I finally took my car home yesterday and found that shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd was a bit notchy (if that makes sense), not smooth at all. How can I $30K+ car tranny feel worse than a $15K civic? Any recommendations?

 

How many miles do you have on the car? If this is new, did you notice that this feeling was right after you drove it off the lot? This may all be quite normal if the transmission hasn't warmed up yet.

Manual transmissions, at this time of the year will feel different than they will during the summer, when it is quite a bit warmer. This is normal, wait until its -20 degrees outside.

If this is a used car, and it still feels notchy after the transmission has warmed up, then you may want to entertain the idea of changing the transmission fluid to make it feel better when shifting. A number of us have used a different fluid and it has made our shifting feel really good. The fluid is GM Synchromesh Fluid for manual transmissions. It made a tremendous difference in mine. However, some people say that you can get the same difference just by changing the fluid with Honda fluid, also. I can't verify this, since my only change has been with the GM fluid.

Hope that this helps,
Bob

 

isn't the factory fluid Honaa Manual Transmission fluid? Do they sell the GM fluid at Auto stores like Auto Zone or Pep Boys?

 

Ah the notchy shifting... I have no idea what causes it, but I have tons of experince with tanny fluid changes... I've changed mine 6 times in 20K miles .


Most people agree that after the car warms up the shifting get smoother.... I agree with this for the most part, but if you only drive < 10 miles per trip, your tranny never warms up (at least mine doesnt). I discovered that changing to ANY of the recommended fluids (Redline, Honda, GM) will give you between 1000-3000 miles of smooth shifiting, even when cold... Have no clue as to why this is, but I have 6 data points to look at...

I can rank redline vs honda.... Honda wins hands down, it lasts much longer (redline about 1K, honda about 3K)... and feels smoother (redline still was a little notchy)

The GM stuff was only in my car for 100 miles, since my dealer decided to be nice on my last visit and change my tranny fluid for free without telling me (Thanks honda!).

I would say the GM stuff is about = to honda based on other peoples reviews... I can't imagine it lasts longer, but who knows.

Anyhow, I recommend a tranny change every 3K miles if your not happy with the shifter, just make sure you don't get any dirt or anything in the tranny while changing it ...


-- Robert

 

I have a problem with getting in and out of 1st gear! It requires a lot of force to get into 1st sometimes and a whole lot to get out of first!! any help?

 

Maybe if you rev match it will be easier.

 

I thought so too but there is no need to rev match when shifting from 1st to neutral.

 

Good point!!! Are you having trouble doing that??? Usually, it's easiest to shift from any gear into neutral.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lostsol
[B] How can I $30K+ car tranny feel worse than a $15K civic?

 

It's pretty funny, the automotive press loves the "rifle bolt" engagement of the gearbox. It's been some time for me, but I recall some "notchiness" when I move the bolt of a rifle.

Seriously, one of my friends who works at Honda R&D says the S2000 is the closest thing he's seen to a race car gearbox. Considering how notchy a Formula Ford box is, he's amazed it shifts as smooth as it does. This has been discussed since the old days on the H-A board, and the consenses is that the triple cone synchros cause the vibration on 2nd and 3rd. These are the only two that have triple cone synchros (and a Civic does not).

** side note, the spell checker wants to change "notchiness" to "bitchiness" .... coincidence?