Just got a B&M shifter

[darien87]

I know, I know, I should have sprung for an MGW. But I got the B & M for $165 off eBay. The MGW looks like a great piece, but it's almost twice what I paid for the B & M and money is tight right now.

It's shipping from Florida, so it will probably take about a week to get here. I'll let you guys know what I think of it after I get it installed. This will be my first B & M shifter. My 92 had a Steeda Tri-ax, (nice shifter), my 95 had a Pro 5.0 I believe (nice shifter). Hopefully the B & M will be as good.

 

[Poco]

I'm sure you know how to install a shifter,just make sure you use lock tight on that 18mm bolt. I used lock tight and the bolt still came loose. I lucked out and it happened in front of the house. Happy shifting!
Don't feel bad about money being tight,its tough everywhere.

 

[bigcat]

click the hurst install link in my sig for the basics on how to install the shifter. you dont see many people with a B&M shifter.

 

[darien87]

I'm sure you know how to install a shifter,just make sure you use lock tight on that 18mm bolt. I used lock tight and the bolt still came loose. I lucked out and it happened in front of the house. Happy shifting!
Don't feel bad about money being tight,its tough everywhere.

Thanks for the tip. I read the instructions last night. It looks like the kit comes with a tube of Locktite. Guess I'll use it liberally.

 

[darien87]

click the hurst install link in my sig for the basics on how to install the shifter. you dont see many people with a B&M shifter.

I have already perused your write-up. I'm sure I will again before I do the install.

I was a little worried about nobody having the B&M, but I've heard the name B&M before, and since B&M and Hurst are now the same company, it made me feel a little better. If I don't like it, I'll just swap it for another one and I'm not out too much money. Hopefully it goes well.

 

[darien87]

So I finally got around to installing the shifter last night, (my knuckles look like hamburger ).

So far, I like the short throw, but the effort to shift is pretty high. I'd say it takes twice as much effort to shift with the B&M than the stock shifter. I've had aftermarket shifters in the past, (Steeda Tri-ax and Pro 5.0), but this one seems to be the stiffest. I just called B&M to ask them about this, and the guy told me that usually people say that Hurst shifters are stiffer than B&M.

There are a couple of rubber isolators that you put between the underside of the car and the mounting plate of the shifter. The instructions say to tighten the 10mm nuts until you compress that isolators about 1/8", but I was a little unsure about how much this was. You can't see the isolators once you put them on, because they're between the bottom of the car and the plate. I asked the B&M guy if overtightening these could have an effect on the shifter effort and he said maybe. So maybe I'll back off on these a bit. I also didn't put locktite on them, so now I'm kinda paranoid. Guess I'll be doing that tonight.

Overall, I like the shifter. I just wish it didn't take so much effort to shift.

By the way, installing the thing was a major pain. I just had the front end on jackstands and those 2 little 10mm nuts that hold the bracket that holds the back of the stock shifter to the car took me about 1/2 hour!!! Also, B&M's instructions didn't say to remove that bracket, and my car had a retaining clip that held the bracket in place even with the nuts removed. It was a serious pain in the ass to break that stupid clip off!!

Do the other aftermarket shifters take a lot of effort to shift?

 

[PoopDawg]

My Hurst is difficult to shift when it's cold... But once it's warmed up.. it's like butta! I had a B&M in my 83 5.0 and I really liked it.

 

[TBrad]

I like my Hurst.
It seemed really stiff at first.
But when your shifting through the gears fast and hard it's like butter.
My stock shifter was like a loose and sloppy whore compared to the Hurst.
Hell, half the time I could hardly tell if I even got it into third gear!

 

[GT Larry]

B&M shifter

So whats the final verdict on the B&M shifter??? I was thinking about buying one.

 

[ric_jones]

I bought my car with the B&M installed and hate it. It is way too stiff and doesn't loosen up when it gets warm like the other guys Hurst. Yes it has a shorter throw then stock, which is great for the 1 -2, 3-4 shifts however at the track the stiffness and design of the shifter (return spring) makes it next to impossible to find 3rd when shifting hard. Even on the street when you are out looking for fun, you have to baby it into 3rd or you miss it. I preferred my friends stock 05 shifter (the worst factory one so I am told) with all its sloppiness because I could at least find 3rd. I am seriously thinking of putting my factory one back in and saving up for the MGW. Final verdict: Anything is better then this shifter.

 

[GreyDiesel]

I say this on every shifter thread, but it need to be said.

Royal Purple Synchromax.

If you install a short throw shifter, you need the upgrade your tranny fluid. The shifter just gives you better leverage on the gears, so you can put more muscle into the shift, but in doing so, your putting more stress on the synchros. Putting a better fluid in the tranny will relieve a bit of that stress and make for smoother shifting.

If anyone here plays Forza on Xbox, you might notice that the first transmission upgrade is a short shifter AND a bottle of fluid. You dont have the option of doing just a short throw, you need the bottle of fluid to go with it. (I know I just destroyed my credibility with any non-gamers, but I just thought that was interesting. )

I have had RP Synchromax in my transmission for over a year now, and it is amazing. The shifting just keeps getting smoother and smoother (with a Hurst Billet) as the RP soaks deeper into the synchros. I noticed, this winter, no matter what the temp, the thing pops into gear even on cold start up. Last year, after having the RP in just a month or so, on cold winter mornings, the transmission would still stick a bit.

I dont know about the B&M, but I would try a fluid upgrade before coming to any negative conclusions about a shifter. My Hurst sucked donkey balls, (super tight, hard to force into gear), before I put in the RP. Now it floats into gear with just the effort of one finger.