Congrats on a successful DIY. I've enjoyed this mod for many years now. My next mod will be the Numeric cables.