PMS Shifter Kit - thoughts?

bedoef

Platinum Member
Hi guys,

Time has come to replace my stock shifter linkage and cables, and I was thinking to get the PMS kit to do away with any issues with slack, etc. Car is mostly a track car with some intermittent daily / weekend driving duties, and has almost full interior, carpets, etc.

I know a few guys on here have the kit already, but I haven't seen any long-term reviews. Can anyone share their thoughts on owning it for longer term? How is the setup / adjustment / maintenance on them? How are they to live with?
 
I’ve had this shifter for over a year now and I’m really happy with how it feels, used the car with daily for a while but now it’s my weekend/track car now. It does produce a slight vibrating/rattling noise at times but for what I use the car it doesn’t bother me. The feel of the shift makes up for it. It does ideally require maintaining which is one con over a cabled shifter, which I haven’t done yet and I think my rods are starting to rust. I’ll be stripping them down and greasing them up soon.
 
Sorry to hijack the thread but has anyone here used both a PMS shifter and a ZPO who can give a comparison/review?
 
Setup took a bit of back and forth to set the gate so that you had to lift the collar for reverse. After that it’s been perfect, I’ve not needed to re-adjust it or maintain it.

I love the position and feel compared to the standard shifter but I’ve not had a ZPO to compare.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bedoef
My buddy had a CAE shifter for a while and was never happy with it. He then fitted a PMS shifter and has gone back to the stock setup which he thinks is better than both those aftermarket options.
 
There is another cheaper option which is to retain the stock shifter mechanism but install a Wheeler Motorsport raising kit:


It is effectively a tower that raises the whole setup but needs new holes drilling in the bulkhead to pass the cables through.

Josh really knows his stuff and makes some nice kit. Well thought out and researched with high quality manufacturing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Don Hogg
My buddy had a CAE shifter for a while and was never happy with it. He then fitted a PMS shifter and has gone back to the stock setup which he thinks is better than both those aftermarket options.

Any chance you can get some feedback from him and share? I would be curios to know why he didnt like either.
 
There is another cheaper option which is to retain the stock shifter mechanism but install a Wheeler Motorsport raising kit:


It is effectively a tower that raises the whole setup but needs new holes drilling in the bulkhead to pass the cables through.

Josh really knows his stuff and makes some nice kit. Well thought out and researched with high quality manufacturing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea I saw this earlier, but I want to be able to revert to stock without much hassle, including filling in holes etc. Definitely looks like a good bit of kit!
 
I have had both the CAE and the PMS. I found that with the CAE (it might have been an installation issue) but I occasionally got a really jerky gear change from 1st to 2nd. It wasn't consistent at all ( sometimes when warm, sometimes during cold operation). I could never pin point the issue ( my mechanic looked at it several times). The other thing I hated was the additional noise from the gearbox and diff. Don't get me wrong my car is not quiet ( Full exhaust systems and Jenvey's) but that is nice noise, not the awful scrapping kind of noise you get from the gearbox. If your car was fully stripped you probably wouldn't notice but my car is still primarily a fast road car with occasional track use (8-10 track days a year).

The PMS was different again, very smooth gear change, not as much force required as with the CAE but it felt a bit sloppy going into gear. The OEM unit has springs to help with that 'return to neutral' feel when you take it out of gear. After repeated attempts to find the right shifter I am back with stock and couldn't be happier.

Hope that helps...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Onrus and bedoef
I have had both the CAE and the PMS. I found that with the CAE (it might have been an installation issue) but I occasionally got a really jerky gear change from 1st to 2nd. It wasn't consistent at all ( sometimes when warm, sometimes during cold operation). I could never pin point the issue ( my mechanic looked at it several times). The other thing I hated was the additional noise from the gearbox and diff. Don't get me wrong my car is not quiet ( Full exhaust systems and Jenvey's) but that is nice noise, not the awful scrapping kind of noise you get from the gearbox. If your car was fully stripped you probably wouldn't notice but my car is still primarily a fast road car with occasional track use (8-10 track days a year).

The PMS was different again, very smooth gear change, not as much force required as with the CAE but it felt a bit sloppy going into gear. The OEM unit has springs to help with that 'return to neutral' feel when you take it out of gear. After repeated attempts to find the right shifter I am back with stock and couldn't be happier.

Hope that helps...

So the PMS unit doesnt have the neutral locator springs? does that mean I have to purposefully put it into the center, etc?
 
Figured I would leave my thoughts on the kit. I ordered the non-carbon one from PMS and had it installed on the car for over a week.

I really really like the kit. The shifter falls to hand easily, and its nice and high and close to the steering wheel. I have been running the ZPO extension for the last couple years, so I had to readjust to the shorter (stock-ish) throw, but it feels good. I have done a lot of pulls and just going up and down the gears a lot on the street and the shifts are precise, and smooth.

My garage set it up nearly perfectly from the start. Gates 1-4 are great, no slop into gear at all. Gates 5-6 have a little play when in gear, but again no issues finding them or getting into those gears. I don't think theres any more room for adjustment, but I can live with that. I dont seem to have any noise coming from the shifter, but I am also running the PMS engine and gearbox mounts so not sure if that makes a difference as the car is already louder and buzzier than normal or on poly bushed mounts.

Track test for me will come in October; I will update later once I get a few track days under my belt.