Explaining The Gate Shift Kit, cont'd Page 2 of 3		Next Previous
	wwAs you may be aware, there are three fore-and-aft shift planes in the 915 shift housing: 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th and 5th/Rev. The goal is to create some sort of device that provides some resistance when shifting into 1st/2nd. This feedback alerts your nervous system what gear you are currently going into. Beyond that, here were my design criteria:
	-	Simple - Form follows function. Straight-forward design means less overdesign, added cost and chance for a malfunction.
	-	High quality - Materials have to be sturdy, corrosion resistant and long lasting
	-	Appearance - It must look purposeful and nice without chrome, even hidden under a gear shift boot or under the engine (e.g. HeetSheet).
	-	DIY - Installation with ordinary hand tools; 2-3 hours max.
	-	Even better than the competition
	wwAfter many hours sketching design options (many of which were some form of elaborate linkage system attached to the top of the shift plate and pretty impressive BTW), I finally came to the same conclusion as the competition's design. That is, to "cop" (borrow) Porsche's design of a spring-loaded pivot pin they use to define 5th/Rev. gears. It's the most simple and straightforward method. However, it does take some added parts to make it fool-proof. If you haven't looked inside your shift housing yet, there are a couple of coil springs the shift lever compresses to shift into 5th and reverse. The springs provide tactile feedback you are venturing into another shift lane. On the other hand, the factory mechanism leaves 1st through 4th gears undefined, not spring-loaded, waiting for a missed shift. This is a potential problem area, especially in the heat of battle when you're hunting for a particular gear and select the wrong one - oops. And as mentioned previously, the distance from shift housing to transaxle reduces much mechanical feedback one normally gets with a shifter mounted directly onto the transmission/transaxle.			View from passenger side
	wwThe Gate Shift kit spring loads the 1st and 2nd gear positions in much the same way as 5th and reverse. Thus, we now have defined gates surrounding 3rd and 4th gears. It is now much easier to feel (without looking or guessing) what gear one is in. When shifting between 3rd and 4th, the spring mechanism on either "side" keeps the shift lever in this shifting plane. You must consciously make the effort to shift out of the 3rd/4th gear shift mode. Likewise, the 3rd-to-4th and 4th-to-3rd shift is now unconscious as this is now the default shift path. When shifting into 1st (not too often at speed) or 2nd (fairly common), just like the shift to 5th, you must move the shift lever against spring pressure (to the left) and into the desired gear. When upshifting from 2nd into 3rd gear, spring tension directs the shift lever into the 3rd/4th gear path; no more inadvertant shifts into 1st (unless you want to).
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