MGW II Shfiter for GT500 Question

CaliGT500524

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Hi all,

While there are a lot of threads out there raving about the MGW Shifter for the GT500, I was curious about a few things that I did not see addressed. Mainly, I am curious about any added NVH that installing an MGW might bring to the driving experience and how much more of an improvement is there really in the shifting over the stock unit?

One example that is very pronounced of my issue with the stock shifter is that I notice mainly that when i take turns and shift mid corner that my shifts really skip into gear rather than a smooth "thunk". I am wondering if this is from flex in the stock shifter mechanism. The stock shifter also seems to be very inconsistent in feel and I am wondering if the MGW will help this at all.

Thanks,
Adam
 

barspen

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MGW 2 is worth it's weight in gold IMHO. No extra NVH for me (I'd argue there's less, coming from stocker with aluminum bushings). Very smooth, but deliberate, precise engagement. I don't pound through gears at the drag strip, but for street and HPDE applications (heal-toe downshifts), it's a noticeable improvement.
 

Black Cobra '99

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I second barspen post, no added NVH.

About the shifting while turning, that happened to me as well, can't remember it did with the MGW but its been a while since I've driven my car. Anyways, I think the main problem is due to the engine/transmission movement in relation to the shifter. The shifter is fixed to the chassis while the engine/tranny are more "free floating" because of the bushings they're attached to.
If it bothers you, you could try engine torque limiters, its a brace for the engine to limit its movement. Or maybe other devices with the same purpose.
 

CV355

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@CV355 put an MGW in his 500. Day and night difference.

Yeah, it was night and day for sure.

Just make sure it is installed correctly. The shop that did mine did NOT install it correctly at first and the NVH was nightmarish, the shifter was incredibly difficult to shift (30-40lbs force), 2nd gear was virtually broken, and the 5/6 column/gate was harder to find than a midget in a cornfield ... The issue wound up being that the rear bushing was installed backwards, the shifter body was torqued out of position, and the headers were bent and making contact with the steering shaft. Lesson learned there, only shop in the area I trust is East Coast Mustangs and I was stupid not to bring it there.

Revvv came over and helped guide me through the correct install process and we had that thing smoother than warm butter. At this point, yes, it is worth its weight in gold. There was no noticeable NVH between the stock and MGW shifter; the MGW is probably better because of the nice fat bronze bushing that the linkage arm runs through instead of the single-point pivot in the stock unit. It is better in virtually every aspect than the stock shifter. That ugly 2nd gear notchiness from the crap synchro coating in T6060's- that was lessened noticeably with the MGW vs stock. Ask @Revvv how bad it was prior to properly aligning the shifter body. Oh, and mine is the short-arm race version. I can't imagine how silky smooth the long arm version is.

tl;dr: Buy one, you won't regret it at all. No downsides in my opinion. Just make sure it is installed correctly.
 

CaliGT500524

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MGW 2 is worth it's weight in gold IMHO. No extra NVH for me (I'd argue there's less, coming from stocker with aluminum bushings). Very smooth, but deliberate, precise engagement. I don't pound through gears at the drag strip, but for street and HPDE applications (heal-toe downshifts), it's a noticeable improvement.

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I don't really beat on the car much but I notice these issues without having too. I haven't ever been "locked out" of a gear before so thats not where my issue resides, its more with the engagement and inconsistency of the stock shifter. My main concern in the NVH, if there isn't a difference in that regard then I will pick a unit up sooner than later.
 

CaliGT500524

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I second barspen post, no added NVH.

About the shifting while turning, that happened to me as well, can't remember it did with the MGW but its been a while since I've driven my car. Anyways, I think the main problem is due to the engine/transmission movement in relation to the shifter. The shifter is fixed to the chassis while the engine/tranny are more "free floating" because of the bushings they're attached to.
If it bothers you, you could try engine torque limiters, its a brace for the engine to limit its movement. Or maybe other devices with the same purpose.


Yes, that could very well be the case. I should say that before I replaced the trans mount, the rough shifts in corners was a more frequent issue, but not post replacement its a lot better. However, it still happens and I wonder if the MGW can mitigate it even further. But it sounds like the MGW is the real deal and it looks like a really nice piece so I will be picking one up soon. Thanks!
 

CaliGT500524

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Yeah, it was night and day for sure.

Just make sure it is installed correctly. The shop that did mine did NOT install it correctly at first and the NVH was nightmarish, the shifter was incredibly difficult to shift (30-40lbs force), 2nd gear was virtually broken, and the 5/6 column/gate was harder to find than a midget in a cornfield ... The issue wound up being that the rear bushing was installed backwards, the shifter body was torqued out of position, and the headers were bent and making contact with the steering shaft. Lesson learned there, only shop in the area I trust is East Coast Mustangs and I was stupid not to bring it there.

Revvv came over and helped guide me through the correct install process and we had that thing smoother than warm butter. At this point, yes, it is worth its weight in gold. There was no noticeable NVH between the stock and MGW shifter; the MGW is probably better because of the nice fat bronze bushing that the linkage arm runs through instead of the single-point pivot in the stock unit. It is better in virtually every aspect than the stock shifter. That ugly 2nd gear notchiness from the crap synchro coating in T6060's- that was lessened noticeably with the MGW vs stock. Ask @Revvv how bad it was prior to properly aligning the shifter body. Oh, and mine is the short-arm race version. I can't imagine how silky smooth the long arm version is.

tl;dr: Buy one, you won't regret it at all. No downsides in my opinion. Just make sure it is installed correctly.


Thanks for the reply! Yes, I would imagine that would cause such an issue haha. Glad it has worked out for you though and based on what you're saying, my next mod will probably be the MGW. Sounds like there is a whole lot to be gained with out sacrificing much by switching to the MGW and the price in my mind is justified as its one of the 3 major points you make contact with in the 500s, so it just has to be better. Thanks for the help!
 

Revvv

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If you weren't across the Country I would gladly help with the install.

Feel free to PM many of us on here, or give MGW a call. The install is simple.

...and @CV355 I know how to make your 500 shift even better.

Sent from my [trashcan S5] using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

CV355

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Thanks for the reply! Yes, I would imagine that would cause such an issue haha. Glad it has worked out for you though and based on what you're saying, my next mod will probably be the MGW. Sounds like there is a whole lot to be gained with out sacrificing much by switching to the MGW and the price in my mind is justified as its one of the 3 major points you make contact with in the 500s, so it just has to be better. Thanks for the help!

I can't think of a single downside, honestly.
 

Kel

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Agreed with all the above, just had the MGW 2 installed last weekend, no extra NVH, precise shifting with 0 sloppiness now. Takes a little driving to get used to the quality of shifting vs stock, but totally worth the investment, plus you get a 5% SVTP discount!
 

RBB

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Hi all,

While there are a lot of threads out there raving about the MGW Shifter for the GT500, I was curious about a few things that I did not see addressed. Mainly, I am curious about any added NVH that installing an MGW might bring to the driving experience and how much more of an improvement is there really in the shifting over the stock unit?

One example that is very pronounced of my issue with the stock shifter is that I notice mainly that when i take turns and shift mid corner that my shifts really skip into gear rather than a smooth "thunk". I am wondering if this is from flex in the stock shifter mechanism. The stock shifter also seems to be very inconsistent in feel and I am wondering if the MGW will help this at all.

Thanks,
Adam
+1 on all the positive words on the MGW, I have nothing negative to say about it at all.

As far as the trans twisting and shifts getting sloppy during hard cornering, Blowfish Racing makes a bracket which eliminates the shifter's body mount and solves the problem. I don't personally have one installed, but have heard good things about them. I'm pretty sure it still works with an MGW shifter, but you might have an issue with aftermarket X pipes since it also incorporates a driveshaft loop. I'd give the guys at Blowfish a call to confirm it would work with your setup.

Blowfish Mustang V2 Shifter Support Bracket - TR6060 SSB-17-600 (07-14 GT500) - Free Shipping
 

Catmonkey

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I don't know if it helps, but I had used a couple of rifle barrel de-resonators made by Limbsaver on the arms of my original MGW, since the factory unit had something similar. When I upgraded to the second revision of the shifter, I moved them to the new unit. The shifter makes no noise that I can tell, but then my hearing isn't the keenest either. The dampener on passenger side arm will require some clearance against the tunnel. I used the Bull Barrel version.
 

GT Premi

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I noticed a very, very slight increase in NVH after I installed mine. However, my engine and transmission are basically hard-mounted to the chassis, so that's to be expected. I had an MGW gen 1 and was skeptical about upgrading to the gen 2. I eventually bit the bullet and can say without a doubt the gen 2 is much, much better. I love shifting with it. I'm now thinking about adding one to my R, and I said I'd never mod that car.
 

Pribilof

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agree with ALL of the above. Zero NVH increase. Night and day difference in shifting. The stock shifter went DIRECTLY into the trash! Every other stock part is in my garage but that POS shifter i never want to see ever again.
 

Nutty 5.0

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I didn't have mine very long before I swapped in the MGW2 but it didn't seem to add anything negative. I just added in some new Amsoil ATF which only made it shift a bit smoother yet.
 

samshady

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The MGW comes with dynamat and specific instructions on where to put it. They also have a foam dampener to use in concert with the factory cloth piece. I haven't noticed any additional NVH after the install. The shifting is night and day. I could move the shifter around while it was in gear with the factory shifter. Now it shifts right in gear and is very firm. I had PRO 5.0 shifters in all my previous mustangs and thought about one in the 500. After reading everybodies reviews about the MGW I bought it and glad I did.

Sent from my SM-G955U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

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