Anyone running the MGW for the tr-3650

[s197richie]

Rail flex is awful on these tr3650 cars to the point of the dealer swapping out my tranny for a blown second gear at 3500mi even though it had obviously been beat on. I installed the CHE brace with torque limiters and may have even done it correctly but issue persists; using the slow notchy Hurst competition plus doesn't help.

The other day on the s197 facebook group someone said they've been bang-shifting without issue since installing the MGW. I know they're top-shelf for the newer cars; I don't think they had an offering when I bought this new. Barton was top iirc. So has anyone installed one and had similar results with it? TIA preesh

 

[Midlife Crises]

I installed an MGW shifter in my 2010 back around 2011. It came with stiffer bushings so it would not flex as much as the stock shifter and the throw (travel) is adjustable. It worked well and I liked it but it did not prevent me from beating the synchros out of the transmission.

 

[skwerl]

I had an MGW shifter on both my 2009 Bullitt and my 2014 GT. I had to drive to Augusta, GA to buy my 2014 GT. I took my pickup and trailer. When I bought my new car, I drove it about 35 miles to the MGW factory, bought my new shifter and drove back to my truck. Loaded it on the trailer and towed it home.
If I ever buy another Mustang, I will buy a MGW shifter for it. This is not even in question. If you have a manual shift Mustang, buy a MGW shifter for it. Period.

 

[Miker]

I had an MGW shifter on both my 2009 Bullitt and my 2014 GT. I had to drive to Augusta, GA to buy my 2014 GT. I took my pickup and trailer. When I bought my new car, I drove it about 35 miles to the MGW factory, bought my new shifter and drove back to my truck. Loaded it on the trailer and towed it home.
If I ever buy another Mustang, I will buy a MGW shifter for it. This is not even in question. If you have a manual shift Mustang, buy a MGW shifter for it. Period.

Funny as I always wondered why someone would switch out the stock shifter yet your post has me considering it.
Somewhat interested since my car has 155K on the stock shifter and although I am pretty happy with it, it is hard to shift quickly between 2nd and 3rd. I don't think it has ever been beat on though and still feels quite solid.
Seems like I read somewhere that the one of the aftermarket shifters will not work with the FRPP aluminum driveline which I have.

So 2 questions.
Will it fit on a 2005 with the FRPP driveline?
What kind of performance improvement would I notice?

 

[s197richie]

Funny as I always wondered why someone would switch out the stock shifter yet your post has me considering it.
Somewhat interested since my car has 155K on the stock shifter and although I am pretty happy with it, it is hard to shift quickly between 2nd and 3rd. I don't think it has ever been beat on though and still feels quite solid.
Seems like I read somewhere that the one of the aftermarket shifters will not work with the FRPP aluminum driveline which I have.

So 2 questions.
Will it fit on a 2005 with the FRPP driveline?
What kind of performance improvement would I notice?

I couldn't imagine why it wouldn't fit; it's only held onto the body with two chintzy little nuts and I don't see how there could be any interference.

As you can see from the MGW, it's very beefy to combat the rail flex caused by the drivetrain torquing under heavy load while the body-mounted shifter wants to stay vertical. The other pictured is my Hurst which does nothing for the rail flex since it's just a basic entry. The throw reduction is nice but it will lock you out same the as factory one.

 

[Red-Candy-Metallic]

As far as the MGW shifter goes, I can't speak for the earlier S197 models. I bought a 2006 GT brand new and never felt like I had any issues shifting. However, while I occasionally drove it hard, I never did any flatfoot shifting.

I now own a 2012 GT that I also bought new and never had any issues until I started taking it to the drag strip. That's when I had my OMFW moment! I was consistently locked out of third (or ended up in 5th) on 7K RPM shifts. I tried everything, incrementally, Barton two post bracket, Barton short throw shifter, and finally added the Steeda trans mount bushing insert. Those measures helped, marginally, but they introduced a lot of NVH. I replaced all that with the MGW shifter at around 65K miles and cursed myself for not doing it sooner. Of course, there are plenty of other clutch related parts in that system that can affect shift quality, not to mention the condition of the transmission itself.

 

[saleen836]

I fitted the MGW kit to my '06 Saleen, I had to remove the Saleen short shift kit when I upgraded the driveshaft as it fouled on the one piece driveshaft, night and day between the MGW kit and standard sloppy shifter

 

[GlassTop09]

OP, I have a MGW TR3650 shifter installed as well & will also say that this shifter is the Cadillac shifter for this TR3650 trans hands down (I've used the OEM Ford shifter & also a Barton ST shifter as well on this same TR3650 trans, but used all of these on a Blowfish Racing Remote Shifter bracket--converts a remote shifter design to a fully trans mounted shifter cause I'm old school--bracket is currently discontinued, along w\ a set of AMP TR3650 Bronze Shifter Linkage bushings to remove all of the slop of the OEM TR3650 plastic shifter linkage bushings......), but in addition to all that the others have said, this shifter is a fully adjustable system.....not only the lower fulcrum but also the shifter handle length itself for leverage......also MGW will sell you the shifter handle for their MGW TR6060 shifter as well as an extra part (this handle is longer than the std MGW TR3650 shifter handle & is threaded identically so it is plug & play......but you have to ask MGW for it if this is something you'd consider) so you can adjust the shifter leverage as well as the fulcrum to dial it to your liking........I have this TR6060 shifter handle installed on my MGW TR3650 shifter & also spaced it up 1\2" higher as well w\ the fulcrum set 4 T's down.

This adjustability--in addition to their ruggedness--is part of what makes the MGW series shifters special IMHO & sets them apart from the rest.

I know this suggestion may be to some out of bounds, but I'd also strongly suggest that you consider using a weighted shift knob w\ any aftermarket TR3650 ST shifter to counter the trans tendency to be notchy (reason why, IMHO, Ford made the OEM shifter handle as long as they did......) & assist in gear engagement during shifts, especially aggressive shifts. I use a Raceseng Topology Ford 1.2 lb weighted shift knob w\ shifter boot retainer for this TR3650 trans........they're not cheap but they look good & are a quality piece. The MGW's rugged build quality can easily handle the knob's weight & inertia w\o issue...........

Pictures of this shift knob provided below....................

 

[s197richie]

Will it fit on a 2005 with the FRPP driveline?

Here's a link to a discussion about which shifters or shifter parts will rub and under what conditions:

https://www.s197forum.com/threads/shifter-rubbing-on-alum-driveshaft-good-fix-for-this.37764/

 

[Miker]

Here's a link to a discussion about which shifters or shifter parts will rub and under what conditions:

https://www.s197forum.com/threads/shifter-rubbing-on-alum-driveshaft-good-fix-for-this.37764/

Thank you. My car is at stock height so n I may be fine.

 

[golkhl]

I have an MGW in my 08 Bullitt, and would recommend to anyone that it is the best shifter on the market.

 

[s197richie]

I have an MGW in my 08 Bullitt, and would recommend to anyone that it is the best shifter on the market.

That's funny; last Sunday leaving the mall I saw a mint s197 Bullitt driven by an older gentleman (he probably saw the movie in the theaters and either bought one that color or had his current one painted to match); I downshifted and buzzed him but nothin doing. But since I've been looking and I must say they did a really sharp job on that package.

 

[Bedouin]

My bone stock ‘08 Shelby (not 500) w the Hurst only has a 2-3rd synchro nip when cold, & only if I’m not deliberate with a no-load, easy shift.

Once this TR3650 warms up after a few miles it shifts great everwhere, everytime. Pennzoil Synchromesh helped, but would an MGW also help alleviate a 2nd-3rd synchro nip when cold?

 

[stkjock]

I had the MGW & CHE limiters on my 2006 GT, worked great as I recall, but it's been a long time since I owned that car.

 

[SilverMustangGT]

Replacing the motor mounts can also help with the shifting. I installed the Steeda adjustable motor mounts after installing the MGW shifter and saw a noticeable improvement in the shifter.