Shelby GT350/350R Shifter Buzz Rattle Repair Solution PLEASE READ

[stanglife]

I have to say - you do make it sound like I'm purposely settling for something horribly subpar. I took the car out tonight with the shifter in-mind and it's still the best I've had in all my years (sadly, many). You mention that Ford is fooling everyone, somehow - but I ask, where's the point at which it turns from trickery into an effective part that, agreeably, happens to be engineered with budget in mind?

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[J_Maher_AMG]

I have to say - you do make it sound like I'm purposely settling for something horribly subpar. I took the car out tonight with the shifter in-mind and it's still the best I've had in all my years (sadly, many). You mention that Ford is fooling everyone, somehow - but I ask, where's the point at which it turns from trickery into an effective part that, agreeably, happens to be engineered with budget in mind?

Agreed. As I mentioned in my last post to him I asked for any offerings of OEM level shifter designs that would meet his personal levels of satisfaction but I do not expect to get any real response, as I am of the opinion at this point that very few if any assemblies would satisfy him after his exposure to greater and far higher quality offerings in the aftermarket.

Hell, if you want to look at our "amazing" V8 that he references, there are a lot of issues/compromises with it compared to the top offerings from the likes of McLaren or Ferrari, but we hear no complaints there that it IS a BUDGET FPC V8 and has many issues compared to those other offerings.

I enjoy a nice steak as much as the next guy, but it doesn't take away from someone stating they enjoy a good ol hamburger just because the quality of the ingredients aren't the same :lol:

 

[jvandy50]

i love fried spam AND MGW so I'm not sure how i identify with you guys right now

OP, were you gonna use some dynamat on some pieces vibrating or did i dream that up? didn't know if it was just the shifter or not

 

[cking]

I currently have the MGW installed in my car and have for several months now, so I feel I can compare to a fair degree without bias. Let me say straight up, I LOVE the MGW unit, and am in no way shape or form trying to take credit away from how incredible of a unit it is from both a design, feel and aesthetics perspective.

To be 100% honest I do not notice a difference in being able to shift any faster. I had my car at the local drag strip last fall with the stock shifter and had 0 zeros with shifting as fast and as hard as I could. Granted, I only had about 3000-3500 miles on the car or so before I switched to the MGW, so perhaps I did not use it long enough nor hard enough to begin to see any of the issues become problematic that are inherent to its design.

IMO the only way it is increasing your shift speed is because it has a shorter throw. A shifter has 0 bearing on the synchros in the transmission or how fast it is able to physically change from one gear to the next. All of R. Pobst's upshifts were very quick, and reminded me of how I was shifting at the strip with a very fast jab of the clutch and ripping to the next gear. You do not gain/lose any time on down shifts.

Unless the OEM assembly causes you to somehow miss a shift, or refuses to let you put the car into car, etc. the amount of time saved by utilizing a different shifter with a shorter throw isn't worth mentioning; you're talking hundreths of seconds difference if that. Honestly, you'd probably save more time if you took a quick poop before your hot laps.

Maybe it would make a bigger difference as the OEM shifter wore and became sloppy/difficult to work with, in which case I could see your point regarding time, but with my experience with a relatively new OEM assembly and the MGW, speed is not improved to any meaningful degree, while feel and solidity is improved tremendously.

Well if you can say you never missed a shift, or got locked out because you slightly missed the gate, your are a better driver than me. Because to me when i blow 3/2 or 4/5 it feels like those plastic parts are going to fly right out.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

Well if you can say you never missed a shift, or got locked out because you slightly missed the gate, your are a better driver than me. Because to me when i blow 3/2 or 4/5 it feels like those plastic parts are going to fly right out.

I did get locked out of 1st one time at the strip. Had the car in gear and it popped out after doing a burnout to clean the tires. Whether that was shifter related or not I cannot say.

I've missed shifts with both the stock unit and MGW, but only from trying to shift tooo quickly and hitting the clutch faster than moving the shifter with my hand.

But I've never once gotten locked out with either setup from not being able to find the gate, purely a trying to do things too fast and not timing it correctly were my only issues, and it has only happened maybe 2-3 times total.

 

[Zombo]

As I recall, there was an incident where a voodoo blew up at the track due to an inadvertent downshift, when an upshift was "planned". Could a better shifter have prevented this, I don't know?

Before I replaced my OEM shifter, I had no such buzzing issues, and I was not dissatisfied with the OEM feel at all. My desire to change was the knowledge that something more solid and precise was available at a steal of a price; something I interface with continuously as I drive.

Props to the OP for developing a solution to a somewhat common issue.

 

[stanglife]

As I recall, there was an incident where a voodoo blew up at the track due to an inadvertent downshift, when an upshift was "planned". Could a better shifter have prevented this, I don't know?

Before I replaced my OEM shifter, I had no such buzzing issues, and I was not dissatisfied with the OEM feel at all. My desire to change was the knowledge that something more solid and precise was available at a steal of a price; something I interface with continuously as I drive.

Props to the OP for developing a solution to a somewhat common issue.

Makes sense - and I could replace mine for the same reason. There aren't many mods that I'm itching to do but a shifter has kinda been the go-to mod over the years for many cars.

 

[Minn19]

i love fried spam AND MGW so I'm not sure how i identify with you guys right now

OP, were you gonna use some dynamat on some pieces vibrating or did i dream that up? didn't know if it was just the shifter or not

Me to! Maybe after I get my MGW installed I'll take a drive and pick up some Spam.

I don't hate the stock shifter and I don't think I've missed any shifts, but it definitely doesn't feel great to me and does feel clunky/rubbery sometimes. So I'm going ahead and installing a MGW shifter. Compared to other mods I'm doing and overall expense of the car, this seems like a cheaper, but very high bang for your buck mod to do. As somebody else said, it is the thing you probably do the most/touch/feel in the car so I might as well have the best available installed in the car. Not to mention the buzzing issue it fixes as well.

That's my reasoning anyway.

 

[cking]

I believe we come full circle. Some think the factory unit provides adequate performance. The units weak points have been exposed. Many feel the upgrade is a worthwhile improvement.

What I find interesting is comparison between monies spent on upgrades. We'll spend close to $400 on oil catch cans which does something we can't see or feel any improvement from but accept as necessary. When few dollars more will buy something that does provide noticeably improvement and becomes highly debated. I'm happy with both, but logic tells me I got alot more value for my $ from MGW.

 

[Zombo]

I believe we come full circle. Some think the factory unit provides adequate performance. The units weak points have been exposed. Many feel the upgrade is a worthwhile improvement.

What I find interesting is comparison between monies spent on upgrades. We'll spend close to $400 on oil catch cans which does something we can't see or feel any improvement from but accept as necessary. When few dollars more will buy something that does provide noticeably improvement and becomes highly debated. I'm happy with both, but logic tells me I got alot more value for my $ from MGW.

I was thinking the same thing. Hell, I spent almost $700 for a steering wheel! However, it is also something I interface with on a regular basis while driving, so it was worth it to me.

 

[Minn19]

I was thinking the same thing. Hell, I spent almost $700 for a steering wheel! However, it is also something I interface with on a regular basis while driving, so it was worth it to me.

Thanks a lot, I forgot I'm still going to do that as well. It never ends. :headbonk:

 

[Hack]

I believe we come full circle. Some think the factory unit provides adequate performance. The units weak points have been exposed. Many feel the upgrade is a worthwhile improvement.

What I find interesting is comparison between monies spent on upgrades. We'll spend close to $400 on oil catch cans which does something we can't see or feel any improvement from but accept as necessary. When few dollars more will buy something that does provide noticeably improvement and becomes highly debated. I'm happy with both, but logic tells me I got alot more value for my $ from MGW.

Thanks for the feedback on your experience with the MGW. I purchased one in the past for a 2011 GT and I liked it.

I think a shifter replacement is a fun mod. I plan to do it at some point in the future. It's not a top priority for me, though. I did enjoy how the MT82 in my 2015 GT shifted more than the 3650 box in the GT350. I don't think it necessarily NEEDS a new shifter, though either. I'm accustomed to it by now.

So temporarily reducing some vibration for low cost is interesting to me and I'm glad it was posted. In a way I do wish the MGW advocates had stayed out of this thread, but what's done is done.

Reducing the amount of oil the engine is ingesting made more sense as a higher priority mod. Just me, but I want my engine to last more so than having a perfect shift feel. And this year the extra fun money in my bank account has been drained by transmission replacement and rear diff cooler additions. So.. it might even be a few years before I get the MGW.

A big part of my motivation for mods is just the enjoyment of doing the work. Small projects that can be done over a weekend or less are fun to do. Not that it's a wise way to spend my money or has to make a huge improvement in the car.

 

[Epiphany]

You mention that Ford is fooling everyone, somehow - but I ask, where's the point at which it turns from trickery into an effective part that, agreeably, happens to be engineered with budget in mind?

Therein lies the balance. In this case, when the "effective" part lies before you and you learn more about it you realize the magic act worked as you had no idea what it was really all about. At that point you either put the blindfold back on and shun what you know or you search for a more performance oriented solution.

Agreed. As I mentioned in my last post to him I asked for any offerings of OEM level shifter designs that would meet his personal levels of satisfaction but I do not expect to get any real response, as I am of the opinion at this point that very few if any assemblies would satisfy him after his exposure to greater and far higher quality offerings in the aftermarket.

So..."him" is me? I'm right here, following the discussion.:cheers:
You don't expect a "real response" from me on subject matter that I sense you aren't very well versed in? I've gone into detail that your "reviewers" don't so why wouldn't I? How can I lay out for you an argument across the OEM spectrum when you don't know the detail on heart of the matter, the GT350 factory shifter? Remember, it was you that said...

...the OEM shifter is one of the best OEM shifter's to be put in any manual car in the last decade...

From a grandiose, all encompassing comment to this one in only one page...

...I am completely unaware, but I feel like the odds are that the majority of OEM level assemblies out there are made with cost cutting and inherent weaknesses as seen in our setup.

My only suggestion to you is to better educate yourself on this portion of the subject matter as only then can you do a comprehensive comparison of other OEM units on the market. You have to have a better foundation of understanding, or baseline if you will, if you want to evaluate what is available across the board. Otherwise you are comparing what is behind door number three with what is behind door number four - never having had actually seen or understood what was there.

And again, you mention the aftermarket and myself as if I see it as the only panacea. I'm trying to have a discussion with you about this unit, it's downfalls, what led to it, and what could have been done by the factory. For at least a moment could you please not assume that I am jaded such that I can't be as objective as the next guy?

i love fried spam AND MGW so I'm not sure how i identify with you guys right now

There's one in every bunch.

My desire to change was the knowledge that something more solid and precise was available at a steal of a price; something I interface with continuously as I drive.

Nailed it.

What I find interesting is comparison between monies spent on upgrades. We'll spend close to $400 on oil catch cans which does something we can't see or feel any improvement from but accept as necessary. When few dollars more will buy something that does provide noticeably improvement and becomes highly debated. I'm happy with both, but logic tells me I got alot more value for my $ from MGW.

I liken your point to those that spend thousands on protective, plastic film but hey, I can only see one viewpoint as I'm apparently as biased as they come.:headbonk:

In a way I do wish the MGW advocates had stayed out of this thread, but what's done is done.

That hurts. I've been objective and laid out in detail the service and durability issues with the factory unit. I've discussed the flaws in the design. To be labeled as you did is rather unfair. I'm not here to "advocate" or sell anything to anyone. If you want to go back to knowing less about the factory shifter than you did before, my apologies, I can't do that for you. If you are here to discuss (in the context of the original post) the misgivings of the shifter, great, let's have it. But for the love of God, leave your assumptions about MGW and me out of this one. I'm not judging anyone's comments here based on who they know or their life experiences and I'd appreciate the same.

 

[cking]

One thing that still leaves me wondering is the NVH. Many complain about it with stock shifter and MGW had to makes changes because of it.

I'm lucky my unit doesn't seem to have the issue at all. In fact my MGW shows less transmitted NVH than the factory unit.

My factory unit would transmit some NVH If you kept high force on handle after the shift. The MGW eliminated that.

Because I had a fear of getting the VOODOO SHAKE I delayed my MGW purchase, when I completed the install I left the console and boot of off so I could assess the inherent NVH issue. Maybe I'm insensitive but other than road noise, tranny synchro noise, throwout noise and lot heat I didn't see, feel, hear any excessive NVH!?

Could have Ford made some improvements in assembly or parts?

So informal poll do any 2017 cars have a NVH issue?

 

[Hack]

That hurts. I've been objective and laid out in detail the service and durability issues with the factory unit. I've discussed the flaws in the design. To be labeled as you did is rather unfair. I'm not here to "advocate" or sell anything to anyone. If you want to go back to knowing less about the factory shifter than you did before, my apologies, I can't do that for you. If you are here to discuss (in the context of the original post) the misgivings of the shifter, great, let's have it. But for the love of God, leave your assumptions about MGW and me out of this one. I'm not judging anyone's comments here based on who they know or their life experiences and I'd appreciate the same.

I appreciate the technical and detailed nature of many of your posts. I do think you are mostly objective. I apologize if it hurts, but I felt bad for the OP trying to be helpful and then getting lots of negative replies. I don't think the factory shifter is a "turd", or that that particular statement was objective. Possibly if you hadn't posted that single comment, I wouldn't have had the negative reaction that I did.

And you are overly defensive about your relationship with MGW. I didn't accuse you directly or indirectly of anything unethical. :cheers:

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