The spring loaded steel balls hold the transmission in gear until you are ready to shift to the next gear. They are lubricated by the transmission fluid in the transmission as are all moving parts inside the transmission. Changing worn out transmission fluid helps better lubricate all moving parts in the transmission and helps it feel less notchy. You are probably feeling the detents in the shift rod as you move the shifter between gears and the steel balls ride into and out of the detents in the shift rod.

 

For me temperature has been the biggest factor on shift quality. I have to double-clutch for the first couple of minutes when cold, but I can it get it to shift smooth as new if it gets slightly over cruising operating temperatures, I'm driving spiritily or stop and let it heak soak for a couple of minutes, then the lever falls into gear. Otherwise there is a slight resistance as the OP described.

This is with Honda MTF @15K intervals with 180K on the trans.

 

I was driving the s2000 all weekend and it seemed like the notchiness got worst. I can understand when someone says their shifting feels like a bolt action rifle - I was getting that in my higher gears where shifting to 4-5-6 was like "click-im in gear-click im in the next gear."

When I was driving home yesterday (after 5 minutes of driving) I went to just see how the tranny was, I kept getting a "double catch feeling" when i put it into gear. Meaning, when I pull it out of gear it was fine but then when i put it into the next gear I can feel something smacking the bottom of the shift lever and it was a "rotational feeling" (think using something to stop a fan blade) and it hit whatever it is the shifter's connected to twice.

When i got home I killed the engine and tried to just shift w/ the engine off and clutch in. it seemed to have stiffend up like some grease was missing. Oddly, I just regreased the shifter last week.

 

Bringing this thread back up...

I'm experiencing a very similar issue, where it only happens when I shift at high RPMs (near and at redline). I have a 2008 S2000, and at approximately 46,000 miles I changed the clutch. I've accumulated about 4,000 miles, and I still haven't been able to solve the issue.

After I got the new clutch (SoS Sport Clutch Kit) and a resurfaced AP1 flywheel with other recommended OEM parts installed, I began to notice the issue of not being able to get into gears at the high RPMs mentioned above. If I gave the shifter some force toward each gear, I would be able to get in the gear but still have some delay engaging/disengaging. Prior to the clutch change, everything was fine; shifting was smooth at any RPM, at any gear.

I approached the installer and mentioned the resistance. Or simply put, me being "locked out" of the gears when shifting at high RPMs. He drove it on the street and shifted at high RPMs and didn't notice the problems I was experiencing. What I noticed, however, was that he seemed to be shifting into each gear with force. The installer was pretty reputable with clutch installs, so I didn't want to question his skills/abilities and whether or not he lubed up everything as stated in the Service Manual.

I came home, and decided to see if the at the least, the clutch fork was lubed. Surprisingly, there was no lube on the fork; I ended up taking it out and lubed it up with the High Temp Urea Grease and reinstalled it. This led me to have some doubts on the installer, but at the same time I thought maybe lubing the fork myself and changing the transmission fluid may help the issue. As a result, I told myself that I'd contact him if I wouldn't be able to solve it myself. It's already been 10 months (4,000 miles).

So far, I've tried changing the transmission fluid. I've gone through Honda MTF, AMSOIL Syncromesh MTF, and I just put in a Neo MTF. As of now, the Neo MTF seems to feel the best out of the 3 I've tried. It helps the shifter to feel less "notchy" at regular driving speeds/RPMs. But at the high RPMs, the feeling of resistance while shifting from gears seems to be exactly the same.

I also tried adjusting the clutch pedal (rod and height), and made sure it was as close to the SoS installation guide's specifications as possible. I even changed my motor mounts to see if that would help.

I recently contacted SoS regarding this issue, and their technician suspected lack of lube on the spline.

Unfortunately, none of the remedies worked. Now that I typed this up, I'm planning on contacting the installer to ask him to take the transmission out to see if there actually is any lube on the spline.

 

Have you looked at the more basic things like the clutch fluid? Checking for a leaking clutch master cylinder? Bleeding the clutch fluid?

 

Ah, yes! Forgot to include that in my post... I've replaced the AP2 slave cylinder to the AP1 slave cylinder, bled the clutch fluid a total of 3 times, and checked the master cylinder for leaks. There were no visible leaks, and the fluid level hasn't decreased at all.

 

Also experienced this with my ap1. Seems at the end of the track day it would not let me into the gate of 3rd. Only ever happened on 3rd. This is with new oem clutch and master slave. Too hot? Shifting too quick?

 

These all sound like clutch not fully disengaging issues. Typically these are Hydraulic issues (contaminated fluid, air in lines, etc), or mechanical (clutch rod adjustment, total clutch pedal travel, adjusted by clutch pedal height). But as mentioned in this thread, can also be caused by clutch hanging up on flywheel due to splines not properly lubed.

I would also not be surprised if aftermarket clutch kits might not be as good at quickly, and fully disengaging as stock Honda part is. If there is any difference in initial thickness, in compound, that might make it perform less slick in this regard...

Sent from my SM-G920P using IB AutoGroup

 

Worn engine mounts will also effect the shifter feeling, I know it did for me.

 

Perfect way to describe it. I really only occasionally feel it 2nd to 3rd. Keeping on the throttle a little bit through the gear change, or double clutching, seems to prevent it. I'm not really worried about it though, I just figured it's the nature of the beast with such a direct gear box.