I recently installed the MGW-P short shifter after much research. There were a few things questions that were unanswered in my reading so I thought I would give a review on my findings after the install.
So previously, my GTO had 70K on it and the shifter was definitely one of least desirable shifters I had felt compared to other vehicles. The throws were long, in-precise and easy to hit the gate on. I had gotten used to the stock shifter, but it was still poor quality. The return spring was nonexistent and you almost had to push the stick into gear rather than it gliding in with the assistance of the return spring. Additionally, it would sometimes be rather difficult to find gears under normal acceleration.
I chose to go with the MGW-P because it seemed to have the best balance of smoothness, low noise, and short shifting. I read that the Billet was the shortest of the bunch, but I wanted to aim at enhancing the grand touring aspect of the car.
The MGW-P install was straight forward without any real tricks. My initial impression after the install and sitting in the car was "wow this is nice and notchy." It is impossible to hit the gate transitioning into any gear. The shifts are precise and smooth with a very mechanical feel. I would estimate that shifts are about 40-60% shorter than stock. I have the stock knob adjusted down all the way but will be bringing it up to about1" above the lowest setting that way my forearm is parallel to the console. Under full throttle, I get little to no noise which is ten fold better than the stock shifter (this is without any additional gaskets or padding). If you want a mechanical yet smooth feeling shifter, with an excellent return spring which almost "assists the shifts" then I would recommend this unit. If you are looking for the shortest throw of the bunch, then the Billet may be the way to go. For a GT car with the occasional track day, I can't picture anything more I would want from the MGW-P.
Hopefully, this gives a little more detail for people looking at a future short shifter. Feel free to ask any questions about it.
That's a good shifter. As you may have noticed when the shifter was out the only things a direct shifter can do any different than another is change the leverage (shorter throw is less, longer more) and strength of the centering springs. The throws then are just the length of the handle. There are no "gates" in the shifter at all. They all are freely pivoting balls on the end going into the transmission. The only other question is the durability and quality of the parts and the MGW seems to have a good track record.
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Ziggy
2001 BMW 740i
2003 Suburban
2005 Pontiac GTO
Linear Mode
