I installed my RennShifter last night (& wrapped up this a.m. - didn't have a 7/32'nd hex). Very nice product and the installation was super simple, at least if you've ever played with the shifter assy before. Plus my car has no interior or console or passenger seat so the access is fantastic.

Anyways, the only small glitch is that there's a bit of interference with the clutch tube on the left side of the tunnel when going for 4th or 5th gear. I can get it in gear OK but it's definitely making a little contact.

What's the preferred way to push/bend the tube for clearance? I don't want to kink or break it, obviously. Can I just kinda pry on it with a screwdriver or something? Or would it be better to try to clamp it out of the way with an adel clamp kind of thing?

The shifter feels great (in the garage). Hoping to go for a drive this evening after a few more minor projects

I had the same problem. I used some metal 1/2" electrical cable clamps and clamped the clutch tube to the bottom of the tunnel in two locations. One location was forward and to the left of the shift of the shifter and one behind and to the right of the shifter. I used #14 sheet metal screws to hold the clamps on the tube. You might also want to make sure the driver's side seat belt or harness mounting bolt isn't interfering with the shift rod action (use a mirror to look down the tunnel).

Good luck,
Kevin

I dont think thats a glitch, I think its part of the shorter shift throws, it needs a longer throw on the bottom for a shorter throw at the top (if that makes any sense). Therefore it will have less clearence inside the tube... I am going to run into that problem installing my short shift shifter.. I'll be getting a rennshift once my budget allows.

You're right, it's not unique to this shifter -- and James mentions the possibility in the instructions (which are very good BTW). I had the same issue with the Weltmeister/Perf Prods short shift that was in the car when I bought it. I removed that one and have been running a stock shifter, until yesterday.

Thanks for the confirmation about the clamps Kevin. I figured that might work and it's always good to hear from somebody else who tried it, first.

I had a similar issue. I couldn't get the tube out of the way so a made a 3mm thick spacer that sits under the shift unit and spaces it up so that it clears the tube. The shifter makes it far more civilized to drive. I also fabricated a new shift lever because I sit on the other side of the car and the shift was too far away. In the end it turned out great.

gotta see pics of the right hand drive teener!

Here you go:

had me fooled til I saw the guage needles on the wrong side!

I tried the 1/2" adel clamp trick and it seems to have made a big diff. I can get 4th and 5th without obvious interference now, but there may still be a little scraping/contact. As long as the clamp holds, it should be fine.

Wifey had to work tonite so I'm on daddy-duty and couldn't take it out for a drive yet

gas pedal's on the wrong side

Is the Rennshifter adjustable for late/early car, since the shaft rotation is "backwards" for a tailshifter?

James

Red,

there are two versions- tail and side shifter.

Sorry I missed this topic guys - had a big pool/yard game party at the house this weekend and I was a little busy/frazzled/worn out!

The clutch tubes are different in a lot of these cars - since so many have been broken and repaired and they always end up in different places.

When I have needed to move the tube, I pulled out the heater lever and pried on the tube through that hole with a large screwdriver. The tube is quite malleable, so it doesn't take much force. The clamp is a good idea.

Howard, I wish you had mentioned that yours was RHD, I could have put the shifter together backwards for you so the stick offset was on the other side. I'm glad you got it worked out. That is the beauty of the bolt-on steel stick, anyone can get steel welded for cheap and modify the stick for their preference.

James- there are two different shifters for tail vs sideshift. I tailor the shifter to the exact application - prefered shift throw, tail or side shift, hand throttle slot or not, etc.

Yep James, that's exactly what I did -- pried it leftwards thru the defrost lever opening, and then clamped the sucker down as far left as I could get it.

STILL no test drive though...arghh...maybe I'll get home from work early enough tonite.

James,

It wasn't a big deal, I just got some 17 mm tube with a 3 mm wall and fabbed a new one. I actually had to make it a bit longer but with 20% throw reduction its still a lot shorter in the throw than standard. In any case I would not expect you to know how to do the lever unless you have sat on the right. Now that I have it adjusteded its great.

I'll get the car out on the weekend and put some photos up so you know how it looks sitting on the other side.

Howard,

I want to thank you again for posting here. Its a pleasure seeing how the "other countries" deal with their 914's.

I cant wait to get my grubby hands on the Rennshift this week. I will probably end up installing it in 15 cars to help him with sales...LOL


B

Commission....uh...James...

Ha ha..

I gues you would have never bought one... huh ?? LOL



B

well that would be if I bought a WEVO.

I'll split the comission with ya, that's how nice of a guy I am!


I emailed Rich Bontempi about getting a 901 shift knob. He says
he has some in Very Good condition. Let me know next time you go
over there.

Howard, do you surf? Any idea how many 914s there are in Australia?

Alfred

Right Hand Drive.

That's more believable than the last one.

Alfred,

I still surf occasionally, but there's no way my car is getting that close to salt water. About 15 years ago my brother lived on the top of a cliff above the ocean and left his car outside. the spray dissolved his honda in less than 2 years!

Update on the RennShift(er)...

I FINALLY got to go on a test drive...and I picked a pretty ambitious route...Cornell Rd - Mulholland Hwy- Kanan - Latigo Cyn - PCH - Encinal Cyn - Mullholland - Kanan - Cornell

Woohoo! This is a LONG (>90 minutes I think) loop with a mix of very fast sweepers and some insanely tight (and dangerous) stuff. I mean tight...2nd gear at almost full steering wheel lock in same places.

Anyways...the shifter RULES I got used to it really quickly (i.e. only grabbed 4th by mistake once) and after that had much more confidence than with my maladjusted, weak-springed stock shifter. I lucked out and got the adjustment almost perfect on the first try, too. The up or downshift into 3rd, which is very important and frequent on some tracks, is especially sweet. The lever stops make it really "positive". With more practice my 2nd gear will get more precise and quicker too.


I forgot to mention one other super minor installation issue BTW, which is an exception that wouldn't affect everybody. I had to remove a tiny amount of material from my aftermarket aluminum Momo shift knob for it to fit on the shaft. So it seems like the shaft is just a smidgen bigger diameter than the stock one and the Momo knobs are made to a very close tolerance. Nothing that 1 minute with a conical grinder bit on your power tool of choice can't fix.

Thumbs up to James for making these things for us!

Which throw did you get 18% or 30% ?

I got the 18% and am very happy w/ it. I have never been a fan of "short shift kits" (I've used several flavors on 911's and 914's and always ended up removing them) but this feels just right to me.

I'm glad it is working so well for you Chris.

The stock shaft is 0.6" and I use 0.625" rod for the shaft. I machine the upper part down to 0.6" so the stock crush ring will fit.

Should I machine the 0.6" part further down? By how much would you say?

I love the feedback and I am very willing to make improvements if you guys have better ideas or improvements to the design.

James:

I had the same issue with a MOMO knob during my install. I just did a little file work to get the fit correct. A .03 X 45° chamfer on the end of the lever would help as well. I wouldn't take more than .010" off the diameter of the lever.

FYI:
I don't know if you've got any other early car 30% reduction tailshift installations but I'm wondering if the bulkhead that's inside the tunnel just behind the heater lever will interfere on all installations as it did on mine. Fortunately (or not) some SPO had hacked a hole in the top of the tunnel in my car so I had access to the bulkhead to add clearance. Didn't someone else add 3MM spacers to clear the same feature?

Nice setup overall though. I love the shifter. You've probably saved me the grief of doing the tailshift conversion.

Have fun,
Kevin

I agree with Kevin - the difference between the shaft & the Momo knobs is extremely tiny. If the upper shaft portion is sized for the factory crush ring & knob then I'd keep it that way, and let the aftermarket knob folks deal with it. Who knows what the manufacturing tolerance is of these aftermarket knobs anyways -- one make/model might differ from the others. A chamfer/bevel on the end of the shaft might help get the knob started, though.

Brad just installed a Rennshifter and that, in conjunction with replacing a number of bushings, and fixing a broken clutch tube has vastly impoved the shifting. The shifting is now much more similar to shifting in a gate and it is very difficult not to know what gear you are in. Addictionally it is much easier to get it right into 2d (which is what I use for 1st gear).

Even cooler, Brad adjusted the length of the shift rod so that I can reach it with ease. Before, the shift rod was so far away I had to shift "underhand." Now I can shift normally using the "fist" grab with my thumb at the top of the knob.

This is exactly the sort of product that every 901 tranny driving 914 owner needs to own. At the $300 to $400 price point, it will become as standard as the side-shifter conversion.

As a side note, James, have you thought of patenting the product or getting a trademark on the name? I'll check with IP people to see if this is the sort of thing that can be patented.

Douglas

James, or anyone. Is there a converted one I can try in the dfw area. I am interested in this.

-P-
Send me a PM and we can get together and put one in your car for you to try out. We'll just have to time it right so I have one to show you (they are moving quickly).

Douglas - any info on patents/TM would be helpful. I am ignorant about this stuff.

I am just an engineer with a little side product!

Good idea James.


Once its in there he won't want to let it go! HAHA!

no kidding! if it works half as good as it looks... it's over! he'll be hooked like a crack addict! I know I can hardly wait to get to that point on mine!

Not only do you seem to be an excellent engineer, but also quite the sales man. I'll give you a shout when I'm ready. My shifting isnt too bad, But I want to get the steering play and brakes working top notch 1st. Once I can steer and stop quickly i'll be ready to shift more quickly.

James..

We got word that the track we wanted to race at this weekend .. well... "sucked" so I made phone call to Doug (Silver Six) and asked him if he wanted the shifter.. This all happened yesterday.

I will still need 3 more. 1 for me and 2 more for customers.


B

Oh.. I had NO problems with the shifter hitting the clutch tube once we got it adjusted correctly.

I think it is hitting other peoples clutch tubes because they are not adjusting them correctly or their clutch tube has been repaired and not positioned correctly during the repair.

I'm betting half these guys dont even know the shifter is "supposed" to sit in the 2-3 plane when the car is in neutral.


B

James,

On the patent and TM issues it may turn out that the cost of getting a patent ($10,000-$25,000) may exceed the profits that would justify a business based on the Rennshifter. On top of that there may be technical issues that would bar you from getting the patent because the technology was already out there before you started, and you just applied it to the 914. In any event, if it is unlikely that competetors will move into your market at your price point then a patent may be unnecessary. And your price point, and profit margins, apparently, are so low that other businesses are unlikely to be able to compete against you.

In any event these are just some things to think about. I'm happy to talk to you in person about these issues if you want. PM me for a phone number.

Douglas

What about a copyright?

Put it all down on paper and register it?

Yep, my clutch tube has busted loose from the tunnel. When it's where it "belongs" there is no issue. If my adel clamp holds I will be very happy with that $0.60 fix...

Well can you tell us how to properly adjust it? as I will be trying to put in my short shift (My guess is that adjusting will be the same) in the car very soon..

Sorry. That wouldn't work. The copyright would protect the written work but it would not stop someone from using that written work like a blueprint to make their own shifter. It's like a cookbook. You can have a copyright on your cookbook but you can't stop other people from using your receipes to make dinner.

In fact, if James were to write out his specs and make them public that would make it easier, not harder for people to copy him.

Douglas

The whole patent/copywrite thing you guys are saying is about what I thought. Good topic, though, and I'm sure it will be useful as others produce stuff for our cars.

The way I look at it, I am not really leaving any room for someone to beat my price point. It would be hard for someone to even justify doing one for themselves using my idea - I am really not making enough on each one.

PS, I'm out of town right now so that's why I am not following this very closely.

A few photos of what it looks like in RHD

Another photo

Howard what are the large "idiot lights" ?

Oil pressure and shift?

Upshift set to come on above 7000, downshift set to come on below 5000 and off above, and oil pressure

What engine do you have in that thing?!