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Barton Shifter

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Do any of you use the Barton shifter? Do you like it? I know everyone raves about the MGW. It seems over built for what I'm doing.
I've also seen that the Barton offers something that clamps to the rear of the tail shaft that reduces deflection. I guess it might be a nice addition for road racing.
 
I have not used either, but I was at a local shop and they had the Barton in a box and let me play with it and it looks like it is quality kit. They have them on a couple customer LS track cars and had nothing but good to say about them, and iirc they have a stiffer centering spring which I would like. However the MGW has a pretty big following here, and last time I checked the thread nobody here had installed the Barton. If you would like, I can PM you the name of the shop and you can call them and ask what they think about it.
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
I have drove a 11 CS with a barton. at the time it was the barton or the steeda, MGW hadnt come out yet. It was nice shorter throws. I still had to shift slowly to third though. For the money that a barton and rear bracket costs I cant see why you wouldnt just get the better shifter anyway. Which is the MGW.

If you get one and do not like it you will have little to no trouble selling the MGW on here or other mustang sites for the wait time is long and people will pay to be able to get one "right now"

If you watch the comparison video on their site between the stock shifter and the MGW it should convince you as to why Barton and others like it are just band-aids to a larger problem.
 

Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
I agree with what Justin said. My order from MGW arrived Friday afternoon. Words don't adequately describe the quality. I think the reason MGW has such a strong following is that they wanted to address most of the issues with the shifter...changing the transmission fluid also helps..from what I've read. A question I asked myself...before deciding to purchase an MGW...why don't Hurst, Barton etc. address the lower bracket? Then I noticed that Barton is producing some sort of bracket now. Makes me think MGW really hit on to something...but it's probably costly to address this issue and others....well....it probably pays less dividends to provide the lower portion. Unless they can convince all MT 82 owners to buy their product.

Perhaps each piece is a slight improvement. Maybe the Barton shifter is enough for most folks. I want to address as many of the variables that I can. I really dislike guessing which gear I'll get into as the motor is at full song.

Guess it boils down to personal preferences, budgets and willingness to change things on the vehicle. IMHO.

Wayne
 
Senderofan said:
I agree with what Justin said. My order from MGW arrived Friday afternoon.
How long did it take from order date until you received yours? I ordered one Thursday.

My take on this is the biggest difference anyone is going to feel is improving the shifter bracket. The stock bracket is a marshmallow and stiffening that up will be noticeable. If you want the Barton or Steeda order just their shifter bracket first as that will firm us the shifting. Change the fluid if you're having any grinding. If you're still not satisfied and feel the need to replace the shifter you should watch the MGW video where they show you how they designed the lower portion of their shifter and then make your decision.

BTW I'll have a lightly used Steeda shifter bracket available for sale soon...drop me a PM if you are interested.
 
5 DOT 0 said:
Senderofan said:
I agree with what Justin said. My order from MGW arrived Friday afternoon.
How long did it take from order date until you received yours? I ordered one Thursday.

My take on this is the biggest difference anyone is going to feel is improving the shifter bracket. The stock bracket is a marshmallow and stiffening that up will be noticeable. If you want the Barton or Steeda order just their shifter bracket first as that will firm us the shifting. Change the fluid if you're having any grinding. If you're still not satisfied and feel the need to replace the shifter you should watch the MGW video where they show you how they designed the lower portion of their shifter and then make your decision.

BTW I'll have a lightly used Steeda shifter bracket available for sale soon...drop me a PM if you are interested.

Which trans fluid is the one to use? I noticed in my "Boss Brochure" it claimed the trans had fluid for life.
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
ford20 said:
You guys can't be talking about the new two post design, I do believe it shares its design with the MGW.
it still doesnt appear to solve the issue. unless that bracket if fixed as to not move at all on the stock shifter lower it will still move.

and for 379 for the shifter and just the bracket you still get the better design of the MGW that gives you much more for the same price.

0_0_0_0_372_365_csupload_45353852.jpg
 
I looked at the Barton website and I'm unclear how that mounts. If anyone has the instructions please post a link.

http://www.bartonindustries.com/2011-MUSTANG.html

The MGW is still a superior design since the lower box is one piece with significantly more substantial linkage bushings and the dual pin design is incorporated into the lower box. No bolting it on. The box still moves, it's designed to, but it move fore and aft and not horizontal or vertical. But all aftermarket shifter brackets do that. It's a superior design but I remain cautiously optimistic it solves my lock out problems. To be continued.
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
Cant say for sure but does the stub out of the back of the stock shifter box have a spline? If so maybe they use that to clamp around to prevent moving.

For my money I would take the MGW over the Barton anyday unless someone was going to give me the barton for free or it cost say 100 bucks.
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRZjNw77_jQ&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]​

From Dave who owns Barton IIRC


BARTON;3048080 said:
Hey Everyone, I would like to clear up a few things.

1st- Thanks for the positive comments.

2nd- We did not copy MGW's design. This is a rear bracket for the stock box. Does it use two posts instead of one, yes. That is the only thing that is even remotely close to the MGW shifters design. Not everyone wants to replace the whole shifter, and this is an option for those that don't.

The "IDEA" of a two post bracket is nothing new and it's not rocket science. It has been used on countless things, and some cars even come from the FACTORY that way. :yup:

As far as people saying MGW FTW! I'm glad you like your shifter.:bigthumbsup There are also about 3000 people using our shifter as well that will say the same thing about ours. I've had people using our shifter switch to the MGW and like it better. That's OK. I've also had guys with the MGW switch to our shifter and they like ours better. The point is, not EVERYONE like's the same thing, which is why we try to offer multiple options for just about everyone. When this car came out I jumped all over it. I have had plans since the beginning to make a few different shifters for it. I'm currently working on a Full box replacement, a budget shifter, and I have even toyed with the Idea of offering a LONG throw shifter for those that want a shifter that takes ZERO effort. So just because a company has something out before us, doesn't mean we are copying them.

In the video when I was talking about the "design we have come up with", I was referring to the idea of how to make it work with the factory box. We have spent almost 2 years on this design. LONG before MGW's shifter was even out. I about gave up on it and it sat on the shelf for 6 months, until about 3 weeks ago, and then I had an idea of putting a video camera under the car while I was driving to see why I was having issues. We did just that and now the product is ready.:bigthumbsup

Also on a side note:
We were the 1st ones to offer a bracket to begin with that helped to eliminate the crappy stock bracket, and then a bunch of other brackets started popping up. Did anybody accuse them of copying us?
Also, we were the 1st to use a dual pivot design with two different height offsets to account for how close the gates are together in the new Mustang. We spent A LOT of time on this design because we found the higher you raised the pivot point to reduce the throws, the closer your gates got together and that made finding the gears very difficult. So coming up with the two different height pivots eliminated this. Well of course this was such a great design that you will now see it in the MGW product. I guess nobody caught that?

By NO means am I putting down MGW. I have met and talked with George, he's a great guy and he makes a Great shifter. If I wasn't making shifters I would be using his. I have even sent a lot of people to him when we have been out of stock.

So to end this Novel.:bigthumbsup
Thanks,
Dave Moses
Barton Industries

BARTON;3048329 said:
The only purpose there really is to replacing the stock box is so you can build features into your shifter that the stock box won't allow. For example: The two post bracket.(but we solved that with the new bracket). And the real reason.... centering springs. The stock box limits what you can do with the shifter design. I know people will bring up the "weak little bushings inside" but this is not the case. The bushings are spread apart over a distance which creates strength. Don't believe me. Take your box off the car, re-assemble the box with the shifter attached so the bushings are in place, and put a 9/16 bar in place of the linkage and try to deflect that bar. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!:nogrinner All the deflection comes from the rear mount, based on the single arm design. We've solved that on the stock box now with our new designed bracket. Not to mention the bushings inside the stock box have a plastic center which is going to wear and slide A LOT better then polyurethane.
Now, we are in the process of making a complete box replacement. But it is not because the stock box is deficient. It is because we want to be able to offer our flat stick design and multiple handle choices, along with centering springs. As far as price is concerened for the whole box replacment. It will be priced about where our new bracket and shifter is. This is because the box design can be made for a lesser cost, because we don't have to design around the factory box. For example, because we don't offer centering springs in our shifter, the pivot mechanism has to be very precise. If its not then the shifter will be sloppy. I have a + or - .0002 on my center pivot pins and a + or - .0002 on my bushings Along with the base and pivot block those bushings go into. To put that in perspective a human hair is roughly .002 which means my tolerance is about 1/10th the thickness of a hair. That is what creates the higher price on my components. Now if I use centering springs, the springs will take up slop and my tolerance will be about plus or minus .005 that is 25x greater than what I have to hold right now. That is what will allow me to build more components for the same price. So just because you think you get more for the same price, doesn't mean it cost more to produce. The new box design will not be better than our current shifter. I have been overwhelmed with emails from people to offer our Barton flat stick for the 2011 and that is why we are doing it and it will also have the centering springs for those that want that as well.
We also ship for free and have a 30 day money back guarantee. All that has to be considered when looking at price.

I hope all that made since.

Dave
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
Thats some good PR spin.

Bottom line is buy the one you think you want or know you want. I have the MGW on my car I know it works great. I have drove the barton without the new rear bracket and it wasnt as food as the MGW (under full load at redline shift with the pedal on the floor) that may not be the case anymore I cant say for sure. If I had the money and time I would buy the other one and give it a try.

I can say I like my MGW shift knob better :)
552773_427058177326759_100000677422918_1327689_379405759_n.jpg
 
Hahaha pretty much. I am going with the Barton for now due to the fact that they are Based out of New York and that is where I am from. If I don't like it, then the MGW gets my vote again lol. I had one in my 09 V6 and since I am selling it in order to get a Boss i sold it to one of my friends.
 
I think the new Barton bracket is a game changer. It won't change my mind from buying the MGW, I can still cancel my order, but I would look at that first if you're looking to firm up your shifting. That might be enough for most with no need to change the shifter. His comment on the bushings in the lower box are interesting. He could be correct that they are not necessary but I think it will make a difference.
 

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