spacemarine83
2017 Grabber Blue GT
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- #1
So I installed a Christmas present from my wife, the MGW shifter with the following specs:
X-SPECLow Profile2.625 in.25%
My review
Installation was straight forward, but time consuming. (I did my install in my garage which was 27 degrees and unheated, with it blowing snow outside). Overall the video instructions were helpful, but I did find that I was switching back and forth between videos and watching them quite a bit. My total install time with breaks, lunch, videos and taking the dog for a 1 hour walk was 6 hours. The worst part of the install was removing the front bolt that holds the stock linkage arm to the transmission, as I was performing the install solo. Of note, I did not use jacking ramps and had enough room with only the front end lifted with 2 simple harbor freight jacks and two extra jacks as backup just in case I had a jack failure.
Driving the car with the MGW X-Spec completely changes how the car behaves from an engagement point. Given the short throw (which is glorious), I was concerned that it would not compliment the clutch throw but I was pleasantly surprised that it actually does. My shifting is way, way smoother and the car does not have any sort of strange hesitation or any of inconsistent shifting characteristics of the stock shifter. Overall it has made the car far easier to drive because it removed not only the slop for the stock shifter setup, but also the timing of the shift is much better matched to the clutch engagement when rev matching. For those Mustang drivers that like to drive rather aggressively, this is a huge benefit as your shift times should at very least make the car "feel" quicker, because well, you will be on the shift. Another nice thing is the direct connection to the transmission- it is ROCK solid and you certainly feel much more connected to the car due to the slight vibration in the shifter and the hint of notch in the throw.
Two things I was concerned with was having to set the shift lockout and the difficulty of engaging reverse. I was surprised that I did not have adjust the reverse lockout or mess with the shifter during install. The install video says that 95% of cars will be good to go and it rang true in my case. The second issue that hard me concerned with actually putting the car into reverse. I was concerned that I would have to put overt pressure onto the top of the shifter to get it into reverse, but it was actually no worse than other short throw shifters I have used. Both of these things had me very pleasantly surprised.
Overall, I would recommend the shifter without hesitation. The quality of materials, the simplicity of installation (despite the time it took given our weather), and the lack of having to really do a crazy amount of work to get the shifter to perform makes it a winner in my book.
I would strongly recommend it to guys sitting on the fence of which one to buy and while it is expensive, you will forget about the cost as soon as you get the car back on the road with it installed. The guys at MGW did a great job and I cannot speak highly enough about their products. (This is my second MGW shifter, my 1st was in my '08 GT)
X-SPECLow Profile2.625 in.25%
My review
Installation was straight forward, but time consuming. (I did my install in my garage which was 27 degrees and unheated, with it blowing snow outside). Overall the video instructions were helpful, but I did find that I was switching back and forth between videos and watching them quite a bit. My total install time with breaks, lunch, videos and taking the dog for a 1 hour walk was 6 hours. The worst part of the install was removing the front bolt that holds the stock linkage arm to the transmission, as I was performing the install solo. Of note, I did not use jacking ramps and had enough room with only the front end lifted with 2 simple harbor freight jacks and two extra jacks as backup just in case I had a jack failure.
Driving the car with the MGW X-Spec completely changes how the car behaves from an engagement point. Given the short throw (which is glorious), I was concerned that it would not compliment the clutch throw but I was pleasantly surprised that it actually does. My shifting is way, way smoother and the car does not have any sort of strange hesitation or any of inconsistent shifting characteristics of the stock shifter. Overall it has made the car far easier to drive because it removed not only the slop for the stock shifter setup, but also the timing of the shift is much better matched to the clutch engagement when rev matching. For those Mustang drivers that like to drive rather aggressively, this is a huge benefit as your shift times should at very least make the car "feel" quicker, because well, you will be on the shift. Another nice thing is the direct connection to the transmission- it is ROCK solid and you certainly feel much more connected to the car due to the slight vibration in the shifter and the hint of notch in the throw.
Two things I was concerned with was having to set the shift lockout and the difficulty of engaging reverse. I was surprised that I did not have adjust the reverse lockout or mess with the shifter during install. The install video says that 95% of cars will be good to go and it rang true in my case. The second issue that hard me concerned with actually putting the car into reverse. I was concerned that I would have to put overt pressure onto the top of the shifter to get it into reverse, but it was actually no worse than other short throw shifters I have used. Both of these things had me very pleasantly surprised.
Overall, I would recommend the shifter without hesitation. The quality of materials, the simplicity of installation (despite the time it took given our weather), and the lack of having to really do a crazy amount of work to get the shifter to perform makes it a winner in my book.
I would strongly recommend it to guys sitting on the fence of which one to buy and while it is expensive, you will forget about the cost as soon as you get the car back on the road with it installed. The guys at MGW did a great job and I cannot speak highly enough about their products. (This is my second MGW shifter, my 1st was in my '08 GT)
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