ronemca

I get that "a short shifter" is literally shorter (the **** is closer to the ground)


CATEGORY 1:
And I believe that "a short shifter" also delivers a reduced throw (the amount of movement/swing/arc necessary to move between gears is less than stock) So far so good? Do I have it right?


And a bunch of companies have been making -- and are still making -- "a short shifter" (that delivers 80% or 90% of the above effect) for years and years.


CATEGORY 2:
More recently, a few companies have begun making a "Race-Spec (or perhaps "Tri-Ax" is a better term?) shifter. MGW for example. These mechanisms are designed to firm-up/improve the action of shifting gears. Closer tolerances...harder bushings...better machining...more solid mounting etc. etc.


So here's my primary question:


Does an aftermarket shifter from category 2 also deliver the shortened stick and/or the reduced throw offered by the shifters in category 1?


What about the inverse?


Does an aftermarket shifter from category 1 also deliver the firmed-up/improved shifting action offered by the shifters in category 2?


I have a feeling that the really fancy shifters are also shorter (and have a reduced throw)...whereas the "short shifters" are only that (with minimal improvement or added firmness/precision) And I am basing this opinion on the price differential; it seems that the category 1 devices are substantially less expensive...and must therefore be substantially less complex.


How did I do? :thumbup:

proeagles

Short shifters aren't necessarily shorter in statue but rather in their pivot point making the leverage shorter. They tend to have stiffer bushings as well and tend to vibrate/rattle more than a stock shifter. You will notice a difference in throws however and unless you are racing and need quicker shifts, probably not worth the money or effort. Your car shifts pretty sweet stock or at least it should.

ronemca

Thank you. Yes - I acknowledge that "a short shifter" does not necessarily mean that the **** rises less above the console than a stock shifter. But I thought that they typically (usually? often? nearly-always? do) But I will back-burner that particular characteristic, because the actual height of the **** is not critical to my question. I'd like to focus more on the reduced-throw feature...


I wanna know whether an aftermarket shifter that does not describe itself as "a short shifter" (think MGW) still delivers that function/characteristic. Because as I understand it, the MGW shifter's PRIMARY selling point is its precision. Its firmness. Its consistency...and the reduced throw is just a secondary feature.


Is this accurate?


I'm striving to understand because...


The OE shifter on my '16 Prem EB is horrible. Notchy, floppy, and noisy as hell in second gear, because the reverse lock-out rides against the underside of the console...which transmits the humming of the tranny right up into the cabin**. LOUDLY. And the shifting paths are by no means clean and consistent; it clicks and bumps and generally feels like I am stirring a bucket of lug nuts with a 21mm combination wrench.


I took the local Service Manager for a spin on Monday to demonstrate, and he was pretty friggin' casual. But he was certainly open to me bringing the car in to get it looked at, therefore I am doing so next Tuesday.


I have absolutely no doubt that the MGW (or the Barton or the Steeda) would silence my shifter noise AND tighten up the paths considerably. But I am less than keen to drop C$650 to replace the shifter in a brand new car. At least until FoMoCo has declared that there's nothing they can do. If/when that happens I will re-assess.


More contributors, please!

WJBertrand

The shift **** actually sits a little higher from the console with my MGW shifter as compared to OEM, but the throw or stroke is less. 30% less according to MGW. I find its action & feel much more precise and robust than the OEM set up.

I think the key is you have to have a shifter mounted only to the transmission and not to both the transmission and the body as the OEM set up does. Only the MGW or one of the other shifters combined with a Blowfish bracket accomplish this.

I think Ford's priority is on NVH and low effort, rather than precision, so they float the shifter in a big rubber bushing mounted to the body that isolates it from any vibration or noise that might transmit through a directly mounted design.

My MGW does transmit a small amount of vibration compared to the OEM set up but no additional noise. If you've ever driven a car with a top-loaded shifter, i.e. the shifter is mounted directly atop the transmission you will understand that this additional vibration is very minimal and completely acceptable.

ronemca

A very thoughtful reply - thank you! I have been wondering about the feasibility of spending a little money on the OE shifter to try to put a stop to the noise and firm up the feel (rather than ALOT of money on a NEW shifter) My gut tells me that option #1 is a lost cause, but geez - in $CDN, option #2 represents a small fortune. Assuming free CONUS shipping, I'm looking at C$705 for the MGW plus a three-hour round trip to pick it up. Somewhat of a bitter pill to choke down right on the heels of the out-lay for the car itself.


I would be very keen to hear any stories about successful OE upgrades/beef-ups. Maybe the Steeda stiff rubber U-shaped rear bushing? The Blowfish brace? The $30 rigid insert for the trans. mount? Or is the design simply inferior? (no amount of lipstick can make it any better?)


BTW, Jeff - did you do the MGW install yourself? How would you quantify the experience? Difficult? Fairly straightforward but takes awhile? Nearly-impossible? A child could do it? And what aspect is the hardest? OE shifter removal? New shifter insertion? Trans. mount -related stuff? Clearance issues?

WJBertrand

I did the installation myself following the very good video on MGW's site. It was a couple of hours work with the car up on four jack stands. My older generation shifter had to be more or less assembled in place. The newer MGW's are pre-assembled and look to be a lot easier to install.

My older generation MGW design also came with a rear bushing to be mounted to the car's body in the same manner but in place of the OEM one. I was not completely happy with that set up, so shortly after added the Blowfish bracket. This set up completely solved the sloppy shifting and high RPM mis-shifts for me. Newer generation MGWs wisely dispense with the rear bracket and mount directly to the transmission, so no BF bracket needed.

I would recommend against the stiffer transmission mounting bushings, at least for a street car or daily driver. Those bushings can add a lot of NVH. The point of using those, with respect to shift quality, is to limit the misalignment of the transmission to the body mounted shifter when the drive trains torques around. If you go with the trans-mounted shifter this becomes unnecessary.

I agree the MGW is a bit spendy, but in my opinion worth every penny. A better budget solution, if you don't want to go with the MGW, would be to add a BlowFish bracket to your OEM shifter as opposed to a stiffer rear bracket that still mounts to the body. I think these stiff rear brackets exacerbate the problem, at least the squishy OEM rear bracket lets the shifter float a little when the drive train shifts about in it's mounts, not so much with the after market ones, at least if you don't also fit stiffer transmission mount bushings, and I already gave my thoughts on that.

ronemca

Another equally-thoughtful reply! I am most grateful to you for sharing your views. And I am not surprised to hear your positive evaluation of the MGW device, and/but I have a tough question for you:


DISREGARDING what you know now about the value of the MGW device...if this were your car (and it was two weeks old) , which option would you be most likely to take:


1) Blowfish stiffener bracket on OE shifter
2) aftermarket shifter (either a fancy one or a simpler one with the Blowfish bracket added)
3) some not-yet-discussed combination of parts (other than a completely new $700 all-in-one solution)


Just picking your brain. :beer:


TIA

WJBertrand

Well, I'll follow my own example. I installed the MGW about a month after I bought my '13 GT new, so there you have it - option 2 for me. I didn't have to take any shoes off of my kid's feet or food out of their mouths fortunately, but everyone has to make their own value vs. cost judgments based on their own individual situations.

ronemca

Gotcha. :thumbup:


I'll see what the stealer has to say next Monday afternoon. Hopefully (but admittedly unlikely) he will find some sort of anomaly...fix it...and I will get some peace & quiet for at least a few months until winter is over and I can re-examine the possibility of upgrading to the MGW.


I don't want to be pessimistic, but it is my expectation that even if he DOES find a way to make it quiet(er), it will remain notchy, mushy and imprecise...which will necessitate its replacement *anyway*.


We'll see!


Many thanks, Jeff!

WJBertrand

Good luck and let us know how it goes.