New 86 shifting noises
 

I'm sure you get a lot of worrywarts on here seeking validation their car is ok, so thanks for humoring me on this one. I just got a new 2019 86 MT last week with 30 miles on it, and now it has 750. I'm trying my best to be careful and precise with shifting, but I'm not sure of some things:

1) The shift lever feels inconsistent. I never have problems getting into gear. But for example, on the way from neutral to 1st, sometimes the lever slips perfectly into gear with no bumps, and sometimes I feel an extra bump/click on the way, kind of like a stutter.

2) When shifting from 1st to 2nd, should I move the lever back to middle/neurtal on the way to 2nd, or just pull the lever straight down from 1 to 2? Same question with 5-6. I've been going back to neutral between every gear so far, but not double clutching it.

3) after 750 miles, I feel like shifting and clutching are making more noises than when I first got the car, but it could all be in my head. Would it be worth it to take it into the dealer for an inspection at this mileage?

I've never owned a new vehicle before, just a hand-me-down corolla and a bunch of used motorcycles, so I've never experienced break-in worries and paranoia that things are getting noisier/clunkier over time. I just want to enjoy the damn thing!! lol. Thanks for the help.

Jack

Give it about 5,000 miles and it will all free up. Some of what you are hearing just needs to wear in a bit and some is just the nature of a directly linked RWD shifter. Many peole think there is something wrong because they feel and hear things they never did on a FWD/AWD car. Most other cars have a bunch of cables and linkages between the shifter and the transmission which can absorb some movement and hide noises. These cars have a short bar and are directly connected so you feel and hear every little thing. They don't have as much leeway but I would not give that feel up for anything.

Well, hello JackRabbit, welcome to our forum - :clap: and congratulations on obtaining your new 86 - :w00t:

When you are shifting, just move the shift lever to the next gear, no need to hesitate in neutral. When shifting, there is never a need to double clutch this transmission. When downshifting, blipping the throttle usually helps making the shifting smoother.

As @Tcoat mentioned, the machine needs to get broke in, which will take several thousands of miles.

Remember, when shifting, TIMING IS EVERYTHING.

However, to ease your mind, you may wish to stop in at the dealership and ask someone to take it for a spin, just to make sure it acting normal.


humfrz

1) depending on if you're perfectly still or rolling a bit, the shifter might get "sucked" into the right gear or feel notchy

2) straight down; from personal experience, hesitation leads to grinding

3) this car makes noises and you notice new ones all the time

Look into perrin shifter support/whiteline shifter bushing combo and MTEC shifter springs. Really sharpens that whole area up

I always found that this transmission hates careful driving. Once it's up to temp if im slow or cautious with my shifting it will reward me with crunching and awkward noises.



Be quick, deliberate and most importantly Mtec Springs and Shift carrier bushing.

New 86 shifting noises
 

I have a 19’ 86 that just hit 2k. I too notice a lil bit of “notchy-ness” when going from neutral to first. Its smooth most of the time but has its notchy moments here and there...


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I just rolled 100,000 miles last week, and mine is STILL coming up with new noises and new behaviors. At some point you'll either just learn to accept it, or you'll get fed up and go get something more quiet and boring.

Welcome. I have about 14k miles on my '19. It also was notchy going into a few gears (especially 3rd) for the first few thousand miles. By about 5-7.5k miles everything was perfect though. As others stated, the car takes some breaking in. Most recently it's started to get a few of the rattles that people complain of (shifter rattle, rear speaker shelf rattle). Enjoy that sweet spot on theses cars of 5-10k miles when everything is perfect :)

the 1st to 2nd shift is notoriously tough to be consistently smooth on the first couple throws with each cold startup... Pulling the stick directly from 1st to 2nd versus moving the stick from 1st to neutral, then to 2nd is really the same thing. I switch it up every morning on my way to work and I've never noticed any difference, I get both clean (no notchy-ness) and clunky shifting with either throw method from 1st...60 K miles later, still doesn't bother me...either way, once the trans warms up it rows through all the gears smoothly with ease.

though I gotta say it is funny that you're coming from a motorcycle and concerned about all the noise. Last year my younger brother gave me some motorcycle lessons on his Ninja 300 and boy I thought that thing was a total noise racket and it sorta made me rethink getting a license & bike this year...and coming back to the FRS after getting off his bike felt like I was sitting in a Lexus :D

what do you mean grinding? seems like most everyone on this forum who says they feel "grinding" is merely feeling normal operation of the synchros..

Thanks for the welcome, guys! And thanks for the shifting tips, I feel better already :thumbsup:

Oh man, I read up on the Perrin/Whiteline shifter bushings and MTEC springs, and they sound awesome. That cheap and apparently improves shifting that much? I'm sooo down for that. Ordering those and some car washing supplies...damn this is good times.

And about the motorcycles, HKz, haha yep my bikes were pretty noisy. I had an '09 zx6r that was pretty stealthy stock, but I also had an SV1000s rat bike with no front fairing and a chopped Yoshimura exhaust I bought from a riding buddy, and man it would set off car alarms so easily :lol: however, that thing was 10 times as fun to ride as my zx6r anywhere outside the track. My dad and I also loved his DR650, and that thing was rattly as hell.

I guess I just expected the bikes to be noisy, but have never driven a RWD sportcar and I wasn't used to the lack of sound shielding. The modern interior kind of tricked me into expecting it to sound boring/quiet like other modern cars. I love the feel and the noise though, now that I understand everything's good with it!

I meant the only times I grind gears is when I’m accelerating WOT and hesitate during the shift. Then it just goes nuts Ghgrghrghrgrgr. Doesn’t happen anymore cause I learned to just be firm and positive with the movement.

Well, JackRabbit, not that I wish to poo-poo the Perrin/Whiteline shifter bushings and MTEC springs, because I haven't tried them, however, I don't see how they could help with shifting the transmission on my 2013 FR-S, because I have no problems shifting it what so ever - :iono:

Of course, I've been shifting standard transmissions for over 70 years, many of which were not synchronized.

In my previous post I mentioned "timing is everything". Here is a challenge for you. Cruise out to a country road (by that time your car's transmission will be warmed up). Get going in 1st gear, at about 2-3,000 rpms, let off the gas and shift into 2nd gear (WITHOUT using the clutch). Do the same from 2-3 and 3-4.

When you get the timing right, the shifts will be smooth and effortless, without using the clutch. Yep, it takes a bit of practice.

Now, after you "learn" the timing, when you throw the clutch into the mix, shifting is a piece of cake - :)


humfrz

I always laugh a little when people complain about notchy shifters, especially if it's related to first gear. IMO the notchier it feels indicates closer tolerances and a more direct connection (As mentioned above).

It's all about the relative motion. At a stop, if you're in neutral the engine is spinning your gears. Unless this transmission is a unicorn design the selector forks and associated teeth (Not 100% on the terminology, any of the big boys can feel free to clear that up) are stationary as they are tied to the output. If you pick the right moment, you'll get a smooth gear selection because everything lines up. Get it just a little wrong and the synchros will do their job, but not without hitting a row of the input side mesh teeth with the output selector teeth. If you clutch for a long time while in neutral the input gears will also stop eventually (Yay friction!) and may not line up properly, leading to a really hard time getting it in gear. A little bump of the clutch to get them spinning again will take care of that.

Same for 1-2 shifts, it's a pretty big jump in terms of rotational speed. Each successive gear is slightly less, and the overall motion is also much closer as you near a 1:1 ratio (5th).

If you've never looked at how a standard transmission works, I highly recommend it. Everything is arcane magic until you open the black box.

Going from neutral to first is dependent on whether the box is rotating or not. If you are in neutral with the clutch out then the box will be in motion. So if you press the clutch and then go right to 1st it will activate the syncros which will cause some resistance and normally a clunk. If you press the clutch and let it spin down before going to 1st it will not have resistance. This is how all manuals work though.

I love how our box feels. Reminds me of an S2000 a little. I will take the rifle bolt feel over mush any day. You can't shift it slow though. The gears ratios are so close together and the revs drop fairly fast so it doesn't take long for the revs to drop below what you need for the upshift which causes the syncros to do more work than necessary. This just adds to the fun though. A casual shift in this car is like a rushed shift in your average car.