MOZA Racing HGP Shifter
It has been a considerable amount of time since we last welcomed a completely new name to SimRaceBlog. This time, it’s the turn of MOZA Racing, based in China. MOZA is a fairly young brand that, in our perception, entered the sim racing market rather spontaneously. Despite being a new name in the world of sim racing, MOZA does have a noteworthy background in developing and producing products. They have developed stabilizers and gimbals for cameras and phones, aimed at both the professional market and consumers. They have utilized this knowledge and experience in R&D, marketing, and production to embark on a new path with MOZA Racing. By now, they have built a comprehensive ecosystem with various Direct Drive wheelbases, steering wheels, pedal sets, and accessories. Although we’ve certainly kept ourselves informed about MOZA’s developments and have had some contact with them, we hadn’t yet reached the point of reviewing their products. But, that is about to change now!
In our communication with MOZA, they asked us to write a review about the HGP Shifter and HBP Handbrake. Naturally, we’ve been curious about MOZA’s products from the very beginning, so these two products seem like a great starting point to get a taste of their ecosystem. In this review, we will cover the HGP Shifter. The HBP Handbrake will follow later.
The MOZA HGP Shifter is a sim racing shifter with a 7+R pattern. On the MOZA Racing webshop, it has a retail price of €159 excluding VAT. The HGP Shifter is also available from various retailers starting at €149 including VAT.
Packaging & Contents
The MOZA HGP Shifter was sent to us by MOZA, from China, and took 3 days to be delivered to us through FedEx. We received a brown shipping box containing the HGP Shifter and the HBP Handbrake, for which we paid a total of €20.37 in import fees. The white product box of the HGP Shifter looks very neat and sleek. It features images of the shifter, highlighted specifications, and MOZA branding all around. The blue accent on top of the box completes the overall look. Upon opening the product box, we first find a layer of soft black foam containing a short manual, a USB cable and RJ11 cable, and the detachable shift knob. We also find a little bag containing mounting materials, an extra spacer for the shifter, and noise-reducing bumpers for the slots of the H-pattern. Upon removing the black foam layer, we discover the HGP Shifter itself, which is also neatly and securely held in place by foam. Altogether, both the packaging and the contents of the shifter appear to be well taken care of by MOZA. It certainly excites us to further explore and engage with it.
Engineering & Quality
The MOZA HGP Shifter is a 7+R H-pattern shifter, which means it has 7 forward gears and a reverse gear. The seventh gear and reverse gear are locked, meaning you need to push the shifter down to engage these gears. The shifter does not come with a sequential mode, which could potentially be a drawback for sim racers who are beginners, exploring the options, or working with a limited budget.
The MOZA HGP Shifter is constructed with CNC-machined, black-anodized aluminum. The finish looks very impressive, and the overall quality feels excellent. The design of the HGP Shifter is quite straightforward, yet it appears very sleek and well-crafted in our eyes. A nice detail is the front of the housing, which has a subtle point to it and features the MOZA Racing logo, providing the design with its own distinctive and recognizable character. The shift knob is removable and can be replaced with other universal shift knobs. At the back of the housing, there is a “Transit” port and a port for the USB cable. The Transit output allows the HGP Shifter to be directly connected to a MOZA wheelbase, while the USB port enables direct connection of the shifter to a PC.
Internally, the MOZA HGP Shifter features a mechanism with a “shock-absorbing damping mechanism” that MOZA has developed and patented themselves. The exact details of this mechanism are MOZA’s secret. The gear shifts are detected by a 15-bit, contactless hall effect sensor, which essentially registers the angle of the shift lever. Lastly, the HGP Shifter comes with an inverted shift lever boot, which is positioned inside the housing and prevents dust from entering the mechanism.
Mounting
We are going to mount the MOZA HGP Shifter on our TREQ One sim rig, placing it directly on an aluminum profile. When we empty the bag of mounting materials, we immediately notice that the provided materials aren’t specifically aimed at top-mounting the shifter. There are M6 bolts and M6 nuts included for mounting the HGP Shifter on a shifter plate from below, but no T-nuts that match the bolts that can be placed in an aluminum profile. Fortunately, M8 bolts fit through the slots at the base of the shifter, so we choose to mount the HGP Shifter using M8 bolts and the corresponding M8 T-nuts we already have. Since, in our case, the arm of our sim rig runs close to our seat, we can only secure the shifter with two bolts at the far end of the slot in the base. We are aware that this might not appear to be the most visually solid solution, but the HGP Shifter is tightly and securely fixed to the aluminum profile. Time to connect the USB cable and get the shifter ready for use!
Software
The final step before we can use the MOZA HGP Shifter is, of course, installing the software. MOZA has developed an environment called “MOZA Pit House” for controlling their products. In Pit House, the entire MOZA ecosystem can be managed. Downloading and installing the software package is straightforward, and when connecting the HGP Shifter, it is recognized without any issues.
The number of settings for the HGP Shifter isn’t extensive, but that’s somewhat the nature of the product. There’s one screen available where the shifter can be calibrated, and where you can visually test all the gears. Additionally, on this screen, there’s an option for the “Auto Downshift Throttle Blip”. This function can only be used when you’re also using a MOZA pedal set. It provides a brief throttle input when downshifting, eliminating the need for the ‘heel-toe’ technique. Users can customize the duration of this throttle input and the percentage to which it engages. Since we don’t have a MOZA pedal set, unfortunately, we can’t activate this function. With the MOZA HGP Shifter calibrated and tested, there’s only one thing left to do – drive!
Using the HGP Shifter
We will be using the MOZA HGP Shifter in Assetto Corsa, where we’ll be getting behind the wheel of the BMW M3 E30 Drift, Ferrari 312T, and the Mazda MX5 Cup car. Assigning the gears is, of course, easy in Assetto Corsa Content Manager, so we can quickly jump in and start driving. While mounting and setting up the shifter, we’ve already gotten a very quick first impression, but now that we’re on the virtual track, we can truly put the shifter to the test.
The initial impression we get while driving with the shifter is good. Very good, actually. Apart from the fact that the shifter and the shift lever itself feel pleasant, the shifting experience is also positive. Some force is required to push the lever into a gear, but once past that point, the shift lever engages smoothly into the gear and towards the end of the slot. This demands a degree of assertiveness and confidence in using the shifter, which we consider a plus. Shifting up or down with the shifter also provides a smooth experience. Despite the need to push the shift lever through two resistances for each shift, the process feels like a single fluid motion, providing positive feedback and a satisfying sensation.
As mentioned earlier, the seventh and reverse gears are “locked,” requiring the shift lever to be pushed down to engage them. Initially, the force needed for this action feels somewhat heavy and unfamiliar, and we struggle to find these gears. However, as we become accustomed to the shifter, we notice that this becomes easier and smoother over time and finding the seventh and reverse gears start to feel more and more natural as time passes. Thanks to the contactless sensor, the selected gears are recognized early in the shifting process, whereas with other shifters, the detection point might be at the end of the slot, for instance. This means we can drop the shift lever into gear while simultaneously releasing the clutch, instead of having to wait for the lever to reach the end of the slot. This feels more intuitive to us and helps us shift quickly and smoothly. As far as we’re concerned, this is definitely a plus.
As mentioned before, the shift knob of the shifter is interchangeable with universal aftermarket knobs. In our opinion, this isn’t a necessity. The standard shift knob feels robust, has a decent weight, and offers a good grip. The rings around the shift knob contribute a bit to this, but we feel they are mostly there for aesthetic reasons. Inside the shifter, the mentioned inverted shift lever boot prevents dust from entering the mechanism. Besides being practical, this boot also adds to the shifter’s overall experience. When moving the shift knob, we can lightly hear the creaking of the leather, which we believe adds to the sensation and immersion.
Of course, we also place the noise-reducing bumpers in the slots of the shifter. Making sure the surface of the shifter is clean, we effortlessly stick the bumpers in their designated spots. Thanks to their good fit, there’s little room for error here. It’s worth noting that the seventh and reverse gears are not included in the bumpers, so they cannot be dampened. Our experience with the noise-reducing bumpers installed is that they do help to dampen the loud noise that occurs when the shift lever is pushed against the end of a slot, making the experience quieter and slightly softer. However, we find the effect to be relatively minimal. A significant portion of the noise the shifter produces comes from the actual mechanism within the HGP Shifter that generates the resistance and tactile feedback during shifts. The overall noise produced by the shifter can indeed become a bothersome factor for some drivers when there are other people present in the same space. Personally, we find the sound produced by the shifter quite satisfying – it gives us a raw and mechanical sensation that enhances the shifter experience, creating the impression that we are genuinely engaging in active shifting.
We spend several hours with the MOZA HGP Shifter and encounter no further comments or concerns. The shifter is incredibly responsive, allowing us to shift quickly and smoothly. Even when we handle the shift lever more roughly, selecting gears with more force, the shifter remains unaffected, providing a reassuring sense of confidence and letting us know that the shifter is suitable for heavier use as well. However, after some time of use, we do notice the likely reason for the included additional spacer around the shift lever; it shows some minor dents and marks from the contact at the end of the slots and the pointed, slightly rounded edges of the slots that we occasionally push against. The spacer seems to serve as a spare part, which is something we can appreciate from MOZA.
Video: Driving the MOZA Racing HGP Shifter
The video below is a brief driving impression where we use the MOZA Racing HGP Shifter. In this video, we’re driving in Assetto Corsa with the Ferrari 312T.
Conclusion
MOZA has introduced an intriguing sim racing gear shifter with their HGP Shifter. The shifter is constructed from high-quality materials and boasts a refined finish. The added internal shift lever boot serves not only the practical purpose of preventing dust from entering the mechanism but also contributes to the overall shifter experience. The self-developed mechanism responsible for generating the tactile feedback during shifts feels very pleasant and provides positive feedback. The seventh and reverse gears, which require pushing the shift lever to engage, might initially be a bit challenging to find, but this becomes more intuitive with experience.
Thanks to the use of hall-effect sensors that measure the angle of the shift lever, there is no friction or actuation point noticeable during gear changes, as you might find with a microswitch, for example. Because the sensor detects the gear relatively early as you push the shift lever, you can easily drop the lever into a gear while releasing the clutch, enabling you to shift up and down quickly with this shifter. Even when we handle the shift lever more roughly, it remains responsive and consistent.
The sound produced by the shifter might be a point of consideration for some. Personally, we don’t find the sound unpleasant, and in fact, we feel it adds to the mechanical sensation the shifter provides. However, it is somewhat loud. The included noise-reducing bumpers do help minimize the sound that occurs when the shift lever reaches the end of the slots, but the shifting mechanism itself, in our experience, remains the primary source of noise. A minor drawback for us is the absence of a sequential mode, but considering the price range where the HGP Shifter is placed, we can live with that and it think it would just have been a nice bonus to have. Also, we miss included materials for mounting the shifter on an aluminum profile.
We find the Pit House software well-designed and easy to use. Unfortunately, we couldn’t test the automatic throttle blip function as it only works when used with MOZA pedals that are also controlled through Pit House. A nice plus is the ability to replace the shift knob with universal aftermarket options. In our experience, this isn’t an immediate necessity, as we find the standard shift knob very comfortable due to its weight, finish, and the rings around it. However, if you prefer a Dragonball or a skull as a shift knob, you can certainly do that.
All in all, MOZA has brought a good, high-quality, and enjoyable shifter to the market with the HGP Shifter. Its price is also on the affordable side of the spectrum compared to other shifters in its segment. We would definitely recommend the MOZA HGP Shifter to sim racers who are looking for a quality H-shifter without breaking the bank, and for those who don’t mind the absence of a sequential mode.
The HGP Shifter is available on the MOZA Racing webshop for a retail price of €159 excluding VAT. The HGP Shifter is also available from various retailers starting at €149 including VAT.
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