Energy Suspension Shifter Stabilizer Bushing installed
8/26/14, 12:29 PM
#21
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8/26/14, 08:47 PM
#22
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I know that thread! I actually remember reading it! 
So the MGW isn't too loud? I have a buddy with one and I sat in his car and tried it out. It was so loud when shifting... "KAH-CHUNK, KAH-CHUNK". I love performance as much as the next car guy, but I can only imagine the look on a date's face when she hears all that while shifting. Like the car is some cheaply built POS. I really like how the Mustang is quite refined compared to years past, and I don't want to take away from that too much. I already have loud clunking in the drivetrain when shifting and pressing on and off the clutch. Last thing I need is more clunking coming from the shifter.
So the MGW isn't too loud? I have a buddy with one and I sat in his car and tried it out. It was so loud when shifting... "KAH-CHUNK, KAH-CHUNK". I love performance as much as the next car guy, but I can only imagine the look on a date's face when she hears all that while shifting. Like the car is some cheaply built POS. I really like how the Mustang is quite refined compared to years past, and I don't want to take away from that too much. I already have loud clunking in the drivetrain when shifting and pressing on and off the clutch. Last thing I need is more clunking coming from the shifter.
The only noise I hear is the reverse lockout pin hitting the stop on the left when you go to engage 1st from neutral. And that's more of a light tap. When you're actually driving the car, the shifter makes no noise that I've noted.
There is nothing wrong with the trans, the issue is the bad shifter setup. As for the hijacking comment, if someone comes to you asking should I do A or B and there is a C option that might actually be better, do you tell them to choose one of the two options or suggest a third possibly better option?
By the time C came along, I was committed to option B. Push timing aside, and my thought process goes like this:Option A (Steeda shifter/bushing): Variation on the tried and true upgrade made by a company that really knows what they're doing. Tough to find reviews because everybody goes for Option B. But all reviews you do find are excellent.
Option B (MGW): Been around a long time, but replaces not just the shifter and the bushing, but everything between the shifter ball and the rod that goes into the transmission, with beefed up everything. There isn't a bad review to be found, only a massive MGW-humping army of people that should be getting paid commission for bullying people into buying the MGW. But when you get your shifter, it suddenly doesn't feel like bullying. It's truly terrific. Makes the car feel more refined. It makes you feel cheated spending $40k to get that awful stock shifter in an otherwise great car. The throws are wonderful, the precision is amazing. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
Option C (Blowfish bracket): Fresh off the prototyping board. Reviews coming from the select few that got to be the first to try out a brand new product. Yes, among that select few there are some people with what I would consider the "experience" with mods and the car in general to properly judge a new product, but I do get a lot of "kid on Xmas morning" vibes from the majority of those reviewing it. Not saying it's a bad product. I haven't used it, I'm not in a position to pass judgement. But to my eye (I went to engineering school) it APPEARS to have some negative aspects with regards to NVH. But that's just my eye (I dropped out...not flunked out...dropped out). If I were to give this a shot, I'd wrap a bunch of it in dynamat to dampen vibration, along with putting a bunch more dynamat around the tunnel. But $300 is a lot of money for a product that hasn't seen the real world. And I'm sorry, but a test group IS NOT the real world. That's why giant corporations like Ford/GM/Toyota/VW have recalls. All the testing in the world can't show you what Joe-Blow-Hamfist plans to do with it.
</rant>
So how bout that Kevin Love trade huh?
8/26/14, 10:24 PM
#23
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Fine, if I'm jacking this thread, I'm jacking it good. By the time C came along, I was committed to option B. Push timing aside, and my thought process goes like this:
Option A (Steeda shifter/bushing): Variation on the tried and true upgrade made by a company that really knows what they're doing. Tough to find reviews because everybody goes for Option B. But all reviews you do find are excellent.
Option B (MGW): Been around a long time, but replaces not just the shifter and the bushing, but everything between the shifter ball and the rod that goes into the transmission, with beefed up everything. There isn't a bad review to be found, only a massive MGW-humping army of people that should be getting paid commission for bullying people into buying the MGW. But when you get your shifter, it suddenly doesn't feel like bullying. It's truly terrific. Makes the car feel more refined. It makes you feel cheated spending $40k to get that awful stock shifter in an otherwise great car. The throws are wonderful, the precision is amazing. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
Option C (Blowfish bracket): Fresh off the prototyping board. Reviews coming from the select few that got to be the first to try out a brand new product. Yes, among that select few there are some people with what I would consider the "experience" with mods and the car in general to properly judge a new product, but I do get a lot of "kid on Xmas morning" vibes from the majority of those reviewing it. Not saying it's a bad product. I haven't used it, I'm not in a position to pass judgement. But to my eye (I went to engineering school) it APPEARS to have some negative aspects with regards to NVH. But that's just my eye (I dropped out...not flunked out...dropped out). If I were to give this a shot, I'd wrap a bunch of it in dynamat to dampen vibration, along with putting a bunch more dynamat around the tunnel. But $300 is a lot of money for a product that hasn't seen the real world. And I'm sorry, but a test group IS NOT the real world. That's why giant corporations like Ford/GM/Toyota/VW have recalls. All the testing in the world can't show you what Joe-Blow-Hamfist plans to do with it.
</rant>
So how bout that Kevin Love trade huh?
By the time C came along, I was committed to option B. Push timing aside, and my thought process goes like this:Option A (Steeda shifter/bushing): Variation on the tried and true upgrade made by a company that really knows what they're doing. Tough to find reviews because everybody goes for Option B. But all reviews you do find are excellent.
Option B (MGW): Been around a long time, but replaces not just the shifter and the bushing, but everything between the shifter ball and the rod that goes into the transmission, with beefed up everything. There isn't a bad review to be found, only a massive MGW-humping army of people that should be getting paid commission for bullying people into buying the MGW. But when you get your shifter, it suddenly doesn't feel like bullying. It's truly terrific. Makes the car feel more refined. It makes you feel cheated spending $40k to get that awful stock shifter in an otherwise great car. The throws are wonderful, the precision is amazing. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
Option C (Blowfish bracket): Fresh off the prototyping board. Reviews coming from the select few that got to be the first to try out a brand new product. Yes, among that select few there are some people with what I would consider the "experience" with mods and the car in general to properly judge a new product, but I do get a lot of "kid on Xmas morning" vibes from the majority of those reviewing it. Not saying it's a bad product. I haven't used it, I'm not in a position to pass judgement. But to my eye (I went to engineering school) it APPEARS to have some negative aspects with regards to NVH. But that's just my eye (I dropped out...not flunked out...dropped out). If I were to give this a shot, I'd wrap a bunch of it in dynamat to dampen vibration, along with putting a bunch more dynamat around the tunnel. But $300 is a lot of money for a product that hasn't seen the real world. And I'm sorry, but a test group IS NOT the real world. That's why giant corporations like Ford/GM/Toyota/VW have recalls. All the testing in the world can't show you what Joe-Blow-Hamfist plans to do with it.
</rant>
So how bout that Kevin Love trade huh?
8/27/14, 12:48 PM
#25
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Definitely not clunking, and infinitely better than the KCHCKCHCKCH noise of the shifter grinding into gear like you have no idea what you're doing.
The only noise I hear is the reverse lockout pin hitting the stop on the left when you go to engage 1st from neutral. And that's more of a light tap. When you're actually driving the car, the shifter makes no noise that I've noted.
Fine, if I'm jacking this thread, I'm jacking it good. By the time C came along, I was committed to option B. Push timing aside, and my thought process goes like this:
Option A (Steeda shifter/bushing): Variation on the tried and true upgrade made by a company that really knows what they're doing. Tough to find reviews because everybody goes for Option B. But all reviews you do find are excellent.
Option B (MGW): Been around a long time, but replaces not just the shifter and the bushing, but everything between the shifter ball and the rod that goes into the transmission, with beefed up everything. There isn't a bad review to be found, only a massive MGW-humping army of people that should be getting paid commission for bullying people into buying the MGW. But when you get your shifter, it suddenly doesn't feel like bullying. It's truly terrific. Makes the car feel more refined. It makes you feel cheated spending $40k to get that awful stock shifter in an otherwise great car. The throws are wonderful, the precision is amazing. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
Option C (Blowfish bracket): Fresh off the prototyping board. Reviews coming from the select few that got to be the first to try out a brand new product. Yes, among that select few there are some people with what I would consider the "experience" with mods and the car in general to properly judge a new product, but I do get a lot of "kid on Xmas morning" vibes from the majority of those reviewing it. Not saying it's a bad product. I haven't used it, I'm not in a position to pass judgement. But to my eye (I went to engineering school) it APPEARS to have some negative aspects with regards to NVH. But that's just my eye (I dropped out...not flunked out...dropped out). If I were to give this a shot, I'd wrap a bunch of it in dynamat to dampen vibration, along with putting a bunch more dynamat around the tunnel. But $300 is a lot of money for a product that hasn't seen the real world. And I'm sorry, but a test group IS NOT the real world. That's why giant corporations like Ford/GM/Toyota/VW have recalls. All the testing in the world can't show you what Joe-Blow-Hamfist plans to do with it.
</rant>
So how bout that Kevin Love trade huh?
The only noise I hear is the reverse lockout pin hitting the stop on the left when you go to engage 1st from neutral. And that's more of a light tap. When you're actually driving the car, the shifter makes no noise that I've noted.
Fine, if I'm jacking this thread, I'm jacking it good.
By the time C came along, I was committed to option B. Push timing aside, and my thought process goes like this:Option A (Steeda shifter/bushing): Variation on the tried and true upgrade made by a company that really knows what they're doing. Tough to find reviews because everybody goes for Option B. But all reviews you do find are excellent.
Option B (MGW): Been around a long time, but replaces not just the shifter and the bushing, but everything between the shifter ball and the rod that goes into the transmission, with beefed up everything. There isn't a bad review to be found, only a massive MGW-humping army of people that should be getting paid commission for bullying people into buying the MGW. But when you get your shifter, it suddenly doesn't feel like bullying. It's truly terrific. Makes the car feel more refined. It makes you feel cheated spending $40k to get that awful stock shifter in an otherwise great car. The throws are wonderful, the precision is amazing. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
Option C (Blowfish bracket): Fresh off the prototyping board. Reviews coming from the select few that got to be the first to try out a brand new product. Yes, among that select few there are some people with what I would consider the "experience" with mods and the car in general to properly judge a new product, but I do get a lot of "kid on Xmas morning" vibes from the majority of those reviewing it. Not saying it's a bad product. I haven't used it, I'm not in a position to pass judgement. But to my eye (I went to engineering school) it APPEARS to have some negative aspects with regards to NVH. But that's just my eye (I dropped out...not flunked out...dropped out). If I were to give this a shot, I'd wrap a bunch of it in dynamat to dampen vibration, along with putting a bunch more dynamat around the tunnel. But $300 is a lot of money for a product that hasn't seen the real world. And I'm sorry, but a test group IS NOT the real world. That's why giant corporations like Ford/GM/Toyota/VW have recalls. All the testing in the world can't show you what Joe-Blow-Hamfist plans to do with it.
</rant>
So how bout that Kevin Love trade huh?
I'm a happy user of option A. I bought it because I wanted to be able to power shift without missing gears and it accomplishes that.
Option C - from the pictures I've seen it looks like it should work. Not sure that it adds any more NVH than having the bracket attached to the floor. Be interesting to read the reviews when more people have it.
I read somewhere that Barton was working on something. If so I wonder if it's the same idea.
8/27/14, 03:05 PM
#26
GT Member
Fair assessment of A & B especially the "humping army" quote!
I'm a happy user of option A. I bought it because I wanted to be able to power shift without missing gears and it accomplishes that.
Option C - from the pictures I've seen it looks like it should work. Not sure that it adds any more NVH than having the bracket attached to the floor. Be interesting to read the reviews when more people have it.
I read somewhere that Barton was working on something. If so I wonder if it's the same idea.
I'm a happy user of option A. I bought it because I wanted to be able to power shift without missing gears and it accomplishes that.
Option C - from the pictures I've seen it looks like it should work. Not sure that it adds any more NVH than having the bracket attached to the floor. Be interesting to read the reviews when more people have it.
I read somewhere that Barton was working on something. If so I wonder if it's the same idea.
I agree with the OP. The $20 Energy Suspension bushing allows the shifter to rotate without binding and reduces the slop of the factory bushing.
I am not suggesting a $20 bushing is the best solution however it does make a significant improvement.
For the cost of a couple of fancy coffee drinks it is well worth a try.
8/27/14, 08:30 PM
#28
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Well said.
I agree with the OP. The $20 Energy Suspension bushing allows the shifter to rotate without binding and reduces the slop of the factory bushing.
I am not suggesting a $20 bushing is the best solution however it does make a significant improvement.
For the cost of a couple of fancy coffee drinks it is well worth a try.
I agree with the OP. The $20 Energy Suspension bushing allows the shifter to rotate without binding and reduces the slop of the factory bushing.
I am not suggesting a $20 bushing is the best solution however it does make a significant improvement.
For the cost of a couple of fancy coffee drinks it is well worth a try.
8/27/14, 09:44 PM
#29
GT Member
I did remove my entire center console and covered the transmission tunnel with Dynamat after installing my previous Barton bracket which added plenty of N to NVH.
So maybe my current Energy Suspension bushing is dead quite because of the Dynamat and that I choose the lower durometer black over red bushing?
8/28/14, 05:18 AM
#30
Shelby GT350 Member
Thread Starter
I chose the black over the red. Oh shi- there's a difference? hahaha I thought they were just color choices! I'd like to personally thank the Energy Suspension website for the complete lack of information on that!!
8/28/14, 06:29 AM
#32
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Appears the only difference is the black is impregnated with graphite.
http://tinyurl.com/qecebtw
8/28/14, 07:34 AM
#33
Shelby GT350 Member
Thread Starter
I had a feeling there was a difference, but couldn't find it on the site. I should've looked further and done more research 
I would have purchased the red had I known. Oh well.
I would have purchased the red had I known. Oh well.
8/29/14, 03:04 PM
#34
GT Member
I no longer have access to a shore hardness gauge but I think I will be able to tell if there is a difference between red and black by poking and flexing the two.
I will report back tomorrow.
8/31/14, 10:30 AM
#36
GT Member
I installed the red bushing this morning.
Could not feel a difference in hardness before I installed it.
Then I went to the Energy Suspension Website.
The black one is going back on.
The red one will sit on my desk as a reminder to look before I leap.
Could not feel a difference in hardness before I installed it.
Then I went to the Energy Suspension Website.
The only difference between the red and black parts is that most Black Energy Suspension parts are Graphite Impregnated. This serves to help self lubricate the bushings. The Red parts do not have this characteristic. Aside from the actual color and the lack of being Graphite Impregnated - the red parts are essentially the same as the black.
I thought that the RED parts were harder and more performance oriented?
This is a common misconception. The red parts have the same durometer (hardness) as the Black parts and differ only in their actual appearance (color) and the fact that they're NOT graphite impregnated like the Black parts.
Why do people buy the red parts when they're not Graphite Impregnated like the Black parts?
In the end this is really because some people simplylike the color Red more than Black.
I thought that the RED parts were harder and more performance oriented?
This is a common misconception. The red parts have the same durometer (hardness) as the Black parts and differ only in their actual appearance (color) and the fact that they're NOT graphite impregnated like the Black parts.
Why do people buy the red parts when they're not Graphite Impregnated like the Black parts?
In the end this is really because some people simplylike the color Red more than Black.
The red one will sit on my desk as a reminder to look before I leap.
9/2/14, 01:27 PM
#38
Shelby GT350 Member
Thread Starter
::ATTENTION EVERYONE::
FYI - I missed 3rd gear last night on a spirited drive. It happened once out of the 300 miles I've put on the car since installing it. It looks like this bushing wasn't as affective as I thought. Beware!!
FYI - I missed 3rd gear last night on a spirited drive. It happened once out of the 300 miles I've put on the car since installing it. It looks like this bushing wasn't as affective as I thought. Beware!!
9/2/14, 06:47 PM
#39
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Watch this and note the 2nd to 3rd shift.
The key is to let the centering springs do their work and flat palm third.
I rarely missed third with the stock shifter and bracket - changing both of them out only makes it easier and increases the confidence level.