If there is one criticism of MGW, it has to do with the alignment of the shifter. As you can see, the shift lever is not centered and is offset to the left.
This offset shifter causes the shift boot to rub and wear out from repeated use of reverse. For the price of this shift system (which we paid for), and for how well executed everything is in its design, I am surprised to see this oversight.
After contacting MGW and informing them of this issue, and giving them feedback that even their longest throw short shift kit is borderline too short, in my opinion, they sent me this longer, bent lever.
This new shift lever did help center the shifter to avoid the reverse rubbing. It’s still not perfectly centered and a slight tweak of the lever design would make this perfect. But the increased length was definitely in the right direction and improved the shifter feel by reducing the effort required and corresponding notchy-ness.
I used a few washers to space the shift knob further up the threaded shift lever to increase the lever moment even more. This was another improvement in shift feel that got me pretty close to feeling there were no negatives.
REVIEW:
On the street, even before these modifications, the shifter felt extremely solid. The shifts were very precise and virtually all of the slop and negative attributes of the MT82 were gone. However, this was MGW’s longest shift lever option and I still felt the shifting required a little too much effort, and the shifting was still a bit notchy. After getting the longer shift lever and spacing the knob up as high as possible, shifting effort and notchy-ness was reduced to what I found to be acceptable.
Now I’ve driven countless Mustangs with countless short shift kits and honestly can’t tell you one that I liked. Having made these small modifications, and getting the even longer shift lever from MGW (and spacing up the shift knob), I must say that this is by far the best MT-82 shift system that I have ever driven. It completely transforms the MT-82 and makes it feel like a completely different transmission. I might even say that it gets you over half way to the feeling (not performance) of a Tremec Magnum XL.
CONCLUSION
If you don’t like your MT-82 and don’t have the budget to swap a Tremec Magnum XL into it, I would highly recommend investing in this MGW kit, including the optional shift base. I would ONLY recommend the long-throw kit.
Hopefully this review will help people understand that shorter is not always better or faster, and encourage people to make more educated purchases. In fact, based off my experience as a professional driver and coaching countless students of varying abilities from beginner HPDE drivers on up to professional NASCAR Cup and LeMans drivers, it’s easier to shift faster and be nicer on the transmission’s synchros with a longer throw and using less physical effort, than it is with less leverage from a shorter shifter that requires more force and less precision.
Don’t tear up your transmission’s sychros because your short shift kit is too short and you need to muscle and grind it into gear, also don’t live with super notchy shifters. Be a more educated consumer and help steer these manufacturers to make better products by not buying overly short shifters that cause more problems than they fix.
11 comments
Are you rev matching before you shift? Double clutching definitely helps the gears engage smoothly and should reduce shift effort substantially.
I assume that you are doing this considering your motorsport background, but for some reason not everyone does it, probably because they don’t have the seat time in to get it down. It can also be pretty loud depending on your exhaust system.
Cool parts, it’s a shame that the billet goodness is buried in the tunnel. It’s almost worth reshaping the tunnel to have the entire linkage exposed, but that would only be worthy if it was a racecar with the entire interior removed.
Double-clutching is a very rare technique that definitely help smoothen out downshifts for cars with bad synchros. I’m proficient at it but typically don’t do it on the street or in races.
I don’t do it at low speed but I find it absolutely necessary at high speed or spirited driving. Also, it’s imperative to get into lower gears smoothly at an Autocrox.
People seem to think that double clutching and rev matching are ‘show off’ maneuvers, but if that were really the case then it would be pointless during canyon carving which is when I do it most. In reality, the shifts are so smooth and easy, that it’s obviously a better method to anybody with mechanical sympathy. As an mechanical engineer, I would never waste my time with a technique if I didn’t actually think it performed better.
Granny shifting not double clutching like you should! ;P
The shifter mechanism is nice and all, but that lower mount is pure overengineered art and a darn shame it’s hidden.
I’ve got a Blainefab 4″ dildo shift knob on a regular T56 MGW shifter.
http://www.blainefab.com/shiftknobs.html
I can’t imagine a short knob on the thing. It also gets the shifter closer to the wheel with the shifter itself angled toward the left. This is on my road race only 4th gen Camaro, I really like this combo but I don’t know that I’d want it on my street driven Corvette.
while I know this shifter is great, just upgrading that giant sloppy bushing to a 2 post bracket will get you most of the way there. When I had my S197 it was literally impossible to shift fast at high rpm. I got a Barton 2 post bracket and I could slam shifts on it like any Honda… Although my Mustang was new at the time, with higher mileage there could be other wear on the shifter and transmission which might reduce “shiftability”.
Basically its Tremec 100% best, MGW shifter 65% best (based on Billy’s comments on the last page), quality brand 2 post bracket 55% best. And the 2 post brackets are like 1/4 (or less) price of a full shifter setup like this. When I just bought the Mustang I was planning to go ham on the shifter cause of how horrible it was stock, but after getting just the bracket I didn’t see a need to spend more money. And like Billy, I’m also not a fan of overly short throw shifters, I thought stock throw distance was perfect, so not having to go to a short throw shifter was a bonus.
Im looking forward to the rest of this series. If there is one. How does the car handle on the track? I have an S197 and value what I’ve been reading. Thank you for the time putting this together.
I am with Shane above. Would love to hear how the car performs on the track. Thinking for using some of the same parts
What would be a good affordable brake upgrade for this s197 build that could handle track duty with rubber like a sport cup 2 or Supercar 3?
I’m sure this depends on skill level but something much less expensive than an Essex 9668 372mm kit.
For most applications, the “2005-2014 Mustang Ford Performance Front Brake Kit – 4 Piston – 14″ brake kit would be more than enough. It is essentially the front S197 GT500 brake caliper and 14” rotor.
I would not run an aftermarket rear caliper on an S197 or any pad more aggressive than a Hawk HP+. The S197 does not use the tires under braking due to the geometry of the suspension. Adding more rear braking performance will just make ABS kick in sooner and hurt braking performance.