Grind means when you move between gears you hear a noise and feel that it's not a smooth transition. You might hear a "click" when things are normal. A grind is more of a harsh, metal-rubbing-metal noise. You can tell it's not normal.

 

oh.. I see..
thanks for the clarification

 

I think that alot of trannys that are designed to hold higher power levels will have a notchy feel. M3's also have a VERY notchy tranny. This is NOT a honda civic with 120hp.

 

Remember this also, the shorter the shift throw(or lighter the shift ****), the harder it is to shift and the more notchy and "unsmooth" the shift will feel. By making the throw shorter and/or making the shift **** lighter you are increasing the force needed to shift. Get a heavier shift **** and you might notice alot of these problems go away. I went from an SRT-4 to this car, this cars tranny is 10 times smoother if that says anything for the SRT-4 =P

No tranny for real will have effortless shifts with no notchy feeling to it unless it has really long throws.

 

Notchiness feels like something is going to break if I try to shift fast. If I don't shift fast, wheels slow down, and that means car is not fast to me. I hate that. Someone tell me if I replace the clutch and flywheel that this will go away. Please! I think what someone was saying about flywheel being heavy and giving time between shifts is true. When I wait for a second before I shift into gear, it will go in smoother. 1 second is too long for me though.

 

If you have an 03 model, especially ones that were manufactured before 01/03 then odd are your tranny is potentially bad, if your car has less than 60k miles, and you experience issues such as grinding in any gear or any weather conditions, this is not normal and more than likely if you go to your local dealer, they will replace it. This has been my experience, as I am about to be released back my car new tranny and all!!!

 

mine grinds going into 6th...unless i pause for a second or so then it won't....my car has 44k miles....i called the dealer and they said its a "wear" issue and won't be covered....should i try another dealership and fight this out? I bought the car used so i have no idea what it's been through.

Edit: all the other gears shift fine....in fact they are pretty smooth....by getting a new tranny could i potentially be making things worse?

 

Try a different dealer. Some dealers like to play games. I hope it's not worse if you're going to get a new one. I would definitely have a bone to pick with the dealer then.