Stiff 2nd Gear actuation when cold on manual 6 Speed of FRS/BRZ? There's a reason!

[SXE10]

This is easily overcome with some decent aftermarket oil. Big thread on it here>> http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16604

If all else fails learn to double clutch. Half the problems come from guys who've driven FF for the last 10-20 years jumps in a FR & tries to change gears the same way.

[Mikem53]

This is true.. Had the issue with my C6.. Got better after 12k miles or so.. But 2nd never liked to be rushed when cold.. Once warmed up.. All was fine...
Never did have the issue with my M3 though..

Originally Posted by sikest

Glad to hear someone came forward to say it's normal.

When I had a Miata the forums always lit up in winter with complaints about 2nd gear.

When I had a Porsche Boxster S the forums always lit up in winter with complaints about 2nd gear.

When I had a Mustang GT the forums always lit up in winter with complaints about 2nd gear.

When I had a Corvette C6 the forums always lit up in winter with complaints about 2nd gear.

Now I have a FR-S and the forum yet again has lit up this winter with complaints about 2nd gear.

So stop worrying about 2nd gear guys. Just take it easy on the tranny as it warms up and enjoy your car.

[Synack]

Only our forum people would have access to talking to design team members and leads of the project and such.

[jdcorbitt3]

I have had both the Miata and the RX-8 with the 6 speed gearbox. I am hoping the FR-S gearbox is the same as the RX-8. It can easily handle 300whp. I have not noticed difficulty in shifting any of these cars, but I do not speed shift. Bob Bondurant said the key to winning a race is finishing. So he taught, be easy on your equipment. I do a technique called "Eggshell shifting". Two fingers of light force should be all you need to get any gearbox into gear. Letting the fingers act as a spring, so gentle force is applied to the shift lever. This also works great on the older Ferraris with those huge gates. After a 30,000 mile break in, I switch to Royal Purple. The syncros are not as effective with Royal Purple because it is so slick, and if you hard shift, it will grind the gears.

John

[ZmZMWagon]

The Mazdaspeed3 also suffers from this 2nd gear issue when cold....

[blackraven1425]

Originally Posted by norsamerican

Hmmm I'm inclined to doubt that. With current technology a smoother second gear shift seems absolutely doable along with maintaining the "precise shifting." There are plenty of cars that shift well and don't have this issue. I don't mean to sound like a downer but I think that answer is a crock. It just doesn't make sense in an engineering perspective to make something overall better and sacrifice something else. No offense.

You can't change physics. Metals shrink and expand with temperature. Either it's engineered with lower tolerances to allow for more solid shifting when it's at operating temperature, or it's engineered with wider tolerances for it not to be tough at low temperature but looser shifting at operating temperature. You can't have it both ways.

[polarstorm]

Originally Posted by blackraven1425

You can't change physics. Metals shrink and expand with temperature. Either it's engineered with lower tolerances to allow for more solid shifting when it's at operating temperature, or it's engineered with wider tolerances for it not to be tough at low temperature but looser shifting at operating temperature. You can't have it both ways.

True. But don't you find it funny that it has a particular affinity for gear #2? I would suggest that if this is the case it should be present across the range..

[Huehuecoyotl]

cones

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Moto-P

I've also asked them (the Team86) about making a new cluster maybe, that deletes the needle dial speedometer (which is redundant for cars with digital speedometer) and using that space for oil temp/presure dials, and releasing it as TRD option replacement. They LOVE the idea, but at the same time, the tricky part is that such replacement of entire cluster in the USA, will put a 'red flag' in the vehicle registration tag since odometer would have to be replaced in the process.

But I'd do it for one!!! (OK going off in to a tangent off the original topic. So I'll stop)

For some it is the other way around. The digital speedometer is redundant because the car has a needle.

Losing the needle means losing peripheral reference to speed. Instead of glancing at needle location you must look exactly at the value of a number. Difference between a watch with hands and a digital clock. Not everything needs to be digital.

Consider, instead, that it would be easier to incorporate these readouts into the existing LCD. This would alleviate the "replacement cluster" indicator because you're just reprogramming the existing LCD display. Add sensors, let the driver cycle between readouts by pressing the turn signal stalk (or something like that), and set warnings as they wish. Then the driver can select which readout to monitor, and if they reach - for example - excessive oil temperature, then the LCD would automatically go to that readout and flash to indicate the problem.

TRD could sell this as a full kit. Sensors, reprogramming (or aux control box), and something fun like a tachometer overlay that has yellow and orange markings and the TRD logo.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by SXE10

This is easily overcome with some decent aftermarket oil. Big thread on it here>> http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16604

If all else fails learn to double clutch. Half the problems come from guys who've driven FF for the last 10-20 years jumps in a FR & tries to change gears the same way.

yes! "double -clutching" will help! in order to get you acclimated to it,think of your car as a truck!..ideally,a tractor with a ''fuller roadranger" transmission in it,and you will be fine!

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

For some it is the other way around. The digital speedometer is redundant because the car has a needle.

Losing the needle means losing peripheral reference to speed. Instead of glancing at needle location you must look exactly at the value of a number. Difference between a watch with hands and a digital clock. Not everything needs to be digital.

Consider, instead, that it would be easier to incorporate these readouts into the existing LCD. This would alleviate the "replacement cluster" indicator because you're just reprogramming the existing LCD display. Add sensors, let the driver cycle between readouts by pressing the turn signal stalk (or something like that), and set warnings as they wish. Then the driver can select which readout to monitor, and if they reach - for example - excessive oil temperature, then the LCD would automatically go to that readout and flash to indicate the problem.

TRD could sell this as a full kit. Sensors, reprogramming (or aux control box), and something fun like a tachometer overlay that has yellow and orange markings and the TRD logo.

I'm interested to see how a poll would turn out asking which speedometer do people reference while driving. I can't think of one time that I looked at the analog speedometer. The digital readout is right there and easy to read. The analog unit has an unconventional spread too. On most cars, 0mph would be where 60mph is for us.

Sent from my Nexus 4

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

I'm interested to see how a poll would turn out asking which speedometer do people reference while driving. I can't think of one time that I looked at the analog speedometer. The digital readout is right there and easy to read. The analog unit has an unconventional spread too. On most cars, 0mph would be where 60mph is for us.

If the cars did not have digital readout, the needle would work fine for most people. But because it has the digital thing constantly flashing different numbers, your eye naturally goes to that.

If I knew how to program this sort of thing, I would make a box that interfaced with the LCD to monitor other things, perhaps even Valentine 1 alerts.

[NOHOME]

Good try at a spin.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

Exactly. Remember, when "warm-up" meant a different set of plugs entirely? It was not that long ago!

In our world, a little stiffness from a cold gearbox is to be expected. Many great cars exhibit this characteristic. Our Supra has been like this since it was new (15 years ago, wow!) and that is without Aisin gearbox or $25k pricetag. Owners of 2000GT probably deal with a bit of stiffness too. (Good for them -- enjoying early morning runs!)

Once everything is warmed up, it will be consistently good every single time, this is the Toyota truth. Take solace knowing some of the finest sports cars in the world have a bit of this. It is part of the experience.

It's true. Mine is stiff even when warm. That doesn't sound quite right, but anyway...