MGW shifter review?

[AZ5G]

I started with the Hurst. Shifting was ok, but the gate was still not close enought for serious speed work. The Barton is in my car now. Tight fight, seriously tight gate, some noise in 2nd and 3rd at about 56-5900, annoying but the car doesnt live up there TOO much. Of the two, IMO, hands down the Barton is a better performing unit....AZ5G

[dansap]

I got the MGW and i love it compaired to the stock, can't say anything about the Barton, but i can tell you i love what i got.

[BWood]

I've used both. One thing to consider with the MGW that I don't recall anyone else mentioning. The 2-3 shift is flawless as advertised. In fact, you have to go out of your way to miss that shift. The problem is, IMO, the centering springs that allow you to do that also make getting back to the 1-2 gate as well as the 5-6 gate kind of a chore. It was o.k. at first but got really irritating after a while. Perhaps I need to add some more Wheaties to my diet but the MGW lasted about a week in my car before I pulled it out. A friend of mine went with the Barton and I found it way more comfortable, especially for a daily driver. As for the high rpm noise from the Barton, I don't know because it wasn't my car and I didn't want to push it that hard so I'll have to wait 'til mine comes in to see how bad it is.
Cost of course is another issue. $200 gets you the Barton and a pretty sweet shift knob (not to mention a 100% money back guarantee) while with MGW costs $350 as well as an additional $75 if you want one of their knobs (which are really nice lookin' by the way if you choose to go that route). What I would do is start with the Barton. If that's not your cup of tea, get your money back, save up a few more duckets and then pull the trigger on the MGW. My .02.

[MGW]

Originally Posted by BWood

I've used both. One thing to consider with the MGW that I don't recall anyone else mentioning. The 2-3 shift is flawless as advertised. In fact, you have to go out of your way to miss that shift. The problem is, IMO, the centering springs that allow you to do that also make getting back to the 1-2 gate as well as the 5-6 gate kind of a chore. It was o.k. at first but got really irritating after a while. Perhaps I need to add some more Wheaties to my diet but the MGW lasted about a week in my car before I pulled it out. A friend of mine went with the Barton and I found it way more comfortable, especially for a daily driver. As for the high rpm noise from the Barton, I don't know because it wasn't my car and I didn't want to push it that hard so I'll have to wait 'til mine comes in to see how bad it is.
Cost of course is another issue. $200 gets you the Barton and a pretty sweet shift knob (not to mention a 100% money back guarantee) while with MGW costs $350 as well as an additional $75 if you want one of their knobs (which are really nice lookin' by the way if you choose to go that route). What I would do is start with the Barton. If that's not your cup of tea, get your money back, save up a few more duckets and then pull the trigger on the MGW. My .02.

its too bad you did not let it break in ...the springs are deliberately designed to be a bit strong due to the fact that all springs lose 10-15 percent of their strength over the first several hundred cycles. MGW shifters are we know to be pretty tight at first but break in and become perfectly smooth in operation..


george

[sting808]

Originally Posted by BWood

...The 2-3 shift is flawless as advertised. In fact, you have to go out of your way to miss that shift. The problem is, IMO, the centering springs that allow you to do that also make getting back to the 1-2 gate as well as the 5-6 gate kind of a chore...

You must really screw up to miss 2-3 or 5-4. Jury out for my semi-daily driver. So far, I like it. My wife will have a hard time with this shifter, if I let her drive it.

[MGW]

Originally Posted by sting808

You must really screw up to miss 2-3 or 5-4. Jury out for my semi-daily driver. So far, I like it. My wife will have a hard time with this shifter, if I let her drive it.

TRUST ME!!!!!

give it at least 500 miles to let it break in and you will NEVER look back!!!


george

[sting808]

Originally Posted by MGW

TRUST ME!!!!!

give it at least 500 miles to let it break in and you will NEVER look back!!!


george

I like the feel of the Gripper ball, but the looks could be improved. I'm tempted to buy to racing knob to see how that feels. Regardless, shifter is better than stock.

[MGW]

Originally Posted by sting808

I like the feel of the Gripper ball, but the looks could be improved. I'm tempted to buy to racing knob to see how that feels. Regardless, shifter is better than stock.

what would you like to see improved on the gripper knob?

george

[95_9C1]

the MGW is an excellent shifter

[subzero05]

Originally Posted by 11flat

Only my 2 cents.

The Barton Is only $200, It does have adjustment. You can use the stock knob or the badass "SS" ball that comes with it. You can even use the MGW knob for that matter. It even comes with a money back guarantee if you don't like it. How can you go wrong!!!!

MGW Im sure is a good product. However I didn't want to spend $350 + $75.00 for a knob. Plus I like the look of the stick and ball set up.

People Buy Hurst for the name and the Nostalgia. ITS 2010 and the Hurst is probably made in China. Ive driven both the Hurst and the Barton. The Hurst can not compete In ANY form.

I dont know why anybody would spend an extra $150-$200. When you get so much more with the Barton.

FYI, yes it is 2010 and the Hurst unit is NOT made in China!. To say the hurst cannot compete with the "barton" in any form is just rediculous and purely opinion. is the "barton" shifter a nice piece?. im sure it is. Was is simple marketing to offer a shifter in an established marketplace for much less $$ than the competition to create a demand?. of course... will they sell some shifters because of it.. Sure.. Will they sell thousands of them?. No..., but the hurst unit will. Does that make the hurst unit better?. No not necessarily but some will like barton, some will like MGW and some will like hurst.

[ittybittyfds]

I want to go with Barton...unfortunatly they are sold out so i am axtiously waiting for 3-4 weeks for next batch.
I am not a fan of the shifter ball with the MGW and the reason i like the Hurst is the white ball and flat stick but if Barton's product is the favored from the people i have asked and its only $200 vs. the $350..i will go and take the $100+ i saved and use it elsewhere.

[Stingr69]

I have completed the MGW install with the race knob. The install went pretty well but I had the mechanisim mounted too high the first time and that caused some issue with shifter travel going into first and reverse. I backed off the 2 mounting bolts and moved the shifter down a bit and it now works exactly as intended.

The race knob is smaller than the factory piece and that is a good thing in my opinion. It feels real good in your hand. The finish matches the boot leather well and the chrome ring around the top matches the chrome ring on the steering wheel Very nice there.

The centering spring is very stiff but it will probaby need to break the shifter in before it softens a bit. Not a big deal if you are expecting a hard core race shifter. You don't get stronger centering with just a stick replacement from other brands so keep that in mind. The stronger spring will assist with the 2-3 shift at the track (and the 5-4 downshift on the road too.)

It DOES work well for blasting through the gears NO QUESTION. I was not all that dissapointed with the factory shifter in that regard. I have been to the track and the stock shifter worked fine for me BUT this shifter takes track performance to the next level. Remember those cool shifter sounds you hear in the movies when the guys are racing thier cars and ripping through the gears.... WAAAH-KaClik-WAAAH-KaClick-WAAAH....(LOL) you get those gear change sounds with this setup. Geat mechanical music to listen to.

The NVH is just ever so slightly higher than the stock shifter. I am being very picky here people so keep that in mind. The race knob is made from a polymer and is MUCH lighter than the stock knob. The stock shifter is designed to avoid NVH as much as possible. The stock knob is heavy and will dampen sound much more than the Race Knob. The Race Knob has the ability to somewhat amplify the sounds of the gears working to a barely audible hum at some specific RPMs and loads. Again, very low amount of sound that you can not hear with the radio on. If you choose to run the factory knob with this shifter I would expect any gear sounds to be gone or barely audible. Not a big deal for most people but if you want your car to be as quiet as it was when new you may notice the change.

The shifter has the ability to relocate the stick back or forward a small amount. This has been great for me as my elbow used to rest in the cup holder with the stock shifter. Now I have the stick relocated slightly to the rear and my elbow is now resting on the console where it feels much better. The other aftermarket shifters do not have this feature.

Machine work is the best I have seen on any aftermarket parts. Probably better than any OEM parts now that I think about it. MGW has some mad skills there.

Hope this helps,

-Mark.

[Nutbutt]

Since you are already waiting on the Barton you should ask them about their rumored flat stick if that's what you are after !

Originally Posted by ittybittyfds

I want to go with Barton...unfortunatly they are sold out so i am axtiously waiting for 3-4 weeks for next batch.
I am not a fan of the shifter ball with the MGW and the reason i like the Hurst is the white ball and flat stick but if Barton's product is the favored from the people i have asked and its only $200 vs. the $350..i will go and take the $100+ i saved and use it elsewhere.

[subzero05]

Originally Posted by ittybittyfds

I want to go with Barton...unfortunatly they are sold out so i am axtiously waiting for 3-4 weeks for next batch.
I am not a fan of the shifter ball with the MGW and the reason i like the Hurst is the white ball and flat stick but if Barton's product is the favored from the people i have asked and its only $200 vs. the $350..i will go and take the $100+ i saved and use it elsewhere.

well I wouldn't say its favored by any means. if you talking about happy customers vs. those unhappy then you need to be fair and use a reasonable apples to apples comparison to the number of units sold. If say Hurst has sold 300+ units thru this board alone and what; maybe 10 people if that have not been happy what's that percentage of unhappy customers vs. units sold?. less than 5%!.. and say barton has moved 50 units?. maybe less (not sure) and a few people on the board haven;t been completely happy as they have mentioned, then ultimately your percentage is about the same right.probably less than 5%. its a simple calculation that if barton, rip shift or whomever (not picking on anybody) sells a couple thousand camaro shifters as hurst has already , then of course there will always be those who will not like something about it or whatever and return it and then say negative things about their own personal experience to perhaps influence others. Thus, the percentage of units moved vs. returned are still extremely low! You will never make everyone happy with anything that is designed and sold.So, you have to look at the big picture and overall volume of units in the marketplace. This would be the same with the other shifter offerings, exhaust systems, intakes etc etc..the aftermarket in general or any other consumer type product.