My first gear was a little scratchy if idling a little fast or shifting before coming to a complete stop. The synchro ring was clearly worn, but the dog teeth and slider looked fine.

So I ordered a synchro ring on eBay and installed today, but was disappointed to find that first is still a little scratchy.

The rings I have used in the past were black, but this one was grayish, and the texture did not seem to be as rough as I recall for a new ring.

Are there sub-standard rings out there, and did I just buy one?

Or am I missing something?

"Scratchy" would be nice in my opinion....I have 3 transmissions and all 3 require coaxing to get into first. Best is to learn to double clutch and pressure it in before a stop. Gets much harder if fully stopped...helps to select 2nd then 1st...or get car rolling with 2nd then slip it into 1st...part of the zen...

Yea, I know the idiosyncrasies and work-arounds, but this is worse than 914s I've had in the past. I know it can be better that it is.

Any other thoughts on this?

Is it possible that your clutch isn't adjusted quite right? First gear is pretty basic in a 901. If the slider was in rough shape or the dog teeth are not sharp, that can cause issues. Finally, if your idle is way high, you may have issues there too. By way high I mean in excess of like 1500RPMs. Another thought is the alignment of the shift fork for the 1st/reverse slider. I once installed one that was slightly off and when in neutral (for that slider) it would make some chattering noise as the slider teeth tapped on reverse. I have done a few transmissions so happy to toss around more ideas with you if it helps.

My car was ten years old when I got it, fairly low miles and first gear was a challenge then. That quote is really accurate, fortunately 1st is for taking off from a stop only . That double clutch into first just before the car comes to a stop, really works. I blurp the throttle double clutch and as the rpm's drop I feel it in to 1st before the car comes to a stop.

Best I can tell you is to keep the tools to adjust the clutch in the car just in case, and keep it well adjusted all the time.