I've had a used 2002 Suzuka with 43k miles on it for about 5 months now, and one thing that I've always wondered is whether or not the shifter is supposed to feel notchy while shifting--it feels like you have to snap it or click it into gear, whereas in cars like the 350Z and the G35, the shifter kind of slides into gear--is the S2000's stock shifter supposed to feel this way, or is something wrong with mine?

Also, I find that I have to release my clutch a relatively far distance back (maybe 85%) until it engages--is this normal in the S2000?

 

yes it does feel notchy and i like it fine

 

It's not notchy,it's mechanical.!

 

It sounds normal to me, there are quite a few people with these experiances. The tranny should feel pretty smooth once warmed up. Consider changing the tranny fluid if you don't know when it was done last (same goes for the diff fluid, but thats off subject). Just make sure you get the right fluids for everything.

 

It should feel notchy. I just got my my00 a week or so ago with 24k miles. Felt a lot smoother after I swapped out the tranny fluid.. with honda mtf

 

I was about to order some of the redline mt90 for my tranny but I searches and read some mixed feelings. Anyone have an experience? Im in FL. so cold temps arent a factor.

 

I use MT-90,very good;don't drive it in the winter.

 

the first few days i had the car, it was overly notchy... i felt a lot of clunky mechanical resistance (mid-shift) around town going into 2nd and 3rd... which, a search revealed, was normal

since then it hasnt happened .. with no change in shifting style.. whatever

 

I've found simply the way i'm shifting changes how notchy it is.

I used to sort of hold the shifter to the left when going from 1st to 2nd. Now I just flick it straight down and it goes in very smoothly.

Likewise for the rest of the gears, I found if I use just my finger tips and sort of flick it into gear instead of pushing it hard with my whole arm, it's a lot faster and smoother.

 

I've been saying it many times that unnecessarily notchy feel shifting this car is due to shift timing. Compare to many other cars even high performance ones, the S has a pretty light flywheel from the factory. Together with the revvy nature of the over-square engine and close-ratio gearbox, everything happens much faster than other cars and therefore requires more precise shift timing. I'm not telling you all to rush and force each shift, but to pack the timing of events (except one which I'll get to later) closer together.

By timing of events, I mean 1) reaching disengage/engage point on the clutch pedal (doesn't matter how long it takes to start pressing the clutch to the point it reaches the disengage/enage point), 2) lift on gas, 3) move shifter out of lower gear, 3) lean shifter against entrance of higher gear, 4) flick shifter into higher gear, 5) engage clutch.

By NOT rushing/forcing, I mean DON'T slam the clutch pedal like you want to break it and throw the shifter into the next gear like you want to punch your biggest enemy and yet leave one second delay (exaggerating) between the tasks. OTOH, by packing the timing of events closer together, I mean that you can squeeze on the clutch pedal like grandma and slowly and effortlessly move the shifter out of gear but yet you can have the clutch pedal reaching the disengage/engage point almost the same time you move the shifter out of gear. See the difference?

The only point that allows the most delay is between 3) and 4), waiting for the synchros to do their job. If your timing of events is right (in the case of the S pack most of the events close together), the synchros needs very little job and you'll need very little delay between 3) and 4). In many case, you will almost feel like a gate suddenly opens and let your shifter in. In fact when I get the timing right, I CAN upshift my S (and my miata) even WITHOUT clutch, grind or resistance.

On the miata forum, people said the closer-ratio 6-speed box on the 2nd-gen car was notchier compared to the wider-ratio 5-speed box (even on otherwise identical car). They figured when shifting 1st to 2nd with the middle finger UNDER the shift knob made it less notchy. So...

1) Why do short shifter help reduce notchiness?
2) Why do people find swapping in a bigger clutch master cylinder (thus shorter and quicker clutch pedal stroke) help notchy shifter?
3) Why is it less notchy to shift a wider-ratio box than a closer-ratio one?
4) Why do people find shifting at higher RPM help reduce notchiness?
5) Why do people find blipping the throttle a second time before throwing in the next higher gear help in the cold?

Normally you would think the exact opposite SHOULD be true. Well, for many other cars with wide-ratio gearbox, heavy flywheel, non-responsive engine and ECU, that statement may be true because you have to wait for the engine/tranny speed to drop for the next higher gear. But for the S with the total opposite characteristics, engine and tranny speed drop too fast for many people. Apart from outside factors, the key comes down to
1) because of shorter delay between events without rushing
2) same as 2)
3) because engine speed and tranny inputshaft speed take longer to slow down to what's required by the next higher gear and therefore allow more delay between events
4) same as 3)
5) same as 3)

Again, I know it sounds like I'm telling you all to rush your shifts which is absolutely NOT what I mean. The key here is to get the timing of events nice and smooth and precise but NOT giving unnecessary delay between them. I know its hard to digest this but keep on trying different shift timing and think back what I say in here next time you see engine speed drops below the required speed when you release the clutch upon an upshift.