I've noticed I don't see a lot of people running short shifters. I always used MGWs in my Cobras and LOVED them and would want one in my C6, but I notice not only few people running them, but heard they can cause damage. How so, and how often?

 

From what I've read, it seems more prevalent that dealers will use the after market shifter as an excuse to avoid warranty work on a tranny, blaming the shifter as the cause.

A lot of guys stay away from the after market shifters for that reason alone.

For me personally the shifter on my '13 GS is a short enough throw for me.

 

There isn't much about the shifter that can cause damage to the transmission. Circle your left index finger and thumb and stick your right index finger through the hole. That is all the shifter is. Doesn't matter whether it is stock or aftermarket. The only thing the aftermarket can do is restrict the size of the hole or raise/lower the fulcrum point (the point along the shifter shaft that is in the circle). Raising the fulcrum point decreases the shifter travel but increases the force required to move the shift linkage and gears inside the transmission. Narrowing the radius along with raising the fulcrum point can make the shifter feel tighter. I haven't really seen any reason to do that. The 08 and newer transmission is very easy to shift and I can't see giving up ease for more effort and shorter travel. The operating end of the shifter shaft moves just as far as rapidly either way.

Most people don't use the shifter properly thus screw up the shifts. Drivers need to know how to control a 6 speed transmission. Shifters can't be grabbed like a pistol grip, they can't be aimed like the old 4 speed trannys/shifters where the driver just forced the shifter diagonally from 2nd to 3rd with no fear of getting a different gate.

I can shift my transmission by using two or three finger tips and the heel of my hand by placing my hand on top of the shifter. Shift from 1st to 2nd is a pull back with the fingers with a slight leftward pressure to override the centering spring in the transmission. 2nd to 3rd is a push forward with the palm of the hand (the centering spring will take the transmission to the 3-4 gate. The 3-4 shift is just a straight pull back with the finger tips. Easy to do and can almost be done with no arm movement at all. Most of the movement is with the hand/wrist. Shift to 5th is done by heel of the hand with slight pressure to the right and shift to 6th is a straight pull back. Any aftermarket shifter will make all of that more difficult to do.

There may be great quality aftermarket shifters on the market but that doesn't mean they really do any better than the stock shifter. Great quality of craftsmanship doesn't always mean great quality of operation which is all that counts.

Bill

 

I am with you, I think the C6 factory 6 gear shifter is excellent. There is no magic to a shifter, you are much better practicing and then practice some more to make super power shifts. I think some of the Shifter Mfg's are playing on back in the day when Hurst shifters were actually much better than the factory pieces but that is not the case today. The old " T " handled Hurst shifters looked great, great power shifts and most if all a great selling point...🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

 

I guess if the stops weren't adjusted properly you could damage something, but with a correct installation, you should be good.

 

The MGW shifter is a quality piece. I've never heard of it leading to problems, and given the level of quality and reputation of the manufacturer I would be surprised to hear that. I've done 25K miles of daily driving with mine and I have no issues. I love the precision of the MGW.