My Shifter Review – Factory vs Hurst vs MGW

[KILLER74Z28]

Nice review and writeup.

Both the Hurst and The MGW are top notch and I would roll ether one. But I will say this, I love both the "Old School Look" and performance of my Hurst...

[Mr. Wyndham]

Great writeup, and thank for taking the time to do it!

What can you say on the throws of the MGW vs stock?

[caverman]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Great writeup, and thank for taking the time to do it!

What can you say on the throws of the MGW vs stock?

Honestly I didn't get to know the stock shifter that much. By the time the car had 350 miles on it the factory shifter was out of there and the Hurst was in. The first couple hundred miles I had such a chubby from the power of the car I wasn't paying attention to the shifter at all. I did find myself making excuses about it being new as to why I couldn't find 5th and 6th at times but now looking back I think it was because of the factory shifter.

The MGW Race Knob feels lower but I know thats because the factory knob was so big and then the Hurst was a bit taller. I think it's all just a mental thing about it being lower.

I do think the Hurst had a little bit shorter throw but just ever so slightly less. You would never notice the difference unless you had the two shifters in the car back to back like I did.

I'm definatley liking the Race Knob more and more as I drive it. To me it's more of a refined muscle car feel vs the classic muscle car feel of the Hurst. I installed the Hurst in the car of the guy that bought mine today and I'll tell you the Hurst still looks damn good. I also ditched the factory lock style washers used for the shifter handle and used some fairly thick lock washers and locktite on the handle and I think it helped take some of the slopiness out of the Hurst. It still had more slopiness than I liked and the MGW has basically no slop in it at all.

Both are good shifters....it's going to come down to preference. Do you like the more classic muscle car look/feel then go Hurst. If you like the more refined look/feel of a modern day muscle car then go with MGW.....just my opinion.

[Wvallediego]

[MyCamaro5]

Does any know if the MGW shifter is compatible with the V6?

[Rallysport]

Nice write up and comparo. I installed a B&M short-throw in my 94 Corvette, and wow...what a huge dif from stock. Now, I understand this is a totally different animal, but from the looks of the video, my B&M has a shorter throw than either of these shifters. Is B&M making a shifter for this application yet?

[bowtieguy#3]

Originally Posted by caverman

I would've considered the Barton....mostly for price....but in my situation my wife was begging me to go back to the stock shifter because she didn't like the round knob. The Race Knob on the MGW was our compromise. Just based on looks alone the Barton was removed from our list. After the ear full from the Hurst install it was worth that to pay double the money alone . In addition I like the fact that the MGW replaces the whole shifter and not just the shaft. Again..just my personal preference.

Remember....my post were just my opinions from my own experience. I mostly wanted to share my impressions of these shifters so that others could make an informed choice.

Nothing wrong with the Hurst if you're okay with the extra positive shifting. Like I said...it looks good to me and actually feels very good in my hand. It was just not the shifter for me.

Great write up, Thanks, are there any tips in reagards to the installation that might help they members out when doing theres

[MGW]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy#3

Great write up, Thanks, are there any tips in reagards to the installation that might help they members out when doing theres

and dont forget guys the great hting about the MGW is that you can have it look old school also!!!


here is a pic from a member Sam on here that he posted...

regardss
george

[MGW]

Originally Posted by MyCamaro5

Does any know if the MGW shifter is compatible with the V6?

it is not but we are working on one...


george

[caverman]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy#3

Great write up, Thanks, are there any tips in reagards to the installation that might help they members out when doing theres

Yes…here are a few things I would watch or do different.

The MGW install is not necessarily hard....just much more time consuming than the Hurst install. I would highly recommend getting it up on a lift if you can...although not completely necessary.

Front pins/clips aren't that bad once you find the whole to stick the allen wrench into.

Pushing the rubber grommets from the stock shifter to the new arms was harder than I thought. The install videos made it seem super easy but I didn't find them that easy. I ended up using a vice to help push them in. The ends on the grommets are different although it’s hard to see at first glance. Watch how you take out the grommets from the stock shifter arms and put them in the MGW arms in the same way as they came out of the factory arms.

There are two supplied rubber boots that go inside the shifter tunnel. The smaller rubber boot that goes on top of the larger boot inside the console needs to be pushed down farther than you would think. I had a hard time with that and then realized I had to push it down onto the shifter farther and eventually got is on (after a few knuckle scraps from the inside of the console).

Also something I would do if I were to install another one...the two bolts (the ones in the kit) that connect the shifter arms to the actual shifter...I would test fits those on with the shifter outside of the car. Once I had the shifter in the car and had to try to screw them in they were very stiff going in and there isn’t a whole lot of room to work with under the car. Before putting the shifter in the car I would bolt on the MGW arms with the supplied bolts. Put them most of the way in and then back them all the way out. I think that would make them easier to put in once you're under the car.

Also....on thing I didn't care for is that the MGW doesn't come with any instructions what so ever. There are the videos on the site but if you are somewhere where you don't have access to the videos it's going to be 10x harder. I had to refer/watch the videos multiple times as I was installing it. Luckily I have an iPhone with YouTube access. Otherwise at my dad's shop I would've been screwed. He has no computers or internet access there. Just make sure you have access to the videos or watch the videos and write down the instructions as you watch them.

All in all....not to hard...it's doable by a DIY person.

[alfie43]

Caverman,
Thanks for the objective and well written comparison. I have the Hurst shifter on my SS and your description of how it shifted; "It took too much force to get it in the gears....it felt like a trans with bad synchronizers" was dead on. Mine feels exactly the same....but I don't have the looseness problem.

My wife hasn't driven it yet (the car is still in winter storage), but surely she will freak out when she does. She rarely drives the car, so this is going to be my call.

I really like the look of the Hurst, but I am concerned about the excessive effort or force required to get it in gear. How is the MGW in that regard?
Alfie

[TommyTSquared]

Going to be subscribing to the thread. Great job. While the hurst looks better, the MGW just sounds more solid. Then again from a stop the stock shifter shifts really well... but when you get going f'ing third gear. I HATE YOU THIRD GEAR!

[SamReidland]

Good write up. I just got my MGW installed and so far love it. I posted a bit of information and some pics here
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...t=67103&page=2

[Turbobitt]

I installed My MGW shifter a few weeks ago in my driveway in about 1.5-2 hours. I think it is a drastic improvement from stock.
My opinion, the stock appearing option is better. Looks like it belongs there and was never messed with. I think this is just another benifit of this shifter to have a choice of the retro look or stock appearing. It was a good idea for MGW to have the video on there website. I refered back to the video during the installation a few times and it made it much easier to swap out.
Allan G.