I'm just curious if anyone has ever experienced difficulties shifting from 1st to 2nd when trying to make a very fast gear change as you would when racing. It has happened to me twice now and I am not sure if I am using too heavy a hand. I don't grind the gear, it just doesn't go into second until I back off and try again less forcefully.
Thanks, Bill
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2006 E63 M6 Silver Gray/Blk/Carbon
2006 E60 Black/Black/Aluminum-SOLD
2006 Infiniti QX56
2005 Range Rover
2002 M5 Titanium Silver/Silverstone/Aluminum- SOLD
mine is a little notchie and difficult to shift quickly when it is cold (it was very noticable when we had the cold snap earlier in the year), but changes cleanly when warm.
A
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2008 M3 Alpine White / Black Carbon Leather
Mine is very stiff too when cold. Usually by the time the yellow lights on the tach go out, the tranny is loosened up and it shifts better, but still a little notchy. After 5 or 10 minutes more driving it shifts great.
I have a question for the members who have replaced their stock shifters with short shift kits: Does the new shifter solve this problem?
My car has 6500 miles on it. Both times that this has happened the car was fully warmed up. I'm starting to think that maybe I was just forcing it too too quickly. BTW this happened to me twice during the Driving Experience. The second time that it happened the whole shift knob/boot came off. I remember talking to someone else who had this happen during the DE as well. It was kinda funny/embarassing.
Bill
I've had it happen on a few occasions when I was accelerating quickly from a stop. I'd be accelerating in first, hit the clutch and try to shift into second and boom, it wouldn't go in. I thought might have something to do with the rev limiter though.
Maybe I don't move it very fast, but in my M5, my wife's Z3, the M5 at the DE, a 540 I test drove, and an M coupe at the DE, I had no problem shifting quickly from 1st to 2nd.
You may have a clutch problem. My Acura had one where the fluid slowly leaked out and the clutch wore out prematurely and eventually wouldn't disengage!
BTW, I've now pulled the shift knob off both my wife's Z3 and the M coupe at the DE. I think it's because they have much shorter throws than the M5. You have to be careful to only pull back, NOT UP, on the knob...
Although there could be something wrong with your transmission or clutch, I really doubt it. There are other plausible and much more likely explanations. First - some people mentioned ensuring the car is warmed up - a good idea. More importantly, a very bad idea to be doing max performance launches or shifts when the car is cold in the first place.
Zoomin - short shift kits do nothing more than move the fulcrum between the knob on your end and the actuation on the other. Move the fulcrum closer to the knob, and you reduce the travel required to move the acutating end from gear to gear. The tradeoff is that there is a corresponding increase in the amount of force required. You can easily feel what a short shifter is like - just grab the rod below the knob - as close to the boot as possible.
Here's my theory on what's goin' on....
It is natural to get a little "over exuberant" when going for max performance. Most people tend to grip the steering wheel too tight, and are pretty ham fisted with the shift lever as well. If the knob comes off in your hand it is a good clue that you are!
The most likely explanation is that you're a little too tense and excited, so you are ham-fisting it and getting the lever too far to the left (where it would go into reverse if you moved it forward.) Or, you could be trying to find a spot between 2nd and 4th, which won't work either. A way to help avoid this (not infallible - in the end it is up to the driver) is don't grab it with a fist. Try instead to use flat, outstretched fingers to ensure you pull straight back.
All good race drivers have relaxed grips - even when driving at speed. They also have their sight focused way ahead, letting peripheral vision take care of hitting that apex. I have enough experience to know that both of these really, really help - but both are easier said than done. Gripping tight and fixating on a nearby target are both ingrained, natural behaviors and you have to constantly remind yourself to overcome them.
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Good call Greg I also agree. I started getting involved with SCCA races a while and used to have problems like shifting miscues, but practice and confidence and just a relaxed shift motion solved it for good. The short shifter happens to feel great anyway, but thats besides the point.
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