Wamp
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hey guys. Been reading on this form for a while, but haven’t contributed much. Haven’t seen many threads fully logging their MT82 modding experiences… so here we go.
Platform
2015 Mustang GT PP Premium
Stock MT82 + Clutch
315x35x20 NT05R
Stock suspension
Got the car with a bone stock trans. A few bolt ons and sticky tires. Nothing crazy.
Stock
From the factory, the shifter had a very “mushy” feel. The best way I can describe it is the shifter could be flexed left or right, even while in gear (when theoretically it should be held still) This made shifting imprecise, as the shifter wasn’t being held still. I didn’t drive or shift hard while stock, so I can’t speak for lockout, but I frequently “missed” gears or got into the wrong gear. There was also some grinding into 2nd and 3rd, even at 3k rpm shifts (better described as a nibble. You’d just feel the edges of the gear as the clutch tried to match the RPM’s. Similar feeling if you try going into gear with clutch half depressed).
Steeda Clutch Assist Spring
First mod was the Steeda clutch spring. Cost about $25 and took about 30 mins to install, start to finish (make sure you have needle-nose vice grips. Not sure if there’s another name for these… these are an absolute lifesaver). No issues with install. Wondered if I would regret not buying the Steeda perch, and no regrets. You can probably skip the perch if fours careful (it triples the price, and doesn’t add much of a benefit).
To be honest, I expected more of a difference. It’s easier to “feel” the clutch engagement, and I totally recommend it for the low price and ease of install… but don’t expect a night and day difference.
Steeda Shifter Bracket
The second mod I did was the Steeda shifter bracket (Spoiler, this DID make a huge difference). I bought this for 40 bucks used on eBay. Install was a bit of a pain without proper tools (really need flex sockets/wobble extensions) but May have been way better easier if I dropped the exhaust or driveshaft. Total install time about an hour.
This tightened up the sloppiness of the shifter by a lot, because it was held in place bu a decent poly bushing instead of the floaty rubber bushing and bracket. Only a slight uptick in NVH (mostly feel of vibration through shift handle) but nothing to write home about. I clicked into gears much more precisely. Absolutely a good mod.
Whiteline Transmission Bushing
Next mod was the whiteline trans bushing insert. About 30 bucks. I drilled the 3/4 inch hole in the middle, as lots of people suggested. This install was the easiest of all the mods, about 30 mins total.
To be honest, I’m not thrilled with this one. It did tighten things up just a little, but again, nothing significant. Very noticeable increase in NVH with this one. It’s not a bad buy for the price, but I’m not sure the added NVH is worth the benefits.
Ok, so 3 mods so far. At this point, I started driving a little more aggressively. Wore out my Nitto NTO5R’s and swapped for 555G2. Much better in the rain, wear is excellent, still grips very well. Started experiencing some serious issues with lockout above 6500 RPM.
At this point I did full BMR drag suspension (minus toe links), RTR Shocks/struts (Relabled Koni Yellow), and Steeda Diff bushings. Shouldn’t affect trans behavior, but worth noting.
Steeda Triax Shift Lever
Next mod was Steeda short throw shift lever. Cheapest shifter in the game, but still gives a 20% reduction in throw. Install was a bear (I think it was about 5 hours on Jack stands) and would not really be possible without dropping both the exhaust and driveshaft (unless you’re a mechanical prodigy). The hardest part was prying open the shifter box itself, a problem not described online anywhere I could find. Couldn’t get it open, had to drop the exhaust and driveshaft just the tools in the right places. Installed the shift lever backwards (the set screw on the Steeda lever is on the OPPOSITE SIDE of the factory setscrew) and had to drill the collar to make the lockout function correctly… wasn’t about to uninstall, flip the lever, and reinstall after spending 3h on the stock lever uninstall. Also installed Steeda shifter ball.
This install follows the pattern of the rest… I wasn’t blown away. The 20% reduction in throw is nice - but the shifter behaves exactly the same as before, just slightly shorter. I knew that’s what I was buying, I just didn’t realize it was going to be so many hours invested for just a 20% throw reduction. If I was doing this again, I would have saved for the MGW. If you’re going to do a difficult install, just suck it up, save it up, and buy the expensive part. This shift lever did not change anything at all except the throw length… Steeda website advertises reduction in NVH, but I didn’t notice this at all.
I took it to the track at this point. Made 5 passes. Shifting at 7000 RPM, I got locked out of gears on 3 of 5 runs (one run I was actually locked out of 2 gears)!
McLeod Braided Stainless Clutch Line
Decided it was time to change the clutch line. Opted for a McLeod stainless line, about 60 bucks. Install wasn’t terrible (1.5h) but not a cakewalk. I had forgotten what brake fluid tasted like, and wasn’t prepared to be reminded. 2 tips: route the line back to the firewall, so the extra line isn’t hanging on the headers, and make sure the bottom fitting is fully seated in the trans. There will be *2 clicks*, not 1. The line will only push in 2 clicks when the fitting is perfectly straight up and down. 3 times I installed the lower fitting with only 1 click - and 3 times the line popped off as I started pumping the pedal to bleed. Make sure there’s 2 clicks, or you’ll have brake fluid for hair gel. Took about 300 pumps to fully bleed the system.
All I can say is wow - this install was one of the best things I did for my trans. If I could go back in time, I would do this as soon as I bought my mustang. I can reliably shift at 7000 and the trans doesn’t grind half as much. It feels like the clutch was only engaging 90% of the way before, and now it fully engages. Clutch feel is more linear and consistent also. I never push the pedal in and feel like the clutch isn’t engaging like it should.
Steeda Clutch Feed Line
Saw my factory line was seeping (right side of master cylinder) and decided to replace. $20 for piece of mind. No change to drivability - line just doesn’t slip any more. Worth doing, but took about an hour. Clips are difficult.
Fluid Change - Royal Purple Synchromax
Last mod I did was the royal purple synchromax. 3x liters and a squeeze pump cost me 50 bucks O’Reily. Very straightforward - it‘s just like an oil change with a hard to reach fill hole. Took about an hour, wheels up to wheels down. A little dirty. Definitely recommend buying a push down style pump instead of the red squeeze ball… the cheap pump gets the job done, but you’ll get messy.
This seemed to clean up the “edginess” of the trans by a lot. No more nibble going into gears. It doesn’t shift like butter (stock clutch, no aftermarket shift assembly) but is far far better than before.
Lockout isn’t entirely gone, but I haven’t been locked out at 6500, and I can almost always shift at 7000 without lockout. I’m procrastinating on the clutch, given the cost and install time. I’m guessing the clutch will go out at some point, as I have a tendency to 7k shift at least once a day. Will go Mantic when the time comes.
Thanks for reading. Hoping this helped somebody. Leave me any questions or suggestions below.
Wamp
October 2021 Update:
McLeod RST + FTBR Bracket + BG Synchroshift
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...shifters-lines-and-fluids.162059/post-3383037
Platform
2015 Mustang GT PP Premium
Stock MT82 + Clutch
315x35x20 NT05R
Stock suspension
Got the car with a bone stock trans. A few bolt ons and sticky tires. Nothing crazy.
Stock
From the factory, the shifter had a very “mushy” feel. The best way I can describe it is the shifter could be flexed left or right, even while in gear (when theoretically it should be held still) This made shifting imprecise, as the shifter wasn’t being held still. I didn’t drive or shift hard while stock, so I can’t speak for lockout, but I frequently “missed” gears or got into the wrong gear. There was also some grinding into 2nd and 3rd, even at 3k rpm shifts (better described as a nibble. You’d just feel the edges of the gear as the clutch tried to match the RPM’s. Similar feeling if you try going into gear with clutch half depressed).
Steeda Clutch Assist Spring
First mod was the Steeda clutch spring. Cost about $25 and took about 30 mins to install, start to finish (make sure you have needle-nose vice grips. Not sure if there’s another name for these… these are an absolute lifesaver). No issues with install. Wondered if I would regret not buying the Steeda perch, and no regrets. You can probably skip the perch if fours careful (it triples the price, and doesn’t add much of a benefit).
To be honest, I expected more of a difference. It’s easier to “feel” the clutch engagement, and I totally recommend it for the low price and ease of install… but don’t expect a night and day difference.
Steeda Shifter Bracket
The second mod I did was the Steeda shifter bracket (Spoiler, this DID make a huge difference). I bought this for 40 bucks used on eBay. Install was a bit of a pain without proper tools (really need flex sockets/wobble extensions) but May have been way better easier if I dropped the exhaust or driveshaft. Total install time about an hour.
This tightened up the sloppiness of the shifter by a lot, because it was held in place bu a decent poly bushing instead of the floaty rubber bushing and bracket. Only a slight uptick in NVH (mostly feel of vibration through shift handle) but nothing to write home about. I clicked into gears much more precisely. Absolutely a good mod.
Whiteline Transmission Bushing
Next mod was the whiteline trans bushing insert. About 30 bucks. I drilled the 3/4 inch hole in the middle, as lots of people suggested. This install was the easiest of all the mods, about 30 mins total.
To be honest, I’m not thrilled with this one. It did tighten things up just a little, but again, nothing significant. Very noticeable increase in NVH with this one. It’s not a bad buy for the price, but I’m not sure the added NVH is worth the benefits.
Ok, so 3 mods so far. At this point, I started driving a little more aggressively. Wore out my Nitto NTO5R’s and swapped for 555G2. Much better in the rain, wear is excellent, still grips very well. Started experiencing some serious issues with lockout above 6500 RPM.
At this point I did full BMR drag suspension (minus toe links), RTR Shocks/struts (Relabled Koni Yellow), and Steeda Diff bushings. Shouldn’t affect trans behavior, but worth noting.
Steeda Triax Shift Lever
Next mod was Steeda short throw shift lever. Cheapest shifter in the game, but still gives a 20% reduction in throw. Install was a bear (I think it was about 5 hours on Jack stands) and would not really be possible without dropping both the exhaust and driveshaft (unless you’re a mechanical prodigy). The hardest part was prying open the shifter box itself, a problem not described online anywhere I could find. Couldn’t get it open, had to drop the exhaust and driveshaft just the tools in the right places. Installed the shift lever backwards (the set screw on the Steeda lever is on the OPPOSITE SIDE of the factory setscrew) and had to drill the collar to make the lockout function correctly… wasn’t about to uninstall, flip the lever, and reinstall after spending 3h on the stock lever uninstall. Also installed Steeda shifter ball.
This install follows the pattern of the rest… I wasn’t blown away. The 20% reduction in throw is nice - but the shifter behaves exactly the same as before, just slightly shorter. I knew that’s what I was buying, I just didn’t realize it was going to be so many hours invested for just a 20% throw reduction. If I was doing this again, I would have saved for the MGW. If you’re going to do a difficult install, just suck it up, save it up, and buy the expensive part. This shift lever did not change anything at all except the throw length… Steeda website advertises reduction in NVH, but I didn’t notice this at all.
I took it to the track at this point. Made 5 passes. Shifting at 7000 RPM, I got locked out of gears on 3 of 5 runs (one run I was actually locked out of 2 gears)!
McLeod Braided Stainless Clutch Line
Decided it was time to change the clutch line. Opted for a McLeod stainless line, about 60 bucks. Install wasn’t terrible (1.5h) but not a cakewalk. I had forgotten what brake fluid tasted like, and wasn’t prepared to be reminded. 2 tips: route the line back to the firewall, so the extra line isn’t hanging on the headers, and make sure the bottom fitting is fully seated in the trans. There will be *2 clicks*, not 1. The line will only push in 2 clicks when the fitting is perfectly straight up and down. 3 times I installed the lower fitting with only 1 click - and 3 times the line popped off as I started pumping the pedal to bleed. Make sure there’s 2 clicks, or you’ll have brake fluid for hair gel. Took about 300 pumps to fully bleed the system.
All I can say is wow - this install was one of the best things I did for my trans. If I could go back in time, I would do this as soon as I bought my mustang. I can reliably shift at 7000 and the trans doesn’t grind half as much. It feels like the clutch was only engaging 90% of the way before, and now it fully engages. Clutch feel is more linear and consistent also. I never push the pedal in and feel like the clutch isn’t engaging like it should.
Steeda Clutch Feed Line
Saw my factory line was seeping (right side of master cylinder) and decided to replace. $20 for piece of mind. No change to drivability - line just doesn’t slip any more. Worth doing, but took about an hour. Clips are difficult.
Fluid Change - Royal Purple Synchromax
Last mod I did was the royal purple synchromax. 3x liters and a squeeze pump cost me 50 bucks O’Reily. Very straightforward - it‘s just like an oil change with a hard to reach fill hole. Took about an hour, wheels up to wheels down. A little dirty. Definitely recommend buying a push down style pump instead of the red squeeze ball… the cheap pump gets the job done, but you’ll get messy.
This seemed to clean up the “edginess” of the trans by a lot. No more nibble going into gears. It doesn’t shift like butter (stock clutch, no aftermarket shift assembly) but is far far better than before.
Lockout isn’t entirely gone, but I haven’t been locked out at 6500, and I can almost always shift at 7000 without lockout. I’m procrastinating on the clutch, given the cost and install time. I’m guessing the clutch will go out at some point, as I have a tendency to 7k shift at least once a day. Will go Mantic when the time comes.
Thanks for reading. Hoping this helped somebody. Leave me any questions or suggestions below.
Wamp
October 2021 Update:
McLeod RST + FTBR Bracket + BG Synchroshift
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...shifters-lines-and-fluids.162059/post-3383037
Sponsored
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