OP
OP
The Menace
No it's not that Fast...
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 167
- Reaction score
- 108
- Location
- California
- First Name
- Danny
- Vehicle(s)
- Mustang GT
- Thread starter
- #76
Just adding this to the Build thread. if you read it in its own thread it is the same.
Alright so for the ones who have followed my build you know I have been running the Barton Short Throw for several months. I have had a little stickiness with the 1st to 2nd gear. As in when I am just cruising and just granny shifting sometimes I would have trouble getting it into second gear. It was almost as if I had to physically pull the shift lever towards me to make sure it would go into second. Let me qualify this with when spirited driving and running thru the gears I never had an issue and I never once missed a gear. But that second gear thing always bothered me a little.
So recently I had the opportunity to get my hands on the New Steeda MT82 Tri-Ax Race Short Throw Shifter for a great price. So I figured what better way to put their new shifter to the test than to swap out one of the top of the line shifters and experience the pluses or minuses of the.
When I first unboxed it I will have to admit I thought WTF did I just get myself into as there seemed to be a hundred parts to assemble. In reality I think there is like 25-30 items all together including the bolts and rubber O-Rings. But once I looked at it all laid out it was simple. Basically the same amount of items as the Barton except they had the lever already built as a drop in cartridge.
So once the Barton was removed immediate “Out of the Box” items that popped out when I compared side by side. Both Shifters are made exceptionally well from a machining standpoint.
Steeda Likes/Benefits
1. The Steeda Tri-Ax is much smaller in width and height than the Barton.
2. The Steeda Tr-Ax weighed in at 4.8 pounds by my scale where the Barton was 3 pounds heavier weighing in at 7.8 pounds according to my scale and 19 pounds with trans bracket/driveshaft loop.
3. The Steeda Tri-Ax Shift lever was very solid and did not physically rock around when shaking it. The Barton shift lever would rock back and forth the full motion of a gearshift when I shook it. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BA8oiU3q8Ei/?taken-by=projectmenace)
4. The Steeda Tri-Ax had 1 single style of hardware requiring 2 sizes of Hex Keys to assemble. The Barton had 3 different types of hardware and required multiple wrenches and a Hex Key to assemble.
5. The Steeda Tri-Ax hardware again wins me over with everything being flush/slightly recessed with the exception of the upper four screws that hold the Top Plate to the Mid Plate of the Shift Level Assembly.
6. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a 3 Set Screw System that retains the Factory reverse lock out pull up lever in place, making this IMO ideal for future modifications. The Barton is held in with a very tight fitting Rubber O Ring system that makes it very non user friendly to remove to maybe change the leather shift boot out in the future.
7. The Steeda Tri-Ax comes with a 12”x12” sheet of Dynamat Extreme. The Barton sound pad is literally a piece of 1.25” thick foam that has top written on it with a sharpie. See below for more…
8. The Steeda Tri-Ax comes with a grease packet where the Barton you will need to purchase a tube from your local auto parts store. Maybe…. I had to go to 3 places to find it…
9. If you had previously purchased the Steeda Shifter Bushing Bracket Kit, I believe you can get the Shifter for little less than advertised, as this is part is how they mount their Tri-Ax to the chassis.
Barton Likes/Benefits
1. Barton had a rubber gasket that sealed the two halves of the clam shell similar to a very think little gasket the Factory Shifter. The Steeda Tri-Ax was metal to metal. I honesty do not see an issue with this and it would not deter me from leaving it on my car forever.
2. The Barton had a little lip on the backside of it that the Factory rubber boot from the linkage would fit snugly around again similar to the factory shifter. The Steeda did not, but the Tri-Ax tolerance seemed a little tighter than the Barton one (no did not pull out a micrometer) so again nothing that would deter me from leaving it on my car forever. SO FOR THE RECORD I had a chance to inspect the MGW and drive it as well. The MGW yes has their own linkage but they do not use a rubber boot around their linkage.
3. Only someone like me would know this being I have used both shifters but the Barton had an extremely heavy spring on their factory reverse lock out so it was a bit of a workout to pull it up, but it felt well made and expensive. The Steeda Tri-Ax does reuse the factory spring but with that said the reverse lockout assembly is still very well made. And I believe they are going to release a billet version of the reverse pull up here soon???
4. The Barton used less of the Factory Shifter. Actually my Model/Version of the Barton had the Pivot cup, so I do not recall it using any of the factory parts. The Steeda Tri-Ax did reuse the Factory Lock out Spring, Lower Pivot Cup, Upper Pivot Cup and the Set Screw for the Reverse pull up.
5. The Barton had a nice molded rubber piece that fit perfectly over their shifter lever and sandwiched the driveline tunnel between it creating a nice little dust and noise barrier. Steeda utilized the Dynamat to accomplish this.
6. The Barton shift lever cartridge had a machined in lip where a zip tie would fit snugly and not slip off to hold the rubber boot in place. The Steeda Tri-Ax Square shape provided a snug fit and just enough room to get a zip tie on but no little added lip.
So now onto the Installation part of it.
Anyone reading this has probably watched both the Barton and MGW Videos and knows what they are up against. If you can turn a wrench and are even partially mechanically inclined you can do this install in about 4-6 hours depending on your interruptions one of my kids likes to help, ask questions or just see what I am up to.
Taking into consideration I have installed and removed the Barton at this point I had a pretty good idea what to do. So with that said after I read through the provided Steeda Tri-Ax Instructions I thought there is NO WAY IN HELL I am going to disconnect the exhaust (Step 3 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”), Disconnect my Drive Shaft (Step 4 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”) or Remove my Shifter Linkage (Step 10 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”).
So if you do the same you can skip ahead to (Step 5 in their instructions under section “Assembly: Steeda Shifter”).
So yes I built my sifter on my back under my car like the Barton video shows. What really helped me was the fact I own a nice set of Round Head Hex Key Sockets that are about 6” long, that I purchased when I installed my Steeda Front Sway Bar. So utilizing these with a 10” Extension worked well for me to install it under my car. So I followed the rest of Steeda instructions for grease, thread seal application and torque specs.
So I have put 600+ miles on the shifter, 200 of which was a cruise to San Diego this weekend. But I was sold after I drove down the street. So much so I sold my Barton a few days after the installation.
Steeda Likes/Benefits
1. Only way I can describe it but the Steeda Tri-Ax shifts are much more fluid, where the Barton had a chunky, mechanical feel to it.
2. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a noticeably shorter throw thru all gears.
3. The Steeda Tri-Ax does not seem as stiff as the Barton under both normal and spirited driving.
4. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a little more vibration in the lever over the stock one but it is less than the Barton and definitely less than the MGW when I drove my friend’s for a little test drive.
5. The Steeda Tri-Ax shift knob seems to sit a little lower than the Barton. Definitely way lower than the stock shifter.
Barton Likes/Benefits.
1. It is out of my car
2. I sold it.
3. It was a good shifter while I had it in the car no way around it. But the Tri-Ax is my new Favorite.
4. Heavier reverse lock out.
Couple little clips I posted on my IG of just some quick pulls I did. Not the best and yeah the next Mod I could use is a Driver Mod.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB0JyYfK8F_/?taken-by=projectmenace
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB6mvlMK8O5/?taken-by=projectmenace
At the moment I cannot find the under car pics I took with the way I had to position the hex key so here are a few installed pics.
Alright so for the ones who have followed my build you know I have been running the Barton Short Throw for several months. I have had a little stickiness with the 1st to 2nd gear. As in when I am just cruising and just granny shifting sometimes I would have trouble getting it into second gear. It was almost as if I had to physically pull the shift lever towards me to make sure it would go into second. Let me qualify this with when spirited driving and running thru the gears I never had an issue and I never once missed a gear. But that second gear thing always bothered me a little.
So recently I had the opportunity to get my hands on the New Steeda MT82 Tri-Ax Race Short Throw Shifter for a great price. So I figured what better way to put their new shifter to the test than to swap out one of the top of the line shifters and experience the pluses or minuses of the.
When I first unboxed it I will have to admit I thought WTF did I just get myself into as there seemed to be a hundred parts to assemble. In reality I think there is like 25-30 items all together including the bolts and rubber O-Rings. But once I looked at it all laid out it was simple. Basically the same amount of items as the Barton except they had the lever already built as a drop in cartridge.
So once the Barton was removed immediate “Out of the Box” items that popped out when I compared side by side. Both Shifters are made exceptionally well from a machining standpoint.
Steeda Likes/Benefits
1. The Steeda Tri-Ax is much smaller in width and height than the Barton.
2. The Steeda Tr-Ax weighed in at 4.8 pounds by my scale where the Barton was 3 pounds heavier weighing in at 7.8 pounds according to my scale and 19 pounds with trans bracket/driveshaft loop.
3. The Steeda Tri-Ax Shift lever was very solid and did not physically rock around when shaking it. The Barton shift lever would rock back and forth the full motion of a gearshift when I shook it. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BA8oiU3q8Ei/?taken-by=projectmenace)
4. The Steeda Tri-Ax had 1 single style of hardware requiring 2 sizes of Hex Keys to assemble. The Barton had 3 different types of hardware and required multiple wrenches and a Hex Key to assemble.
5. The Steeda Tri-Ax hardware again wins me over with everything being flush/slightly recessed with the exception of the upper four screws that hold the Top Plate to the Mid Plate of the Shift Level Assembly.
6. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a 3 Set Screw System that retains the Factory reverse lock out pull up lever in place, making this IMO ideal for future modifications. The Barton is held in with a very tight fitting Rubber O Ring system that makes it very non user friendly to remove to maybe change the leather shift boot out in the future.
7. The Steeda Tri-Ax comes with a 12”x12” sheet of Dynamat Extreme. The Barton sound pad is literally a piece of 1.25” thick foam that has top written on it with a sharpie. See below for more…
8. The Steeda Tri-Ax comes with a grease packet where the Barton you will need to purchase a tube from your local auto parts store. Maybe…. I had to go to 3 places to find it…
9. If you had previously purchased the Steeda Shifter Bushing Bracket Kit, I believe you can get the Shifter for little less than advertised, as this is part is how they mount their Tri-Ax to the chassis.
Barton Likes/Benefits
1. Barton had a rubber gasket that sealed the two halves of the clam shell similar to a very think little gasket the Factory Shifter. The Steeda Tri-Ax was metal to metal. I honesty do not see an issue with this and it would not deter me from leaving it on my car forever.
2. The Barton had a little lip on the backside of it that the Factory rubber boot from the linkage would fit snugly around again similar to the factory shifter. The Steeda did not, but the Tri-Ax tolerance seemed a little tighter than the Barton one (no did not pull out a micrometer) so again nothing that would deter me from leaving it on my car forever. SO FOR THE RECORD I had a chance to inspect the MGW and drive it as well. The MGW yes has their own linkage but they do not use a rubber boot around their linkage.
3. Only someone like me would know this being I have used both shifters but the Barton had an extremely heavy spring on their factory reverse lock out so it was a bit of a workout to pull it up, but it felt well made and expensive. The Steeda Tri-Ax does reuse the factory spring but with that said the reverse lockout assembly is still very well made. And I believe they are going to release a billet version of the reverse pull up here soon???
4. The Barton used less of the Factory Shifter. Actually my Model/Version of the Barton had the Pivot cup, so I do not recall it using any of the factory parts. The Steeda Tri-Ax did reuse the Factory Lock out Spring, Lower Pivot Cup, Upper Pivot Cup and the Set Screw for the Reverse pull up.
5. The Barton had a nice molded rubber piece that fit perfectly over their shifter lever and sandwiched the driveline tunnel between it creating a nice little dust and noise barrier. Steeda utilized the Dynamat to accomplish this.
6. The Barton shift lever cartridge had a machined in lip where a zip tie would fit snugly and not slip off to hold the rubber boot in place. The Steeda Tri-Ax Square shape provided a snug fit and just enough room to get a zip tie on but no little added lip.
So now onto the Installation part of it.
Anyone reading this has probably watched both the Barton and MGW Videos and knows what they are up against. If you can turn a wrench and are even partially mechanically inclined you can do this install in about 4-6 hours depending on your interruptions one of my kids likes to help, ask questions or just see what I am up to.
Taking into consideration I have installed and removed the Barton at this point I had a pretty good idea what to do. So with that said after I read through the provided Steeda Tri-Ax Instructions I thought there is NO WAY IN HELL I am going to disconnect the exhaust (Step 3 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”), Disconnect my Drive Shaft (Step 4 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”) or Remove my Shifter Linkage (Step 10 in their instructions under section “Disassembly: Underbody”).
So if you do the same you can skip ahead to (Step 5 in their instructions under section “Assembly: Steeda Shifter”).
So yes I built my sifter on my back under my car like the Barton video shows. What really helped me was the fact I own a nice set of Round Head Hex Key Sockets that are about 6” long, that I purchased when I installed my Steeda Front Sway Bar. So utilizing these with a 10” Extension worked well for me to install it under my car. So I followed the rest of Steeda instructions for grease, thread seal application and torque specs.
So I have put 600+ miles on the shifter, 200 of which was a cruise to San Diego this weekend. But I was sold after I drove down the street. So much so I sold my Barton a few days after the installation.
Steeda Likes/Benefits
1. Only way I can describe it but the Steeda Tri-Ax shifts are much more fluid, where the Barton had a chunky, mechanical feel to it.
2. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a noticeably shorter throw thru all gears.
3. The Steeda Tri-Ax does not seem as stiff as the Barton under both normal and spirited driving.
4. The Steeda Tri-Ax has a little more vibration in the lever over the stock one but it is less than the Barton and definitely less than the MGW when I drove my friend’s for a little test drive.
5. The Steeda Tri-Ax shift knob seems to sit a little lower than the Barton. Definitely way lower than the stock shifter.
Barton Likes/Benefits.
1. It is out of my car
2. I sold it.
3. It was a good shifter while I had it in the car no way around it. But the Tri-Ax is my new Favorite.
4. Heavier reverse lock out.
Couple little clips I posted on my IG of just some quick pulls I did. Not the best and yeah the next Mod I could use is a Driver Mod.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB0JyYfK8F_/?taken-by=projectmenace
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB6mvlMK8O5/?taken-by=projectmenace
At the moment I cannot find the under car pics I took with the way I had to position the hex key so here are a few installed pics.
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