red5eight

Please let me know if you feel that the shifting is notchy and what year your car is. Mine is 2007 and has been notchy for 6500miles, has only gotten a little better and Redline helped a little too but still not what I expected. I test drove a 2004 which was super smooth, I thought mine just needed to break in but it is still notchy.

byez

2004
Notchy with GL5, smooth with Redline MT90 GL4.

red5eight

Thanks, I'm running MT90 as well. It also gets better when warm, but still somewhat disappointing.

HeavyMetal699

What? You don't like the snickety snick gearbox?

I have the axial flow short shifter. Every shift is heard and felt.

I switched to redline 75-140NS and my transmission became louder. Louder than my engine.

Socket7

Depends entirely on how aggressively I'm shifting and how long I've been driving.

It's always very notchy in the mornings and the shift into second gear. 3rd gear is usually pretty good about just falling into place, as is 4th. Rev matching helps of course.

I've got the AFE shifter. It really lets you feel the syncros working.

LionZoo

Since the installation of the clutch pedal brace, it's been very smooth.

Mr.&Mrs.Magic

iTrader: (3)

05 with BHR pedal, AFE shifter, eneos GL-5 fluid(courtsey of charles), Mazsport SS clutch line and still notchy as hell

also act clutch and BHR flywheel

LionZoo

It's been my observation that short shifters tend to make the transmission more notchy.

red5eight

So Zoo has the pedal and it helped. Magic has pedal and Short Shifter and it's still notchy. Anyone else have experience that points to the pedal as the culprit? I've heard people blaming the pedal and others blaming the shifter. I remember I test drove a 5spd miata which was just perfection, and actually the used '04 RX8 I test drove was almost too slick. I like some resistance but sometimes my '07 RX8 actually won't go into gear (clutch on the floor, no grinding, I just apply what I think is a reasonable amount of pressure and it feels like I'm pushing on a wall). That is rare, mostly 2-3, the rest of the time it just has slightly too much resistance and is vague. The clutch also feels way too vague, it feels like it engages at a different place each time. Any advice?

I8U

iTrader: (1)

^Try bleeding the slave cylinder, this might help your issue. Might have some air in the line.

red5eight

Is there a DIY for this somewhere? Is there just a bleeder valve somewhere? Any chance I could get the dealer to do it? I've always been kinda sketched out by the shared reservoir, and my brakes feel a bit spongy too, but I always attributed that to the firewall flex.

red5eight

bump for more votes!

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Missing option: Grinding

czar

iTrader: (3)

hmm my transmission i realized is only a pain when its is cold (once its warmed up most issues disapear) using mt90, does sometimes randomly grind with clutch to the floor and not wanting to go into the gear

elysium19

iTrader: (1)

I completely believe you, but I'd like to know how this could affect shifting smoothness??

I thought the smoothness would be more a function of the synchros and the oil properties. Can anyone explain this?

red5eight

The only thing I can think of is that the clutch may not be completely disengaging even when pushed all the way to the floor. This could be due to air in the hydraulic system as someone already suggested. Could also be because the clutch pedal bracket is flexing and not pushing the master cylinder as far as it is supposed to. If the clutch is even lightly in contact the load on the syncros would be much higher. There was a TSB about a related problem in the early RX8's, supposedly because of a cleaning agent used when assembling the clutch master cylinder. The was supposed to be changed at some point, so for the late models it must be air in the hydraulics or flex in the hose or flex in the pedal.

Again this is the only connection I can think of between clutch pedal and smoothness. I may not be due to the clutch at all, could just be the syncro design or shifter design or who knows what else?

red5eight

Here is a link to the TSB I mentioned:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-06-1641a.pdf

This problem is only supposed to occur for '04-'06 cars and only at high temperature (but you have to assume the under-hood temp will get high enough after driving for a while anyways)

ken-x8

Mine started off pretty notchy, but once Zoomy broke in (couple of thousand miles) it smoothed out. It's like butter.

Had the same experience with a BMW some time back: notchy til it broke in, then smooth for the life of the car.

Ken

red5eight

I'm surprised, so far 64% aren't fully satisfied with their shift action. For a car/company so heralded for it's MTs I thought it must just be me. Of course probably people who aren't happy with their shifter are more likely to look at this thread...but still.

HeavyMetal699

Mine does that too! Sometimes it just refuses to downshift into first when I autocross. Yes, I rev match, and I don't try unless I dipped way down ~30mph or lower, not worth the time to shift unless I go that far down.

At least I figured out how to put it into reverse everytime without it grinding.

Edit: Mine is notchy but notchy isn't necessarily a bad thing.

chancejat

iTrader: (2)

after test driving an s2000 the other day....my tranny feels notchy as hell....but my car is sooooo much nicer....

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

you have to note that you are looking at a very biased bunch. when it comes to shifting, rx8 owners are very discriminating.

redline mt-90 ftmfw.

LionZoo

The stock clutch pedal bracket is weak and flexes. Putting on the bracket takes out the flex and has the clutch disengage cleaner.

You don't truly appreciate the RX-8's gearbox until you get a daily driver.

I8U

iTrader: (1)

Mine is pretty notchy in the monrings, but not so much in the afternoon. I'm running a 50/50 mix of Redline MT-90 and MTL...looking at switching it up to Redline 75w-90 and Redline ATF though. Just want to play around with the mixtures right now.

red5eight

bump, any more votes out there?