^If you are really a girl, about 10 S2000 guys will be at your house in 10 minutes to do all this for you.

 

wow, i read all the posts (mostly on my phone when i was supposed to be working lol and the rest here, after driving my car, home)
so i thot about my shifting on the way home and, the shifter just felt so perfect (conditions cool with dew cus its bout 2am and a 15min drive), but this isnt because my car is perfect. ive just taken the time to learn from it.... :|

yes,i used to have grinds in 2nd quite a bit.
i learned how to drive stick on the S2, and i learned in snow lol (with snow tires on of course)
so ive had my car for over half a year, driving it nearly everyday (seriously, every day! 98% of the time)
ive learned alot of things and am still learning this wonderful machine more everyday.
*things ive learned from my car.
-yes, heat does change things. 2nd gear can get catchy or sticky at times and feel strange in comparison every other gear, with that exception of 1st when it wont let u shift up into it even when ur just sitting there or rev matching at 1mph from neutral >:0
-yes my 1st gear has that weird stickyness from time to time.
-my 3rd has a choppy feeling
*but none of this stops me from enjoying the car, ive just learned ways around it, the shifter still works amazing wen we (the car and me) are in synch.

i remember when it first happend, after i got a lil more at ease with shifting and actually now that i think, it happend when i set my seat back (after that first month of driving as close as possible like a n00b) for more comfort
i remember i grinded third first, actually my shifter has always had a weird lil chop or catch (not perfectly smooth) shift into 3rd, i only noticed it after i shifted into 3rd real rough in a real uncordinated grind.

then i remember grinding 1st to second after i started using Vtec for the first time. i remember counting how many times (3), until when i got my new stereo head unit and speakers installed, on my first day of cruising on the weekend, i grinded 2nd so many times i wanted to cry and never drive again....

+synopsis+
by then, 2nd gear hated me... thats when i realized, that the grinding happend if i pulled down and it was a lil too "rightward". like it actually felt as if it caught on sumn.
+To counteract this, i learned to pull straight down and slightly left.
*also i noticed it happend when i took it to about 7.5k or "not enough to stay in Vtec after the shift to 2nd"
i think shifting and dropping out of Vtec messes with the shifting of the car. so now if im going to shift in Vtec, i take it to 9 or sumwhere i can be sure ill still b in Vtec when im into 2nd. (now im always concious of the possible and ominous 2nd Grind...)

this solved the gear grinding, until one day, while racing a big biker chick, i grinded twice, both times i tried to mess with her. SUPER EMBARRASSING. my friend who likes bikes more than cars got his Bike Ego boosted 0_o; argh..
*anyway, i realized this was due to my Seating Position! after i scooted my chair up just One notch up, it solve that entire problem!!
please make sure your seat is at the optimum position, if you dont kno wat the best postion is, Google it... (i did very helpful!)

in closing, im not sure if this is the same Grinding that u guys are experience. mine is always that Grrnnggggh!! that u get when u dun shift right. lol so maybe its just me....
but i do get that slight "ka-chok~" into 3rd... i dun worry bout it, cus it never seems to get worse. i visualize it as a weird problem with my third gear.

when i drive, i always play thru my gears quickly as soon as i get into the car, before ever going anywhere. i think this helps synch up everything.
a habit i have is worrying about the clutch and wear and tear on it, so when im sitting at a light i always shift into neutral. (maybe that helps a lil too? i read some guys saying use neautral to relax the transmission)
i also play thru my gears at lights too, 123456 and backwards quickly. (mostly to show off lol but i think it helps synch things)

i remember i had to teach myself to downshift from 3rd to 2nd.
maybe 2nd gear on the S is just always like that? (it is rather torquie)
i actually have a style of shifting that works for me. i hold the shifter under the knob, knuckles paralell with the vertical bar(?) of the shifter. so i actaully grab the part under the knob from the side a lot(!). thats just the way i shift. so 3rd to 2nd for me is a full grab from third to neutral, a palm slap left, and a finger whip to pull it down into 2nd gear.
before this, i seriously used to have a hard time downshifting into 2nd before quick corners so i couldnt even heel n toe....

generally, i still fear grinding 2nd, either shift at 15mph for economy, or at about 5k, or just bout 9k for that vtec 0-60....

im not a mechanic, im just a driver...
i hope somthing in this mumbo jumbo helps sumone enjoy their car that much more. if not, disregard it as nonsense if u want.
i tend to drive alot under vtec, so i shift alot (vtec is my treat on the weekends since i drive everyday)

"i seriously have never been disappointed with my car, i still smile after driving it. unless ive been driving for hours and have a headache from the vtec and hardtop lol trapping the engine noise? or maybe the accoustics of the speakers? lol "

 

There is a problem when it is cold and a similar problem when it gets hot. If your's is only a problem when cold, you are pretty much ok. You still might want to change the hydraulic fluid, adjust the clutch and change the tranny fluid. Those are all good maintenance items to do on a regularly scheduled basis. It just seems that the S needs the more frequently than other cars. A slipping clutch will not make the gears grind. I don't know if your clutch is ok or not, but one is not really related to the other. (I figured about 10 or 20 young guys would jump at the chance to answer the question of a woman. Guess I was wrong.)

 

Good for you. It sounds like you learned how to drive a stick.

 

hehe, i get a lil carried away when i type.
did u fix ur shifter synchro problem?
i think its a synchro problem. i keep thinking bout that, i think i have it too. but its so subtle on mine, just amounts to a crunchy 2nd gear. i guess i just work around it.

its like 1st is sumtimes super hard to shift into, 2nd is crunchy but less hard, and then 3rd and up is smooth. is that how urs is Leagal Bill?


**anyhow, i do have a question while we're on the topic of grinding and gears.
this has been on my mind a lot.

soo say u grind from miss-shift or from "clutch and hand" not in synch.
What does that damage?
Clutch? Gears? or both?
if it kept happening,would it destroy the clutch/gears eventually?

 

Thank you Legal Bill!

YES I'm a real female. This is my first car and I'm still pretty new to it. When I first got the car last October, I did all the fluid changes except for the diff. I don't know why I've been lazy with that but I've done everything else.

I've changed my oil about every 5000-6000 kms I have done. I have always wondered if something was wrong with my car since it was grinding like that when cold but now it makes sense. The S is a tempermental car so I should expect these things!

Thanks for your help!



(and when I say that I changed the fluids, I meant ME, myself and I...not mechanics... )

 

I have an 04 and i have this issue when it's cold. but i was advised by a friend that i should engage the clutch and put it in all gears several times before i start driving; this will lube the synchros. so basically i engage the clutch and put the gear in first, the disengage and engage to second, etc. repeat this about twice, especially for second gear twice and then drive. ever since i started doing this, i've only had one instance where it made the crunch/grind noise to the second gear.