Do I need to be extra careful when shifting 1-2 in cold?
 

As we all know BRZ/GT86 gearbox is really stiff in colder temps. It's not an issue to me as in It's not an inconvenience. I am however a bit worried if it's okay for transmission health to juz put a bit more tension on lever when I change gears? I'm trying to rev match as much as I can and sometimes it "clicks" into 1st quite fine but sometimes it doesn't want to and I have to either stop to 0 or push lever quite hard.

My main issue is that my garage entrance goes straight into busy road and every day I'm leaving garage straight into traffic jam when I'm going 1-2-N-1-2-1-N-1-N all the time. Upshifting to 2nd is not too bad but downshifting to 1st without full stop is quite... stressful. When cars trail moves slowly I usually don't have issues with stopping to 0 for brief moment but when cars move a bit faster I don't really want to be perceived as attention wh*re because racecar.

It's gonna be my first winter with BRZ as my main and only car and it's not even cold yet but I already feel how lever is quite stiff. It makes me a bit worried about how it's gonna work when there will be like -15 Celsius outside...

So can I just push gearbox a bit harder or should I perform some secret shenanigans after cold startup before jumping into traffic?

let it warm up a little, don't just start-and-go. i'll usually sit down, start the car, then close the door, buckle up, adjust the radio, and give it a second for the idle to settle down before moving.

otherwise, it's not a big deal. it generally gets easier to manage the more you drive the car as you adjust to the quirks.

Like soundman said, let it run for a few minutes before driving, some people report a cold transmission to be easier on gear changes, but for me the vehicle feels better after it has been warmed up. A few things you can try is also changing some bushings and replacing the transmission oil.

Maybe I'm missing something, but does running the engine really warm up the transmission? I mean I suppose it could slightly, but in an MT I've driven you had to actually drive it (make it do some work) before the transmission warmed up.

Beats me, but it does start off stiff and feels like shifting in molasses when cold and gets easier over time, so something is making it warm up.

Well, it would warm up as the gears are engaged, but I don't think just sitting in your driveway it's going to warm up much.

You could always go crazy and use a block heater or similar to warm the transmission before driving. When cold, I find the 1-2 shift is easier if you slowly raise the revs to about 3200 in first before shifting to second. I personally would only do a 2-1 shift if crawling, 2-3 mph.

Yeah and sometimes you cant even shift into first until the car is stopped (in which case 2nd works).
I wonder if this is a Toyota thing or just a transmission thing in general cuz my old Scion iM and old Corolla XRS also couldnt shift into first at low speeds sometimes unless completely stopped.

This is correct, at least in the case of an MT that I am aware of. I am sure some heat is transferred from just idling the car with the engine and exhaust warming up, but the majority of heat created and transferred comes from actually driving and shifting to get it moving around and warmed up. The idea is simply to take it easy when it's cold or recently started (no gear slamming). It warms up quite quickly with use and shifting becomes smooth within a minute or two, in my experience. On cold winter days, maybe a few more minutes at best.

I also seem to often notice a lot of people talking about having a hard time shifting into first, unless stopped. It always intrigues me, because I never feel the need to shift into first UNLESS I am stopped. Are half the people ready to race when they start their car on their local street in cold weather??

Doesn’t the counter shaft spin whenever the input shaft is spinning? This would let the trans warm up some idling in neutral as long as the clutch is released. Not as efficient as putting it under load, but should still generate some heat.

I usually allow the car to idle in neutral, with the clutch engaged (out) , so the idling engine is spnning the gears in the oil.. With the Amsoil MTG i have in it, usually if i let it idle until the RPM dips to 1000, then it's warmed up enough to shift from 1 to 2 with relative ease.. It still won't be as smooth as fully warmed up, but helps a lot..

LOL. I guess I'm not normal. A life driving truck, semis mostly, gives you some insight into shifting.


I do 2 - 1 shifts all the time. Double clutching a down shift is kinda basic, and should be learned if you are going to do your own shifting.

It does. Stirring thick lube is work and that energy heats it a smidge.


Now, to OP, as I've instructed many times, a cold transmission in neutral with the clutch disengaged, the input section quickly drags to a halt. The syncros will spin it up if you lean into the gearshift but the real answer is to go from first to second without pausing in neutral. Not hard, just quickly before the input side slows down too much. If you miss the opportunity, just double-clutch and blip the throttle to spin it back up in neutral and try again.