Its how you shift letting the detent spring center then moving in straight line to third works great I did not explain that well. I double clutch all the time its automatic for me when crusing.

Op did you try any of the tips? They should have helped. Your post described my car to the T.

Enjoy your new found butter.

 

Third gear bump is very common. I have been able to instruct all my guys to avoid it.

Rev to 5.5k.

Shift swiftly, and firmly. Shift immediately after putting the clutch pedal to the floor.

As long as you get the shifter into third before the main shaft has started to decelerate past the equal speed of third gear (in short, before the revs fall back down), it will go in absolutely seamless. I promise you that.

The bump is actually the syncro speeding up a mainshaft that has fallen under its current speed. The syncro is supposed to slow the main shaft...as the revs fall.

The reason is simple...2nd and third are far apart shifter wise, but close in ratio gear wise.

If that doesn't pan out, then you have developed burrs on the 3-4 shift cog.

Wide open throttle operation in third gear, accel and decel from 9k to 6k, can flatten the burrs and cure it 100%.

This has proven effective on 5th gear lockouts, the mechanics are no different for third gear.

 

Good info. Someone pin this to problems/solutions thread up top

 

All good advice all I know is this issue pissed me off for about a month. Then with help from everyone here on forum I can shift with zero notch 100% of the time at any rpm. Unless I get lazy.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys! Shifting above 5.5k does reduce the amount of times I get the bump but I have gotten it before shifting at the point...that being said..if I'm ever flooring it and shifting at 8-9k I never feel it!

Gonna try getting into the gear a little quicker...I appreciate the post billman...eases my mind a little
Knowing that it isn't a problem with the car and just driver error... If you don't mind..can you explain the burr thing you were talking about a little more? So I rev up to 9k whole
Flooring it in 3rd gear then downshift into 2nd to decelerate or brake Down to 6k then downshift?

 

You will never come out of third gear.

WOT in third to 9k (flattens burrs on drive side of 3/4 cog and 3rd gear)

Then simply let off the gas, and let the engine decel/coast to 6k (flattens burrs on coast side of 3/4 cog and third gear)

Do a few reps each time you drive. 3 gear will repair itself (the bump causes the burrs and is driver error).

People don't realize this car was designed to operate fast at high RPM. Normal driving will show little quirks.

 

I've tried telling the authorities this....doesn't work.

But seriously, I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind.

 

The original ad said: "Drive it like you stole it"

 

Sorry for thread necro but this has bugged me for yonks, only just saw the thread. After quite a few months of trying different shift methods + timings, have independently come to verify exactly what Billman has said on an 01 ap1.

For perfectly smooth, notch-less shifting, including at low rpm when it's warming up, or to keep it around the usual stock economy peak of 2500rpm, the S2000 sounds a little like someone shifting an 18 wheeler truck quickly. Shifting under 1 second roughly, so revs match exactly - they designed the gearbox perfectly for the engine rpm drop with a quick enough but non-box destroying shift, one just has to get used to timing and think 'zen like'. Follow the flow of least resistance when selecting gear.

 

Sorry to comment on an old thread but this thread describes the 3rd gear bump most accurately to what i have in my car, i noticed you said that you have instructed many people to stop this now i have not done what you described to de-burr 3rd gear yet and while i have tried to do what you described as swiftly shifting i might not have done it properly. Is there any other helpful advice you can give me? btw my car is a 2009 with 25,000 k. Thanks!