Hi everyone. Its been a while since I've posted. I've been enjoying my new Z!!!

I also have a Civic Si and I've noticed that the shifting in the Honda is very smooth, like butter, but shifting in the Z is quite tight and I've noticed slight reisistance when shifting in certain gears, not necessarily clicking, but resistance nonetheless. And yes I am depressing the clutch fully.
I would just like to know if this is normal for our 6 speeds. Is it beacuse it is still too new and needs time to wear down a little? Is it because of the short shifter?? I only have 400 miles on it. I spoke to my dealer and he suggested driving it more as it should get smoother. He just drove a used 6mt this weekend with 11,000 miles and he said the shifting is very smooth. Am I being too picky??
Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I have about 850 miles and am experiencing the same not-so-smooth shifting. Do a search cause there are more threads on this topic.

 

I agree...

I have an 04 and thought the shifting was OK. People had been asking whether or not the 04s have the tranny problem. I think I have it. My second gear is horribly notchy and sometimes is not so happy to go from first to second. Also, sometimes when I let the clutch out, even in neutral, I get an awful clunk. I've dropped trannys out of cars before (Jeep Warnglers are POS in my opinion...can't keep a tranny in there to save it's life) and this doesn't feel good frm my experience. I only have 1300 on my car.

 

many many factors. first off; your used to FWD in the honda, that means you shift via a cable to the tranny. RWD however puts the tranny right there, and is directly linked to the transmission. this gives you alot more feedback.

and lastly, from most "non sports cars" that Ive driven, the shifter generally feels like a wet sponge. the Z is extremely tight, and from what they have said they chose not to put any bushings in the linkage which would normally make the shifter a bit smoother and less vibration; so you had a stiffer feel without any play.

with that said, it will never be a easy shift; there is just going to be some resistance in a tight transmission. but it will get a bit easier with a few miles on it.

 

I have bout 17000km, and it is becoming better, think the synchros are finally smooth...

 

I have a little over 7,000 miles on mine and even though the shifting is not "buttery-smooth" it has gotten better through use. My second and third still grind but I am waiting to put more miles on my car and change out the transmission before the warranty expires. From everything I have heard, the new trannys are supposed to be very good.

I would wait a bit (past 10,000 miles) and see then how it is. If it bothers you that much you can just go in and get a new tranny.

 

"From everything I have heard, the new trannys are supposed to be very good. "



My car is 3 weeks old (2004). Wouldn't I have this new tranny?

 

Shifting is typically smooth (not butta-smooth, mind you) but when engaging second from first at a mid-to-high RPM is not-so smooth. Not only is it notchy, but at times, almost feels like I have to really force the shifter into gear (no grind, yet...). Other than that, all seems well... not sure if I'm a candidate for the tranny swap... kinda hope I am (goin' to Jeff@performance ) and kinda hope I'm not.

 

Same here...1st to 2nd shift is very notchy at times...the rest of the gears are smoother.

 

Thats precisely where my notchyness occurs....from first to second. It doesn't really appear to matter at what rpm range I'm at. I really hope it gets smoother as I had more milage!

 

how cool! i used to have an 00 ebp si and now i've got a super black track.

yes, the shifting on my si (adn on all my hondas for that matter...i've owned 4) was smoother. some of it had to do with the cable tranny but i will say that after i got my tranny replaced in my 350, the shifting is soooo much better. i used to have problems with 3rd and 6th gear (i'd have to muscle it into 6th and 3rd ground everytime on a quick shift) but now that this new tranny is in, mmm the shifting is next to perfect.

you might want to have nissan take a look at your tranny and see if it's one of the bad ones. they're now on a 3rd transmission model (they swear this time they got it right) so you may just need to get yours swaped out for a newer, better functioning one.

 

yeah I have the same problem from 1st to 2nd it is very hard to shift, you have to be very forceful on pulling the shifter into second until you get a satisfying notchy feel that it slid into place. This all started a month or so ago when it started getting cold.

A while back I notice someone's suggestion to try "flicking" the shifter back into 2nd. Don't do a big forceful grab pulling the shifter back and over towards you. Just try placing three or four fingers at the front of the shifter, pointing down towards the ground and tap the shifter straight back into 2nd.

I have been doing this for a couple of weeks now and everything has been great. I just hit 5000 miles and no matter how I shift (grab and pull or "flicking") I have no resistance, clunking or grinding.

 

I do that "flicking" technique that you mention, but I still get some amount of resistance though to a lesser degree. My qualm is that during a racing premise, my second gear engagement will aid in hampering a plausible win.

 

good sports car trannies are notoriously notchy.
the mr2;s are well known for this as well.
it doesn't take much force to shift, so flick it.
but mr2's had weird 1-2 and 2-3 synchros (especially inthe 91 and 92's, but even the new spyders are like this) where it would kind of pop. you get used to it after a while, and it does get a little better with time.

and when it is cold, you will notice it more as the tranny fluid takes time to warm up just like engine oil.

 

Mine shifts great....very precise...every gear "snickets" into place perfectly.

 

Recently, I feel that the notchiness from 1st to 2nd gear is going away (smoother). I have an 04 model with 2k miles now. just give it some time.

 

I hope mines gets better. I had 2700 miles on my old tranny then it broke. Even with the miles, I didn't have "gets better with age" effect. Now I have bout 200 on my new tranny. Hopefully, this tranny will smooth out for me. Hopefully...

 

I've got 28,500 miles on my Z, and the 1-2 shift is very notchy when cold. It will clunk a bit as well.

After it gets warmed up it's pretty nice though.

Not nearly as smooth as an S2000 though.

To me, it seems like it's a sychro issue. I may try and test drive a new one to see if it is any different than mine (so I can try and justify a replacement). Overall it works pretty well, but I'm a little nervous about how it will feel in another 30K miles.

-D'oh!

 

From what I gathered . . . it's a few things.

1) Warmed up the shifting will get better
2) Shift **** not straight
3) People are shifting too quick(heavy flywheel on a V6, not 4 banger, yes there is such a thing as shifting too quick)
4) Synchros are weak

I had my tranny replaced at 7500 miles and I have 11500 now. If you follow 1-3, the shifting will get better. I still get the clunky feeling if I don't warm her up in the morning. Try turning the shift **** a quarter inch or something left or right and see if the shifting gets a bit smoother.

For me, if the tranny doesn't feel better, I'll probably get another new tranny hopefully it'll have stronger synchos by then and also spend the money for lightened flywheel. I heard really good things about them.

 

#1: I agree. I always warm my car for 1.5 minute (not sure everyone else is doing this). I don't think the notchiness will go away if you warm up long enough...but it helps.

#2: Don't know what that means.

#3: My shifting behavior has never changed yet I feel the smoothness at around 2k miles.