Now this is my first manual car (I've been taught on other cars before) so please ignore the noobness of this question.

It seems to be a bit difficult to smoothly put the it into each gear. Sometimes, it'll shift smooth as butter but yet at times, there's some resistance (I need to give it more of a push).

Is this normal?

-2001 Honda S2000

 

The "smoothness" with which each shift is, depends on how well you "rev-match". At this stage of your game, this can vary from one shift to the next.
Until you become a more experienced manual driver, and based on an internet description, tell you what is "normal" or not will mean very little.

 

switching over to gsmfm or whatever thats called can help some too since it helps with synchros and when you're not matched correctly thats when the synchros work for 1st and 2nd i believe. i think the other gears have sometihng else to them. i noticed that my 1-2 shift used to be really really notchy but if you let the revs drop to where they should be then put it in really fast and clutch out it'll be smoother than shifting 1-2 while the revs are still high. this was my first manual car as well =]. after i put gsmfm in my tranny either my driving got better of it just works better =P

 

GM synchromesh friction modified will help smooth out the shifts. Since you have a 2001, it would be a good idea to swap out tranny and diff fluids especially if you don't know when they were last done.. which could be never.

shifting in the s2k is much more notchy than any other car I have driven. Often times You will find the tranny doesn't want to go into gear, especially when its cold. You just have to find the right path (which won't be diagonal) to get into each gear and it will go in seemlessly.

 

Also, not sure how you shift, but there is no need to ram the stick between gates. Just push the clutch in, shift, and release, and things should be smooth.

 

lol. Just keep drivin man... you'll do fine. I just learned what rev matching, heal-toe shifting was last year and I'm turing 28! Dont feel bad.

 

I'm keeping it slow right now and sometimes I can get it in smooth. I probably just need to get more used to it. The weather did drop in chills during the past few days so that might be why as well...

Thanks for the quick answers everyone. GM synchromesh friction modified... can you explain this a bit more in detail?

 

its a general motors transmission fluid that for some reason helps out our synchros and transmission. i myself have noticed much better cold transmission shifting and better shifting overall.

 

Today is my first day of driving stick shift and I am glad it was with my new S2K. It was very easy to learn, a friend of mine helped me first hour with the basics and then I drove on my own. I noticed that sometimes I couldnt go to a higher gear easily, my mistake, I wasn't pressing the Clutch all the way.

 

Practice,and matchrev.