Unwarranted MT82 hate

[fast306stang]

I drove my 18 like I stole it from day 1, I'm a lot easier on the PP2. Maybe that's why? I dunno. Never had high rpm lockout in this one either but I also don't really bang gears in it...

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[Biggus Dickus]

In my 2011 GT, I beat my MT82 like an alcoholic stepfather beats a red-headed stepchild, and it was still working flawlessly on the original clutch when I sold the car with 191,000 miles.

My current MT82 was transformed with a McLeod RST Clutch, MGW Shifter, and the Motul DCTF. It's going to get beat on this Sunday at a HPDE at Auto Club.

 

[Magnetic Stang]

It seems like the quality of the MT-82 isn't consistent. Some have issues and some don't. When I got mine I had a little grinding going into third at lower RPM when it was cold. 3rd gear lockout at high RPM. Switched out the fluid and added the Blowfish bracket. Made a world of difference. Had to have mine rebuilt under warranty because of a broken shift fork. They replaced all the forks to the upgraded versions that started in the 19's. Driving it hard the MT-82 seems good. Driving it normal around town it feels sloppy. So the hate isn't unwarranted. It's a good car with a subpar transmission.

 

[Genxer]

Mounting the shifter to the transmission is the best fix IMO, whether it be in the form of a bracket or a complete shifter replacement. I've had the BF bracket for years now and love it. If I couldn't get that, I'd get something. The rubber mount for the shifter on the body is a joke. Almost certainly it is made for NVH concerns and not performance. I think Steeda? makes a better bushing. I haven't tried that but suspect it would improve things.

My MT-82 has never given me an issue, but then I don't do any ham-fisted shifting. Sitting at 45k miles. I've shifted smoother transmissions, but I've had worse too. It's a creature you have to learn.

 

[f00man]

I used to drive a GT with the MT82. Compared to other manual transmissions, it's subpar. The shifting is clunky. It could be better.

 

[NGOT8R]

I recently took my MT82-D4 (with 6K miles on it) apart to rebuild it with better and/or enhanced factory parts, to hopefully improve upon its shifting and make it stronger. I will say that after a few high rpm lockouts and grinding on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, the gears and synchro looked brand new. However, when I was pressing 5th gear and 6th gear off the countershaft (used 3rd gear to pull 6th gear), several teeth popped off of 5th gear and 3rd gear. 5th gear looked like a powdered metal gear and was also the only gear that was different in color than all other gears. I also read that Ben Calimer said 5th gear is a weak gear. I do think a lot of the issues experienced by MT82-D4 users may be clutch related.

 

[NGOT8R]

I should also add that at the time I experienced my lockouts and grinding, I was running a Steeda Tri-Ax race shifter, Steeda adj. polyurethane motor mounts, Steeda STH kit, Steeda diff. bushings with through bolt kit, Steeda subframe bushing support kit, Steeda Differential bracket and either a Whiteline transmission bushing insert or Boomba transmission mount with black bushings. All of this was done to be proactive and mitigate any of the reported problems associated with this tranny.

 

[tosha]

Lovin' my mt82, not a big fan of the clutch though.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

I recently took my MT82-D4 (with 6K miles on it) apart to rebuild it with better and/or enhanced factory parts, to hopefully improve upon its shifting and make it stronger. I will say that after a few high rpm lockouts and grinding on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, the gears and synchro looked brand new. However, when I was pressing 5th gear and 6th gear off the countershaft (used 3rd gear to pull 6th gear), several teeth popped off of 5th gear and 3rd gear. 5th gear looked like a powdered metal gear and was also the only gear that was different in color than all other gears. I also read that Ben Calimer said 5th gear is a weak gear. I do think a lot of the issues experienced by MT82-D4 users may be clutch related.

Sheesh! Good thing you pulled that transmission, but there is no excuse for that in a new transmission on a high-powered car. Quite frankly, that should be warranted.

 

[luca1290]

When I took a rental to try out the GT before buying mine what I noticed immediately is that the gears in the MT-82 are way too long, and that 1:1 4th gear with 5th and 6th overdrive takes all the fun out. You are just left with 3 fun gears which are too tall anyway.
But probably that's for good because the feeling is not that much to enjoy. I'm used to european manual gearboxes and they are on a completely different level (my 1.3 turbodiesel Punto had a better feeling, and better spaced gears...).

I went with the A10.

On to the complaints:
The MT-82 received a lot of criticism, some of it warranted, some not. Surely a lot of folks don't know how to drive and just trash them. But my personal opinion is that Ford put this transmission in this car because they had to. And didn't want to spend much.

The A10 on the other way received some criticism, but many of it it's just unwarranted. Some people complains of the whine but it's known and normal for this transmission to whine and for rough downshifts.... But coming from America where usually you have (or used to have) monstrous non locking torque converter and lazy transmission with few gears I can understand that the average Joe is not used to a more sporty transmission.

I think the A10 is on par with the car, the MT-82 is sublevel.

 

[Nightmonkey]

I'm used to european manual gearboxes and they are on a completely different level

They are not.
Find me a modern European car with a engine that has this displacement and which can rev so high, then we can compare.

The gradation of the gears is good, all gears have reasonable transitions regarding the rpm (different from before 2018+).
The long gear ratio comes from the axle, which can be changed with a small effort.
But let's be honest, with the torque that the engine has, it fits with the long gear ratio.

The only thing that can be criticized to Ford is the mounting of the linkage to the chassis instead of exclusively to the transmission.

 

[luca1290]

They are not.
Find me a modern European car with a engine that has this displacement and which can rev so high, then we can compare.

A transmission is more concerned with the torque passing through it rather than how big it is what's attached to it.
So... the Coyote Gen 3 makes 529Nm @ 4600rpm. Not bad, but here we live in diesel-land and it's not hard to find something much more ordinary. Like the Fiat VM A630 DOHC which makes 550Nm @ 2000 rpm.
As far as torque is concerned, the Mustang engine is beaten easily. There are a lot of much smaller turbocharged engines with greater torque. That was just the first coming to mind.

The gradation of the gears is good, all gears have reasonable transitions regarding the rpm (different from before 2018+).
The long gear ratio comes from the axle, which can be changed with a small effort.
But let's be honest, with the torque that the engine has, it fits with the long gear ratio.

The gradation of the gears is awful. They are way too tall after 2018. And in the EU the problem is compounded by the longer final ratio.
I don't want to be down a country road all in second gear because it's too tall, if I buy a manual I want to use it.
The torque is wasted with this longer gearing because it's not effectively converted into smiles when I use the car.

Sometimes is not just numbers and formulas, I know the MT-82 is an "effective" transmission because of a lot of reasons: you can shift less, longer gearing is better for cruising, which is kinda more of what the GT is really made for, the Mach-1 having a different gearing and different transmission for track use...

Alle legit and valid reasons, but the MT-82 does not resonate with me.
I don't think the reasons behind it (one being cheaping out with chinese manfacturing) are in line with the spirit of an american muscle car.

 

[luca1290]

.. just to add: this is a 500Nm trasmission with a much better gearing: Driveline - Transmissions | FPT Industrial.
The Tremec does not have much different application scenarios: TREMEC TR-3160 6-speed manual transmission

So yes, it's possible to make a better transmission than the MT-82.

 

[ice445]

A transmission is more concerned with the torque passing through it rather than how big it is what's attached to it.
So... the Coyote Gen 3 makes 529Nm @ 4600rpm. Not bad, but here we live in diesel-land and it's not hard to find something much more ordinary. Like the Fiat VM A630 DOHC which makes 550Nm @ 2000 rpm.
As far as torque is concerned, the Mustang engine is beaten easily. There are a lot of much smaller turbocharged engines with greater torque. That was just the first coming to mind.



The gradation of the gears is awful. They are way too tall after 2018. And in the EU the problem is compounded by the longer final ratio.
I don't want to be down a country road all in second gear because it's too tall, if I buy a manual I want to use it.
The torque is wasted with this longer gearing because it's not effectively converted into smiles when I use the car.

Sometimes is not just numbers and formulas, I know the MT-82 is an "effective" transmission because of a lot of reasons: you can shift less, longer gearing is better for cruising, which is kinda more of what the GT is really made for, the Mach-1 having a different gearing and different transmission for track use...

Alle legit and valid reasons, but the MT-82 does not resonate with me.
I don't think the reasons behind it (one being cheaping out with chinese manfacturing) are in line with the spirit of an american muscle car.

In the US the Coyote is making 569NM of torque. The Euro emissions equipment kind of derates the output a little bit. Sure, these smaller turbocharged diesel engines are making almost that much, but they're both turbo and diesel. They also are going to feel dog shit slow in comparison despite feeling spry off the line.

The manual definitely has suboptimal gearing ratios compared to the A10, but it's not a dog either. From a 40 roll in 2nd or a 60 roll in third, it still puts a smile on your face. Or just launching it in first. But yeah, if you want a car where you do a lot of shifting, this isn't it.

 

[Bobn57]

My only complaint is the the awkward 4-5 gate. I have to keep telling myself push waaaaaaay to the right every time I make that shift. I got spoiled by my BMW E85 which was the absolute smoothest shifting car I ever owned. I may go with the Steeda short throw at some point, but still researching that a bit.

It is miles better than the old T5s I had in my Fox Body Mustangs.

yeah 4th to 5th is like a mile throw! Most of my driving is street so I'm hardly out of 4th....

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