Crunchiness

Anjuna

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I meant freezing climates like back east or Canada. I grew up in southern Cal, what we call cold is shorts weather everywhere else lol
I've noticed when it dips below 5°C my shifter doesn't like to behave properly. The colder it is, the squishier it is. During our recent cold snap here in Vancouver, it hit -10° and I had to rev match until the transmission warmed up enough to not lock me out of 3rd.

I also feel my LSD working more on cold mornings than warmer ones.
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amirza786

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I've noticed when it dips below 5°C my shifter doesn't like to behave properly. The colder it is, the squishier it is. During our recent cold snap here in Vancouver, it hit -10° and I had to rev match until the transmission warmed up enough to not lock me out of 3rd.

I also feel my LSD working more on cold mornings than warmer ones.
All transmissions, especially manuals when the weather is colder the fluid will be a bit thicker so it doesn't flow well. Here in Northern Cal where I live winter mornings right now are usually in the 40's to 60's F and even then until the trans is warmed shifting would be a bit more difficult. Also since the gearing is all mechanical in a manual, you need good 'ol friction to get things warmed up
 

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I've noticed when it dips below 5°C my shifter doesn't like to behave properly. The colder it is, the squishier it is. During our recent cold snap here in Vancouver, it hit -10° and I had to rev match until the transmission warmed up enough to not lock me out of 3rd.

I also feel my LSD working more on cold mornings than warmer ones.
3rd gear also gets weird for me when it gets below 15 F. First couple shifts into 3rd feels like it’s getting very little lubrication.

Ive heard a couple times in threads where 4th gear has failed that transmission tear-downs reveal that the channels that feed fluid to 3rd and 4th are small.

It makes me believe that Honda MTF is very thin for a reason.
 

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3rd gear also gets weird for me when it gets below 15 F. First couple shifts into 3rd feels like it’s getting very little lubrication.

Ive heard a couple times in threads where 4th gear has failed that transmission tear-downs reveal that the channels that feed fluid to 3rd and 4th are small.

It makes me believe that Honda MTF is very thin for a reason.
Reading about the partially formed/punched out channels was enough to keep me from trying a thicker MTF. On my S2000 I’ve only used Honda’s MTF, and changing it out every 15k instead of every 30k was enough to keep things smooth. Given what we know about the Si’s transmission, I think that method might be a better idea, rather than switching to a thicker MTF and sticking with the 30k interval.
 

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3rd gear also gets weird for me when it gets below 15 F. First couple shifts into 3rd feels like it’s getting very little lubrication.

Ive heard a couple times in threads where 4th gear has failed that transmission tear-downs reveal that the channels that feed fluid to 3rd and 4th are small.

It makes me believe that Honda MTF is very thin for a reason.
Under normal operating conditions where you are stock or only lightly tuned I feel 4th gear would not normally fail, using Honda MTF, Amsoil or any other approved fluid. The transmission is actually very durable, KShawn ran his hard pushing high levels of power and torque (way more than it was designed for) for the last 2 years before he broke 4th gear
 


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Under normal operating conditions where you are stock or only lightly tuned I feel 4th gear would not normally fail, using Honda MTF, Amsoil or any other approved fluid. The transmission is actually very durable, KShawn ran his hard pushing high levels of power and torque (way more than it was designed for) for the last 2 years before he broke 4th gear
I agree with you. However, I did see a thread where the guy said he blew 4th twice. Once while stock and the next time tuned. Whether he was full of shit or not, I can’t be certain.

I think a lot of people abuse 4th gear more than they think they do. Stomping the gas at 40 mph instead of choosing to take the extra time to shift to third.

The torque available in this turbo’d powertrain is not like previous Hondas. I’m not saying the car is fragile, but it certainly is less forgiving than older civics.
 
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amirza786

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I agree with you. However, I did see a thread where the guy said he blew 4th twice. Once while stock and the next time tuned. Whether he was full of shit or not, I can’t be certain.

I think a lot of people abuse 4th gear more than they think they do. Stomping the gas at 40 mph instead of choosing to take the extra time to shift to third.

The torque available in this turbo’d powertrain is not like previous Hondas. I’m not saying the car is fragile, but it certainly is less forgiving than older civics.
I would say the first part you mentioned of the guy blowing 4th twice is more likely. On a stock or light tune loading the engine in 4th going 40mph is bad (in fact bad on any car), but the clutch would take the brunt.

It's true you could pound on the older K engines and rev them to redline, but I doubt they could handle the higher compression and stress from forced induction like the L series. At least as efficiently. There was a lot of engineering that went into this design, and it takes a lot of abuse to break it.

On your last point, abuse is the key. Manual transmissions are not as forgiving as their auto counter parts. I've broken a few myself, I'm sad to say. If you over stress them, don't shift properly, dump the clutch etc you can break them. From what I know of manuals, if you don't abuse them, which includes throwing more power then they were designed for they will last the life of the car
 

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Hello everybody! I am new here to the community and to owning my Civic SI. I recently purchased my 2018 Civic SI with 40,000 miles on it. The car runs perfectly and feels great no real issues. I did notice what I am assuming is the "crunchiness" when going into say 2nd gear described in this thread. The question I have, and please excuse me for not being as educated, is does this have any negative effect on the car or gearbox, or is it just a minor annoyance? Otherwise it shifts absolutely perfectly and no issues that I am aware of. I saw some recommendations on changing the fluid, but curious as to what negative effects I could have on my vehicle. I appreciate the help :)
 
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amirza786

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Hello everybody! I am new here to the community and to owning my Civic SI. I recently purchased my 2018 Civic SI with 40,000 miles on it. The car runs perfectly and feels great no real issues. I did notice what I am assuming is the "crunchiness" when going into say 2nd gear described in this thread. The question I have, and please excuse me for not being as educated, is does this have any negative effect on the car or gearbox or is it just a minor annoyance? I saw some recommendations on changing the fluid, but curious as to what negative effects I could have on my vehicle. I appreciate the help :)
As long as no gears are grinding (which is a very distinctive sound and feel), the crunchiness is actually notchiness and you are not damaging anything. There are ways of learning to shift where it's less notchy, but that is the way the gearbox was designed. When I owned a 2018 Si I found that changing my MT fluid to Amsoil Synchromesh helped a lot. But the main thing that will make shifting better is the Acuity short shifter kit. A bit pricey, but worth it. I drove a friends Type R with the Acuity and I thought they put in a different gearbox, but no, it was the Acuity he installed.
 

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Awesome thank you very much. I just wanted to make sure that nothing was doing any damage. There are no gears grinding or anything of that. So this is just an unfortunate design. I'll look for a link to the Amsoil Synchromesh about getting that changed as well.

Just out of curiosity if I got the Acuity short shifter kit it would just void the Honda Care warranty on the gearbox and nothing else? I believe that is how it works or should I not worry about that warranty since I saw a lot of posts saying Honda blames it on the user and tries to not honor the warranty?
 


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Awesome thank you very much. I just wanted to make sure that nothing was doing any damage. There are no gears grinding or anything of that. So this is just an unfortunate design. I'll look for a link to the Amsoil Synchromesh about getting that changed as well.

Just out of curiosity if I got the Acuity short shifter kit it would just void the Honda Care warranty on the gearbox and nothing else? I believe that is how it works or should I not worry about that warranty since I saw a lot of posts saying Honda blames it on the user and tries to not honor the warranty?
Here's a link to Amsoil Synchromesh, you need 2 quarts: https://www.amsoil.com/lookup/auto-...l-engine-code-l15b7-9-turbo/?volume=us-volume

And don't forget crush washer. I don't think the Acuity short shift kit would void the warranty as you are not messing with anything in the transmission, only the shifting mechanisms:

https://acuityinstruments.com/products/10th-gen-civic-acuity-adjustable-short-shifter
 

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I'm in SoCal and in winter time it definitely gets cold and specially for me since I work late night (2:00 am) i have to leave my baby warming up at least a good 7 - 10 minutes. Like I said earlier I won't be changing the shifter just yet but definitely will do it in the near future. I've read good stuff all over the forums about amsoil so I'll be using that when it's time to switch it
There's nowhere in San Diego area that gets that cold, (I lived there 33 years).
You're actually taking LONGER to warm your engine letting it sit and idle 7-10 mins, not good for the oil dilution issue either.
Just start it, wait a minute for the idle to lower a bit then slowly drive off, normal.....it'll warm up MUCH quicker doing that.
 

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Just start it, wait a minute for the idle to lower a bit then slowly drive off, normal.....it'll warm up MUCH quicker doing that.
This is exactly what I do, start and let it drop below 1k idling and slowly drive off. Once i'm on the road for a few minutes and the temp is almost the operating zone, I'll start pushing it some. Which is usually 5 minutes into my commute.
 

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There's nowhere in San Diego area that gets that cold, (I lived there 33 years).
You're actually taking LONGER to warm your engine letting it sit and idle 7-10 mins, not good for the oil dilution issue either.
Just start it, wait a minute for the idle to lower a bit then slowly drive off, normal.....it'll warm up MUCH quicker doing that.
Yep, grew up in SoCal (over 30 years) and...what winter? I've gone to Venice and Santa Monica beaches in the middle of December and when those Santa Ana's hit, it can be in the 90's, Nov, Dec and Jan! I now live in Northern Cal it's a bit cooler than SoCal, but even here 40 degrees in the morning is heavy jacket day
 

Anjuna

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3rd gear also gets weird for me when it gets below 15 F. First couple shifts into 3rd feels like it’s getting very little lubrication.

Ive heard a couple times in threads where 4th gear has failed that transmission tear-downs reveal that the channels that feed fluid to 3rd and 4th are small.

It makes me believe that Honda MTF is very thin for a reason.
The 3rd to 4th thing makes total sense then. It's only under very specific conditions that I get 3rd gear lockout.

It has to be below 5°c, I have to heat up the engine and tranny for a km without shifting to 3rd. I start my daily drive on a residential street and never go over 40kms in this scenario too.

I've since gotten into the habit of shifting into 3rd earlier and haven't had an issue since. The dry socket explains the issue well.

I'm just going to stick to Honda MTF fluid. Even my tranny shop recommended it and said it's best for long time use.
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