Difficult to get into 2nd & 3rd gear and getting going in 1st.

[uthemang31]

I have several question in regard to the transmission. I recently bought the car so bare with me.

1. Why is difficult to get into 2nd gear from 3rd when downshifting as you are slowing down? Or When you are up shifting from 1st to 2nd? Today, I was unable to get into second gear and did not want to force into gear. This is reoccurring event but not to this extreme event.

2. What speed does the 2nd gear open-up to allow for downshift? I though it was 20 miles/hour?

3. What is the best way to start the car going after a stop in first gear. My techniques is to raise the rpm to 2,000 and release the clutch, but I get this jerky ride. Really need help with this before ruining the clutch and the car.

This is my first full-time manual car, I learned how to drive on my dad fart can prelude.

The car only has 1300 miles and it is a 2009. Thanks for helping.

Sunny

 

[coyfish]

The clutch is pretty tricky in the mazdaspeed 3's / 6's. The engagement point is pretty high and takes getting used to.

You should really never have to downshift to 1st or even 2nd for that matter. Unless your slowing to turn or something you might need 2nd but never 1st. Just leave it in gear and when your about to stop pop it in neutral or push the clutch and leave it in 1st.

As for getting a smooth ride . . . Ive got 13K on mine with an engine mount and sometimes I have trouble shifting smoothly. The car "has its days." No real advice other than you have to practice.

Not sure about the speed 3 but the speed 6 likes to bog down a bit when you start moving. To alleviate this you have to give it at least 1200 rpm and gradually increase the gas as you release the clutch. If you keep the rpm's steady as you remove the clutch you will get that "bog," which feels like a little hesitation.

2nd gear opens up to downshift to 1st like at 2mph . . . you dont need to downshift to 1st in this car. The gears are so short.

As for having trouble getting it in gear as you downshift . . . are you rev matching??? These cars have syncros which "block" shifting into a gear when your speed / rpm's are not right for the gear.

 

[dizzin9]

hmmmm. this is my first stick car. what i did is i practiced finding that clutch point where it is almost at the stalling point, but right before the car starts shaking. you will notice when you find this point that you don't need to step on the gas pedal as the car moves by itself. on a stop sign, i let go of the clutch first just a lil bit then give it some gas, probably around 1-1.3k, ride it a lil bit then let go. soon as you hear your engine whining and you are not moving, release the clutch slowly until you find that point. just to get started, try to at least give it more gas than letting the clutch off.

as far as the clutch/tranny questions, make sure your timing is right. i always catch myself trying to put it into gear before i depress the clutch, and i also have the habit of stepping on the clutch and not fully releasing the gas pedal causing the car to jerk a lil bit because the rpms are going up as i try to upshift.

 

[RichB]

I would NEVER downshift into 2nd unless you are going parking lot speeds! (It actually blocks you until you are below something like 20 MPH)

The transmission is rough when it isn't warmed up. This is why a lot of people are switching to synthetic tranny fluid.

 

[motocrosser614]

even with full mounts and synthetic fuid( redline-mt 90, royal syncromesh, etc. ) the tranny is still harsh. At least we dont have sycros issues simular to sti's or replacing the cluch like evos.

 

[MS3Pilot]

Practice, practice, practice! It took me forever to get used to the clutch in this thing, and occasionally I still look like a n00b driving it. with that said, I won't get into second unless I'm at 10-15 or less, otherwise I leave in in third, this car seems to be relatively friendly toward staying in gear. And first gear is a no-no for me as long as the car hasn't come to a complete stop, since it will refuse to engage if the car is moving faster than about 2 mph.

Lol at the synchro problems with the STI. My friend and I put synthetic tranny oil in his 05, and the gears started grinding immediately. Apparently the STI drivetrain isn't too friendly towards synthetic gear oil. Their synchros need quite a bit of friction to work properly.

 

[AWDthis]

The car wont let you get into first unless your almost dead stopped, i learned this the hard way with a couple of grinds...

 

[RichB]

yea it was definitely hard to get used to in traffic. I'd barely be rolling and i'd have to be in second. It took a few times of me jamming it in first and giving myself serious wiplash to learn that.

 

[matsuda]

I have several question in regard to the transmission. I recently bought the car so bare with me.

1. Why is difficult to get into 2nd gear from 3rd when downshifting as you are slowing down? Or When you are up shifting from 1st to 2nd? Today, I was unable to get into second gear and did not want to force into gear. This is reoccurring event but not to this extreme event.

2. What speed does the 2nd gear open-up to allow for downshift? I though it was 20 miles/hour?

3. What is the best way to start the car going after a stop in first gear. My techniques is to raise the rpm to 2,000 and release the clutch, but I get this jerky ride. Really need help with this before ruining the clutch and the car.

This is my first full-time manual car, I learned how to drive on my dad fart can prelude.

The car only has 1300 miles and it is a 2009. Thanks for helping.

Sunny

I can give you one good piece of advice:

Find someone who knows how to "drive a stick" properly to teach you.

Practice? It might help but you should have a teacher to correct any bad habits that you may develop. Otherwise, you might end up replacing the clutch with less than 10k miles.

 

[tru-boost]

The transmission doesnt "lock out". Thats you not knowing how to drive. Its called rev matching..try it some time. Hell i can downshift to 2nd from over 40mph if i feel the need.. Street racing, auto x, whatever. You have to bring the revs up first. You can just push the clutch and shove it in gear. Synchros dont like that, in fact it will tear them up. Push the clutch, bring the revs up to where you think they should be in the gear you are downshifting to, THEN pull it in gear and release the clutch. .... Noobs !!

 

[RichB]

guess I didn't realize I don't know how to drive. Thanks for pointing that out for me.

 

[coololddude]

people have different opinions of the MS3 trans. many of them are, #/*!*#X*%#!

 

[LukeP]

The clutch is pretty tricky in the mazdaspeed 3's / 6's.

+1

...likes to bog down a bit when you start moving. To alleviate this you have to give it at least 1200 rpm and gradually increase the gas as you release the clutch. If you keep the rpm's steady as you remove the clutch you will get that "bog," which feels like a little hesitation.

+1

you dont need to downshift to 1st in this car. The gears are so short.

+1

This car is the worst, on a difficulty scale of 1-5 I'd give it a 5 for Expert. Large torque spikes, rocky engine mounts, flywheel made of weapons grade plutonium, throttle by wire lag, short gears that overlap each other, and a racing style clutch that grabs unforgivingly while also being prone to glazing. Everytime I drive something else I get this feeling of "wow I forgot how easy this can be". Sometimes I'm able to tame everything well enough, sometimes I feel like I'm some kinda noob.

Only advice I can give is that the throttle needs generous applications in transitions and launches, but watch out for the boost onset at 2500 rpm as that upsets everything. As for the second gear thing, blip the throttle a bit to bump your revs up before you pull the gear lever into 2nd for turns, it helps. It also helps when the tranmission is hotter as the oil seems to lubricate better. It seems like you can't let the throttle rest while driving this thing, which kinda screws you up for other cars.

The easiest thing I ever drove (1 out of 5) would be a Z32 300zx. Power off idle, direct throttle, progressive clutch, toggle switch shifter, nicely spaced gears, it damn near drives for you.

 

[Abilor]

people have different opinions of the MS3 trans. many of them are, #/*!*#X*%#!

Count me among them. My reverse melted at only 8200 miles. In the shop now for warranty repair. I assumed I would keep this car for years and years, and am now rethinking pending outcome of repair.

 

[matsuda]

Hell i can downshift to 2nd from over 40mph if i feel the need..

Synchros dont like that, in fact it will tear them up.

Push the clutch, bring the revs up to where you think they should be in the gear you are downshifting to, THEN pull it in gear and release the clutch.

.... Noobs !!

To avoid excessive wear on the synchros in an "extreme" downshift (for example, downshifting to 2nd @ >40 MPH), you would have to "spin-up" the input shaft of the transmission to minimize the speed differential between the gears. Otherwise, you will be depending totally upon the synchros to make up for the speed differential.

Bringing the revs up with the clutch pedal down does absolutely nothing to help the synchros when you put it in gear (of course when the clutch pedal is down, the engine is effectively disengaged from the transmission). The only benefit is to give you a smooth downshift when the clutch is released.

To minimize synchro wear, you would have to spin-up the input shaft, so the clutch pedal would have to be up while bringing up the revs (in neutral). In other words, it would require double-clutching.

 

[dkswim]

shift slowly and depres clutch all the way for engagement into gear. as far as leaving in nutral im used to bikes and you never want to not be in gear. safety feature you want to be able to drive away at a moments notice.

 

[bigdaddy]

The clutch is pretty tricky in the mazdaspeed 3's / 6's. The engagement point is pretty high and takes getting used to.

You should really never have to downshift to 1st or even 2nd for that matter. Unless your slowing to turn or something you might need 2nd but never 1st. Just leave it in gear and when your about to stop pop it in neutral or push the clutch and leave it in 1st.

As for getting a smooth ride . . . Ive got 13K on mine with an engine mount and sometimes I have trouble shifting smoothly. The car "has its days." No real advice other than you have to practice.

Not sure about the speed 3 but the speed 6 likes to bog down a bit when you start moving. To alleviate this you have to give it at least 1200 rpm and gradually increase the gas as you release the clutch. If you keep the rpm's steady as you remove the clutch you will get that "bog," which feels like a little hesitation.

2nd gear opens up to downshift to 1st like at 2mph . . . you dont need to downshift to 1st in this car. The gears are so short.

As for having trouble getting it in gear as you downshift . . . are you rev matching??? These cars have syncros which "block" shifting into a gear when your speed / rpm's are not right for the gear.

What about just popping it into neutral long before a stop, and rolling maybe 1/4 mile with the clutch out(in neutral)...is this O.K.-this is my first car, and my first manual...so im new at it...and also is it ok to wiggle it around a little bit when in neutral to make sure its not in gear when the car is moving?

 

[robin2660]

What about just popping it into neutral long before a stop, and rolling maybe 1/4 mile with the clutch out(in neutral)...is this O.K.-this is my first car, and my first manual...so im new at it...and also is it ok to wiggle it around a little bit when in neutral to make sure its not in gear when the car is moving?

It's more efficient to let the car roll in gear since no fuel is supplied to keep the engine idling. Plus, if you need to go, the car's already in gear.

 

[dizzin9]

yeah be a bit patient when shifting and don't get too excited. i grinded my gears twice now, both at third gear and both times i was merging into oncoming traffic

 

[Wurf]

Maybe I'm weird but I'm pretty happy with the trans in this car for the most part. I only have trouble with the 2-3 shift when I'm in it sometimes. I am hoping a rear mount will help with that, and some of the herky jerky shifting during everyday driving. I blame the mounts for most of the problem.

Otherwise you do have to slip the clutch in first a bit to avoid the bog and DEFINITELY learn to rev match when downshifting.

Practice this often and you'll enjoy driving the car a lot more. I downshift to second all the time when I need to. I blip the throttle with the side of my right foot by rolling it / overlapping to the throttle while braking. Takes some practice but you learn what RPM the motor will probably be at if you were in the lower gear at a particular speed and just give it enough throttle to increase RPM and make it a nice, smooth transition to the lower gear.

Do a little google video search for heal and toe driving and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. It's fun!