will the improved 2015 shifter fit in a 2011-2014?

[pufferfish]

well, i had that very question. since i have spent a lot of time lately on shifters and whatnot, i know there are 3 main improvements made for the 2015 version. first, the box and mounting arm are 1 casted unit. this prevents the inconsistancies in the box "clocking" that caused pinched off 1-2 gates in some cars. second, the reverse lockout, lift up, instead of push down, is a better idea. third, and most important, is gate pitch. i have found that the tremec transmission shifting shafts require about the same angle to go from the 1-2 gate to the 3-4 gate, but in the cockpit, there is far less angle in the stick on the MT82 verses the tremecs. this makes the 2-3 transition more difficult (even with the blowfish shifter support). the 2015 version opens up the pitch to more closely match what you would find in a gt500, which is far easier to find 3rd gear in. in looking at both shifters, they are very similar, but would they be similar enough to swap to the better factory shifter? sort of. the 11-14 MT82 has a little wall just behind the shifter attachment boss that the 15 version doesn't have. this interferes with the 2015 shifter's arm. it could be cut off the trans or notch the arm. i chose to notch the arm. it now bolted up. next the rear body mount. no dice, but since i prefer the blowfish shifter support, i am back in the game. the 2015 kit bolts up perfectly. the shifter pokes up through the hole in the floorboard, but it doesn't sit right. the 2015 shifter has an oval ledge with foam to seal up against the floorboard, rather than the rubber bellows the 11-14 cars get. the center of the shifter pivot sits back and left of the center of the hole, so there is daylight showing near the front of the hole. i solved that problem by putting the bellows in. all sealed up and shifting well, i put the trim panel on and quickly realized the big diameter reverse lockout thingy wasn't going to go through the hole in my leather boot. boot off and trim panel back in, but the shifter was far left. too far for the shifter to get far enough left to get into reverse. so, the chrome trim ring had to be removed. its now functioning. time for a drive.

i tell you what, ford did a good job with this shifter. it feels much easier to manipulate. i really like the reverse lockout mechanism. the gate pitch is perfect. even the more left position works out. i had a cup in the cup holder and barely noticed it was there! i just need to figure out how to avoid the large viewing window to the shifter and i have a keeper.

to sweeten the pot, ford racing is releasing a short throw for the 2015. its expected to be available in may. i have one on order. no, it is not a rebranded barton unit like the 11-14 cars get. it is a factory style shifter with stiffer bushings and a 17% reduction in throw. should prove interesting!

 

[todcp]

Be sure you are not trading one poor shifter for another.
Here are test comments in the latest Autoweek GT Model review.
The stickshift is better than the previous model, but the linkage feels the same or worse to me. A few times I was trying to make quick changes, just to miss a gate instead.

 

[F.D. Sako]

That's just a comment from someone who has only driven the car. Steve has dissected both shifter designs and studied them in detail. So, I trust he knows what he's doing and trying to accomplish

 

[superhero]

I agree 100%.

 

[pufferfish]

Be sure you are not trading one poor shifter for another.
Here are test comments in the latest Autoweek GT Model review.
The stickshift is better than the previous model, but the linkage feels the same or worse to me. A few times I was trying to make quick changes, just to miss a gate instead.

of course the factory setup arranged in the factory configuration will do this regardless of the factory shifter installed. if the autoweek driver had the same car with a blowfish shifter support kit installed, that comment would have never happened.

for the record, i have tested the factory linkage in my 50k mile 2011 shifter. it has zero deflection. it turn it 5 degrees on the stick side and the trans shift rail moves 5 degrees. this idea that the multi-joint linkage causes any issues, is completely false. the joints are very wide, which offers little to no leverage to be able to compress the bushing material and reduce the output movement. it will deflect if your crank on it, however, but if someone that ham-fisted with the shifter, they've got bigger problems. of course, there is a benefit to zero joints, such as lighter mass and a more direct feel. but i wont do it. period. i come from an automated machine design backround and 2 seperate assemblies with linear bearings would NEVER have their shafts solid mounted together. i don't care if they're bolted together and their axis' were perfectly in line. they would always get a flexible coupling at a minimum. perfectly aligned is MUCH closer than a human hair. actually split that human hair 10 times (0.0003") and thats the maximum runout these bearings can take for a lifetime of happiness. angular misalignment allowed in this arrangement is zero, not point whatever...ZERO. now tell me it won't deflet even by 1 human hair! i will take all my "wonky" joints to keep the bearing in the transmission happy and still never miss a shift (as long as the shifter support kit is installed), over the ultimate precision and start the clock ticking on the next mt82 rebuild...over a stupid bearing that failed...or worse, the failed bearing could destroy more. who knows on that one, but its not going on my car.

look, i don't expect everyone to know this stuff. its not your job to. your job is to be the best at what you do to afford to buy stuff to enrich your driving experience. my job is to develop stuff that enriches your driving experience...without challenging the laws of physics. i think all manufcaturers do this, but much like machine design, there's no ringer. perfection doesn't happen on the first attempt. mine was the rattle issue. i have never witnessed a transmission with as much harmonics and varying degrees of its amplitude, as the MT82. the shifter support had to go on hundreds of cars to see this, as the small pool of test cars didn't offer a wide enough demographic to identify the range of amplitude that showed isolation of the shifter was necessary. mgw now has 4 iterations of their 11-14 shifter. barton has 2 or 3 as well. its just how things go. live and learn.