Short Throw Shifters...are they worth it?
- Thread starter PJJP
- Start date
Fast Too
Enthusiast
I like mine and wouldn't go back to that UPS Truck Long Stem shifter for nothing
mjorgensen Woodhouse
Enthusiast
The MGW is a great shifter in every respect and you will be amazed at the improvment and feel of it. I have them in stock if you are interested.
Canyon707
Enthusiast
I have the MGW short shifter and the BM shifter. Personally I think the BM shifter has a lot to be desired and is a pain to install. I really don't think much of them. Just my opinion after driving it around for 5k
I Have had the SVS shifter, the modified stock shifter and I now have the MGW shifter Mark is referring to above with an MGW knob. The MGW shifter is the best of the breed. It is much better than the stock shifter and better than the stock shifter with the tightened springs or the SVS shifter. Although I had the SVS shifter on my Gen II.
Chopper
Enthusiast
What they said, plus it looks cool.
ryan94rt10
Viper Owner
one of the best mods availible on a viper...do it!
Chopper
Enthusiast
All comes together. Find their site,will show all.
Black Moon
Enthusiast
Chopper
Enthusiast
Jon at Parts-Rack has them. He is on this site.The one I bought was not that much money.
The MGW short throw shifter is not shown on the MGW site. Woodhouse worked with George at MGW to develop the MGW short throw shifter. I worked with Mark and George a little by giving feedback to refine it for use with the 2008 tranny and subject to George correcting me, I think that I had the prototype for the '08 tranny which I posted on a few months ago. The two types of shift knobs are on the MGW site. A shift knob is not a shifter. The shifter is the mechanism between the transmission and the shift knob. To my knowledge Partsrack does not show the MGW short throw shifter in its website inventory. But knowing Jon's resourcefulness, if it fits in a Viper, he will find a way to get it. Partsrack carries the B&M and SVS short throw shifters and the MGW shift knobs. As for MGW knobs, I prefer the First Strike knob.
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Burntrubber
Viper Owner
I have the dodge/hurst for my GenII...I love it, haven't missed a gear!
Rick530
Viper Owner
whats involved in installing one of these MGW short throw shifters?
Remove the shift knob. Put the car up on a lift. Drop the tranny at the front. Remove and replace shifter. Put front of tranny back in place. Reinstall shift knob. My Viper tech did it in about forty minutes. With stock tranny mounts ( I have the stiffer Woodhouse mounts) it is easier. The Viper tech put in an SVS short throw shifter in my former Gen II in about twenty minutes.
Lee00blacksilverGTS
Enthusiast
Hopefully Mark will come back and answer that but it can't be too big a deal as he did mine also and the price was very reasonable.
ILLSMOQ
Enthusiast
.....40 minutes...not likely.
...maybe if you have done a ton of them, the car is already up on a rack and the center council is already taken appart.
the shift knob and bezel needs to come off first.
the belly pan needs to come off.
the cross member needs to be removed, the transmission supported and lowered.
then you snake your arm up to the top of the transmission to take out the bolts holding the shifter to the transmission. gear wrench works best for this
Next snake the old shifter out and get the new shifter in....don't miss the cup the shifter fits into.
raise the transmission back up
replace the cross member
belly pan back on
center council back together
A pro working carefully is going to spend almost 2 hours on this job
first timer with a rack = atleast half a day + a few scrapes and scratches
...maybe if you have done a ton of them, the car is already up on a rack and the center council is already taken appart.
the shift knob and bezel needs to come off first.
the belly pan needs to come off.
the cross member needs to be removed, the transmission supported and lowered.
then you snake your arm up to the top of the transmission to take out the bolts holding the shifter to the transmission. gear wrench works best for this
Next snake the old shifter out and get the new shifter in....don't miss the cup the shifter fits into.
raise the transmission back up
replace the cross member
belly pan back on
center council back together
A pro working carefully is going to spend almost 2 hours on this job
first timer with a rack = atleast half a day + a few scrapes and scratches
Illsmoq. My Viper tech, admittedly a very experienced one, did it in about 40 minutes and he said that he could have done it faster but for the Woodhouse hard mounts I have installed. I watched him. It is not necessary to take the bezel off to remove the knob. Just press down on the boot and slide it over the shaft enough to get the wrenches on the base of the shift knob shaft. That's how I did it when I changed my shift knob. The tech did it the same way. In fact if you need to remove the bezel it is actually easier and less time consuming to just gently unsnap the whole center console than to unscew the bezel.
mjorgensen Woodhouse
Enthusiast
I think Bob has a very experienced Tech and he can probably do it that quick if you have the experience as stated. Most shops AND Techs if they work for one will charge you "book" time for the install though for the convenience of using the shop and the proper equipment. The Tech makes his $$$ from making time (experience) if you have one willing to do things for actual time and materials you have a real gem (friend).
ILLSMOQ
Enthusiast
I'm sure your tech is a the best there is. Posting that installing a shifter in a viper is a 40 minute job is not accurate....makes it out to be a simpler task than it actually is.
viperfuntime
Enthusiast
Sounds like a pain in the ass for no real gain in feel or ease of shifting.
For those who have already done it and spent the money, would you do it again?
For those who have already done it and spent the money, would you do it again?
Rick530
Viper Owner
Just what I was thinking.
ILLSMOQ
Enthusiast
If you really want to improve the feel of the shifter change the mounts out to the woodhouse polyeurathane mount.
The aftermarket shifters feel different than the stock one I don't know that they actually improve the accuracy of the "shift". Whne you are running the engine hard it torques over back and forth...mostly when you shift...this is the main reason for missed shifts. Changing the shifter does nothing to combat the engine/transmission movement. The stiffer mounts keep the engine/transmission steady, I've not missed a shift since replacing the mounts in my car. replaceing the mounts is a tough job but improve the feel of the car as a whole.
shorter shift knobs are nice.
Burntrubber
Viper Owner
my tech quoted me an hour to do it, he said it wouldnt take that long. yes I would do it again! first mod I would do, even more so than k&n's
mjorgensen Woodhouse
Enthusiast
The gains are felt with the shifter change also just like the mounts will greatly improve accuracy. The MGW shifter is built with a dual bias spring system that has a very stiff spring action to help with thew 2-3 shift that is missed the most (a lot from engine torque over also) along with a light spring that makes the shift to reverse easy. The standard practice of just stiffening the spring all over makes this reverse shift VERY stiff and cumbersome.
I test all of the equipment that we sell and have always felt that I cannot offer ANYTHING that does not meet my standards of improvement and cost effectiveness. This is why I don't offer everything under the sun to my clients, may not be the best decision bottom line wise but definitely helps with customer happiness!
Copperhead245
Enthusiast
I installed the SVS shifter (which has two available shaft bolt lengths and uses the stock knob) by myself from the top. I did need to get underneath and loosen the belly pan when I dropped a bolt down there...
Absolutely. But I agree with Illsmoq that the maximum effect is to do the MGW short throw shifter and do the Woodhouse mounts. There will be a bit more vibration and noise transmitted through the driveline because of the harder mounts but it lessons after time and you get used to it. The feel of the MGW short throw shifter is phenomenal. For me at least it feels considerably better than any other shifter I have used either on my old Gen II or my current Gen III. However, once again, I am talking about having an experienced Viper tech do the job.
ILLSMOQ
Enthusiast
How did you get past the shifter boot wit out cutting it? did you drill out the rivits?
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