LOL Bill, I thought you mentioned you were out of SD somewhere on here before... (scratching head trying to remember) Maybe my Alzheimer's is kicking in!


I have the hand tools and the skills to do the shifter... just not the time! It's like scheduling a time to go to the gym: "I'll do it tomorrow!" You know how it is...

I'll get it done! I'll get it done! Hahahahahah! The Steeda UDPs only took me 2 months, I'm hoping to beat that record now! I'll get it done! I'll get it done!

 

thanks for the info guys. yes for some reason they skipped the rubber boot and I don't have it so I will have to call MGW. the shifter stops are installed as well which I guess I will remove.

 

I installed mine this past Saturday. Thanks to Bill and his detailed instructions, it was a breeze! It took me about two and half hours. Could have done it quicker, I was just being careful. As for the shifter itself, it is absolutely fantastic. The springs are a bit stiff but that is okay, in fact, the stiffness of the lever is not a big deal at all. The vibration and noise that I had with my Roush shifter is non-existant here. It's currently set a 8 turns out. If the throw is changed at all, I would go up to 10. The shank for the **** is a high as it will go. It's a joy driving the car.

The shifter (whether it be Roush, Tri-Ax, Pro 5.0, MGW, etc.) is perhaps the first thing that should be changed out in order to put the driver more in tune with his/her car. The MGW Short Throw Shifter has got everyone beat.

Great work George!

Regards,
Jon

 

Well the MGW install is complete!

Anyway, the install went pretty smoothly with a little over 2 hours by me with no major issues or any help. I can't remember if I set it to 6 turns or 8... (must be CRS ) But I have the shifter as low as it will go.

First impressions - The shifter is a little harder to move with a very positive centering force. The first to second and the fourth to fifth were a bit hard but I had NO problems finding any gear at all and best of all the shifter did not feel harsh or extremely notchey. Shifting it while still on jack stands didn’t seem like it was all that much shorter of a throw, but on the road it was a different story altogether. This shifter does what a good shifter should do… It takes the shifting away from the conscious part of the brain and allows you to concentrate on more important tasks like hitting shift points or modulating the gas pedal on a hard launch in first. Yes, it is that good. It wasn't like I noticed that the shift was that much shorter, but my arm and legs seemed to be in synch with each other and the control I felt over the car was greatly improved! If you miss third gear with this shifter you got problems – push forward and it is there!

The only downside when I took it out for a test drive I was how noisy the car is now... I have a lot more tranny and exhaust noise than before. I am sure I got the Dynomat where it needed to be so I will have to figure this one out. If I can get the noise levels back to where they are close to stock I will be completely satisfied.

 

George,
Are you shipping the new bushings yet?

 

i put mine in last night and will let you know how it feels this morning when i take it for a test drive.

 

finally installed mine! its awesome thanks again!

 

I think that we are past the point of giving a review of this shifter…its great, enough said. What we need is a thread dedicated to George and everyone at MGW for this accomplishment. I have a background in engineering and manufacturing and have no idea how those guys can produce this shifter for so cheap. For those that wouldn’t buy unless the price was under $300 all I can say is get off your wallet!

Once again George thank you! You have created the best possible shifting solution for the S197 platform.

Excellent Job!!!!!

 

I agree. Thanks George.

 

George and MGW are the best. I've had the shifter in about 2 weeks now and it only gets better and better. After a few minor adjustment, I've not missed any shifts and it's getting smoother and quiter the more I drive. You guys get the highest recommendation from me!

 

I just installed my second one on a buddies car I did a auto to manny tranny swap to. It took about a half hour to do with the driveshaft and loop off. I also had the entire console off because the auto shifter had to come out.

 

OK... after almost a month of waiting, I finally got to install my MGW shifter today...

Thanks to Tacobill and Got Oatz for the detailed install insturctions they provided. The install was pretty much a piece of cake... I made a mistake in not going back and reviewing the Steeda Tri-ax install instructions since I didn't do the install myself... I was using my friend Mike's shop (lives 20 miles from me), it has a pit in the floor, would have been great except he made two hand rails that stick up above the pit ladder and I couldn't move the car full over the pit.. had to work up against the back wall to get to the rear 10mm nuts and put in the Dynamat.

If I ever remove the shifter, I think I am going to try a 1/4" ratchet with an extension and a universal attachment on the two shifter support plate bolts, 1/8 of a turn at a time gets a little frustrating before the job is done. I had planned to use the OEM bushings from the Steeda, except they weren't used because the Steeda has a brass bushing. Good thing George sent me the bushings installed or I would have been out there with everything apart and would have had to re-install the Steeda.


George... what can I say that hasn't already been said previously about your 1st Class product and service... What an excellent piece of equipment.

Just for piece of mind... one turn is 360 degrees ccw from stop... that's the way I counted the turns out... if that isn't correct, I need to know soon. The shifter throw is set at 8 turns, the shifter handle is about 5 degrees toward the driver and the height is about 1" above the block. I turned the block over so the logo is on the right side and upside down.

This shifter is so well made with such close tolerances it feels stiff... There is a noticable difference between the Steeda and the MGW, I can't imagine someone going from the OEM shifter to the MGW, they surely would think it was very stiff and hard to shift...

Even though my drive home was about 20 miles, here in New Mexico that doesn't mean much shifting... I've been up and down through the gears about 30 time... it does seem a bit stiff right now. But, I believe that is more not being use to the mechanical operation of the shifter.

DO NOT TRY TO GUIDE THIS SHIFTER INTO GEAR... The straighter the pull and push on the handle the smoother it works, it literally changes gears without any assistance. If you try to put it where you think it should go, it won't work as well and you may miss a gear..

I'm looking forward to more driving time and of course tinkerin' with the set-up.

By the way, my exhaust has gotten louder because of how great the Dynamat and sound insulation works. Vibration is nill... there's no way to eliminate all trans vibration through the shifter, but it's **** close.

Thanks again George... can't imagine a S-197 owner who wants to upgrade their shifter buying anything but an MGW.

Bobby M.

 

After driving a couple of weeks, you will notice the shifter does free up a bit-not quite so stiff. It just gets better and better!

 

One other thing I failed to mention... I still have at least 3/4" of upward adjustment in the handle height and my shifter boot is almost streched to the limit in 4th gear... it's not a guitar string yet, but it's tight.

Bobby M.

 

I think I sold one for ya tonight George at a local cruise night. He felt my stick and had to have one , his wife too!

 

dude thats just not right


i am still working on the design of the new bushings. i have decided to make the inner bore like the stock bushings with some clearance grooves to allow for thermal expansion and also give a tight fit. they may take a few weeks to make up so please hang in there guys. if you have trouble shifting call me as i have some machined teflon filled delrin bushings made up that work great but have just a slight bit more noise than the urethane ones. if you need them call peggy or julie and they can mail a set out to you. but if you can get by the real replacments are forthcoming.

regards
george

 

Went to the track yesterday. Ran a 12.0@120. Powershifted at 6000, with a slight throttle lift. Made 5 passes, never even came close to missing a gear. I have 4.10's so i get to bang 4th too. Shifter is set at 6 turns since the install, and i haven't touched it since. Couldn't be happier.

 

after driving mine for a few days I have more noise from the transmission tunnel...is that a function of me poorly sound deadening the car (I used 85% of the sheets, and the foam is installed well as far as I can tell.) I don't really mind it but it is noticeable, whereas others stated no difference or quieter.

 

George,
Any progress on the white MGW shifter **** you mentioned a couple of weeks back? Need one in 3/8 x 16 to replace the Hurst ****.

 

Since this shifter is so good I went ahead and ordered George's T5 shifter as well for my 92' to replace my aging Hurst. As expected, unbelieveable quality.