Shifting MS3 Smoothly

[MikeK]

Has anyone else found that it's very hard to drive the MS3 smoothly in 1-3? I've owned 7 cars in the 20 years that I've been driving, all of them manual transmission, and this car is by far the most difficult for me to drive smoothly in those gears. I say this after 6,000 miles in 4 months, for those that think I may have just bought it.

Am I just missing something? It seems like the transmission/engine moves a lot when you apply/let off power, and it seems to make it nearly impossible to consistently shift smoothly.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks

Mike

[BlackJack]

I am still having jumps when i shift as well. Hence, I think it's just the lack of the Tranny mount's performance.

[Betelgeuse]

This is my first manual car so I can't compare it to any others, but I've found that I get smooth shifts when I shift fast. I'm now at 14k.

Everyone's driving style is different but it does take some effort to get it smooth most of the time. Many people say the clutch is touchy as it's light, maybe that could be part of your problem. What kind of cars have you owned in the past? Did they have as much power?

[07speed3]

ima take a wild guess and say it has something to do with the motor and tranny mounts...maybe with some better ones you will be bale to get better shifts(smoother)

[~JoJo~]

is there a better short shifter aftermarket for the ms3? I also heard that you should change the Motormount which is crappy.

[controlo]

i keep missing gears. its really clunky. i miss gears and still kill.

[MikeK]

Does anyone make replacement motor and transmission mounts? Does it actually help?

I'm willing to try that if that would make a difference. It's getting to be quite frustrating.

For the person that asked, I've owned mostly Hondas, but have had a Hyundai Tiburon V6 and a Turbo Beetle, so this is easily the most powerful car I've owned. I don't think the power is the problem though because I don't have any trouble driving it slowly.

I do think the clutch engages differently than most cars I've driven, so maybe it's a combination of things.

Mike

[MikeK]

Does anyone make replacement motor and transmission mounts? Does it actually help?

I'm willing to try that if that would make a difference. It's getting to be quite frustrating.

For the person that asked, I've owned mostly Hondas, but have had a Hyundai Tiburon V6 and a Turbo Beetle, so this is easily the most powerful car I've owned. I don't think the power is the problem though because I don't have any trouble driving it slowly.

I do think the clutch engages differently than most cars I've driven, so maybe it's a combination of things.

Mike

Never mind about the mount question. Now that I have something to go on, a simple search on the site revealed that a replacement rear motor mount is the way to go. Protege Garage has one that is apparently the one to get, and it's only $89.99. Guess I know what I'm picking up...

[Crypt0wind]

Try a different driving position. You have better pedal control if you sit slightly closer to the pedals. A click forward for the seat and readjust your wheel position.

Shorten how far you push clutch for 2nd-6th. It will smooth your shifting at all speeds.

[Kosh]

I found with just a new rear motor mount shifting got a lot smoother. Protege Garage is the way to go.

[SSMS3]

First installed the shifter bushings and those helped a little, installed the AWR lower mount yesterday and that made a big difference

[Betelgeuse]

Try a different driving position. You have better pedal control if you sit slightly closer to the pedals. A click forward for the seat and readjust your wheel position.

Shorten how far you push clutch for 2nd-6th. It will smooth your shifting at all speeds.


+1

While I'm sure shift quality (and performance) will probably improve with stiffer mounts, I think too many people are jumping on that bandwagon making it seem more like a crutch than anything else.

A simple seat adjustment is sometimes all that's needed IMO. For me it took a while to find the right position but when I did, everthing was much easier.

[MikeK]

While I do intend to pursue the rear engine mount, I did find that moving the seat a little bit seemed to help a little this morning. I feel a little close to everything now (I'm only 5'8" so I was already kind of close), but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Thanks for the great responses!

Mike

[CTGrey02]

We just got our new one Friday and have yet to experience anything sloppier than what I'd experience in my focus, or old probe. The shifter feels fine. I'm amazed at how smooth the car drives when you just drive it (not hammering through the gears) at reasonable speeds.

[major error]

I'd have to say that it's more clutch than transmission. And the transmission moving wouldn't be that big of an issue. The 3 has a shift-by-wire system (I'd imagine most/all FWDs do) so it wouldn't matter if it's in a normal/torqued/rebounding position--very little, if anything, would be translated back to the shifter and cause problems...
trans pics: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123661188
shifter pics: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=37055

For comparison, when I had my Ranger, I went through having cracked motor-mounts (age). Since it's a direct-shift, the first time I got on the gas after the crack, the shifter jumped/leaned about 2 inches to the right. Plus, I could distinctly feel all the engine vibes through the handle (I rather miss that.) Aside from that, the 3 has a tighter pattern and less clutch 'feel'....but nothing worth really commenting on.

[whitey4311]

I am able to shift mine very smooth and nearly non existent but if you are trying to make it haul ass, well then yeah its not so smooth.

[Crypt0wind]

Driver position is the cheapest mod you can make for shifting performance and it works!

[~JoJo~]

does anybody makes a short shifter for the speed3?

[Betelgeuse]

Here's how I generally shift:

Slow take off: (1000-1200 rpm start)

1-2 - 2.7-3k rpms
2-3 - 3-5k rpms (depending how fast I want to accelerate)



Moderate take off: (1200-1500 rpm start)

1-2 - 3-4K rpms
2-3 - 4-5K rpms


Fast Take off without wheelspin: (1500-2000 rpm start)

1-2 - 4-5K rpms
2-3 - 4.5-6k rpms

Fast Take-off with wheelspin: (2000-3000 rpm start)

1-2 - 4-5k rpms
2-3 - 4.5-6k rpms


These are just approximates, but for me to get it smooth, and because the gears are short, I must shift fast. If I don't it's pretty rough going from 1-2.

[MX6toMS3]

I am learning to drive a standard on this car, and it's barely got 450 miles on it, so I can't contribute much.
But I did notice that it shifts smoother, for me anyways, when I'm accelerating faster. It doesn't seem super smooth when I'm the passenger, but I've had several people drive my car and say it's really smooth.

[mcb]

Why the hell would you shift at 6k when the powerband stop at 5,500k?

I dont know why people shift that high, i alway heard complain about the ms3 being not that fast. then i saw the video of the (sorry if i hurt someone) dumbest driver i ever saw, shifting it at redline. This car is not made to be shifted at redline, its not a Honduh.

[dkswim]

call me crazy but when im starting off and slow to moderate acceleration i shift 1 to 3 to 5

[whitey4311]

Why the hell would you shift at 6k when the powerband stop at 5,500k?

I dont know why people shift that high, i alway heard complain about the ms3 being not that fast. then i saw the video of the (sorry if i hurt someone) dumbest driver i ever saw, shifting it at redline. This car is not made to be shifted at redline, its not a Honduh.


If you watch the driver and track review they actually say there is no need to down shift or REV it high since you are out of the power band above 5k. This car has so much torque it can be driven with out being up on the rpms.

Not to mention you are going to fuck up your car if you keep doing it then bitch that somethign failed and its a POS.

[davegutz]

My MS6 friends say the MS3 shifts like a dream in comparison to the MS6. They complain about a MS6 touch clutch feel in 1 and 2 that they eventally got used to (~20k miles) but some MS6 guys play with the clutch linkage. They say the MS6 forum is full of discussion about this. They have driven MS3 and say the MS3 touchiness does not feel like the same thing, moreover it is mild in comparison.

In relation to my old Saturn too, the MS3 shifts like a dream. (The Saturn throttle plate would gum up causing uncoordination with the clutch.)

Seat position helped me too.

[silver_ms3]

I have a 91' Miata. Compared to my MS3, this old Miata shifts like a dream to me...


My MS6 friends say the MS3 shifts like a dream in comparison to the MS6. They complain about a MS6 touch clutch feel in 1 and 2 that they eventally got used to (~20k miles) but some MS6 guys play with the clutch linkage. They say the MS6 forum is full of discussion about this. They have driven MS3 and say the MS3 touchiness does not feel like the same thing, moreover it is mild in comparison.

In relation to my old Saturn too, the MS3 shifts like a dream. (The Saturn throttle plate would gum up causing uncoordination with the clutch.)

Seat position helped me too.

[Betelgeuse]

Why the hell would you shift at 6k when the powerband stop at 5,500k?

I dont know why people shift that high, i alway heard complain about the ms3 being not that fast. then i saw the video of the (sorry if i hurt someone) dumbest driver i ever saw, shifting it at redline. This car is not made to be shifted at redline, its not a Honduh.

Redline is 6700 rpms, and I agree it's pointless to shift that high, however short shifting anywhere between 4.5-6k will keep you in the power band. I agree power does seem to drop off after 5.5K but it's not like an on/ off switch, there's just gradually less pull.

[Betelgeuse]

It's funny how everyone talks like if the ms3 is the one driving. People, it's not the ms3, it's YOU. Learn to drive the car and everything will be nice and smooth. I had problems with I first got the car as well, but I never once blamed the car, I knew it was me and fixed it. It's a turboed car and the power band is narrow so trying to compare it to an n/a car with 100 or so less hp makes no sense.

[iwannagofast]

I'm trying to get a feel for the damn timing of normal driving shift for smooth transition,
i've experienced that 1-2 gear after you press the clutch you have a wait about 1.5 seconds and then put it in second, then it seems like there is much less jerk from 1-2.
from 2-3 is better when shifted fast (not syncro crunching fast) but done in a moderatly fast manner (does that make sense?)

i think the gear ratios are alot closer from 2 and on but 1-2, for me it shifts smoother after you press the clutch and wait just at tee bit. (althought i can't imagine how good this is for the throwout bearing?)