Can’t shift smoothly after 1 year

Itouchelize

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Title says it all. I’ve driven 3 other manual cars when I was test driving which car to buy and distinctly remember that there wasn’t much effort in getting a smooth shift (just release the clutch smoothly and add a tiny bit of gas at the end). With my Si it seems like every single shift is unpredictable and extremely sensitive. It’s almost impossible for me to shift smoothly without adding gas in gears 1-3 and yes I am being smooth and steady with the clutch pedal as I understand the mechanics of rev matching. Having such a light clutch pedal doesn’t help either since I can feel no friction. It’s made me even regret buying a manual car even though I love manuals. Has anybody dealt with the same problem or have any solutions for me because I’ve put 13k miles on the car and most days I cannot shift in a smooth manner. It’s extremely frustrating
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amirza786

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Title says it all. I’ve driven 3 other manual cars when I was test driving which car to buy and distinctly remember that there wasn’t much effort in getting a smooth shift (just release the clutch smoothly and add a tiny bit of gas at the end). With my Si it seems like every single shift is unpredictable and extremely sensitive. It’s almost impossible for me to shift smoothly without adding gas in gears 1-3 and yes I am being smooth and steady with the clutch pedal as I understand the mechanics of rev matching. Having such a light clutch pedal doesn’t help either since I can feel no friction. It’s made me even regret buying a manual car even though I love manuals. Has anybody dealt with the same problem or have any solutions for me because I’ve put 13k miles on the car and most days I cannot shift in a smooth manner. It’s extremely frustrating
The Gen X Si definitely takes a bit of getting used to when it comes to shifting, but my advise is to:

  • Change the OEM manual transmission fluid to Amsoil Synchromesh MT fluid
  • Practice giving the synchros a chance to do their job

I have written up threads on both of these that I mention above, but briefly I will mention that although the factory filled MT fluid is adequate and will protect your transmission, Amsoil Synchromesh will smooth out your transmission and make shifting smoother as well. In my case it made a HUGE difference, and I will say that it was one of the best things I did to my car, and is an inexpensive fix ($16 a quart times 2, if you do it yourself free, if you have a professional do it $20 to $30 labor).

Anyway I hope this helps
 

COOL COUPE

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I have had my car since February 2 and have yet to hit 2,600 miles ... not 26K but two thousand six hundred! I was hoping that ... it was just going to take some time for the box to stop all that clunking. My thoughts are ... since I am moving from New York to South Carolina ... I can finally pick up that rear wheel drive car I always wanted to own. I mean a Mustang GT with 400 plus HP with manual shift ... what else do I need? My best tip is to blip up the throttle between shifts ... forget all that you ever did with regular manual autos ... forget the rev hang ... keep the rpms UP and do not let them fall ... depress the clutch pedal all the way down to the floor .... 100 percent onto the carpet. I find that these two schemes seem to help ... sometimes. No regrets ... think of the car as an investment. Honda holds its value ... very very well .... I bet I could get 21 K for my 2019 with less than 3 thousand miles!
 

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50+ yrs driving stick. Si is more difficult for sure with the rev hang delay.

I've been focusing on the upshift RPM point and for normal driving found around 4k to be a good point. At 4k and above, there's a quicker rev drop into the next gear's match point.

For whatever reason, as the revs drop, the rev delay gets longer so shifting below 4k is a challenge. Casual driving with lower RPMs have a longer rev hang so that throws off my timing.

I don't need to go into the 6k+ range so I can't say much on that. 50+ driving years gives a hint that I'm not into high g take-offs.
 

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I need to rock my clutch foot on my heel to get a smooth gear change in my Mazda2.
And I don't remember having to do that with clutches in the past.
During my Si test drive, the rocking method worked well. Both cars have very light clutches.
 


vieux georges

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In my opinion, the whole hydraulic system that control the clutch
is weird : cmc, clutch line, cdv..
It is the impression that I had as soon as I received the car I have ordered.
In my long life, I 've only had manual transmissions on my cars, not to
mention the many motorcycles, trucks, tractors.. that I drove when I was young.
Changing the clutch to an FX 300 made it worse. The pedal is harder, the engagement is very tight,
and above that, the chatter in 1 st and reverse.
Since last spring, lock-out problems have occured. To solve it, I ordered an
upgraded cmc and the clutch line from Procarstudio. I just received it and I will have installed soon.
I wonder if the original cmc and clutch line are sufficient, even for an original clutch ?
 

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68 yrs old, been driving manual transmission 53 years and yes the shifting in this Si --- Sucks.
Doesn't matter what you do it's still a herky, jerky, rocky and non smooth as you can get.
 

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68 yrs old, been driving manual transmission 53 years and yes the shifting in this Si --- Sucks.
Doesn't matter what you do it's still a herky, jerky, rocky and non smooth as you can get.
Yeah ... I am 53 ... I love the car but the shifting has become a burden to hard to over come ... the good news is ... that there are plenty of 20 somethings who don't know what we do. So I can get my money back. It's rather sad. Sad that the Ford Focus ST now offered with dual scroll turbo was eliminated in the US along with all the other cars I would like in favor of some sloppy 5 thousand pound SUV s abound in the marketplace. What a fn mess!!! Live and learn ...
 

dellyjoughnut

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My opinion is to listen to your car...

Me driving my manual Civic Sport Hatchback is a large change from my manual 1990 4Runner. To be honest, driving the civic is making me a better manual driver than the years I've driven the 4Runner from 16 years old. Yes, the pedal feel is so light I notice the effort is higher in the 4Runner. The rev hang is definitely more noticeable if you pass 6000 rpm and running the boost gauge at full in the civic.

I'm also slightly deaf and wear hearing aids. This is a key detail because hearing aids are programmed to amplify frequencies to bring back lost hearing. The loudest amplification setting on my hearing aids amplifies the engines sound better than I can hear without them. I use that information to know when to shift. I still have to control my leg speed lifting off the clutch pedal to land in the zone of zero jerks.

Edit: I understand the transmission in the FK8 is different from the FK7. I can't tell if FK8 transmission was made for speed shifting.
 
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caspar21

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the one thing i hated about the si was the clutch.
i removed cdv and did cm300 stock dmf and prl clutch line.
i have to use extra rpm leaving the line due to shudder but otherwise i love it now.
 


amirza786

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I have to admit that I am amazed that so many of you have issues with this transmission. I'll admit it did take some getting used to, but in my one year of ownership I never had issue with gear lockouts, rev hang or grinding. Yes it could be notchy at times and a bit moody when cold, but after I changed out the OEM trans fluid for Amsoil, it was a huge improvement. I only moved on from the Si because I needed something more comfortable and I was doing to much driving in traffic... my leg was aching after my commute
 

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I have to admit that I am amazed that so many of you have issues with this transmission. I'll admit it did take some getting used to, but in my one year of ownership I never had issue with gear lockouts, rev hang or grinding. Yes it could be notchy at times and a bit moody when cold, but after I changed out the OEM trans fluid for Amsoil, it was a huge improvement. I only moved on from the Si because I needed something more comfortable and I was doing to much driving in traffic... my leg was aching after my commute
Issues are with the clutch. All are saying transmission problems but in fact the problem is, as stated, the clutch
 

amirza786

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Issues are with the clutch. All are saying transmission problems but in fact the problem is, as stated, the clutch
Actually I worded it wrong. I should have said "issues with shifting", not transmission. I don't know, I never had any issues that I felt were clutch related. Now going hard, 1st and 2nd shifts could be tricky, but that I felt was more to do with how power was sent to the wheels
 

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Actually I worded it wrong. I should have said "issues with shifting", not transmission. I don't know, I never had any issues that I felt were clutch related. Now going hard, 1st and 2nd shifts could be tricky, but that I felt was more to do with how power was sent to the wheels
I find that accelerating hard and shifting right as the turbo starts to spools around 3500-4000 rpm makes it feel like a row boat. I try not to cock block the turbo.
 

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Aside from notchy shifter, the clutch engagement isn't bad at all. I feel like because of the dual mass you have to kinda let out the clutch slower between shifts and let the RPM drop the perfect amount and the shifter assembly will pop right into gear.
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