Our Verdict
Pros
- High build quality
- Performance feels great
- Additional inputs including buttons and a lever
- Adjustable and customisable
- Great value for money
Cons
- Loud shifting click
- Multi-function lever lacks resistance
- No side mounting
MOZA SGP Sequential Shifter review
If you’re considering treating yourself to a new sim racing sequential shifter, you’ve got a fair bit of choice. There are a few pretty good sequential shifters available at various price points.
Following the trend of MOZA Racing releasing high-quality products at low price points, they have just dropped their latest sim racing product, the SGP Sequential Shifter. And, well, as of today, this is now the cheapest dedicated branded sequential shifter you can buy. This sits alongside the MOZA HGP shifter which covers the H-pattern style of sim racing shifter.
MOZA sent me this review unit, and I have been spending the past few weeks putting it through its paces on track. I want to find out whether this isn’t just the cheapest but also one of the best sim racing sequential shifters you can buy.
Price
Before looking at the design and performance, let’s talk money. As I mentioned just now, this is the cheapest branded sequential shifter that I know about. It comes in at just;
- MOZA SGP Sequential Shifter: $129 / £109 / €139
This undercuts many of MOZA’s potential competitors and makes this an incredibly attractive proposition for those looking for a sequential shifter. It’s worth noting right away, that this SGP shifter is currently only PC compatible.
The design of the MOZA SGP Sequential Shifter
Now I’m going properly kick this MOZA SGP Sequential Shifter review off by taking a look at its design and overall quality. And, as with pretty much every MOZA product, things look great right away.
The design itself is pretty standard for a sequential shifter, but has been packaged nicely with some nice design flair throughout. You get a height-adjustable lever that can be moved up and down to change the shifter height. There’s a range of around 65mm or so of height adjustability here.
The handle is constructed entirely from metal and looks and feels great. However, those who race without gloves and wear a ring may find some scratching or wear over time. I haven’t tested this theory as I race with gloves on, but I’d imagine metal-on-metal contact could cause some issues. It is worth stating that this handle can be swapped out easily using an M12 screw head. So you can even pop on a real-world or aftermarket shifter handle if you wish.
On the main body and housing of the shifter, you get a couple of extra push buttons which I love to see. I’ve primarily been using these as my start and ignition. And the extra input that I didn’t expect to see, was an additional lever located just behind the hand grip. This does come in handy and can be assigned as another input in-game giving you extra access to features such as a quick neutral selector, clutch or handbrake.
All-metal construction
Now pretty much every part of this shifter is constructed from aerospace-grade aluminum making the whole thing pretty durable, and it also makes it look and feel high quality. At this price point, the overall build quality does let the SGP shifter compete with much more expensive options.
Multi-function lever
Now, I do want to touch on the additional lever, or as MOZA call it, the multi-functional lever. This is a pretty neat feature that MOZA certainly didn’t need to build in. Almost no other sequential shifters have this functionality at any price point.
The lever itself utilises a spring to add some resistance, however, in the unit I have the spring is incredibly light, making the lever feel really light. I have been told by MOZA that they have strengthened this spring for production units, and the shifter I have was a pre-production model. So this shouldn’t be an issue moving forward.
When you activate the lever, it is a direct input with no progression, meaning you cannot use it in the same way you would with a progressive clutch paddle as an example. However, you can program it to control pretty much anything in game.
I like to use it as a clutch input which can be useful if drifting with a two-pedal set like the Asetek Forte set that I currently use. I have also used it as a direct reverse gear selector for those moments when I’ve had a slight whoopsie and ended up facing the wrong way off track. This can save you having the push the shifter multiple times to move all the way through the gears.
Push buttons
As mentioned, the two push buttons on the body of the shifter are also welcome additions. Again, you can program, these to control anything in game. I’ve got them set to the starter and ignition, but you could use them again as direct gear selectors for neutral or reverse, or to control your wipers or headlights as a few examples.
If you’ve used any MOZA products, these push buttons will look familiar. They’re backlit RGB buttons which can be customised. The activation is almost identical to the activation on MOZA wheels such as the FSR or RS V2 wheels.
How does this shifter perform?
Now let’s take a look at how this shifter holds up during gameplay. As with any sequential shifter, you have both push and pull functionality, and the resistance will change slightly depending on how far you extend the lever.
You can also change the damping and resistance of each shift by adjusting the screw that sits inside the body of the shifter. Turning one way makes each shift easier to pull, while going the other way stiffens things up.
For my preference, the resistance out of the box is pretty spot on for my liking. You have to put in a good amount of force to get the lever to move in either direction, and once it does there is a nice fall-off in resistance. Once you get past the point of no return on either a push or pull shift, the lever falls into its farthest position and there is a really positive activation noise.
The rebound is equally smooth. As soon as you start to release pressure, the shifter falls back into its natural position. There is a second click as it returns to its resting position.
Rather noisy shifting
The clicks themselves are rather loud, to the point where I could hear it despite wearing headphones, meaning anyone in the same room or adjoining room would also almost certainly be able to hear it. I measured the shifter noise on the RS V2 steering wheel at around 70-75db. This sequential shifter tops out at around 85- 90 db. I’ll leave it up to you whether you think your partner will be OK with that sound multiple times every minute, but for me I like it.
The damping at the full extension position when activating the shifter on the upshift or downshift was good. I didn’t feel harsh contact when pulling a shift, and the lever never made contact with the shifter housing. Inside are a set of contactless hall sensors, similar to most MOZA paddle shifters and pedals, which ensure durability over time.
My one real niggle with the performance of this shifter was the slight play that you get with the shifter at its neutral position. There is some movement here, meaning you can actually slightly wiggle the lever before activating it in either direction.
During the heat of a race, you may not notice this so much, but on occasion, especially when switching from a downshift to an upshift, you can feel the wiggle. This can sometimes feel almost like a two-stage action. The first time you pull the shifter back the lever moves slightly and hits a point of resistance. Then as you apply more force, the shifter engages and falls into its activated position.
This is very minor and can go noticed, but when I was really concentrating on the shifter whilst racing, I could certainly notice it.
Mounting and compatibility
As with most MOZA sim racing products, mounting the SGP shifter is pretty easy. Six pre-drilled downward-facing holes let you mount this shifter to pretty much anything. I have mine bolted directly to my sim rig using two bolts and hex nuts, but you can use this shifter with an adapter or mounting plate just as easily.
Unfortunately, much like the MOZA handbrake, there still isn’t any way to mount it through the side of the shifter body. I would love to be able to attach both the shifter and handbrake together side by side to have a more ergonomic setup. However, if you have a shifter mounting plate on your sim rig, you could easily achieve this layout style.
Around the back of the shifter are two connection ports. These allow you to connect your SGP shifter to your PC directly via USB or to your MOZA wheel base. Unfortunately, there isn’t currently any console support, restricting this shifter to a PC-only sim racing product. However, with MOZA’s recent push into Xbox support with their R3 wheel, who knows whether this will be the same situation this time next year.
Should I buy the MOZA SGP Sequential Shifter?
And that brings me nicely to the final verdict on this shifter. Really, my overall thoughts are incredibly positive. MOZA once again, are producing sim racing products that feel much more premium than their price points, and that perform incredibly well. If I were another sim racing brand, I’d seriously be taking a strong look at what MOZA are doing. And if I were in the market for a sequential shifter, I’d snap this SGP shifter up in a heartbeat.
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
