Originally Posted by NCtoBRZ (Post 3031057)

This topic comes up every other day during the Winter it seems. It’s a characteristic of Aisin transmissions. The S2000, NC Miata and BRZ that I’ve owned have all been a bit notchy or resistant shifting into 2nd when cold. I’ve found that a quick blip of the throttle actually smooths out the shift when cold and by the end of the street in my neighborhood the fluid seems to be flowing enough to make engaging 2nd easier. The reasoning/excuse given by the manufacturer is that the tight tolerances that make the transmission such a joy to shift at normal operating temps, make it a bit stiffer when cold.

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh (Post 3031175)

Another thing I've noticed is in below zero weather, I start the car and release the clutch and it jolts as if it's in gear. Will only do this in the cold and I never noticed it until I switched to Motul. Worst change I ever made. Maybe it's good for the summer months but it's just awful for winter.

Originally Posted by NCtoBRZ (Post 3031057)

This topic comes up every other day during the Winter it seems. It’s a characteristic of Aisin transmissions. The S2000, NC Miata and BRZ that I’ve owned have all been a bit notchy or resistant shifting into 2nd when cold. I’ve found that a quick blip of the throttle actually smooths out the shift when cold and by the end of the street in my neighborhood the fluid seems to be flowing enough to make engaging 2nd easier. The reasoning/excuse given by the manufacturer is that the tight tolerances that make the transmission such a joy to shift at normal operating temps, make it a bit stiffer when cold.

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh (Post 3031175)

Another thing I've noticed is in below zero weather, I start the car and release the clutch and it jolts as if it's in gear. Will only do this in the cold and I never noticed it until I switched to Motul. Worst change I ever made. Maybe it's good for the summer months but it's just awful for winter.

Originally Posted by Lust (Post 3031501)

The fluid itself is good however it is thicker than OEM fluid and requires a bit of warming up. Once at operating temp its butter.

Originally Posted by Tonezorz (Post 3031500)

With my NC Miata I had this issue until I switched the MT fluid to Genuine Ford XT-M5-QS. After that, the transmission was buttery smooth, any temp, any time. That was the recommended and trusted fluid people had used for years, so wasn’t a fluke or me choosing things at random. I’m a little disappointed the FT86 community hasn’t found their version of that ford fluid.

Originally Posted by Brz_racer (Post 3031026)

Like everyone has said, this is a very common issue with these cars, and yes it is an issue. Every other car ive driven does not do this when its cold. What i did to solve the problem was drain all the transmission fluid out of the trans and differential and replaced it with Motul Gear oil 300. I have not had a single issue since then. The trans fluid that subaru puts in these cars is garbage.

Originally Posted by NCtoBRZ (Post 3031935)

I used the magic Ford juice in my NC Miata as well and there was still some slight notchiness when first starting off in the morning on a cold transmission, but it was really no big deal at all... I just drove it easy until the end of the street and it was good after that. I drive my cars very gently anyway until the engine has had time to fully warm up.

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon (Post 3032073)

*sigh* I feel like a broken record in here.

Cold shifting is not a problem if the issue is understood. It is 100% fixed with driver mod.

Does anyone want me to go into it? ...again?