[Miata] 3rd gear feels rough (NMC)
Gary Gregory
red99sport at yahoo.com
Thu Dec 6 00:07:53 CST 2007
Of course, the other good reason for not leaving your
hand on the gearshift lever is that it is then not on
the wheel. It is amazing how much control you lose
when you are trying to steer the car with one
hand,especially in an emergency manuever.
Many years ago I did a Bob Bondurant performance
driving school at Sears Point (now Infineon Raceway).
My instructor was a brash young racer hoping to make
it big. His name was Johnny O'Connell. He would
pitch a fit everytime you didn't put your hand back on
the wheel after shifting. I learned from him, and as
a racer now, I take my hands off the wheel as little
as possible. It has served me well on the track and
on the street.
Don't leave you hand resting on the gearshift lever.
It may affect the gearbox and it definitely affects
your ability to precisely steer the car in an
emergency situation.
Gary
Spec Miata 84
92 Yellow
97 daily driver (The Grand Miata...it cost me a
Thousand bucks!)
--- David Sosna <sosnaenergyconsulting at cox.net> wrote:
> Hi Ron:
> Soon as I read your initial e-mail, I remembered
> hearing the same thing,
> but specifically regarding BMW shifters.
> Couldn't remember the explanation, but I did a quick
> search and found
> this on a BMW digest:
> > Why can't I *rest* my *hand* on the shift knob?
> > >
> > > Ever wonder why people say that its bad to
> *rest* you *hand* on the shift knob
> > > while driving? Well, there is a reason, and
> good thing you listened!
> > >
> > > Within the transmission itself, *BMW* has a
> specification of 0.004"-0.006" gap
> > > between each gear and the *shifter* rail in the
> transmission (for reference, a
> > > human hair is approximately 0.0035"). This gap
> allows for the transmission
> > > lubricant to acts as a barrier so that the
> *shifter* rail and gear are not
> > > directly touching, causing premature wearing of
> the gear (not syncros),
> > > *shifter* rail, or both.
> > >
> > > When you make a 0.001" change at the shift knob
> and maintain pressure (like
> > > resting your *hand* on the shift knob while
> driving), the required
> > > 0.004"-0.006" gap is closed, preventing the
> lubricant to ride between the
> > > gear and *shifter* rail. Premature wear of the
> gear or *shifter* rail may hamper
> > > transmission shifting performance, gear
> engagement, or worse, require
> > > rebuilding or replacement of the transmission.
> German engineering with its very fine tolerances is
> sometimes a problem.
> :-)
>
> Best Regards
> David Sosna
> Red '97
>
> Ron Zander wrote:
> > I was taught that keeping continual pressure on
> the shifter is bad
> > because it continues to put pressure on the
> shifting forks.
> > Studying the diagram here:
> http://www.howstuffworks.com/transmission3.htm
> > it makes sense that it would not be desirable to
> continue to put
> > pressure on the shifter once it's in a particular
> gear.
> >
> >
> > On Dec 5, 2007, at 5:05 PM, Peter DelMastro wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Hi Ron,
> >>
> >> Can you give us any references or evidence to
> support your
> >> statements then ?
> >>
> >> -- Pete
> >>
> >> Ron Zander wrote:
> >>
> >>> no
> >>>
> >>> On Dec 5, 2007, at 4:27 PM, Peter DelMastro
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Hi Ron,
> >>>>
> >>>> Can you explain how even minute pressure from
> your hand on the
> >>>> shift lever can be bad ?
> >>>>
> >>>> -- Pete
> >>>>
> >>>> Ron Zander wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> unless you hear bad noises I wouldn't worry
> about it. I think
> >>>>> the gear shift moves on mine too if I get on
> and off the gas, I
> >>>>> think that's normal. FYI, it's not a good
> idea to rest your
> >>>>> hand on the gear shift, even a minute
> pressure you might be
> >>>>> applying can be bad. Let it be where it
> wants to be naturally.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Dec 5, 2007, at 2:38 PM, Kyle Gruel wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> It goes into 3rd just fine (2nd feels more
> rough shifting into
> >>>>>> than 3rd by far, I'll try synthetic like
> yourself and Hank
> >>>>>> mentioned for that), just once I'm there
> the shift feels
> >>>>>> 'wobbly' and sort of bounces and twitches
> under my hand while
> >>>>>> I drive, especially when changing
> acceleration.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Ron Zander wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I'm not familiar with any 3rd gear problems.
> Does it go into
> >>>>>>> 3rd ok?
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Usually its the 1-2 shift that is rough and
> changing to
> >>>>>>> synthetic gear oil makes a heck of a big
> difference. If the
> >>>>>>> car doesn't have synthetic gear oil I'd
> recommend putting
> >>>>>>> that on your to do list, also do the
> differential. Then see
> >>>>>>> how things feel.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Dec 5, 2007, at 11:33 AM, Kyle Gruel
> wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I just bought a '99 Miata MX-5 and
> absolutely love the car.
> >>>>>>>> Became
> >>>>>>>> convert for life.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> One thing that is worrying me a bit though
> (not having any
> >>>>>>>> experience
> >>>>>>>> with these cars) is that 3rd gear feels a
> bit rough. 1,2,4,5
> >>>>>>>> all feel
> >>>>>>>> rock solid when I shift into them, and I
> generally drive
> >>>>>>>> with one hand
> >>>>>>>> resting on the shift. In 3rd it tends to
> bounce around and
> >>>>>>>> feel loose,
> >>>>>>>> especially in comparison to the other ones.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> What's going on here?
> >>>>>>>>
> _______________________________________________
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> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
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> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>
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