SVTP :: MGW Shelby GT350 Mustang Shifter Teaser
What can be said about an MGW Shifter that hasn’t already been said hundreds of times before. They are superbly designed and expertly constructed. These units also operate flawlessly and are backed by some of the best customer service in the industry.All that and more is true for the company’s latest offering, a complete replacement shifter for Ford Performance’s new Shelby GT350 Mustang.
To put it simply, this product is the best shifter to ever to come out of MGW.
Now before you say that this is all just puffery and bullshit, let me qualify that statement. I actually believe that the MGW Race-Spec for the MT-82 is the most complete and biggest shifter upgrade available in the Mustang aftermarket. However, the MT-82 is a box of Chinese pot metal compared with the Pride of Mexico—The Tremec TR-3160.
And that is where the true difference lies. While the MGW MT-82 Race-Spec is pretty much necessary just to make the lesser Mustangs livable, the MGW GT350 Shifter makes the Shelby GT350 live up to what the owner of a high-winding, track-oriented Mustang expects.
In stock form the GT350 shifter is a modest upgrade over the previous-generation TR-6060 GT500 shifter. However, due to its lighter internals and more finessed style construction the 3160 is a much smoother transmission than the tank-like 6060. So for those you have experienced the MGW Gen2 Shifter for the GT500, MGW’s GT350 shifter is even better.
We’re not going to get into all the technical details of what’s going on inside the billet aluminum assembly that makes it so awesome in this story (we’re saving that for the next one), but suffice it to say it’s ingenious. We spent a day putting it through its paces on the 3.27 mile full-course of the beautiful Virginia International Raceway. Gone is the sloppiness of the factory pendulum action. It has been replaced with custom-shop bolt-action-rifle precision. It’s absolutely the best-feeling shift actuation I have experienced, bar none. It makes a great car even better. What more could you ask for?
MGW tells us thatthese shifters will be available for sale in mid June. You’ll learn more about them here before they hit the market.
We’ll be posting a full technical break down and installation of the MGW GT350 Mustang Shifter in the near future, but until then allow me you leave you with this short video and the pics below:
[video=youtube;SR62cB5QgSg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR62cB5QgSg[/video]
MGW products are robustly constructed and are tested under more rigorous conditions than most owners will ever experience.
Banging gears at WOT under closed track conditions puts stresses on the driveline components that simply can't be replicated on the street.
After countless laps with several different drivers and not a single issue George@MGW signed off on the shifter design and approved it for production.
VIR is an absolutely beautiful facility with a very professional staff. I highly suggest making the trip there if you ever have the opportunity.
And there it is in all its glory, festooned in MGW's traditional black and red anodizing combo.
As one might expect, the upper portion of this shifter borrows a lot from the MGW Race-Spec for the MT-82 transmission found in other Mustang models.
However, on the inside this beast is a completely different animal than MGW's MT-82 unit.
With twelve grade-8 bolts attaching the main shifter body to the rigid support arm this thing is nearly bomb proof.
Like MGW's Gen 2 GT500 shifter, the TR-3160 unit retains the use of the factory body mount location for the rear support block. Also like the Gen 2, the rear support is merely there to keep the shifter from coming in contact with the driveshaft.
MGW's patent pending design holds the shift linkage and transmission in perfect alignment at all times to deliver unmatched shifting precision.
This thing is such a piece of modern machined artwork that it even looks great in black and white.
Just look at it. You know this is a part that every GT350 owner is going to want in their car.
The GT350 and MGW's TR-3160 shifter are two pieces of machinery that are designed to be the pinnacle in their respective classes.
If you're interested in testing out MGW's GT350 TR-3160 shifter in person it will be diplayed on this test stand in MGW's booth at Mustang Week 2016.
All three of these Mustangs have been the test platforms for MGW Shifter's product development.
MGW products are robustly constructed and are tested under more rigorous conditions than most owners will ever experience.
Banging gears at WOT under closed track conditions puts stresses on the driveline components that simply can't be replicated on the street.
After countless laps with several different drivers and not a single issue George@MGW signed off on the shifter design and approved it for production.
VIR is an absolutely beautiful facility with a very professional staff. I highly suggest making the trip there if you ever have the opportunity.
And there it is in all its glory, festooned in MGW's traditional black and red anodizing combo.
As one might expect, the upper portion of this shifter borrows a lot from the MGW Race-Spec for the MT-82 transmission found in other Mustang models.
However, on the inside this beast is a completely different animal than MGW's MT-82 unit.
With twelve grade-8 bolts attaching the main shifter body to the rigid support arm this thing is nearly bomb proof.
Like MGW's Gen 2 GT500 shifter, the TR-3160 unit retains the use of the factory body mount location for the rear support block. Also like the Gen 2, the rear support is merely there to keep the shifter from coming in contact with the driveshaft.
MGW's patent pending design holds the shift linkage and transmission in perfect alignment at all times to deliver unmatched shifting precision.
This thing is such a piece of modern machined artwork that it even looks great in black and white.
Just look at it. You know this is a part that every GT350 owner is going to want in their car.
The GT350 and MGW's TR-3160 shifter are two pieces of machinery that are designed to be the pinnacle in their respective classes.
If you're interested in testing out MGW's GT350 TR-3160 shifter in person it will be diplayed on this test stand in MGW's booth at Mustang Week 2016.
All three of these Mustangs have been the test platforms for MGW Shifter's product development.
-SID297:beer:
