It came in today complete with threaded shaft back cut for the T bar if anyone were to use the factory handle.

Install was straight forward and took me 38 minutes including going back and forth for tools and zip ties.

Worth noting: I have installed or swapped shifters between my C5s at least five or six times over the years. It is always a game to get the shifter perfectly centered and play with the handle range in each direction for ten minutes before locking the bolts in place. The Tick shift arrives with a bracket which locks the arm dead center. You then attach the linkage lightly, set the two mounting bolts down almost fully but loose, now lock the linkage bolt in and set the two mounting bolts where it sits centered. Upon driving the car it was dead on center without issue or effort on the first try.





This is a big bonus for the Sunday wrencher so you don't end up with 1st and 2nd barely catching or 5th. Which, in turn, saves time if you had to adjust and test the setup a few more times to get centered.

Remove the static bar. Reinstall the two allen head bolts into the shifter base. Then bolt the upper handle in. I found that test fitting the screws to the handle first before install they were perfectly threaded. Upon installing I found that they encountered resistance and I believe that, whether by intent or by design glitch, they press against the bores in the lower shifter bar. The upper piece does also have a detent which fits into the lower, so even if the bolts were loose it would not slip free or out of alignment or cause a risky situation.

The image shows the point where the bolts began resisting.




From there it is just reassembly and popping the handle on.

First drive impressions, coming from a cut down factory C5 shifter:

​​​​​​The angle the shifter sits at feels perfect in the hand. It is cocked back slightly. This seems to make sense on a short shifter.

Zero missed shifts or wrong gears.

Positive, intuitive easy to find gears.

My brain took to it without effort. Hand, too.

I'm digging it. And I'll need more miles and time with it before I note or confirm any differences or comparisons. It is already clearly a solid product.

A little humor of course..... Their online instructions very clearly show them removing an old (pre- Flat Stick) style MGW shifter.



​​​​​

​​​Edit: For @MetalMan2 this lower shift boot is the one which came with my Z06 when purchased which is still thick rubber like the oem C5 pieces but also has the metal edges which keep it perfectly seated and sealed on the lip around the tunnel opening. I would have kept and used this except you can see the owner had cut the center ring out to fit a B&M shifter and this does not clear or fit with the MGW or the Tick, one of which will remain in the Z06 eventually. I got the oem C5 shifter to work perfectly with this wrong sized cover by adding a rubber pipe end cover of the right diameter for the hole. Cut an X in the center, slide it face down over the shifter, and bam.... perfectly sealed again. This same fix would not have worked readily with the MGW base.

 

I'm really interested in these. I talked to them on Facebook a few different times. Glad to see they are hitting the streets.

I have a Hurst. I like it, but it's notchy and difficult to use for my wife so I might want to upgrade....

 

Mine showed up today too. It's too nice to cover up!

@Stingroo, I may have time tomorrow to install mine and it will be replacing a Hurst that I have come to despise, as I have a time with the 4 to 5 shift. Also find it it really notchy and stiff.

 

I took it for a good long rip.

​​​​​​Tons of shifts up and down hills and through turns and a few quarter mile passes. A perfect afternoon.

It is absolutely competent.

 

[QUOTE=Tusc;1605812304]I took it for a good long rip.

​​​​​​Tons[of shifts up and down hills and through turns and a few quarter mile passes. A perfect afternoon.

/QUOTE]
It is absolutely competent.
Have you ever used the MGW ? if so, how would you compare to it ?

 

they may be good, but $590 ? whew

 

I sure have. I've got a non flat stick MGW on a tmodcustoms box in my Z06. I haven't used it in a few years. My plan is to run the Tick a while and swap them around to compare or offer my layman's impression.

 

I'm curious about these after a few good reviews, just not $600 curious unfortunately LOL. I don't experience any shortcomings with the used MGW I picked up for a fraction of the price, but if I were coming from a stock shifter and just starting out, these would be getting my attention haha

 

Good write up! I have a Hinson with a TMod lower base and probably the same total cost into a shifter. I dont think its really that much when you think about it. Looks cool too! I use a C6 **** with my Hinson because I like the angled back feel also.

 

Have you done the anti-venom mod as well?

My Z06 has only 33K miles and is all stock. I did the mod on my last C5 and it made a big difference but it has 140K miles and was pretty notchy before the mod. The Z06 isn't too bad as is but I'm thinking about doing the mod and then a shifter. Would really like to know how this one compares to the MGW.

 

$600 for a shifter is insulting.

 

$400 for MGW
$165 for TMODcustoms box
--------
$565

That's my cost basis on the one in the Z06. Plus I had to source a spare box because I was one of the first customers of his.

I agree that $600 is a high price for a shifter. I haven't and don't plan to take this one apart because the outcome of my decision tree is still undecided and I may sell it. Who knows?

But I will offer this not as justification for price or as a product comparison, but as a scale of importance. Everyone comes here seeking mods and mod advice. Where should I start? What should I do with X amount of money to spend? I take those questions often from the perspective of which mods will have the most effect on the driving experience of the car or most change its character.

The biggest improvements to these cars to me have been:
Coilovers
Tires
Corbeau A4
RST clutch w/ Lightweight fly
Shifter
Supercharger
Rotors / Pads

Shifter being important on that list, if any one shifter and its features are the right or best one for your car and then the price is justified. It will impact your experience every time you interface with the car.

But I will also say that none of them are cheap anymore. Gone are the days of a $150 shifter. B&M is the absolute SH*TTIEST shifter I have ever tried in a C5. It was so bad that I sold it and cut the bar instead of swapping the B&M into my daily. Yet B&M wants to charge $427 retail for them, currently only on sale at the $384 shown below. Sticker shock here is subjective.

$589 TickPerformance (includes tub)
$429 MGW (includes tub)
$443 TMODcustoms(includes tub)
$399 MGW
$296 LG Motorsports
$384 Hinson
$384 B&M

I remain curious about the LG piece. Hinson too. Both companies are likewise known for careful and strong parts development and bring their track experience to play. I am half tempted to order another one to add to the mix out of pure curiosity. I don't think LG gets as much attention as they deserve and it would be valuable to many out there to compare the cheapest on the list to the most expensive.

 

"Sticker shock here is subjective." That pricing is definitely relative.

I achieved a shift set up that I am perfectly happy with by rebuilding the stock shifter box to tighten everything up - cost, 4 3/16" bolts and lock nuts to replace the drilled out rivets, plus an amount of work with emery cloth on a surface plate to tighten things up. Add a cut down lever - cost, a $10 die to cut the threads down to the insulator, then a $30 shift ****, also screwed right down to the insulator. Also used good quality thicker flat washers and conventional bolts to really clamp the box tight to the tunnel. Now, there is still slop in the 1-2 plane, but that looseness is in the transmission itself. 3-4 and 5-6 planes are fine.

 

Do you have pictures or a post on how you did that? I'd enjoy cutting more on my factory box to see what it can do.

As for the transmission being the slop point, you may want to look into modifying the linkage bar if you have the interest. The factory U-joints either had slop from the factory or developed it as they have aged. Replacing those U-joints with some steel steering joints with no slop eliminates that excess free travel range. I have that on my Z06 which is not yet on the road. Testing it in the car feels great.

 

Also Hurst @ ~$350.00

 

I just installed mine, no test drive yet but it feels better than the Hurst for sure. Probably took me around 1 hour total job.

The sad news is, the flat they cut for the stock shifter **** is on the wrong side of the handle...Damn, such a simple mistake, but a big one.

I do not have the anti-venom mod but I can say this one is not as notchy sitting still as the Hurst and the 4-5 shift seems more like I think it should.

 

Technically, the flat is not required unless you install the factory T lock in the handle. Or for test purposed you could drive it with the handle reversed instead of waiting for the new part.

Any **** designed for the thread pattern will screw down over it with ease. My MGW **** had no issue.

 

Was that an old MGW before they started including the lower as well? The most recent, complete version can be had for under $400 online. I do find it amazing that a lot of used ones sell for darn near retail still though lol. If you have the patience to wait for a used one to pop up, you can get huge discounts on most of the options, even MGW. Maybe once the Tick's start popping up used, I'll give er a try.

 

It looks like a beautiful piece. I wish it were priced a little more competitively though.

 

I'm out in the shop huddling for warmth tonight and happened to inspect the stocker I removed. It sparked a memory which may be pertinent the shifter decision. When I bought in to TMODcustoms initial product offering of the custom tub mods I didn't think my stocker was worn out. How does the tub wear out, right?

But when I tossed it in and compared function it was worlds smoother than the stocker. Manh shifters are the upper selector only and you pay 400 or so and still have the half dead factory tub bearings in there.