General Ford Technical Discussion

#1 03-24-2010, 11:44 PM

Anyone have the TCI Ratchet Shifter for 2005-09 Ford Mustangs sold by American Muscle?

So guys I have been thinking about buying a Ratchet Shifter from TCI to make my auto a little more to drive. Does anyone have one of these? How was the install and how does it perform? Also since I have an auto and have no idea how to drive a stick, can some explain to me when you should/need to downshift? I understand when to upshift (I think) but never really understood downshifting.

Stangman23 · #2 03-24-2010, 11:48 PM

I was thinking about the shifter also but i was thinking if the installation would be major or not, but i am not sure if i want it yet it looks cool to use

**Stangman Jonathan** · #3 03-24-2010, 11:52 PM

Same here, I didn't get a chance to go for a ride with 06Mach1 yet to see how he uses his but I know its much smoother than the stock one and you don't miss a gear.

He'll have the best explanation lol

**PWRBY4D** · #4 03-25-2010, 07:26 AM

best mod i have done to date. it is a blast to use. fun at the track or just bangin through the gears on the street. very firm feeling. clicks into gear and locks in hard. looks so much better than stock shifter. very very solid much more so than the stocker. the stock shifter when manually shifting had a sloppy feel to it and it was easy to get stuck between gears or miss under hard use... i nver really shifted on my auto before i got this because of the fear of screwing up my trans... the ratchet shifter will take care of that. i got mine and it was around $240 shipped and they have went up in price by about $100 bucks since then. I got it over a year ago when they were first released.... I dont know why the price went up so much but I guess it was underpriced or on sale... I got the TCI Streetfighter unit. I dont know if others have come out but I recommend that one. a bit of a pain in the ass but if you have jackstands basic ratchets, a small torque wrench, long flathead screwdriver, dont mind taking out your entire console of your interior to install, no fear of climbing under a car(you are working in the transmission tunnel) you can do it. Took about 2hrs total and i got coffee and breakfast in there too... It was a bit of a bitch getting the stock one out but the new one goes right in with no problems. perfect fit. There are some videos of it on youtube too...

i downshift going down really steep hills instead of riding the brake. my area has a lot of really big hills/mountains so... autocross guys that are automatic (far and few between though) will downshift going into turns so when they come out they are right in the power range/get out of the turn and have instant torque.

I would upgrade to the 8.8 rear before doing this mod first if it were me. Money is better spent there. That is your weak link in the drivetrain right now.

#5 03-25-2010, 08:58 AM

I ordered my 8.8 yesterday lol. What about downshifting when you are coming to a brake or stop? Do you have to downshift? Should you do it when you are slowing down or completely stopped?

**PWRBY4D** · #6 03-25-2010, 10:14 AM

cool.

no. when you have it in drive / overdrive it acts just like your stock shifter and downshifts/upshifts for you. when you take it out of drive and up shift down shift in 1/2/3 is when you can ratchet back and forth between gears. it still shifts as the same as your shifter now but it locks into gear and you cant mishift/ put it into nuetral or park accidently etc.

if you end up at carlisle or a cruise or show i will be happy to let you sit in my car and check it out.

**Stangman Jonathan** · #7 03-25-2010, 10:25 AM

haha we can take turns with that since I didn't get a chance last time we met up, I was too hungry

#8 03-25-2010, 11:35 AM

Yea my above question about downshifting was while ratcheting in 1/2/3. I just dont really get when you do it lol. If I am in third and coming up to a stop light, do I just brake to a stop in third? Then ratchet down to first to take off?

**PWRBY4D** · #9 03-25-2010, 11:42 AM

yep. or you could ratchet up to D and then it will cycle through automatically just like your car does now. or you could ratchet down to first and bang the gears upwards... it works just like your stock shifter but it locks out neutral and park and provides a really positive feel to the shifter... hard to explain but once you try one you will be hooked... yuo are doing the right thing by getting the rear first. get that in first and then you can focus on the shifter.