I've got 800 miles on my '01 S2000, which is awesome BTW.

BUT - until the car is REALLY WARM, I have difficulty shifting 1-2 and 2-3 without it "clunking" into gear. It's as if the syncrhos aren't letting the gear in at the right rpm, or it's going into gear too soon.

It doesn't "grind", but it doesn't go in smoothly, until it's REALLY warm (like 25 minutes of driving).

Is this normal? I've tried shifting with differrent pressures and speeds on the shifter, and if I shift 1-2 REALLY slow, and 2-3 REALLY fast, it goes in smoothly. Once the car is really warm, it shifts fine. These shifts are in the 3-5K range.

Any thoughts? Has this happened to any of you?

Thanks in advance!

 

This is normal for my car. And it's kind of annoying! Until the tranny fluid gets warm, shifting is kind of sticky and clunky. After it's warm, it snicks like nobody's business...

Normal? Probably. Annoying? Definitely.

 

If this is normal, at what point (miles-wise) can I replace the gear oil with RedLine or another really good oil that helps out with this sort of thing?

 

That is normal, my car does the same.

 

Here's another data point.

When new, shifting was "clunky" in my car from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, expecially when cold. The clunkiness disapeared in the 1-2 shift at around 2500 miles. The 2-3 clunk has diminished, but remains, especially when the tranny is cold. HTH.

 

Just seconding CoralDoc's experience.

 

Yeah. I have experienced that as well, but it has been going away gradually as the miles have gone up. I'm at 2100 miles now.

 

GREAT!!!! Thanks for the responses.

But do any of you know when I can put in something like Redline or some other good transmission oil?

 

It is pretty challenging to design a transmission that is effective at 9000 rpm and still civilized for daily use. They did a good job but it is clunky until broken in and warmed up.

The Honda MTF appears to be the right lube to use. The lubrication specifications are not published, so you can guess which Redline to use, but there is nothing wrong with the Honda stuff.

 

I have experienced notchiness in the shifter from day one. I can't seem to get a handle on the parameters that affect it. Once in a while I have a smooth run but when its notchy it stays notchy for a full 50km drive. It seems of late that I have to first put the car in third before I shift to first. I'm not sure its getting worse but I'm definitely concerned. Anybody else have to do this 3rd to 1st dance all the time? Should Honda be servicing this?

Geordie