Aftermarket shifter options?

[PeteB]

I've got about 1200 miles on the car now, and the one aspect of driving it that I'm really not happy with is the shifter. The throw seems too long and 1st and 2nd gear are really hard to find. Anyone tried or know of an aftermarket shifter that would be compatible with the Graziano?

A couple I've seen that might work, although I haven't contacted the companies yet to see:

Alitech Lotus shifter: Looks great, has lots of adjustability, and has the handbrake handle built in, but it 'aint cheap

Very Cool Parts shifter for the FFR 818: shifter

 

[Don V.]

Pete

Save yourself some money.

For $100 each you can get a zero lash high temp shift cables. The cables that come with the shifter are not zero lash. They have up to 1/4" play in cable ends. That makes finding the gate iffy.

We upgraded to the zero lash and after 3 yrs of 25 hr racing and numerous enduro's the cables still have zero lash.

It will improve the feel to where you can feel the gate. The shifter itself has no issues. it is the cable.

You can find them at various places but must request High temp zero lash.


Push Pull Cables |Throttle Control | Shift

 

[PeteB]

Don,

Sorry, I'm not really following...did you completely replace the cables or just the cable ends? I looked at the link you posted and don't see anything about "zero lash".

 

[Mesa]

Hmmmm....
My cables suck. Very gentle bends yet still have relatively high drag. Shifter handle will not return to center on it's own. Ricardo box, Ford shifter.

I will replace my set with something else soon. Good discussion.

 

[Don V.]

PeteB

Yes, replace the 2 shifting cables.

You can send current set and they will build to exact length if you wish.

Call them and ask about High temp zero lash type cables.

Click on push-pull-cable link at top in blue. A pdf opens. TT threaded both ends and 814 for high temp. If I remember High temp are the zero lash.

 

[Ron McCall]

Great info about the cables! This is the shifter that I have installed in the GT-R that I am currently building.
Short Throw Shifter for 986/987 & 996/997 – Numeric Racing
It is an absolute work of art but I haven't driven the car as of yet to evaluate the performance. I can tell you that it is the smoothest feeling shifter I've ever felt
though.

Ron

 

[Tom]

agree with the rec on cables. I set a cable shifter up using a well known, high end brand and ended up with something that had too much slop across the gates. Changed to one from Control Cables in CA, and it improved dramatically.

 

[Michael Fling]

Spoke with Vic at control cables. He said if he couldn't help us that Numeric would be the place to call. If I understand correctly, Vic can make the cable with ends, but not the cable housing. I assume then that we would simply replace the existing cable housing with the new cable? I am sending him some photos tonight so he can evaluate.

I have been waiting on a gated shifter from ECS tuning since November. I guess I am going to give up on that option and consider the new cable.

 

[PeteB]

Michael, please keep us informed with what you find out.

 

[Will Campbell]

Great info about the cables! This is the shifter that I have installed in the GT-R that I am currently building.
Short Throw Shifter for 986/987 & 996/997 – Numeric Racing
It is an absolute work of art but I haven't driven the car as of yet to evaluate the performance. I can tell you that it is the smoothest feeling shifter I've ever felt
though.

Ron

Hi Ron,

How are you handling the fact that the transaxle is reversed relative to the shifter as it would be in a regular Porsche? Won't the cable be pulling when you want it to be pushing?

It seems to me you'd need to either reverse the shifter in the car, or make rockers that reversed the movement at the transaxle.

Have you verified that moving the shifter lever to "first" actually engages first gear and not second?

-Will

 

[HCF - John]

Pete,
Have you considered using the shifter the Graziano came with from the factory - either the Gallardo gated shifter or the R8 gated shifter?

There is at least one person on the board who has driven SLC's with both! Favorable impression!
Best,
John

I've got about 1200 miles on the car now, and the one aspect of driving it that I'm really not happy with is the shifter. The throw seems too long and 1st and 2nd gear are really hard to find. Anyone tried or know of an aftermarket shifter that would be compatible with the Graziano?

A couple I've seen that might work, although I haven't contacted the companies yet to see:

Alitech Lotus shifter: Looks great, has lots of adjustability, and has the handbrake handle built in, but it 'aint cheap

Very Cool Parts shifter for the FFR 818: shifter

 

[PeteB]

Pete,
Have you considered using the shifter the Graziano came with from the factory - either the Gallardo gated shifter or the R8 gated shifter?

There is at least one person on the board who has driven SLC's with both! Favorable impression!
Best,
John

Well, that'd be great, but I don't really want to spend $2K+ for a shifter.

 

[PeteB]

I went out and checked my cables, and it seems like there is very little or no play in them. There is a quite a lot of play in the mechanism on the transaxle, so I'm not convinced new cables will make much of a difference. The throw on the shifter is almost 6 inches from 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6. Seems to me a shorter throw shifter would improve things a lot.

I've never owned a car with a cable shifter before, so maybe I just need to get used to it.

 

[HCF - John]

Occasionally I have them offered to me for quite a bit less than that. Happy to keep an eye out if you have interest in the $1k range.

Well, that'd be great, but I don't really want to spend $2K+ for a shifter.

 

[Del]

Sub'ing to this, it seems like it may be a good idea to do before I route my cables.

 

[PeteB]

Occasionally I have them offered to me for quite a bit less than that. Happy to keep an eye out if you have interest in the $1k range.

If I could do it for $1K, I'd be interested. Thanks!

 

[Dave Adel]

I put the numeric shifter on my build. Haven't driven it yet as car is going through paint, but it shifts like a dream even with the cables going through some tight bends.

Worth every penny.

 

[Julian]

I had not come across the Numeric option, but research for a replacement for my Ultima led me to the CAE Ultra shifter (an alternative might be the CMS Shifter from California Motor Sport).

Even though the cables might feel tight cold or upon start up the heat in the engine bay as the car warms up does significantly change the feel of the shifter in my experience.

Julian

 

[Frank Clark]

I'm knowingly going to resurrect this from the dead....

Melted my cables recently even though they have high $ silicone/fiberglass insulation where they are close to exhaust. Will re-route a bit, but ordered from http://www.controlcables.com per Don V above. FYI, the high temp cables where $158 and change each. Given this is 7 years later it seems a great deal. If they shift better than the originals that will be a bonus.

 

[Frank Clark]

Quick update. Cables are in. Don't appear much different than originals. BUT... shift SOOOOOOOOOOO much better. Can "feel" the gates now. This is with the RCR standard shifter. Next long run is planned for October. Will see if they have fixed my melting problem.