MGW Shifter

OKC S550 · May 23, 2017

I know alot of guys have upgraded to an MGW shifter. I plan to order one soon but wanted to get feedback on the standard vs low profile handle.

Wondering if the low profile would be "too short" for quickly shifting on track? I am probably overthinking this, but since the shifter would be even further away from the steering wheel with a low profile handle I am not sure if this would have an affect on shifting.

Norm Peterson · May 23, 2017

By 'track', do you mean road course or drag strip?

On a road course, the speed with which you can execute a shift is less important than it is at the dragstrip. Pretty much irrelevant for HPDE where there is no actual competition or official timing.

Short-throw shifters can be a bit notchy in their behavior.

Norm

OKC S550 · May 23, 2017

Norm Peterson said:
By 'track', do you mean road course or drag strip?

On a road course, the speed with which you can execute a shift is less important than it is at the dragstrip. Pretty much irrelevant for HPDE where there is no actual competition or official timing.

Short-throw shifters can be a bit notchy in their behavior.

Norm

Road course. I have to kind of disagree with you there. While speed is not the most important aspect of shifting on the road course, I would imagine the less time you are spending having one hand on the steering wheel due to changing gears the better.

Like I stated above, I am probably just over thinking things.

OKC S550 · May 23, 2017

What I am getting at is will the shorter length of the shifter handle really make a difference, I would assume no but wanted to see if anyone had feedback.

For example, I have seen several track cars with an extended shifter handle which would make the shift lever much closer to the steering wheel. I can only assume this is for faster shifts..

BmacIL · May 23, 2017

It is a much smoother and more consistent shift than stock. Like a well-lubricated bolt action. It also gets rid of the high rpm lockout you occasionally get (2->3 most often, for me).

wmfateam · May 23, 2017

OKC S550 said:
What I am getting at is will the shorter length of the shifter handle really make a difference, I would assume no but wanted to see if anyone had feedback.

For example, I have seen several track cars with an extended shifter handle which would make the shift lever much closer to the steering wheel. I can only assume this is for faster shifts..

I have a 3 inch extender on my 96 Track car that brings the shifter closer. It makes the shifter be right next to me so I don't have to extend my arm out to grab it. Which in turn makes 3rd and 5th nowhere near as far away. It makes the throws a little bit longer, but I am not trying to bang out instant shifts as when you miss a gear or grind, that costs money in the long run. Road course driving is all about getting into, thru and out of a corner as soon as possible. That is where you will make the most time on most tracks.

higdominator · May 23, 2017

I suppose I'm among the odd men out. I really like the stock shifter. I've installed and tried the MGW, it's nice, but not worth the $$$ to me given I don't have issues with the stock one. I may try the mount/bushings once this one wears in a bit more. Maybe do a refresh on the internals with the ford kit when it gets sloppy, but I'd rather buy 3 days at Hallett

BmacIL · May 23, 2017

higdominator said:
I suppose I'm among the odd men out. I really like the stock shifter. I've installed and tried the MGW, it's nice, but not worth the $$$ to me given I don't have issues with the stock one. I may try the mount/bushings once this one wears in a bit more. Maybe do a refresh on the internals with the ford kit when it gets sloppy, but I'd rather buy 3 days at Hallett

After over 40k miles the stock shifter is definitely starting to get sloppy.

OKC S550 · May 23, 2017

higdominator said:
I suppose I'm among the odd men out. I really like the stock shifter. I've installed and tried the MGW, it's nice, but not worth the $$$ to me given I don't have issues with the stock one. I may try the mount/bushings once this one wears in a bit more. Maybe do a refresh on the internals with the ford kit when it gets sloppy, but I'd rather buy 3 days at Hallett

I hear ya. Up until about a month ago I would have completely agreed with you but after getting locked out of gear during my last track day and the immense slop my shifter has developed in only 25k miles I think its just time to switch it up.

NvrFinished · May 23, 2017

I have the MGW shifter and I road course my car. The standard MGW setup is already shorter than the stock shifter. 2-3 and 3-4 up shifts go like clockwork. Just apply pressure and the shifter does the rest. You don't even have to think about it. Same with the The 5-4 and 4-3 down shifts. The 4-5 up shift does require some outward pressure, however, or you can put it back in third for the money shift if you aren't careful. I don't think I would care for a shorter throw than what it is now.

Norm Peterson · May 23, 2017

wmfateam said:
I have a 3 inch extender on my 96 Track car that brings the shifter closer. It makes the shifter be right next to me so I don't have to extend my arm out to grab it. Which in turn makes 3rd and 5th nowhere near as far away. It makes the throws a little bit longer, but I am not trying to bang out instant shifts as when you miss a gear or grind, that costs money in the long run. Road course driving is all about getting into, thru and out of a corner as soon as possible. That is where you will make the most time on most tracks.

The boldface part is what I was getting at earlier.

It would appear that having the shift knob closer to the steering wheel could mitigate any tendency to tug ever so slightly on the wheel with your left hand as you're moving your right hand either toward the shifter or back to the wheel.

Norm

Earlj · May 23, 2017

I added theflatstick to my mgw and it made a big difference for me. I track my car and really like it that the flatstich has a slight tilt rearwards.
It made it better for my wife as well.

ddozier · May 23, 2017

higdominator said:
I suppose I'm among the odd men out. I really like the stock shifter. I've installed and tried the MGW, it's nice, but not worth the $$$ to me given I don't have issues with the stock one. I may try the mount/bushings once this one wears in a bit more. Maybe do a refresh on the internals with the ford kit when it gets sloppy, but I'd rather buy 3 days at Hallett

I hope you continue to like the stock shifter but give it some time and you will likely grow to hate the stock shifter the more you use it. I am at the point now were I am considering changing out the entire trans to improve the gearing issue and the shifter accuracy once and for all.

I miss shifts constantly with the MT82, I added the Whiteline trans bushing thing, and it was a little better. I then added the Blowfish brace to see if that would help, it did help with the lockout and improved shifter accuracy but did not solve the problem. I am considering the MGW but am undecided on it because I will likely need to upgrade the shifter if I go with a Magnum or GT350 trans and do not like buying parts twice.

Admittedly I have been spoiled as I have been tracking with one of the best manual transmission shifters ever made for the last 15 years. I do not expect the MT82 to match the accuracy of the NSX transmission but I would like it to be better than it is. I have done the easy stuff to try and whats left requires a bigger commitment to solve the problem.

To get the most out of the Mustang on track with the short gear spacing of the MT82 when paired with the 3.73 rear end you have to make a lot of gear changes on most tracks. I like that part as I like to row through the gears and keep my heal/toe skills in good practice, but my biggest issue is with the 5th>4th downshift. It can be an easy shift or it can be really difficult and at least in my case it is very inconsistent unless you devote attention to the task and really concentrate on the change. 5th to 4th downshifts are usually happening at 90-95 mph for me and worrying if the shifter is going to make it into 4th or go to 6th is the issue I am having and would like to fix.

I realize the issue may be entirely self inflicted but I can say for sure that with the Honda trans in the NSX I might have missed 10 shifts in 15 years. This last weekend in 133 laps over 7 sessions I missed the 5th>4th shift at least 5 times either finding 6th or taking several attempts to get into 4th. Very frustrating.

Dave

BmacIL · May 23, 2017

ddozier said:
I hope you continue to like the stock shifter but give it some time and you will likely grow to hate the stock shifter the more you use it. I am at the point now were I am considering changing out the entire trans to improve the gearing issue and the shifter accuracy once and for all.

I miss shifts constantly with the MT82, I added the Whiteline trans bushing thing, and it was a little better. I then added the Blowfish brace to see if that would help, it did help with the lockout and improved shifter accuracy but did not solve the problem. I am considering the MGW but am undecided on it because I will likely need to upgrade the shifter if I go with a Magnum or GT350 trans and do not like buying parts twice.

Admittedly I have been spoiled as I have been tracking with one of the best manual transmission shifters ever made for the last 15 years. I do not expect the MT82 to match the accuracy of the NSX transmission but I would like it to be better than it is. I have done the easy stuff to try and whats left requires a bigger commitment to solve the problem.

To get the most out of the Mustang on track with the short gear spacing of the MT82 when paired with the 3.73 rear end you have to make a lot of gear changes on most tracks. I like that part as I like to row through the gears and keep my heal/toe skills in good practice, but my biggest issue is with the 5th>4th downshift. It can be an easy shift or it can be really difficult and at least in my case it is very inconsistent unless you devote attention to the task and really concentrate on the change. 5th to 4th downshifts are usually happening at 90-95 mph for me and worrying if the shifter is going to make it into 4th or go to 6th is the issue I am having and would like to fix.

I realize the issue may be entirely self inflicted but I can say for sure that with the Honda trans in the NSX I might have missed 10 shifts in 15 years. This last weekend in 133 laps over 7 sessions I missed the 5th>4th shift at least 5 times either finding 6th or taking several attempts to get into 4th. Very frustrating.

Dave

Dave, [MENTION=17191]mindys[/MENTION] has had Blowfish and stock shifter and now MGW and I've driven his car in both guises. The MGW is in another league. All the vagueness/slop/inconsistency gone. There's a good chance you will solve your shifting issues (gearing aside) with it, along with the BG Syncroshift II if you haven't done that.

NvrFinished · May 24, 2017

ddozier said:
I like that part as I like to row through the gears and keep my heal/toe skills in good practice, but my biggest issue is with the 5th>4th downshift. It can be an easy shift or it can be really difficult and at least in my case it is very inconsistent unless you devote attention to the task and really concentrate on the change. 5th to 4th downshifts are usually happening at 90-95 mph for me and worrying if the shifter is going to make it into 4th or go to 6th is the issue I am having and would like to fix.

I realize the issue may be entirely self inflicted but I can say for sure that with the Honda trans in the NSX I might have missed 10 shifts in 15 years. This last weekend in 133 laps over 7 sessions I missed the 5th>4th shift at least 5 times either finding 6th or taking several attempts to get into 4th. Very frustrating.

Dave

Dave, the 5-4 downshift with the MGW doesn't even require thought. Push in the clutch and give a quick downward flick of the wrist. That's it. Same thing with the 4-3. You can't even begin to compare the stock shifter with the MGW for those kind of shifts.

If you are familiar with Willow Springs, I put in a full track day doing just that going from turn 8 to turn 9. Same going from the front straight into turn 1. I don't even think about the shifter. I'm concentrating more on my late braking points and getting the heel toe dance just right.

MGW Shifter

OKC S550

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Norm Peterson

corner barstool sitter

OKC S550

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OKC S550

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BmacIL

Enginerd

wmfateam

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higdominator

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BmacIL

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OKC S550

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NvrFinished

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Norm Peterson

corner barstool sitter

Earlj

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ddozier

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BmacIL

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NvrFinished

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