Synchrotech Carbon Synchronizer Upgrade Kit!

[Drakiv]

I too can't wait for feedback on these. I feel like the carbon is going to act like a brake and will make the engagement smooth as butter.

[Lust]

I hope these are good. They're apparently really bad in the k series transmissions.

[nav]

If I recall correctly, the S2000 gearbox came stock with carbon synchros. Eric, is there any way you can use metrics to quantify the difference between the stock and these carbon synchros?

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by nav

If I recall correctly, the S2000 gearbox came stock with carbon synchros. Eric, is there any way you can use metrics to quantify the difference between the stock and these carbon synchros?

I have no idea what kind of metrics would be possible to view/log to prove function/difference. The way the car shifts is a feel and is subjective. I'll do my best to leave my opinion out of it.

Disclaimer: I obviously cannot test the longevity of these in the short timeframe to release. I'll do my best to document the behavior changes (if any) and mileage added. At the end of the day, the purchase is yours to make or not make.

Originally Posted by Drakiv

I too can't wait for feedback on these. I feel like the carbon is going to act like a brake and will make the engagement smooth as butter.

Originally Posted by Lust

I hope these are good. They're apparently really bad in the k series transmissions.

I hope they are as well. I have taken (2) short trips to the gym thus far (I always keep it close to the shop at first after a major overhaul) and so far they seem to have positively impacted shifting. I'll expand more as I begin getting a better feel for it.

Thanks,
Eric

[VerusEric]

David @ Synchrotech just e-mailed me a link to make this entire process of pre-ordering even easier! Use coupon code "VELOX" or just follow the link below and you'll automatically get 20% off!

FT86CLUB Carbon Synchro Group Buy

For those that ordered through our website, I'll have you covered and the pricing is the exact same.

The coupon code "VELOX" for 20% off is good until *the end of the year*.

Thanks and have a great weekend!
Eric

[Synchrotech]

Feel free to PM me with any questions

[VerusEric]

Alright, I've been driving with the new synchros for a few weeks. With multiple drives, both long and short, easy and hard, under its belt, I can begin to comment on their behavior and feel. Like I stated before, shifting is a feeling, there cannot be quantitative results to prove a before and after improvement.

I'll go over cold and hot results separately. If your transmission is anything like mine, the two conditions shift entirely different. All tests were done with 75w-90 Neo Synthetic gear oil to date. When I say "grind", I don't mean fully locked out of gear but more of a crunch to get into gear. It results in a not smooth shift as the dogs of the gear do not fully match the shift ring selector when trying to go into gear. This crunch/grind is a result of the synchro not matching the gear's speed to the shaft's speed.

Cold Test:

Before:
-With the OE synchros, it was basically a sure thing I was going to crunch/grind going into 2nd. If I shifted quick enough when cold, it would crunch or grind, if I tried to shift slow, it would almost act as if I were locked out of gear. I would have to put a lot of muscle into it. Maybe 10% of the time I could get into 2nd without a grind when the transmission was cold. If I tried to go into 2nd without rev matching, it would again feel like I was locked out of gear.
-3rd gear was much like 2nd, but probably closer to a 50/50 split of grind/no grind when cold.
-5th gear was also very blah when the transmission was cold. 50/50 split of grind/no grind when the transmission was cold.

After:
-2nd grind/crunch is almost gone. I'd say I can avoid any audible crunch/grind 80% of the time which is substantially better than the OE synchro! It's night and day difference in my opinion and well worth the upgrade for this alone. I *hated* 2nd gear when the trans was cold before.
-3rd grind is completely gone. Shifts are smooth.
-5th crunch is almost completely gone. I think I've hit the crunch zone 1-2 times.

TLDR Cold Behavior: Significant improvement throughout. The gears that used to grind have almost been completely resolved. The other gears shift smoother and easier when cold as well.

Hot Test:

Before:
2nd, 3rd, and 5th were still the problem children for me; however, when warm it was significantly better than cold. I could avoid grinding/crunching most of the time.

After:
Shifts like you'd want any car to shift. Smooth, clean, goes into gear every time without any fuss. I'm thrilled. Downshifts are amazingly smooth even at 5-6k RPM. Upshifts are great at redline, even better than slower RPM shifting.

Dave from Synchrotech also got me a few bottles of their specific fluid that I will be testing out as well! Hoping that may resolve ALL of the shifting issues even though I am very happy with how the car shifts right now. I'll continue to update as I put more miles on the car.

Thanks,
Eric

[VerusEric]

When I wrote the above conclusion I completely forgot that I did a relatively quantitative test to gauge the difference between OE and carbon synchros. To do this, I attempted to shift the car without the use of a clutch. I do not recommend you doing this with your car, as it does work the synchros harder and can cause grinds.

With the OE synchros, it was impossible to shift the transmission without the use of the clutch. It would grind in every gear, without fail.

With the carbons synchros, I was able to shift the transmission without the use of the clutch in all the gears but 5th. This is about as quantitative as I can be.

Thanks,
Eric

[Synchrotech]

Visit us at SEMA booth #51434

[JacksTrans]

Just chiming in too. We offer these synchros for other transmissions we service and we will have them available for the frs/brz too.
on the evo line they've been out for a few years now and we dont see too many back with failures yet.
the ones that we do seem to of been clutch related or driver error.
its our experience they are less forgiving to mistakes than oem.
the oem synchros for the FRS / BRZ are pretty bad so these will be a nice improvement over stock.

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by JacksTrans

Just chiming in too. We offer these synchros for other transmissions we service and we will have them available for the frs/brz too.
on the evo line they've been out for a few years now and we dont see too many back with failures yet.
the ones that we do seem to of been clutch related or driver error.
its our experience they are less forgiving to mistakes than oem.
the oem synchros for the FRS / BRZ are pretty bad so these will be a nice improvement over stock.

To add more info, I've been driving in near-freezing weather the past week and compared to OEM, these are near a Godsend. Back in Arizona, 2nd and 3rd were atrocious at anything under 70-degree ambient. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like at 35-40 ambient, and yet the trans shifts pretty well.

It makes sense that they are not "idiot proof" as OEM since they are two materials bonded. So far so good for me!

Thanks,
Eric

[choi0706]

can you elaborate on idiot proof?

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by choi0706

can you elaborate on idiot proof?

Treating them poorly. You can generally feel when you are over-working synchros, those would be the cases I am referring to.

That being said, these synchros work harder and better than the OEM units, so being abusive to them is harder than OE synchros.

At the recommendation of David, I swapped our the Neo Synthetic 75w-90 for their proprietary Torco blend of trans fluid. The car has never shifted this smooth, ever. Even at 30 ambient in the morning, the car shifts into gear better than ever before.

Very happy with the end results!

Thanks,
Eric

[RallySTI]

As the colder weather is starting to stick around in norther Ohio, these synchro's are looking more and more temping.

The 2nd gear lock out and/or crunch with these transmissions when cold is terrible.

Are these synchro's a "drop in " fit, meaning direct OE no modification fitment ?