lakeguy77

Color me intrigued by this new bracket, but to my eyes there are a few issues, when using it with the MGW:

1. It doesn't look like the heatshield will fit. One of the biggest bonus features of the MGW is the added refinement it brings to the car. Part of that is down to the big padded heatshield. If you have to remove or cut away the heatshield, that's a deal breaker.

2. This looks like its bound to introduce more noise and vibration from the transmission to the shifter assembly and therefore the interior. Particularly if my assessment number 1 is correct, this would be a big problem for me.

The concept is interesting and could solve some issues, but with my newfound refinement and action in my MGW I'm just not willing to risk it until its spent some time in the wild. No disrespect to beta testers, but having been a part of a small scale public beta test, you often end up lauding improvements while ignoring or playing down limitations or downfalls. I'm finally 100% happy with my shifter and I'm not about to screw around with that.

Brandon302

1. I am not sure if the heat shield will fit as I do not have an MGW and so wasn't testing the piece to see if it would work, however I do believe that it works as Steve was trying to make sure nothing was given up by putting this piece on.
2. Vibration is introduced into the handle of the shifter and it can be introduced into the cabin if you pull the shifter up against the trans tunnel as I did, however others have stated they get no added noise or vibration into the car and no harshness at all.

And finally no disrespect taken. I would have purchased an MGW if I had the money however this opportunity came along and was too good to pass up. I wouldn't say however that I have been blinded by the fact that I was 1 of 10 people to try this product out. The people who were chosen were from BMO most of which I believe race their cars in some fashion and so they would be quick to state their faults, though they may over look the nuisance NVH would cause. I do daily my car and have found no issues with it, I don't care about NVH but also haven't noticed any introduced by this piece.

Edit: Steve just posted on BMO that it doesn't work with the heat shield.

FromZto5

Well said and I wholeheartedly agree. The MGW as it is, has given my 3 years of shifting bliss. However, I'll wait and see what all of you say, once some of you have actually tried it. I'm always open.

Stevedotmil

I'm down for this one. I went through something like this before in a VW and a solid mount and bracket made a world of difference. Maybe I won't have to one day buy a TREMEC.

laserred38

Hmm I was going to preorder one of those and use it with my MGW, but now idk. I bet I could fab something up to make the...and/or...my own...heat shield work though.

Brandon302

Couldn't you just Dynomat your trans tunnel?

laserred38

Dyna* and yeah, that was kinda my plan. I am also considering some of that gold heat reflective foil...

aircare84

I have placed my order for the Blowfish Racing part, the feedback has been very positive from the owners who push their cars more than I do.
I still have the factory shifter with an Energy Suspension rear mount. Adding the rear mount improved my minor shifting issues, but I still get the occasional lockout going into 3rd @ higher RPM's. Will report back if this actually takes care of that issue.
Price is better than getting the MGW as well. Not putting the MGW down by any means, had one on my '06 & it was a great upgrade, just only had the occasional issue with the factory shifter on mine.

lakeguy77

I went from the Energy Suspension bushing to the MGW (covered early in this thread). While it did clean it up a *bit*, it still just didn't feel solid or smooth. As solid and unsloppy as the MGW is, you would think it would introduce a fair bit of NVH, but as I posted in my review, thanks to MGW's uncompromising approach, they've made this thing functionally built-like-a-brick-$#!t-house flawless and actually REDUCED NVH. That seems impossible, especially as you're pulling beautifully machined pieces out of the box that fit together better than even Lego ever could. My exhaust sounds crisper because I get less cabin resonance coming up through the trans tunnel I think. I had it on the highway and it's quieter there too, and I have a Boss exhaust. I can't help but think that heatshield is a big part of the NVH improvement, and giving that up is a 100% deal-breaker.

FromZto5

Yep.

That's the thing, my 3 year old MGW is just perfect. Since installation, no missed gears. Ever. I'm really not sure what the blowfish bracket would buy me, that the MGW doesn't already do or do better.

laserred38

For me it would be peace of mind. Knowing the shifter is literally solidly mounted to the transmission now.

Brandon302

It may not be for everyone, though there are people who beta'ed the unit with MGW's and stated it still improved their shifting. It also depends on how you drive your car, which each person is different.

+1 that is why I ended up beta'ing the unit.

tbone004

I agree, I don't see spending the money for the bracket when the MGW is working great for me.

If I didn't have the MGW, then maybe this might be a cheaper fix and may be worth the try.

lakeguy77

Here's the kicker.... The stock bushing is ****. While I'm sure this helps, you'd at the very least want to do a bushing swap as well. At $300 for this, a standard bushing upgrade like SR or the basic Barton are $60. The heavy duty option 2-post Barton is $105. The MGW is $385. And you simply won't get all the other improvements that the MGW gives over and above simple shift feel. You will INCREASE NVH, not reduce it like the MGW. Sure, you can improve it by buying some dynamat, but the MGW comes with that. And for those looking for reduced throws, you still haven't done that.

Here's my recommendation: For hard track use, get the MGW and this new bracket. For street cars that might occasionally see the track, but more often drive pretty girls to nice restaurants, get an MGW on its own.

laserred38

Lol that last part

My thing is I'm buying a "new" uninstalled MGW for $360, the bracket on preorder is $230. I'm going to be under there anyways - may as well?

Brandon302

See you're saying you "will increase NVH" and yet haven't tried the product, so how can you make a statement like that. I have noise from the unit because of how I mounted it, which I should probably fix, however no one else has stated there is an increase in Noise, yes there is Vibration through the handle but not into the car, and as for Harshness there is none added and I would say some decreased because your shifts line up correctly.

You are correct though, the throw isn't reduced which I don't understand why people want it since the throw is fine IMO but that is my opinion and I get that others will be different.

Also I think where you are wrong on the Barton or other rear bracket being a suitable fix is that they still attach the shifter to the body of the car as well as keeping it attached to the trans so when the trans torques you could still get a misaligned shift.

ace72ace

It's a heat shield, not an NVH shield. A side effect of the piece may be a small noise reduction, but I have had mine installed since the MGW went in, so I can't say whether or not it's louder without it. However, I will be ordering the new Blowfish piece, as I still get the 2-3 lockout under WOT even with the MGW. I've had 2 other drivers experience this issue (SCCA instructor & an experienced drag racer), so I know it's just not my own crappy style. If you do not experience missed shifts/lockouts with your MGW, I don't see why you would need/want to install the Blowfish mount?

Once I get under the car, I will see if the front part of the shield can cut/modified to work with the Blowfish mount. Obviously you don't want any interference or friction between the shield and mount, so it may end up requiring the removal of the shield. I do have a lot of GT-MAT left over from my audio build, so I plan on installing a good amount of this to the tunnel area around the shifter. More noise isn't a deal breaker for me, missed shifts are.

The best part about the MGW is that it just gets better with age.

lakeguy77

With the amount/thickness/density of padding that comes with the heatshield, it'll definitely be doing some dampening. I'm sure the additional insulation installed on top as well as the small strips of dynamat installed in the tunnel are playing a big part, but the padding on that shield is definitely contributing to resonance reduction.

For those who are installing this bracket, I would think some dynamat in the tunnel around the shifter would be a must.

lakeguy77

FYI, I'm not trying to be a buzz-kill here. I'm sure there is a market for this, but I don't think it's an "everyone must get one" mod like others. The rare case where an MGW driver gets a lockout (ace72ace is the only one I've heard of) or someone whose laptime means more than life itself...and unless you're getting lockout, I'm not sure this is actually an upgrade if you already have the MGW.

I'm just trying to dilute the Koolaid to avoid the sugar crash.

Boss 0960

I had crunchy shifts in my Boss. I installed the MGW and Whiteline bushing but they didn't cure the crunchy shifts. Ford installed a new transmission last week because of the poor shifting and although the new transmission isn't crunching, the shifts are still rough and metallic feeling. I still feel that I have to shift cautiously, even with the new transmission.

I have the Blowfish bracket on order and I have high expectations that once it's installed, I will be able to shift the Boss the way it was intended for the first time since I bought it. I think in concept, the Blowfish bracket will be more important to fixing the crunchiness than the MGW but I think having both will be awesome.