Chapter 9. Transmission Engagement (Phase I)

Having a manual transmission in my driver's car is non negotiable. For me it is a key element of engagement with the machine. The tactile feeling of a manual transmission car's gear shifter is one of the things that we experience constantly while rowing through gears up and down. Driver's romanticize over how the shifter in this car or the other has the best sensation ever. So, making this element better can only lead to more enjoyment.

Shifter: 
The stock shifter in 718 GTS 4.0 cars is very good, probably as good or better than anything I've used in the past but I did think about the shifter Porsche used in the 718 Spyder and GT4. The OEM part is readily available so I decided to go ahead and order the OE part and got it installed. I had used the original GTS 4.0 shifter for a few months prior, so I could tell that the shifter from GT4 had slightly better sensation of the mechanicals and also a little bit lower height of the shifter itself for slightly shorter throws. Overall a small but noticeable improvement that increased the enjoyment of the car for me.

Flywheel:
I had watched many videos of Carrera GT and its super light weight flywheel and when the 911ST was released once again all the reviews highlighted the light weight flywheel. I became curious and explored options for 718 4.0 cars and came across Ninemeister single mass flywheel kit which also includes a clutch and pressure plate. I personally did not experience any issues with the OE clutch but had read some threads on forums with reports of early clutch wear, so getting a better clutch was a bonus, although I was concerned about the Sachs clutch that comes with Ninemeister kit being too heavy. Decided to take the plunge and this has been a pretty pleasant improvement.

  1. No noticeable additional noise/clatter/chatter.
  2. Slightly more seat-of-pants vibrations at stand still when in neutral.
  3. Auto Blip (Rev matching) just works as before.
  4. Clutch felt different on first drive, like driving a different manual car. It is just as nice as OE clutch. It is not too heavy.
  5. 9 lbs weight reduction compared to OE (flywheel + clutch + pressure plate)
  6. Engine revs a bit more freely compared to OE but 9m flywheel is not like CarreraGT or even a 911/st flywheel. As a result, stalling the car is a non issue, as it can be a concern with a super lightweight flywheel.
  7. The car still has an OE feel with this flywheel and clutch i.e. it does not feel like the car has been modified.

In summary this 9m flywheel kit provides a noticeable but subtle improvement to the driving enjoyment of the car. Its like adding an ingredient to an already good recipe that adds to the flavor but does not dominate. Thats how this 9m flywheel kit feels like to me. Rowing through gears is more enjoyable. I am very pleased.

And with these two modifications my Boxster GTS 4.0 score has increased 1.25 points to 76.25 and weight is down to 3152 lbs ... incremental progress.




Gear Ratios:
Phase II of Transmission Engagement will be about getting shorter gear ratios. I have been trying to get the shorter cogs for a while but parts availability has become an issue. So waiting patiently.



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