2nd gear issue- no grind something else

[UCF120]

@UCF120 I think that’s really the “problem.” It’s your expectation bias, which I totally understand. I think you’re expecting a more refined car while comparing it to one of the absolute best driver’s cars ever made (though 25+ yrs old). In some ways I still miss my FA5 (I owned it for almost 14 years) ; Part of that is purely sentimental and another part of it is material/mechanical. As time marches on I’m not necessarily convinced that newer is always “better.” As much as I absolutely love my FL5, it actually took me a little while to get used to it and its idiosyncrasies, despite it being the best car overall that I’ve ever owned. Weird right? It seems like you can relate.

It’s awesome that you have the best of both worlds and you can appreciate them separately. I’d love to have an S2k alongside my FL5, but I’d have to figure out where to store it…that isn’t at another Civic XI member’s house.

Appreciate the feedback! Having the s2k and FL5 is a sort of attainable dream garage for me. I’m overall very happy with both cars but at the end of the day, nothing is perfect and I gotta learn to accept that.

There’s no better daily car for me out there for the money so I’ll figure it out with the civic. I enjoy it enough to work through some of its issues vs just getting rid of it for something else.

Went ahead and purchased the Acuity stage 2 short shifter kit with a heavier shift knob to see if that helps me attain that shift feel that I love with the s2000. I have a renegade motor sports short shifter in that and it’s like a bolt action rifle it’s so good! Probably part of the reason I feel the type R shifter to feel somewhat sloppy lol. Will report back once I get everything installed

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[TypeRD]

Appreciate the feedback! Having the s2k and FL5 is a sort of attainable dream garage for me. I’m overall very happy with both cars but at the end of the day, nothing is perfect and I gotta learn to accept that.

There’s no better daily car for me out there for the money so I’ll figure it out with the civic. I enjoy it enough to work through some of its issues vs just getting rid of it for something else.

Went ahead and purchased the Acuity stage 2 short shifter kit with a heavier shift knob to see if that helps me attain that shift feel that I love with the s2000. I have a renegade motor sports short shifter in that and it’s like a bolt action rifle it’s so good! Probably part of the reason I feel the type R shifter to feel somewhat sloppy lol. Will report back once I get everything installed

I completely understand your sensitivity to shifter feel. A buddy of mine had an AP2, then sold it, and since then has owned a facelifted NSX for many years now. I’ve driven both. The stock shifter in the AP2, I remember, having very short and precise throws. It’s literally just a wrist action to row the gears. Awesome. His NSX has a similarly precise and short shifter (stock), but is a bolt action, so rather than moving your wrist, it’s more of a shoulder movement. Both of those cars (though different) have the best, most precise, stock shifters I’ve ever encountered. While the FL5’s shifter is really great, especially for a sub $50k car, it’s not quite in the same league as the S2k’s nor NSX’s shifters. I’m sure a lot of that is because the shifter is directly linked to the trans, unlike FWD cars. But yeah, maybe your Acuity kit will help in that regard. I don’t have any experience with it, personally. Report back when you get it installed!

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

Got a wierd issue with my car that I’m hoping someone can shed some light on.

Car is a 23’ with 8k miles now. Has acuity cable shifter bushings and Hasport 62a RMM. For the most part, my transmission shifts pretty smoothly. 1-2 is always smooth and I’ve never once had a grind. In fact, I’ve never grinded any gear.

However, I do have an odd sensation in the gear knob when downshifting from 3-2. There’s no grinding noise or any noise at all associated with it. But occasionally, mostly when cold but even when hot, I’ll get this “Buzz” sensation in the gear knob when first hitting the gate going from 3-2 only. I’ve turned auto rev match off and the sensation actually happens less with it off but it still happens.

I don’t get locked out of gear, there is no grind, and it goes into gear smoothly every time after. It’s the oddest thing and I’ve never felt it before on any car. It’s almost like a small shock type feeling in the gear knob when initially hitting the gate going from 3-2. Like it almost wants to grind but doesn’t.

I recently changed tranmission fluid from the factory fill to Amsoil 75w-90 transmission and transaxle gear lube. The sensation was present on both fluids. The Amsoil has slightly improved hot shifting but cold is about the same as factory I would say.

Anyone experiencing this or have any insight?

I have a completely stock '24 FL5. About 4,500 miles in. I notice the shifting is a bit "clunky" at times. Mostly 1st to 2nd. I take it slow with that shift. Sometimes it's butter smooth, but other times it feels like it's "tumbling" into the gear. Not grinding. I don't think there's anything wrong with the transmission on my car, but it is not a smooth as it was when I first bought it. Also, when I am downshifting I notice going from 3rd to 2nd, it is most smooth when I pull the shifter back with pressure on the shifter to the left. So pullback and tight to my right hip seems to be the sweet spot for that shift. When I first had the car it was very notchy and precise with just the flick of my wrist. Also, most of my "clunky" / "tumbling" feeling is at slow speeds. If I am accelerating or slowing down from going faster, the shifter feels more precise. Lastly, I find going from neutral to first "clunky" as well so I blip the throttle before going into first and that makes it smooth. I also have rev match on. One last observation, if I give an extra throttle blip with rev match on, the shifts are better.

 

[Amm5890]

Hey man, I think I had a similar situation as you. Mine would feel kind of "clicky" going into second gear from 1st or 3rd, some may call it notchiness but it was a little more pronounced. Almost like the gear stick was getting dragged through light gravel. It also felt like it took more effort coming out of 2nd gear (i.e. 2-3) Anyway, I read some of the FK8 guys had some success adjusting their clutch pedal. I decided to do the same and it has been buttery smooth ever since. I left about 1/4" of dead space at the top and also adjusted the top bolt a half turn out or so. I also installed acuity cable bushings, base bushings, and their stronger centering spring and the whole system feels elite.

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

Hey man, I think I had a similar situation as you. Mine would feel kind of "clicky" going into second gear from 1st or 3rd, some may call it notchiness but it was a little more pronounced. Almost like the gear stick was getting dragged through light gravel. It also felt like it took more effort coming out of 2nd gear (i.e. 2-3) Anyway, I read some of the FK8 guys had some success adjusting their clutch pedal. I decided to do the same and it has been buttery smooth ever since. I left about 1/4" of dead space at the top and also adjusted the top bolt a half turn out or so. I also installed acuity cable bushings, base bushings, and their stronger centering spring and the whole system feels elite.

Can you explain in more detail how to adjust the clutch pedal? I would like to try that. Thanks!

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

Can you explain in more detail how to adjust the clutch pedal? I would like to try that. Thanks!

NVM. I found a video explaining the adjustment. Looks pretty easy. I will give that try. Also, here's the video...

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/clutch-pedal-adjustment-gear-grind-fix.42528/

 

[Amm5890]

Yup. That’s the video I used. Like he said - make sure you can push the slave back when you’re done.

 

[UCF120]

Just an update to this:

installed the acuity stage 2 short shifter kit along with a heavier (over 1 pound) and extended shift knob. Love the feel of the heavier shift knob which subtly mutes some of the feeling in the shifts. That’s completely my personal preference as I know some like to have more feel in the shifter. The stage 2 kit from acuity is good also. Not a major difference I would say from stock but very noticeable. Shifts are a bit shorter with more of a solid feel going into gear.

however, I was still getting that “buzz” or vibration feel in the shift knob only while downshifting into second. Even with the much heavier shift knob, I could still feel it.

I finally decided to remove my Hasport 62A RMM and reinstall the OEM one. Holy shit what a major difference!

I didn’t realize how much extra vibration it was causing and how rough it was making my startup. After reinstalling the OEM one the car runs so much smoother it’s not even funny! Startup is quiet and smooth.

that 4k rpm engine resonance is still there as I feel it’s a characteristic of this car, but it’s noticeably less audible then it was with the Hasport mount!

more importantly that odd buzz I was feeling in the shifter is all but gone.! I can hardly feel it anymore and all my shifts are smooth as butter which I’m sure the Amsoil trans oil is helping with. Only thing I can think of is the stiffer mount was transmitting the feel of the shifting more through the shift knob than I would like. I hated that feeling but others seem to love it

Some love the feeling of a more aggressive RMM but I guess it’s not for me. I’m pretty sensitive to extra vibrations and noises and for a street only car, it wasn’t worth it to me. I didn’t notice any of the benefits of the RMM and only noticed the negatives honestly. If it was a track only car I suppose it would be fine.

just documenting this for anyone dealing with a similar issue in the future!

 

[J_D]

I made the same mistake back in the day with my NB miata. I installed MazdaSpeed motor mounts. Instead of the resonance being in the shifter it was the entire hardtop

 

[UCF120]

I made the same mistake back in the day with my NB miata. I installed MazdaSpeed motor mounts. Instead of the resonance being in the shifter it was the entire hardtop

Yeah man I won’t be installing any stiffer mounts again in this car. Almost every review I read about the 62A mount described it as subtle and the vibrations couldn’t even be felt after a while. But the connectivity to the car and shift feel was greatly improved. At least for me, that wasn’t true at all. And honestly, after reinstalling the oem mount, I don’t feel any difference in shift feel. All I felt was the extra noise and vibrations . For a road car, the oem mount seems to be the best

 

[J_D]

I take a lot of internet mod reviews with a grain of salt now.

 

[Zpeedster M]

"Your mileage may vary" Many FK8 & FL5 owners mentioned the increased vibrations after rmm install. After break-in some said vibrations went down or away and they were happy with the upgrade while a few removed it because they disliked the nvh. I haven't read anywhere where they mentioned that it affected the shifting. I have 62a & my shifting is fine. Maybe the PRL rmm which is considered softer than the Hasport 62a would be a better option (some ppl did say it was too soft almost too close to oem so they opted for the 62a after).

 

[UCF120]

I take a lot of internet mod reviews with a grain of salt now.

agreed. Will be doing that from now on

"Your mileage may vary" Many FK8 & FL5 owners mentioned the increased vibrations after rmm install. After break-in some said vibrations went down or away and they were happy with the upgrade while a few removed it because they disliked the nvh. I haven't read anywhere where they mentioned that it affected the shifting. I have 62a & my shifting is fine. Maybe the PRL rmm which is considered softer than the Hasport 62a would be a better option (some ppl did say it was too soft almost too close to oem so they opted for the 62a after).

So I had 4000 miles on my RMM. The vibrations did go down from when I first installed. And honestly, I believe I just got used to how it was since I didn’t have the car long before I installed the RMM. However, I think most would notice how much vibration even a 62A RMM causes once you go back to the stock mount. I mean, it’s night and day imo. The stock mount quites everything down and significantly reduces any vibration. Even after break in, I don’t think it’s so much that the vibrations go down all that much, I think the person just gets used to the vibration.

and I wouldn’t say the RMM made my shifts worse at all. I could just feel more vibration in the shift knob then I liked and made me feel like something was wrong with the transmission. Maybe this feeling is what people like . I did not like it and it was driving me insane. The shifts themselves were solid though

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