Hello people,
As most of you know I traded in my auto for the 6 speed. I have noticed that most of the time when I switch gears it has a very smooth feeling on the gear shifter when putting it into gear but sometimes it feels a little ruff, like it doesn’t want to go into gear. Is this common or just bad gear switching on my part? This is my first manual transmission so I really don't know that much about them. I want to make sure this isn’t a mechanical problem. I only have 1700 miles on the car.

 

I notice shifting at high RPM's can be tough espescialy 2nd to 3rd. I've got 2500 miles on so far and i'm still getting better at shifting. I dont think you have a mechanical problem, I my opinion the 8 isnt the easiest car to learn manual on and some "grindy shifting" is most likely the driver. I knew how to drive a manual and drive a manual truck sometime, but i know i'm still "learning" the 8.

 

Give it time.. The synchros are breaking in. Just don't force anything.. I'm at around 11k now and everything is very smooth and effortless.

 

Thanks guys, I was scared there for a second. I have never forced them to go into gear so hopefully everything will be alright. As for the letting the clutch out when first starting the car and leaving it in neutral. There’s that noise that it seems to be making, I've done research on this here on the forum and sounds common. Is that correct? Or should I take it to the dealership? It seems to go away after I let it warm up or drive for a minute or two.

 

Listen closely and you can hear the syncros work. Kind of sounds like a turbo sometimes .

If you had a "super slow-mo" mind, shifting would be - pull - pause - pull. I put the pause in there to emphasize the very slight wait for the syncros to speed up or slow down the next gear cluster. Just put gentle pressure on the shifter and all that occurs naturally.

It really is a nice transmission, better than the one in the 3rd gen RX-7, even though it can't handle as much torque.

 

David why the hell did they have to make the input shaft so long inside the tranny?

Its seems not only mechanically unsound, but on top of that a waste of space/weight. A shorter input shaft would be able to handle more torque and wouldn't flex as much... am i correct?

 

I'm the wrong one to comment on transmission design. I've only worked on one (an old ford one), and almost got lost by mixing up the parts .

I think the RX-7 input shaft is also quite long, based on looking at my shop manual.

As far as strength is concerned, transmissions usually fail when a gear tooth is overtorqued and breaks off, resulting in the gear breaking, the parts jamming the rest of the transmission, etc. Shaft failure is not very common, at least not from what I've heard.

 

Strange, but the 2nd to 3rd is the smoothest for mine. The 1st and 2nd, I have to force it in when I'm at higher revs. Everything else is smooth.

 

Yes 1st and 2nd are hard on mine as well. All the rest are smooth sailing.

 

Ok well as long as I'm not the only one. I thought it was weird and this is my first Manual sports car so just thought I would ask. Switches fine after a run through the gears a couple of time. I love this car to death everyone always stops and questions me about it. I'm sure glad to tell them as much as I can about the RX8, lol. Plus it’s a chick magnet and that’s always a plus!!!!

 

Good to hear I'm not the only one as well...this is my first manual as well, and I'm still having some issues after 1200 miles. I thought I was a bad driver :P but it's just the car. Maybe it's still me. I'm cheating the shifts by applying gas when the clutch is not all the way out, in the search for smoother shifts, is this terrible for the car?

 

watup guys i just got my 8 and am having some gear problems, could you guys give me a quicj estimate as to what speed to change the gears i.e
1st 5mph
2nd 10mph and so on, thanks alot

 

I learned on a stick shift (Series MM Minor) long, long ago and have driven many stick shift cars and trucks. After 500 miles in the 8 I'm still trying to get it "just right". I think the difference is the Renesis has very little flywheel effect. Changing up I was taught to de-clutch, take my foot off the gas and put the stick in neutral, then slide into the new gear as the revs dropped to something like a match for the new gear, then re-engage the clutch. In the 8 the revs drop so fast that I get a jerk as I let up the clutch and the engine has to speed up.
What do the experts out there recommend?
Move the stick real fast?
Double declutch on the up change? (i can do this, but it seems like alot of work)
Don't take my foot completely off the gas?

 

I've been driving sticks since I was 12- 28 years. The 8 shifts well, especially the 2 to 3 shift as the ratios are very complementary to the torque curve. My only problem with shifting, and I made several posts about it, was that I often got hung up on the 4 to 5 shift, either banging into the area between the 3 and 5 gates and not getting into 5th, and/or not being able to coordinate the throttle and clutch during the shift.

Two things changed. The first is the M flash. It improved the throttle/clutch interplay during the shift. I think the flash maintains revs more readily between shifts, that is, I find I don't have to concentrate as hard on just barely letting off the throttle during the shift in order to keep the shift smooth. Previously, I kept letting the revs drop too much between shifts. Now the revs stay up more easily during the shift.

Secondly, I figured out the the transmission is out of the 4 gate earlier in its travel than I thought - I was moving the shifter to the right too late and getting caught up between 3rd and 5th. It's as if I was shifting as if the shifter was placed an inch forward of where its travel actually is.

I still have to concentrate a little to pull off smooth 4 to 5 shifts, but I'm getting near to the point where all the way thru the gears there's just a equally quick dip of revs and smooth engagement.