My 2008 came with a B&M shifter. I think the sportshifter. The shifting in the car can be notchy and difficult at times. Does this come from the shifter or something worse in the transmission? Could it need alignment?
What shifter do people here like? Is the MGW better?

EDIT: I think I should just say difficult. I have to apply more force sometimes than I think I should. Every once in a while it doesn't want to go into first. I may have to put it in second and then first. Maybe even let the clutch out a little in second and then go back to first. I know I need to change the fluid, but haven't had time and don't drive the car all that much.

 

MGW is probably the best and most popular aftermarket shifter for C6's. I owned two of them and I did love it. I did find after a while that the throw was a bit too short for my tastes.

Some of the notchiness is just the nature of the transmission.

I now have a TMOD Customs lower box with the factory shifter in my GS. The GS shifter is the same as the Z06 shifter and is shorter than in the base C6's. The TMOD Customs is an upgrade to the stock box and is a great option.

 

Curious what is different about the TMOD box compared to the OEM? What shortcomings does it address

 

It has upgraded mount bushings and much more precise bearings that the shifter rod rides on. So it makes the shifter much more precise and solid feeling.

 

Thank you, I might give it some consideration

 

I had a 2005 that was stock and I would say the shifting was silky smooth. On this one, it takes more force to get it into gear sometimes. I get shorter throw means less mechanical advantage, so I would expect a little more force would be needed. On this one, I have trouble getting it into reverse. It also seems like everything is closer to the dash. Like the center point is shifted. I look down and the car is in 4th, but the position of the shifter almost looks like 3rd. That's why I was wondering if there was an adjustment on them. It's not bad, but it seems off. I haven't driven a bunch of them to know what's normal and what isn't.

 

I had ordered the Hinson shifter but cancelled because I’m not going racecar. I bought a used tmod locally with a 20 throw reduction.


People here generally recommend the tmod shifter or mgw. I almost bought the new tick shifter but there isn’t much info on it. It’s good in fbodies but not many comments regarding corvettes. It was recommended by someone on here when I made a shifter post a few weeks ago. I just couldn’t stomach that much money for a shifter.

 

"08's came with the then new, Tremec TR6060 transmission. Many '08-'10??? trans had a distinct grinding problem in the 1-2 shifting. It's a trans problem that cannot be fixed. It's better when the trans warms up. Some members post that a fluid change helps, but didn't help on mine. It was fixed or made better, in later year model cars. I regularly shift 1-3 in normal driving to avoid the grind.

 

I have had the 1-2 issue, but I thought it was me not getting the clutch all the way in. I'm planning to change the fluid, just haven't had time yet. If anything happens to the transmission and I have to rebuild it, does that fix the issue?
Does the B&M have any adjustments? I kind of feel like it's not in exactly the right place
Are the MGW and TMOD recommended in the forum because they are better shifter that the B&M? I don't hear B&M talked about much here.

 

I don't know about the B&M or the TMOD but my experience with the MGW is that it is a fine piece of engineering and works perfectly. Plus, their support is second to none.

Tom

 

The B&M shifters, in my opinion, are a waste of money. The shifting being difficult very well could have been an install error (alignment) but I think all aftermarket shifters are going to be notchy compared to stock. I have an MGW in my tr6060 and love it. The shifts are slightly notchy but not difficult to shift my any means. It was certainly worth the money.

 

It may well be the OEM shifter box. They do age and get sloppy. The OEM shifter box was likely not changed at the time the aftermarket one was installed.

 

A lot of it can depend too on the age of the car, miles, and how it was treated (speed shifting, abuse, etc.). The Tremec is a notchy little bugger when cold. Also, a lot of people don't drive their cars daily, and I've found that when cars sit for a while, the transmissions often need some good driving with temperatures up to normal for all the lubricated parts (synchronizers, etc.) to really get back in the groove.

I'm also in the "I hate short shifters" camp, I've never seen one that I liked outside of the kit that Porsche put in their 997.2 cars, but that was a factory option and probably cost several thousand dollars (because Porsche). Even so, it was still notchy.

 

I fit into many of those categories. It's got 55K miles. I don't drive it daily. I work from home, so I don't drive daily. When I take it out for a decent length drive, it seems to get a little better. The original owner may have driven it hard. I bought it summer 2022. I like the short throw better than stock. I don't think the original shifter box was changed. It's got headers and I think there is a lot of heat. The center console seems hot to me sometimes. I'm not sure how hot in "normal". I think I will look to swap to the MGW, but not sure when. I will see if I can do any adjustments that may help in the short term.

 

If you want to save some money send your box in to be upgraded, I'll have it back in the mail within a few days. My upgraded factory boxes feel and function the same as the shinny billet boxes, upgrading the box removes a lot of the slop and make for a smoother operation of ANY shifter you put on the box. Upgraded boxes also dampen vibration much better and will stay that way for as long as you own the car.

Your not going to be able to overcome the shortcomings of that shifter, but it will make it better for sure. The reason I made this shifter in the first place was because I didn't like how high effort and notchy all the available aftermarket options were for thee cars. Tight, crisp, precise shifts, better vibration dampening and much less effort required to move the stick is what you can expect from my 20% setup compared to the rest of the aftermarket options.

PS; If you can get into all the gears your alignment is good. If you have trouble getting into first or reverse the bolt on the linkage is probably loose. If you think this could be the case you can make a mark with a sharpie marker on the shaft coming out of the box, and on the collar of the linkage. Watch that mark while you reach for first then reach for reverse. The mark will let you know if the shaft from the box is slipping inside the collar. When the bolt is not tight enough it will allow the shaft to slip inside the collar at the very ends of it's rotation. This means that your moving the stick but it's not moving the linkage all the way into first or reverse. The two parts need to move together 1:1 all the way through it's range of motion.

If you see this happening remove that bolt and clean off the threads with a wire brush and some brake cleaner. Center the stick in neutral and tighten that bolt to 22#. Confirm that your now able to get into first and reverse. Drive the car around the block, you don't want to try and find first and reverse without moving the car, it has to move fwd\rwd ten feet or so. Once you've confirmed that this issue is resolved you need to center the stick again, hold it still in place while you pull that bolt out one more time. Give the threads a little RED Loctite and put it back in. This is the step that keeps you from having this issue later on.

 

TMOD, Thanks for all the pointers. I will check the bolt. Reverse is where the issue is so it very well could be the bolt. I have seen several posts about your box. All good things. Probably not going to get to work on it for a few weeks, but I’ll get there eventually.

 

MGW Shifter is one of first mods I added to my 2013 GS. Yes, to some, it’s notchy or too tight or shifts are too short. But to me, the MGW gives me perfect shifts every time.
With that said, it all comes down to the driver and what feels good. Most sticks to the OEM. Others will go with aftermarket.

 

Could some of the notchiness be reduced with the anti-venom mod?

 

I sent my '13 GS lower box to have TMod rebuild it a couple of years back. Incredible difference- even with the stock shifter, the preciseness of the rebuilt box was more like a bolt action rifle while moving through the gears.
Fast forward and looking to try a shorter throw, I talk to TMod and order the 20% shifter to put on top of the rebuilt box. To my surprise, it could indeed get better. this shifter is no joke. Cnc'd by a true enthusiast that knows what he's doing. Not sponsored, no affiliation, just a fan of a great product.

 

I've had one T56 car and three TR6060 cars. They are all notchy, even new. The only aftermarket shifter I've had is the MGW and it didn't change the notchiness.