Going to try Best Bang-for-your-Buck Short Shifter

Hey Guys,

So like most people I get the occasional lock out going from 2-3rd gear. I also want a shorter throw and just a cleaner feel rowing through the gears. $400 plus for a whole new shifter was a little out of my budget so I started doing some research...

I am a big fan of Steeda products so I saw their Tri-Ax Street shifter lever. Thought that was a good start but wanted to know the difference between that and the full Race spec Tri-Ax. What you gain and what you don't with each set up.
I watched all the Street install videos that I could find on YouTube, included CJPony. I couldn't see much as they were making a point that you could install it with the exhaust and drive shaft in. Then I watched the Race install video and they removed the exhaust and DS purely to show more details on everything they were doing.

This was a HUGE help just to see how exactly the stock stuff comes out. When searching around for pictures of the stock shifter, I found the main "bridge arm" or connecting arm that attaches to the top of the trans and front of the shifter housing was this thin black arm that didn't look very stout. In the CJ Pony video of the Race install, you see Bill removing the stock shifter and that arm was very stout looking, bunch of triangular bracing down the arm...
So the main point in deflection would appear to be from the rear shifter brace that mounts to the body/back of the shifter housing. That stock piece just looks horrible, no way it could keep the shifter from moving all over the place.

Then when Bill is getting the Race shifter put together, he removes the two plastic rings from the stock shifter and moves those over to the new Race set up. He also has to use the actual linkage from the stock shifter. So essentially the new shifter is actually using the stock pieces that the lever rests in inside of the housing, and stock linkage. (Same case for the street shifter)

So, hopefully you have stuck with me so far. If the main deflection is from the rear side of the shifter housing, and the new lever sits in the stock plastic cups/rings with stock linkage...WHY pay over $400 just for a new shifter housing. I bought the street shifter and Steeda rear brace for about $175 (Thanks LMR discount code). The only capability that I see that I am losing is swapping the springs in the shifter housing to make it stiffer. I don't really care to do that, so I think this set up will give me everything I am looking for, and maybe help you guys save a few bucks as well.

Once I get these installed (I will see if I can take some good photos) I will try and report back.

I think it all depends what you want to achieve with your shifter modification. It seems like you are interested in getting rid of the 2-3 lockout and just have an overall shorter throw, so the rear bushing and the lever might get you there. You will have a large decrease in throw (30%), so effort to switch gears will increase. The bushing should stiffen up the mounting of the shifter, which may increase NVH and decrease deflection of the shifter. It should get rid of the 2-3 lockout, but I am not sure.

In the last two years with my car I have had the Bluefish Racing bracket, the Steeda Tri-Ax Racing shifter (both bought used), and for one week now the MGW Race Spec with the standard 15% reduction in throw. The reason why I went with an entire shifter assembly was that it made the shifter much more precise and removed the sloppiness that is present in the stock shifter. The MGW has made shifting a pleasure and NVH increase is so minimal that I would call it negligible. All the issues present with the stock shifter were eliminated by the MGW (and with the Steeda, but I experienced a rather large increase in NVH and shifting effort with this shifter).

Your approach will not get rid of the sloppy feeling of the shifter (it may mask it slightly with the reduced throw), but if you are only concerned with the 2-3 lockout and just a shorter throw then it may fit the bill for you. Let me know how it feels!

watch AED's video on how to shift the MT-82 when racing. i'm all stock and haven't had the 2-3 lockout at all since seeing how they shift it. TBH i'd go the whole shifter route as over time i've seen so many people do partial solutions and wish they went the full route (not just talking about shifters, exhaust and other mods too) and end up spending more money than if they'd gone for it at first.

Chad11491 said:

watch AED's video on how to shift the MT-82 when racing. i'm all stock and haven't had the 2-3 lockout at all since seeing how they shift it. TBH i'd go the whole shifter route as over time i've seen so many people do partial solutions and wish they went the full route (not just talking about shifters, exhaust and other mods too) and end up spending more money than if they'd gone for it at first.

Click to expand...

He's basically putting a bit of leverage on the shifter ahead of the actual shift. This may be taking a bit of slack out of the linkage but that can also put unnecessary wear on the synchro's. I'm no transmission exper though.

[ame]

Didn't pay attention to that part I guess lol. I just meant the hand motions more than anything. That's killed the lockout for me. But I think you're right, putting pressure on it would probably prematurely wear it.

If I was shopping again I'd probably look hard at the Barton hybrid shifter that allows you to solidly mount the rear of the shifter to the trans, or you can take that part off. I have the Blowfish bracket and never get a lockout. 1-2 is a little finicky when cold, but after driving the car almost 2 years I'm convinced that is a product of fluid/temp. It improves with temp. One thing worthy of noting is that Ford Racing's short throw replaces the factory bushings where the arm mounts to the trans with an aluminum piece, so there must be improvement to be had from changing those out. I suspect that Ford does not include those in production vehicles due to NVH. I think it is Barton that uses orings on their bushings in conjunction with a precise fit to limit movement while keeping NVH at a minimum. Pretty slick idea.

^^^
I was going to say that some on here have said good things about the blowfish bracket.

I just got the Barton Hybrid installed... holy shit the difference over stock!... its crazy. I will tell you that it takes a few mins to get used to if you are used to the stock shifter. I did the trans mount as well, with all 4 springs. I am going to run 1k miles with all springs, but I might take 2 out. I love the way it feels, but damn is it a work out around town LOL

Love my MGW Race Spec in my 2015 Roush Stage 3. Yea, reverse is a little more difficult for a 57 year old man like myself, but I'm not worried about my shifter when I'm going backwards.
It was worth the price. Shorter throw, no slop, very precise, and solid. Very well made. Roush should consider it as an option.

Ya, I am not arguing a full on shifter is the best. It's just that I can spend 175 to get my shifter where I want it. Basically just looking for a shorter throw and to get rid of most of the slop.

The Barton/MGW/Steeda Race shifters would be the best route if money wasn't a thing. But for 400+ bucks and a much more difficult install doesn't really benefit me enough to make it worth it.

My car is my DD and I want to have fun with her here and there. Not looking to track the car or anything.

Shifter and bushing should be in tomorrow per the tracking info. Hope to get it on the lift this weekend.

Omega said:

^^^
I was going to say that some on here have said good things about the blowfish bracket.

I just got the Barton Hybrid installed... holy shit the difference over stock!... its crazy. I will tell you that it takes a few mins to get used to if you are used to the stock shifter. I did the trans mount as well, with all 4 springs. I am going to run 1k miles with all springs, but I might take 2 out. I love the way it feels, but damn is it a work out around town LOL

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I would actually really like to feel the trans-mount Hybrid 3 with all four springs out (which Barton says will have similar to stock side-to-side effort). I like two things that the Barton has, feature-wise, over the MGW: reduction in fore-aft throw without a similar reduction in lateral movement, as well as the pull-up lockout. I'd easily get used to the push down and would have no problem with it, but I do like the pull-up.

I got to sample [MENTION=17191]mindys[/MENTION] MGW over the weekend and it felt amazing. I drove his car previously with the Tri-Ax Race and didn't care for it, but the MGW was near perfect. The only thing I didn't like was how little side throw there was to go into 1st/2nd from neutral.

Tried this, wasn't exactly happy with the product so I went back to stock. Besides the longer throws, the stock shifter feels much better IMO.

JaxS550 said:

Ya, I am not arguing a full on shifter is the best. It's just that I can spend 175 to get my shifter where I want it. Basically just looking for a shorter throw and to get rid of most of the slop.

The Barton/MGW/Steeda Race shifters would be the best route if money wasn't a thing. But for 400+ bucks and a much more difficult install doesn't really benefit me enough to make it worth it.

My car is my DD and I want to have fun with her here and there. Not looking to track the car or anything.

Shifter and bushing should be in tomorrow per the tracking info. Hope to get it on the lift this weekend.

Click to expand...

I can sell you my Barton shifter for $250. Was only used 900 miles.

My Ford Performance short shifter has been great to me for the last 10k miles. I paid just over $200 for it

UPDATE

Its been a hot minute but I finally have plans this weekend to head over to my buddy's place to borrow his lift and get the Steeda street triax and shifter bushing installed.

I will probably also change the oil and trans fluids while I got the car up.

I will let you guys know how it goes and see if we can't get some good pics of the install. I know good lighted and quality pics of this is rare.
Then I will let you guys know what kind of feel it provides and any changes in NVH.

Other parts already installed on the car:
Steeda ProFlow CAI and Steeda Tune
Corsa extreme catback
Vogtland Sport Plus springs
wheel spacers (stock PP wheels)
Steeda subframe support bushings
Steeda subframe alignment kit
SR Vertical Links
Steeda rear diff bushings (red)
Black emblems all arouond
LED interior and reverse lights
Steeda clutch spring

Future stuff planned:
Black vinyl roof
Painting the mufflers with high temp black paint
Painting lower portion of rear bumper (poor man's premium bumper)

Install Completed.

Hey guys, so the install went pretty well with this kit. I did 90% of the work by myself with the exception of an extra set of eyes or hands here and there. The only thing that was a pain during the install was removing the stock shifter support bushing. When I took both the nuts off, one side had this retaining clip that was a B to get off. I spent a good 20 minutes playing with it trying to figure out how to "properly" remove it and ended up using the good ol muscle to just yank it out.

The gasket seal on the shifter housing also tore a little bit, but luckily my buddy had some stuff in his shop to fix that.

Everything else went fairly smooth, almost felt like I was in a video with Bill haha.

Shifting is much shorter and more solid / firm. Its only been in the car 24 hours now so I don't have a whole lot of feedback on it breaking in or a bunch of pulls on it. I did a few on the way home and to work this morning, but so far I am liking the feel.

I didn't get to swap the tranny fluid yet, but with the ford oil in there and this set up, I have almost no NVH increase. I have noticed at one very specific RPM (around 2100-2200) there is a slight "hum" but its hardly noticeable.