Hurst Shifter Review

[z28th1s]

I ordered one of the newly released Hurst shifters and a Barton bracket for my uncle's '11 GT.

The shifter came in yesterday and I thought I would post some pics since most people haven't seen what they look like.

We plan on installing it tomorrow and will give my opinions on how it feels compared to my Barton shifter and Barton bracket that is in my car.

I ordered the shifter from American Muscle for $289.99 and with the svtperformance forum 6% discount the final price was $272.59 with free shipping.

I had planned on getting the Barton bracket from them, but they were out of stock and said it was going to be about two weeks until they got some more in. I called Barton directly and they shipped one out on Tuesday and it should be here today. The price from Barton was $79 with free shipping.

Here are some pics and some of my observations:

This is what is included with the shifter. Not in the picture is a detailed set of instructions and a small tube of multi-purpose grease.

Here are some pics of the shifter itself. It looks like a nice piece, but definitely doesn't seem as nice or as well made as the Barton shifter.

I was surprised that the shifter includes a new polyurethane bushing that fits in the factory support bracket. We will not be using this since we ordered the Barton bracket, but it is worth noting that Hurst did address the factory bracket.

The shifter also includes two shifter handles. The flat chrome stick that is shown in most of the promo pictures that uses the supplied white Hurst shifter knob and a black round stick that reuses your stock knob for a stock looking appearance. The chrome stick is 1 1/8" taller than the black stick and is slightly angled back towards the driver.

The shifter has an "adjustable spring loaded reverse lockout detent that eliminates the cumbersome push-down lockout."

The spring pressure is preset, but there is an adjustment on the bottom of the shifter to increase or decrease the spring pressure. It is the center hole on the right in this picture and you use a allen wrench to make the pressure adjustment.

The shifter also includes a small LED reverse indicator light (about the size of a pin head) that can be mounted on the dash. It includes the wiring and shows you where to tap into the reverse lights in the rear of the car.

I really don't know why this is included with the kit, unless it is because that they modified the reverse lockout and wanted you to have a way to know if the shifter was in reverse.

I don't think we will be using this.

I hope this helps some folks that are still searching for a shifter that is right for them.

I was able to sit in Travis' car (SID297) at Mustang Week and got to feel the MGW shifter (not driving, just shifting with the car off) so with me having the Barton I will have somewhat of an idea of the differences between the three.

 

[ViciousJay]

I was able to sit in Travis' car (SID297) at Mustang Week and got to feel the MGW shifter (not driving, just shifting with the car off) so with me having the Barton I will have somewhat of an idea of the differences between the three.

and what do you feel the differences are in the 3

 

[z28th1s]

and what do you feel the differences are in the 3

The MGW was MUCH easier to shift through the gears just sitting in the car than my Barton. I like my Barton for when I'm powershifting at the track but it is really notchy and takes quite a bit of shift effort for normal driving.

I'm anxious to see how the Hurst compares to the other two!

 

[z28th1s]

We got the Hurst shifter and Barton bracket installed in my uncle's car this morning. Installation was pretty straight forward. We didn't use the LED reverse indicator.

The shifter looks real nice installed in the car. I didn't get a chance to snap any pics this morning but it looks exactly like the pics that are on American Muscle's website. The height is about 1" taller than the stock knob and the flat chrome stick gives it that old muscle car look and looks very similar to the Hurst shifters for the '05-'09 Mustangs.

The spring loaded reverse lockout works well. We left it at the factory set tension level. My uncle is going to evaluate this for a little while. We may put just a little more tension on it. It just will require taking the shifter back off and using an Allen wrench to turn the adjustment screw on the bottom of the shifter base.

I was able to drive the car home from Hi-End Auto where we installed the shifter which is about a 25 minute drive. The shifter shifts VERY well. It is very precise and is very easy to shift in normal driving. It goes in and out of gear with MUCH less effort than my Barton shifter.

The shifter is pretty quiet and doesn't seem to add much NVH over the stock shifter. We did use the isolator pad between the lower shifter and the chrome stick. The Hurst shifter also comes with a foam rubber gasket to mount between the shifter and the trans. My uncle's car (11/10 build date) had a factory gasket on it and we just reused it.

This is different from my 4/10 build date '11 GT and my friend Josh's 5/10 or 6/10 build date '11 GT as our cars didn't have a factory installed gasket between the shifter and trans.

I was able to do two different 1st gear through 4th gear pulls on the way home. I was able to powershift the car at 6,800 RPM's and the shifter worked GREAT!! The car actually chirped the tires hard on the 3-4 shift both times. My uncle said he had never heard the car chirp the tires on the 3-4 shift before, only on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts prior to the shifter install.

I'm going to seriously consider ordering a Hurst shifter for my car and take the Barton shifter out and sell it. The Hurst feels much more like how I like a shifter to feel in regular driving situations and and is easy to powershift when you want to hammer the car!!

 

[SID297]

Just to throw in my two cents about you trying out the shifter in the SVTP car, I don't think you can tell a whole lot with the car just sitting still. It won't let you feel notchiness or deflection very well. I'm glad you like the Hurst setup, I'd like to give it a try.

 

[z28th1s]

Just to throw in my two cents about you trying out the shifter in the SVTP car, I don't think you can tell a whole lot with the car just sitting still. It won't let you feel notchiness or deflection very well. I'm glad you like the Hurst setup, I'd like to give it a try.

I agree Travis, without actually driving the car you can't really evaluate a shifter very well. You also have added the spring revision since Mustang Week.

I'm anxious to drive a car with the MGW shifter and then I can really make an educated decision on which shifter is best for me. At this point I like the feel of the Hurst over the Barton, especially in normal driving situations. It is just so much easier to shift with a less notchy feel to it.

 

[SID297]

That makes me really want to try the Hurst. I thought the Barton was pretty good, and thought it would be better than the Hurst.

 

[acrbill]

I have been a Hurst fan since I saw the initial pics. I love the look and the fact that it puts the shifter up higher. I think that poly bushing that comes with it sealed the deal for me.

 

[Mustang4vSVT]

this review really helps. Thanks for the write up!

 

[z28th1s]

this review really helps. Thanks for the write up!

No problem :beer:

 

[Roger Davis]

No problem :beer:

Thanks for the write up on the Hurst shifter as I am thinking about that for my 2012 GT.

Sorry for the hi-jack but how does the Mustang like the 501 between Lynchburg and Buena Vista?oke:
I will be taking a trip from NC to PA via 81 and that road is right on the way up.:rolling:

 

[z28th1s]

Thanks for the write up on the Hurst shifter as I am thinking about that for my 2012 GT.

Sorry for the hi-jack but how does the Mustang like the 501 between Lynchburg and Buena Vista?oke:
I will be taking a trip from NC to PA via 81 and that road is right on the way up.:rolling:

You're welcome :beer:

I actually drove my car through there last month when I took my car to Natural Bridge Dragstrip. I was on my 17x4 and 17x9.5 Race Star wheels with the MT drag radials. The car still handled great through the mountains. I ran a 7.39 @ 98 MPH in the 1/8 mile with a poor 1.72 60 foot time on a hot and humid night (2,800 DA). I'm looking forward to some cooler fall weather and shooting for a high 10 second 1/4 mile timeslip!

 

[scott_0]

nice little review! I might be selling my Barton now lol

 

[2011 gtcs]

any in car pics ?

 

[z28th1s]

nice little review! I might be selling my Barton now lol

Thanks!! I'm considering doing the same. I still want to drive a car with the MGW before I make my final decision.

any in car pics ?

I didn't have my camera with me when we installed it Friday, but go to americanmuscle.com and look at the pics of the shifter. It looks exactly like that in my uncle's car.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

good review! I'm still rocking the stock shifter w/barton bracket. Waiting to hear more people's thoughts on the MGW before making a decision.

I'm not too keen on such a big reduction in throw on the barton shifter which was why the MGW and Joe heck shifters have my interest. anyone know how much of a throw reduction the hurst shifter has?

 

[DWalker]

American Muscle's site says the Hurst is 37% shorter throw. I've had 2 Hurst shifters in my days, one on my termi and one on my 06 GT, and I loved them. I'll have a new 5.0 in a few months so I'll be getting the Hurst for it as well.

 

[92hatchlx]

May as well go for the MGW if it is going to be a few months

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

Wow haven't Adam from Joe Heck and George at MGW say that short of a throw could damage the transmission?

MGW short throw's almsot ready for 2011's!

 

[z28th1s]

good review! I'm still rocking the stock shifter w/barton bracket. Waiting to hear more people's thoughts on the MGW before making a decision.

I'm not too keen on such a big reduction in throw on the barton shifter which was why the MGW and Joe heck shifters have my interest. anyone know how much of a throw reduction the hurst shifter has?

Thanks!! :beer:

As I said earlier, I want to drive a car with the MGW shifter before I decide if I want to swap my Barton for one of the other shifters.