(PSA) If you're considering a BRZ I personally don't recommend it

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by ermax

And just like that it’s become an AT>MT debate.

Only Always! Lol

[Swabodda]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

OK. I sort of gave up trying to explain shifting in print and no doubt this is not news to many but I will give it a shot..

Over the decades I have taught well over 100 people how to drive MT (see Ermax I am doing my part to keep MT alive) and nine out of ten of them wanted to grab their knob with a death grip and wrestle the shift lever around. I blame Hollywood for this technique because most movies show people doing exactly that.

It is wrong for a modern car with a relatively short shift throw.



What happens when you do this is that you now have to have your whole torso, shoulder, elbow, forearm and wrist in exactly the right position to guide the shifter into the proper gate. If any one angle is off throughout that whole chain then then you either lose time in the shift while you adjust or you are forcing the lever into the gate against the resistance of your own body.

What you need to do is to not grip the knob at all but simply push and pull it with an open palm or just the fingers. This allows you to sort of flow the lever into the gate without having to use force since if you are not bang on the knob can just slide across your hand as the lever drops into place. If you are doing it right all you need to move is your wrist and forearm. Your elbow and shoulder should hardly rotate at all.

There are of course variations in hand position and you need to learn what you are most comfortable with but they are all basically like this:

Hand positions are exaggerated for demonstration.

Shifting into 1st, 3rd, and 5th push with the palm of the hand in the general direction of the gate. Do not grip knob.


Shifting into the even gears usually in the up shifts (away from you)


Downshifts to the even gears (pulling toward you)

Last time I posted this somebody added a video of a race driver showing this technique that makes it clearer than my written attempt.

So... Hope this helps anybody that is still grabbing their knob and jerking it around.

Thanks Tcoat, I'll begin working on the adjustments.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Is the person in the blue pants masturbating, while watching the guy with the limp wrist play with that stick -



humfrz

[spike021]

Originally Posted by ermax

I guess I got lucky and got the one off tranny that never grinds and isn't overly notchy even in the cold. I'm in Florida so cold to me isn't cold to everyone. The only time mine grinds is if a make an obvious mistake. I've got 93k or so on mine now. Origional clutch. Only the TOB has been replaced.

TBH, I'd put this tranny just behind the AP2 S2000 which says a whole lot. The tranny was one of the things that sold me on the car. If all you have driven is cable boxes I could see how this one may feel odd.

Notchy or a clunk into a gear is not the same thing as grinding.

Same for me pretty much. California and all so it doesn’t get “cold” like where our friends to the north north live.

Mine never “grinds”. Sometimes I’ll get the rattle/vibration-like grind if and only if I do what another poster referred to earlier in the thread: basically trying to shift too quickly, don’t put the knob all the way into a gear or take my foot off the clutch too quickly or some combination. Very occasional but it happens. Then again I’m only 18 months into driving a MT.

Last winter it probably got to 40-ish for a few nights/mornings. Sure from completely cold it might be a bit tough to get into first or second right away. So I just turn the car on, give it a couple minutes to warm up a tad on its own. Then I start off slow driving, not pushing the car too hard till it’s up to a suitable temp.

As far as dealers, it’s hard to blame one of many. I’ve had a great experience at mine. Amazing deal on the car when I bought it (relative to average price in the area).

Just recently they replaced like three or four different things under warranty probably worth over $1k without questioning anything.

Then again somebody replied to a tweet from their dealership twitter account a couple weeks back saying they’re the worst dealer they’ve ever dealt with.

Two sides to every story and all but humans aren’t perfect. Some people just suck on both sides. I hope you don’t.

Sometimes processes just don’t work. But sometimes the processes aren’t meant for your situation either when you’re working with relatively normal circumstances.

Anyway just my two cents. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by highway7

And lol at all these "grip" posts and no mention of the wine glass grip

That sort of falls into the "variations" I mentioned. The whole point of grip is that you should not have a firm grasp on your knob. It should be able to slide around and into place with no resistance from your hand. No matter how you stroke your knob it should be gentle and coaxing not firm and aggressive. Treat your knob with care and comfort and you will be rewarded.

[runfrodorun]

Originally Posted by highway7

I've had 5th gear mini grind problems. 142 000 km build date AUG 13



When shifting from 4th to 5th, if it's anything except for a slow deliberate granny shift at low speed (Under 70km/h) it's going to do a mini grind at the very end of the travel. Still goes into gear no problem (yet), doesn't pop out (yet), but grinding has become more and more common. At first it would happen every 100 shifts, no big deal. Now I am surprised if it doesn't grind, not the other way around. I shifted back and forth from 4th to 5th over a 80km/h road around 6-7 times and it all grinded except for one shift. Tranny fluid changed with Motul 300 recently, no help. However, 0 grind when downshifting from 6th to 5th. All other gears don't grind.



Tranny stiffness and gear lockout in cold weather as well


And lol at all these "grip" posts and no mention of the wine glass grip

5th gear requires the lightest touch of any trans I’ve ever operated. I literally use like two fingers and apply like 5 grams of force, and then it just gets sucked in after 2 seconds. It does get worse over time. You’re not crazy for noticing it get worse over time, both of the trans’ that I had got worse over time because minor damage adds up.

[Little Mt. Fuji]

Ive experienced not being able to get the car into 1st gear or sometimes 2nd when cold but never grinding (that was the car's fault). Ever since I replaced fluids I've never had a problem getting the car into gear. Every so often I get a weird feeling shift where I feel it fight the synchro a little but still goes in. I have an early model 13 btw, great trans when warm, kinda ehhh in cold.

[Rabidpug]

New manual driver here, literally bought the car last Monday to force myself to learn, why is having a firm grip bad for shifting? Will it damage something over time? Or is it an attempt to slow down how quickly your engaging a gear?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Rabidpug

New manual driver here, literally bought the car last Monday to force myself to learn, why is having a firm grip bad for shifting? Will it damage something over time? Or is it an attempt to slow down how quickly your engaging a gear?

As I said before a firm grip means that the slightest error in any of the positions of the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder or even torso means that you can actually be fighting the gate. The shifter wants to go in a certain way but you may be physical preventing it with your positioning. By simply pushing or pulling it into gear you are allowing the lever to find it's own positioning. Sort of the difference of trying to pour a bucket of water straight into a Coke bottle by controlling the size of the stream vs using a funnel.

[Rabidpug]

Got it, the stick will fall into place doesn’t need to be forced.

[Little Mt. Fuji]

Originally Posted by Rabidpug

New manual driver here, literally bought the car last Monday to force myself to learn, why is having a firm grip bad for shifting? Will it damage something over time? Or is it an attempt to slow down how quickly your engaging a gear?

Most of the time I will simply push or pull the stick to get in into gear, kinda cupping my hand around it and letting it go in. If you wanted to, you could go from 4-3 by giving a little shove and it will pop right into gear. Doesn't take much force to get in a gear, hell, I could shift by using my pinky finger. It also good habit just in-case if it doesn't wanna go in you aren't forcing it. No need to be fast and furious, Vin Diesel, slam-shifting just to beat that mini-van next to you at the light.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by ermax

And just like that it’s become an AT>MT debate by someone who doesn’t understand why people prefer a manual.

??? I have a manual and do prefer it??? I love the way my 17 shifts! I beleive you misunderstood my post.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by Rabidpug

Got it, the stick will fall into place doesn’t need to be forced.

This is another reason why people buy heavier shift knobs. The extra weight helps it "slide" into gear easier.

Shifts should be soft with minimal force.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Is the person in the blue pants masturbating, while watching the guy with the limp wrist play with that stick -

humfrz