Manual Gearboxes

Jesse Crosse looks into all there is to know about the manual gearbox…

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If you’re old enough to remember vinyl records the first time around, you’ll remember how they were superseded by the CD in the 1980s and in turn, online digital music. Digital has obvious advantages, but something was missing, the tactile aspect of buying an appealing product, handling it, enjoying the cover art and reading the sleeve notes. Now vinyl has made such a resounding comeback sales are outstripping digital and vinyl records are being manufactured once again.

The same has happened to a lesser extent with manual gearboxes. It was expected at one point that the conventional gearshift would disappear forever, especially on premium sports cars like Porsches. But that hasn’t happened and the manual is still alive and well delivering that tactile connection with the car that only a manual gearbox can. The gearshift quality can vary enormously from gearbox to gearbox but it doesn’t necessarily follow that a great gearshift is the slickest one.

Take the Porsche 911 SC and earlier 3.2 Carrera. They were fitted with the famous (some say infamous) 915 gearbox which required some technique to use well. The 915 has a lengthy gate and gear engagement requires the driver to make slow, deliberate shifts, especially when the transmission oil is cold. Rushing it can prematurely wear the synchromesh and make the problem worse. But the satisfaction of using one for the keen driver is immense. It’s a challenge but one that’s easy to master once you know how. Received wisdom has it that the later Getrag G50 is better because it has a light modern feel to it and presents no challenge. But many think it detracts from the character of a 911, that the gear changing experience is much like that of a Ford Sierra from the same era; good but unremarkable.