MGW shifter question

[TommyG]

Just had the shifter and poly motor/trans mounts put in. For those of you who have swapped the MGW for the stock unit did you notice much of a "shorter throw"?

My car is a 04 and already had the shorter MGW gripper knob which is shorter than the stock knob, but I am having a hard time feeling that it throws shorter than before.

The unit does feel a tad crisper but not shorter. I even questioned if the car already had the mgw in it but when I looked at the take out it definately was different looking...more like what I would think stock is.

As has been said in prior posts, I feel a very noticable vibration and I am getting some squeaks in the dash area that I had not heard prior to the mounts. I am looking forward to this settling down and have not driven really hard to see the payoff in shifting under heavy load, but I go out to the track on Tues.

At TWS NARRA event, I sat in a newer ACR and the owner had a B&M shifter and it felt very very short just working through the gears while car was off so I guess I thought the MGW might also be this short?

 

[WILDASP]

Tommy,
I assume you were using the "shorty " version of the MGW gripper knob, which already makes the throws feel much shorter (at least it did in my 06 coupe). I'm using the MGW shifter with the "First Strike" knob, (which is a bit taller than the shorty gripper) in my 09ACR, and I find the shifts with that setup both short and very crisp. If you happen to be using the taller version of the gripper knob (still quite a bit shorter than the stock knob), you can get a shorter feeling throw with the "shorty" version, at the price of increased shift effort, and if you have larger hands, the possibility of rapping your knuckles on the shifter bezel (MGW makes a low-profile bezel you can install to address the latter issue). Hope that helps.

 

[jasontiff]

An MGW shift knob just shortens the shaft of the shifter, but not the throw. A true short-throw shifter (like a Hurst or B&M) actually shortens the throw of your shift by up to 40% using wizardy and mechanics. There's a big difference. Throwing a short throw in your car takes a little work; you have to pull the tranny or go at it from the top (at least you do on the first 2 generations).

I had a B&M in my RT and the shifts were noticeably shorter and crisper than the stock shifter.

 

[WILDASP]

An MGW shift knob just shortens the shaft of the shifter, but not the throw. A true short-throw shifter (like a Hurst or B&M) actually shortens the throw of your shift by up to 40% using wizardy and mechanics. There's a big difference. Throwing a short throw in your car takes a little work; you have to pull the tranny or go at it from the top (at least you do on the first 2 generations).

I had a B&M in my RT and the shifts were noticeably shorter and crisper than the stock shifter.

MGW makes both shift knobs (three styles), AND a true short throw shifter kit (similar to the B&M and Hurst units, but better, IMO).

 

[jasontiff]

MGW makes both shift knobs (three styles), AND a true short throw shifter kit (similar to the B&M and Hurst units, but better, IMO).

They do? I've never seen one on their site and just checked; they have 2 shifter knobs and a shifter bezel, but no short-throw shifter. They make the whole shifter assembly?

MGW LTD., INC. - Viper Accessories

Doing something mechanical like a shifter seems a little bit off from what they're normally known for, which is dress-up pieces for our cars. Do you have a link? Is it not listed under "viper" on their site? How much do their units run?

 

[Bobpantax]

They are sold by Mark Jorgensen at Woodhouse. I was a Beta tester for the Gen IV shifter back in January, 2008. It is the best on the market. The item is not shown on George's web site.

 

[Canyon707]

The gears still have to move the same distance no matter what you use. I have the B&M and the only difference is the spring which is heavier. I have yet to try the MGW shifter but, as far as I am concerned the shaft makes the the difference with it being shorter. Which automatically makes the throw shorter. The mechanics of it have to do the same thing.

 

[treesnake]

They do? I've never seen one on their site and just checked; they have 2 shifter knobs and a shifter bezel, but no short-throw shifter. They make the whole shifter assembly?

MGW LTD., INC. - Viper Accessories

Doing something mechanical like a shifter seems a little bit off from what they're normally known for, which is dress-up pieces for our cars. Do you have a link? Is it not listed under "viper" on their site? How much do their units run?

They are not on any site anywhere that I have seen. I got mine from Mark Jorgenson at Woodhouse.....

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

The MGW shifter shortens the throw by about 12%. The limiting factor is how high you can get the fulcrum point in the mechanism which to some extent is the distance you have from the shifter to the floor pan. MGW has made the shifter as high as possible without having to cut anything to install it.

The MGW is also very stout compared to any other IMO. We do have the shifters in stock and the reason most others don't is that there is very little mark up for it and some vendors don't view it as worth the effort, I on the other hand KNOW it is the best thing to offer my clients therefore worth the effort.

 

[AndrewDoe]

I bought the MGW shorty shifter and bezel from MGW (before I knew Mark). It is much nicer than stock, and I haven't really noticed the shifting needing anymore effort.

 

[MGWLTD]

They do?

Doing something mechanical like a shifter seems a little bit off from what they're normally known for, which is dress-up pieces for our cars. Do you have a link? Is it not listed under "viper" on their site? How much do their units run?

although for Vipers we usually stick to dress up billet we have been making shifters for almost 10 years now.

here is the viper shifter... the throw is actually at 15 percent and the limiting factor as mark suggested is the clearance in the chassis. the return springs are much beefier than stock though and the shifter is MUCH smoother than stock.

here are some pics to show how we reduce the throw by moving the pivot point of the shifter rod.

regards
george

 

[venomous06]

They do? I've never seen one on their site and just checked; they have 2 shifter knobs and a shifter bezel, but no short-throw shifter. They make the whole shifter assembly?

MGW LTD., INC. - Viper Accessories

Doing something mechanical like a shifter seems a little bit off from what they're normally known for, which is dress-up pieces for our cars. Do you have a link? Is it not listed under "viper" on their site? How much do their units run?

They have been making shifters for the mustangs for a while now. I ran one in my mustang along with a few others, and MGW won hands down. One of the best out there in my opinion.

So I will give them a try when my mod funds recover some.

 

[venomred]

I had the poly motor/trans mounts installed in
my '08 along with the MGW ass'y...vibration was
noticable for the first few hundred miles but settled down considerably. As for the shifter, it is a great improvement over stock; shifts are "cleaner and crisper" and feel solid plus no
more missed shifts; particularly the 3-to-4 upshift and the 5-to-4 downshift. In mho, these
upgrades should be one of the first made in any
Viper....

 

[TommyG]

Question answered. Perhaps I was expecting some 40% shorter throw with the mgw shift mech. 12-15% shorter explains why it was hard for me to notice the difference from stock.

The car had the shorty gripper knob on the stock mech and then I put in the mgw with the same knob which also explains why the difference was hard to feel. I assume that if I went from the tall stock knob/mech to the mgw short knob/mgw shift mech I would notice more.

Off to the track tomorrow to see how that 4rth down to 3rd under load works out. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[YLW DRM2]

Question answered. Perhaps I was expecting some 40% shorter throw with the mgw shift mech. 12-15% shorter explains why it was hard for me to notice the difference from stock.

The car had the shorty gripper knob on the stock mech and then I put in the mgw with the same knob which also explains why the difference was hard to feel. I assume that if I went from the tall stock knob/mech to the mgw short knob/mgw shift mech I would notice more.

Off to the track tomorrow to see how that 4rth down to 3rd under load works out. Thanks for the feedback!

Give us update from the track, I am especially interested in that "4th down to 3rd under load" as that is my biggest concern at the track (see my post).

 

[Bobpantax]

Give us update from the track, I am especially interested in that "4th down to 3rd under load" as that is my biggest concern at the track (see my post).

I track my car. I have not had any shifting issues at all since having the MGW/Woodhouse shifter and Woodhouse tranny and motor mounts installed.

 

[dragon rider]

I was lucky enough to have George install my MGW shifter. I love it. Much more confident with my shifting especially going from second go third.