First time driving manual, some questions after one month of driving
 

So I bought a new 2018 86 about 5 weeks ago. I've put about 700 miles on it since then, but have had a few things happen that I'm kinda concerned about.

About 5-7 times I've heard the transmission grinding when shifting gears. Usually shifting into or out of 2nd gear. A few of the times I think it was me not holding the clutch in long enough, and the clutch may have engaged before the gears were set. However, there's been a few times when I had the clutch pedal fully pressed down, and I would very lightly shift gears and the gear knob would get stuck in between gears. For example, halfway between 2nd and Neutral. When that happens I hear a grinding noise and just move the knob fully into a gear to make the noise stop. That's only happened when I've put very little force into moving the gear stick. So not exactly sure what's happening or how much I'm damaging the transmission when this grinding noise happens.

Also, I tend to coast in neutral a lot. Pretty much whenever I'm close to coming to a stop. Is there anything wrong with doing this too much?

I've heard there's a break in period for this car, and maybe I shouldn't rev it too high? I heard this more recently, but in general have been revving pretty high (mainly 1st and 2nd), and drive a lot around the 4500 range.

Thanks!

See my replies in red above. Your car will do these things while it's being broken in. The transmission is very rough around the edges. Eventually shifting will become much smoother. But don't wait too long to switch out your transmission fluid either. Pentosin and Motul get good reviews. I've been using Motul for a while.

Hello kyto31, welcome to 86 ownership and to the forum.

As far as shifting, I agree with @StraightOuttaCanadaEh (this time);). Shift like you mean it, after all, you are moving heavy gears around with a stick. The transmission will loosen up after a few thousand miles. Personally, I don't think changing the transmission oil is necessary when the car is relatively new (maybe after 50,000 miles).

As far as coasting in neutral, it won't hurt anything, however, personally, I don't do it. Why not? I like to have a car in gear just in case I want to accelerate quickly. Secondly, I like to hear my exhaust sound as I downshift..:)

The break in procedure is covered in your drivers manual. I was easy on mine, didn't rev it past 4,000 rpm for the first 1,000 miles and varied the speed during that period.

Have fun with your new machine.


humfrz

700 miles .. i'd give it a go for a bit more, for engine/clutch/tranny to break in better. People had reported, that several things improved over time.

Clutch .. hmm, do you really press all times pedal fully? Is there any dead travel left till clutch bite point (by chance have you done clutch pedal adjustment mod & maybe overdid it a bit? While most of these cars may have as stock too much dead travel, some that overdid this mod and moved bite point right at beginning of travel, or one owner/car that had it at stock, had enhanced shifting/reduced grinding by adjusting pedal travel back, with some dead travel to ensure complete clutch disengagement). But it's also possible that more break in needed.

Gearboxes in twins are known to have hard to get into 2nd, when transmission is cold (and especially in winter). Should get much better after driving eg. 5min. Some enhancement can be got via changing gearbox oil (needed 2.2lr. needs to be done on really horizontal ground, as amount needed is till fill hole. Overfilling or underfilling may also make gear engagement worse). Some were ok with Motul 300 Gear oil 75w90. I'm now on Redline MTL GL4 70W80. But IIRC best results people had with Velox(verus)/Synchrotech CF lined synchros. Might be costly fit due disassembly of gearbox needed though. Still, i'd wait for a bit more mileage for things to break in first.

As for costing in neutral .. imho nothing TOO wrong with that, except some argue that better always be in gear (except if stationary) for safety purposes, so that you can always not just brake, but also accelerate if needed depending on situation on road w/o gear-engage lag. They also say, that in gear/throttle off, engine is using little gas, so not much saved. And then there is engine braking, which may reduce brakes wear. Also if you coast in neutral, remember that if it's at speed, where engaging in gear will be big rpm difference for engine at idle rpms, it's more then worth to learn rev-matching via throttle blip prior gear switch. Otherwise gears will be harder to engage & gearbox synchros will wear down much more/quicker. One thing is for synchros to even out 500-1.5K rpm difference, another - 2.5-5K rpm difference of engine & gearbox rotational speeds, especially if on regular basis. Rev matching is good habit/skill in general to learn though anyway.

As has been said, make your choice swiftly and proudly. Manual transmissions do no like apprehensive shifts :) be confident! You can second guess your choice by not letting the pedal out, but shift with purpose.

Practice. I guarantee you'll get better.

Like others said pretty much I would say the same.
2nd gear is always notchy/grindy when cold.

Neutral while stoping, eh I do it. zero problems. If I need move quick nothing a tenth of second can't fix. I'm not some old man (looking at you humfrz) with grandpa arms.

Lastly your car is still new, after a few 1k miles things will get better. Hopefully.

As everyone said.... That 2nd gear is brutal, I found shifting @ 4k was easier. Another thing u did not mention, stalling, since you seem to be new to this, don't worry, we all do, after 40yrs I still do, once in a while.

Something that was left out - until you're 99% confident in the other matters mentioned, I'd stick with FULLY depressing the clutch every time. Then, slowly, I'd start learning the engagement point.

I saw that! …., back-in-the-day I would have :paddle: you.


humfrz

We're taught to stop in gear here, coasting in neutral will fail your driving test, so I'm in the habit of pulling up in gear (clutch down at about 1k rpm). You can go surprisingly slowly in 6th without stalling.


As for stalling, this car stalls easier than anything else I've driven, you have to be much more careful with revs and clutch feel than most cars.