manual fr-s question

[Stratoside]

Main question:

Is it my fault that whenever I go into 2nd gear(on a manual fr-s) it makes really loud clunky noise?

background story:

Fr-s is my first manual car, I've been driving it for almost a year and half now.
Since I was a fairly new manual driver, I thought I was just a bad driver ( which caused the 2nd gear clunky sound) but now I'm not so sure.


thanks

[kthxbai]

Moving from 1st to 2nd in this car when the engine and the transmission is cold will produce a clunk. Once the fluids are warm and circulating it goes away.

s3 Tapatalk

[Stratoside]

Originally Posted by kthxbai

Moving from 1st to 2nd in this car when the engine and the transmission is cold will produce a clunk. Once the fluids are warm and circulating it goes away.

s3 Tapatalk

so there is absolutely no way to fix that? besides waiting for the fluids to warm up and circulate? cause it usually lasts for like 10mins till it goes away

and thanks for answering

[kthxbai]

Depending on the temperature outside (I live in Florida), it takes about 5-7 mins of driving for me. My commute to work is about this long and it is all local. I believe there are some forum members who have changed out their transmission fluid to Motul or Redline and this has made a noticeable difference. I would do a little research to find the thread, I remember reading it a while back.

s3 Tapatalk

[Ubersuber]

Perfectly normal. The shifter is very direct and you will feel everything as you shift gears.

Pay close attention to how you are operating the clutch pedal. Pulling your arm back and pushing the opposite leg forwards can sometimes lead you to let in the clutch a tiny bit too early which can make that 1/2 shift feel clunkier than it needs to be. Otherwise, it is just a quirk of the car.

[DeadStar7]

I'm glad someone finally asked this, because I've had the same "problem" since I bought mine. Even brought it to the dealer and had them look at it and tell me nothing was wrong. I was pissed, and took the sales guy out for a drive to show him the problem.

Good to know it's not just me!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ubersuber

Perfectly normal. The shifter is very direct and you will feel everything as you shift gears.

Pay close attention to how you are operating the clutch pedal. Pulling your arm back and pushing the opposite leg forwards can sometimes lead you to let in the clutch a tiny bit too early which can make that 1/2 shift feel clunkier than it needs to be. Otherwise, it is just a quirk of the car.

In addition, I suggest you push the clutch pedal in ..... all the way to the floor (don't "lazy leg" it).

Get a good grip on the shift lever (not just with your fingers) then slowly and firmly "pull" the shift lever into the second gear position.

It's not a toggle switch; its a lever hooked to heavy gears ....

You'll get the hang of it......


humfrz

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by humfrz

In addition, I suggest you push the clutch in ..... all the way to the floor (don't "lazy leg" it).

Then, get a good grip on the shift lever (not just with your fingers) and slowly and firmly "pull" the shift lever into the second gear position.

It's not a toggle switch; its a lever hooked to heavy gears ....

You'll get the hang of it......


humfrz

You're alivveeee. LOL

Bck on topic: I believe that Toyota confirmed this is normal and it went something like Porsches have this problem too

[5hairpins]

I have noticed that revving higher helps. I am used to shifting at a pretty low RPM when casual driving and the lower the RPM the more I notice the noise. Rev it up past 4K and hardly any noise or resistance. At least that is my experience.

[Muaddib]

I noticed that the harder you shift. The smoother it gets :p

[WhiteFRS69]

read this

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...mission+design

[Stratoside]

Originally Posted by DeadStar7

I'm glad someone finally asked this, because I've had the same "problem" since I bought mine. Even brought it to the dealer and had them look at it and tell me nothing was wrong. I was pissed, and took the sales guy out for a drive to show him the problem.

Good to know it's not just me!

I DID THE SAME MAN!
I took it to the dealership and asked, but by the time i got there, the transmission warmed up or whatever and the clunky-ness disappeared..
so the guy was like "i don't see any problem here"

thank you all for answering
@WhiteFRS69

i'm not too car savvy to understand that forum post.. and I might sound really ignorant to say this, but isn't that just an excuse for a failure of engineering?
shouldn't it be smooth all the time..?

but yeah thanks for that link, i understand a lot better now

[malave7567]

Originally Posted by Stratoside

I DID THE SAME MAN!
I took it to the dealership and asked, but by the time i got there, the transmission warmed up or whatever and the clunky-ness disappeared..
so the guy was like "i don't see any problem here"

thank you all for answering
@WhiteFRS69

i'm not too car savvy to understand that forum post.. and I might sound really ignorant to say this, but isn't that just an excuse for a failure of engineering?
shouldn't it be smooth all the time..?

but yeah thanks for that link, i understand a lot better now

Engineering is all about trade-off, for increase in direct feel, you also get increase in NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). My FC3S RX-7 was a bit worse, but it has a shorter throw transmission. My Camaro SS fifth gen was a bit better, but didn't feel as direct as the FR-S.

If you are going to be smooth all the time, even when the trans oil is cold, you are going to have softer durometer rubber components (bushings, etc.) and that will make the shifter feel more "vague."

[strat61caster]

*Reads topic, first thought: It's in the glovebox...*

Yup, this transmission is a bit rough around the edges and is best when run hard with the engine at high revs.

Originally Posted by Stratoside

i'm not too car savvy to understand that forum post.. and I might sound really ignorant to say this, but isn't that just an excuse for a failure of engineering?
shouldn't it be smooth all the time..?

Like has been said, engineering is really about tradoffs. Yes, we could have had a buttery smooth transmission, but we would have lost that tightness, the precision, the accuracy and the feedback that has gotten quite a bit of praise. I drove a Mini last week, the BMW tranny is silky smooth, but I have zero idea if I was being hard on the syncros or not, when it actually engaged the gear, and I confused 3/5 and 4/6 more than once (nbd, dat torque). The car did not take well to the double clutching I do in the FRS and with automatic rev matching downshifts engine braking is non-existent.

Pick your poison, the Toyobaru certainly isn't for everyone despite how great it is.