Guarded15
Active Member
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Hey all, I want to provide a review of the parts I went with after my 'proudly made in Turkey' clutch put its outstanding craftsmanship on display. I had a very difficult time finding any review of ACT Clutch/Flywheel setups for the Mustang, at the very least I can provide one. I'm happy to answer questions.
1. ACT Twin Disk HD Street Clutch Kit
2. MGW X-Spec Standard
3. Whiteline Transmission Bushing Filler
Full disclosure I have no affiliation with the manufacturers of the products I am reviewing.
My car: 15' GT PP 3.73, FR PP2, Clutch Springectomy
My background: Been wrenching and driving M/T sports cars for 15 years
How I use my car: It's my primary transportation and I drive it nearly every day of the week
My philosophy on shifting: Good shifts are quick, they are heard, not felt.
ACT Twin Disc HD Street Clutch Kit - T1S-F05
I paid $1100 through Summit. For 1.1 grand you get an ACT Prolite 15.4lbs one piece flywheel, their HD pressure plate, two of their street disks, a pilot bearing and 891 ft/lbs or torque holding capacity.
Their flywheel is a very nice piece. Their pressure plate looks very close to stock and their clutch disks look like well... street clutch disks. The Pilot bearing is a slightly different style than Ford. Iirc the rollers a smaller diameter or better contained by the cage.
Install wasn't too difficult. There are more steps, and the floater between the disks does need to be shimmed. But they set this from the factory so really it is a case of not losing the shims. Otherwise, pretty standard clutch/flywheel install. I went with ARP flywheel bolts. They seemed nicely made and they damn well better be for how much they cost.
So what's it like to drive? Bluntly: It feels very OEM. Pedal feel is right around stock, just a tad heavier. The engagement is all in the first two inches of pedal travel. It's actually very similar to the PP brakes but in reverse.. it's a little touchy on first impression. There is plenty of capability to modulate this clutch, it is most definitely not an on-off switch but when you do get past the engagement point, it engages, hard. Very smooth.
I have a truce with factory clutch pedal ergonomics. We get along a lot better since I removed the spring but I'm still not pleased with the experience. I don't like that there is what feels like 4 inches of free travel after the clutch disengages till the pedal stops at the firewall. The stock clutch felt like this but the ACT clutch definitely feels like it compressed the engagement zone even farther toward the top. I feel like I am pushing the pedal out into space then trying to find the engagement zone again as I let the pedal out. It makes it challenging to get off smooth shifts. The fierce lockup of this clutch seems to further expose the slop in the factory driveline. And also of important note is that the clutch disks are NOT sprung like OEM.
Now what about the flywheel? Almost eff-ing magic. It's soo much easier to rev match downshifts compared to factory. I am very, very pleased with this improvement. But I feel like it could be lighter. It is still easily possible to outrun the flywheel when quickly upshifting. And going from 3rd to 2nd takes a larger-longer blip than I would like. I prefer extremely light flywheels and I would only consider this one light. That said, I am still very happy with this flywheel.
I absolutely would recommend this setup to guys that want the improvements, need a lot more torque holding but also need to maintain near OEM street drive-ability. I have gear noise if I lug it under 1500rpm but other than that, no real comfort downsides.
MGW X-Spec Standard Length
With the factory shifter I was getting gear nibble, I was getting 4th gear lockouts, It felt vague and rubbery, I was so displeased that I was willing to shell out $475 for a better shifter.
The shifter components are all very nicely machined, I don't see any real deficiencies in the design from a strength of serviceability perspective. Save for the inner shift boot.. boy that was a pain in the ass to install.
I put the transmission side bracket on with my transmission out of the car, and I finished off the shifter install with the driveshaft and exhaust out. Can't really comment on your poor bastards that are going to have to try and snake everything in there with all that stuff in place. Which leaves the question, is it worth it?
Does it give you a top loader feel? Absolutely. The shifter is so rigidly mounted to the transmission it quite frankly is a part of it.
Did it fix my problems? Yes but then it made new ones. I don't have gear nibble anymore. I don't have gear lockouts anymore. Instead I have new problems. Perhaps the biggest downside to this shifter is it casts a harsh light on the shortcomings of the MT82. I don't know how this transmission was made by the same people that made the tranny in my E36 M3. It's a flick of the wrist to shift in that car. It is a flex of the bicep to shift in the Mustang. What am I trying to say here? The decreased throw significantly increases the effort to get it into gear, more than you would expect. You will have to assert your will to put the transmission in gear. I really don't think there is any helping this, it is just the nature of the MT82.
Reverse is now selected by depressing the entire selector shaft, then pushing it over into R. So far after 600 miles the spring is still quite firm and I don't always get reverse every try. This one is on MGW. I am hoping it loosens up some. Also.. what was wrong with the 90s BMW way of giving the shifter a little whack the left to select R, that worked freaking great.
Another downside of the shortened throw is all the gears are mashed together. Somehow this was less of a problem for me on 5 speeds than it is on a 6th. Selecting 6th is a bit of a chore. And it isn't terribly difficult to get lost in the heat of the moment when you miss what gear you were going for the first time.
Okay so I have been bagging on things a bit, and to be clear this is %95 the MT82s fault. What does this shifter do well? It's very rigid, it is very precise, it is very mechanical feeling. It does not feel like an OEM product at all, it's too 'connected' feeling, or too direct to feel like that. If you want raw MT82 in the palm of your hand, this is the way to get it. Just go into it knowing you are going to get all the MT82, good and bad.
Also I got a MGW shifter ball with the shifter. Nothing but problems there. First one lasted a day before the brass insert came out. Second one they sent me had a bump right where your hand goes. I ended up returning them both and getting a solid delrin knob for a STI.
Can I recommend this shifter? It depends on what you are looking for, and I hope my review will make it clear whether this will meet what you are looking for or not. Would I go back to stock. Heck no. Would I try driving a car with MGWs Standard shifter in it? I would be extremely interested as evaluating it as a replacement for what I have.
Whiteline Transmission Bushing Stuffer
There isn't a whole ton I can say about this because I changed so many other things at the same time I am not completely sure what this changed and what the shifter changed. I installed it completely unmodified, lots of people have said cut out the center section or drill it out to lower NVH. I have a Corsa Extreme, additional NVH has a high baseline it needs to exceed for me to notice it. I do notice a little bit of gear whirr when putting along slowly (think parking lots) otherwise nothing I can hear over the exhaust.
For those that don't know. The stock motor mounts are jelly. I know by stiffening up the trans mount in relation to the motor mounts, it is going to transfer more torque through the transmission brace instead, I don't know what the long term result of that is going to be. But it is a pretty beefy mount and looks like it can take a lot of torque.
I don't really see a reason not to do this.
1. ACT Twin Disk HD Street Clutch Kit
2. MGW X-Spec Standard
3. Whiteline Transmission Bushing Filler
Full disclosure I have no affiliation with the manufacturers of the products I am reviewing.
My car: 15' GT PP 3.73, FR PP2, Clutch Springectomy
My background: Been wrenching and driving M/T sports cars for 15 years
How I use my car: It's my primary transportation and I drive it nearly every day of the week
My philosophy on shifting: Good shifts are quick, they are heard, not felt.
ACT Twin Disc HD Street Clutch Kit - T1S-F05
I paid $1100 through Summit. For 1.1 grand you get an ACT Prolite 15.4lbs one piece flywheel, their HD pressure plate, two of their street disks, a pilot bearing and 891 ft/lbs or torque holding capacity.
Their flywheel is a very nice piece. Their pressure plate looks very close to stock and their clutch disks look like well... street clutch disks. The Pilot bearing is a slightly different style than Ford. Iirc the rollers a smaller diameter or better contained by the cage.
Install wasn't too difficult. There are more steps, and the floater between the disks does need to be shimmed. But they set this from the factory so really it is a case of not losing the shims. Otherwise, pretty standard clutch/flywheel install. I went with ARP flywheel bolts. They seemed nicely made and they damn well better be for how much they cost.
So what's it like to drive? Bluntly: It feels very OEM. Pedal feel is right around stock, just a tad heavier. The engagement is all in the first two inches of pedal travel. It's actually very similar to the PP brakes but in reverse.. it's a little touchy on first impression. There is plenty of capability to modulate this clutch, it is most definitely not an on-off switch but when you do get past the engagement point, it engages, hard. Very smooth.
I have a truce with factory clutch pedal ergonomics. We get along a lot better since I removed the spring but I'm still not pleased with the experience. I don't like that there is what feels like 4 inches of free travel after the clutch disengages till the pedal stops at the firewall. The stock clutch felt like this but the ACT clutch definitely feels like it compressed the engagement zone even farther toward the top. I feel like I am pushing the pedal out into space then trying to find the engagement zone again as I let the pedal out. It makes it challenging to get off smooth shifts. The fierce lockup of this clutch seems to further expose the slop in the factory driveline. And also of important note is that the clutch disks are NOT sprung like OEM.
Now what about the flywheel? Almost eff-ing magic. It's soo much easier to rev match downshifts compared to factory. I am very, very pleased with this improvement. But I feel like it could be lighter. It is still easily possible to outrun the flywheel when quickly upshifting. And going from 3rd to 2nd takes a larger-longer blip than I would like. I prefer extremely light flywheels and I would only consider this one light. That said, I am still very happy with this flywheel.
I absolutely would recommend this setup to guys that want the improvements, need a lot more torque holding but also need to maintain near OEM street drive-ability. I have gear noise if I lug it under 1500rpm but other than that, no real comfort downsides.
MGW X-Spec Standard Length
With the factory shifter I was getting gear nibble, I was getting 4th gear lockouts, It felt vague and rubbery, I was so displeased that I was willing to shell out $475 for a better shifter.
The shifter components are all very nicely machined, I don't see any real deficiencies in the design from a strength of serviceability perspective. Save for the inner shift boot.. boy that was a pain in the ass to install.
I put the transmission side bracket on with my transmission out of the car, and I finished off the shifter install with the driveshaft and exhaust out. Can't really comment on your poor bastards that are going to have to try and snake everything in there with all that stuff in place. Which leaves the question, is it worth it?
Does it give you a top loader feel? Absolutely. The shifter is so rigidly mounted to the transmission it quite frankly is a part of it.
Did it fix my problems? Yes but then it made new ones. I don't have gear nibble anymore. I don't have gear lockouts anymore. Instead I have new problems. Perhaps the biggest downside to this shifter is it casts a harsh light on the shortcomings of the MT82. I don't know how this transmission was made by the same people that made the tranny in my E36 M3. It's a flick of the wrist to shift in that car. It is a flex of the bicep to shift in the Mustang. What am I trying to say here? The decreased throw significantly increases the effort to get it into gear, more than you would expect. You will have to assert your will to put the transmission in gear. I really don't think there is any helping this, it is just the nature of the MT82.
Reverse is now selected by depressing the entire selector shaft, then pushing it over into R. So far after 600 miles the spring is still quite firm and I don't always get reverse every try. This one is on MGW. I am hoping it loosens up some. Also.. what was wrong with the 90s BMW way of giving the shifter a little whack the left to select R, that worked freaking great.
Another downside of the shortened throw is all the gears are mashed together. Somehow this was less of a problem for me on 5 speeds than it is on a 6th. Selecting 6th is a bit of a chore. And it isn't terribly difficult to get lost in the heat of the moment when you miss what gear you were going for the first time.
Okay so I have been bagging on things a bit, and to be clear this is %95 the MT82s fault. What does this shifter do well? It's very rigid, it is very precise, it is very mechanical feeling. It does not feel like an OEM product at all, it's too 'connected' feeling, or too direct to feel like that. If you want raw MT82 in the palm of your hand, this is the way to get it. Just go into it knowing you are going to get all the MT82, good and bad.
Also I got a MGW shifter ball with the shifter. Nothing but problems there. First one lasted a day before the brass insert came out. Second one they sent me had a bump right where your hand goes. I ended up returning them both and getting a solid delrin knob for a STI.
Can I recommend this shifter? It depends on what you are looking for, and I hope my review will make it clear whether this will meet what you are looking for or not. Would I go back to stock. Heck no. Would I try driving a car with MGWs Standard shifter in it? I would be extremely interested as evaluating it as a replacement for what I have.
Whiteline Transmission Bushing Stuffer
There isn't a whole ton I can say about this because I changed so many other things at the same time I am not completely sure what this changed and what the shifter changed. I installed it completely unmodified, lots of people have said cut out the center section or drill it out to lower NVH. I have a Corsa Extreme, additional NVH has a high baseline it needs to exceed for me to notice it. I do notice a little bit of gear whirr when putting along slowly (think parking lots) otherwise nothing I can hear over the exhaust.
For those that don't know. The stock motor mounts are jelly. I know by stiffening up the trans mount in relation to the motor mounts, it is going to transfer more torque through the transmission brace instead, I don't know what the long term result of that is going to be. But it is a pretty beefy mount and looks like it can take a lot of torque.
I don't really see a reason not to do this.
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