2009 M3 5 speed manual trans

Hi. I'm new to the forums and I'm also a new Mazda owner. I just bought an '09 Mazda 3 hatchback with a 5 speed manual transmission. I am looking for some basic information on this car but I'm particularly curious to know how this transmission is designed and if Mazda designed it to have the gears shift at a specific RPM. It seems like 1 to 2 shifts at a low (1500) RPM but from 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 shifts best as the RPM's get higher (2000-3000 RPM).

The side of the car says 'Mazdaspeed 2.3'. I don't know if that factors in as well. I'm not an expert manual driver but I'm getting along fine and I hope I'm not using the clutch too much slipping between 1-2 and 2-3.

Thanks

You got a sporty 2.3, in Australian it's called the SP23.
Great buy!


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Bassist said:

Hi. I'm new to the forums and I'm also a new Mazda owner. I just bought an '09 Mazda 3 hatchback with a 5 speed manual transmission. I am looking for some basic information on this car but I'm particularly curious to know how this transmission is designed and if Mazda designed it to have the gears shift at a specific RPM. It seems like 1 to 2 shifts at a low (1500) RPM but from 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 shifts best as the RPM's get higher (2000-3000 RPM).

The side of the car says 'Mazdaspeed 2.3'. I don't know if that factors in as well. I'm not an expert manual driver but I'm getting along fine and I hope I'm not using the clutch too much slipping between 1-2 and 2-3.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Mazdaspeed 3 should have 6 gears, not 5. If yours has 5, someone probably added their own stickers. Do you have a turbocharger?

Bassist said:

The side of the car says 'Mazdaspeed 2.3'.

Click to expand...

The turbo version of the Mazda3 is called the Mazdaspeed3. Although model naming varies by market, I don't think "Mazdaspeed 2.3" means anything... so it sounds like a label added by a former owner, perhaps indicating the use of some performance parts (although I though only car models, not parts, carry that branding), but I could be completely wrong.

Bassist said:

I just bought an '09 Mazda 3 hatchback with a 5 speed manual transmission. I am looking for some basic information on this car but I'm particularly curious to know how this transmission is designed and if Mazda designed it to have the gears shift at a specific RPM.

Click to expand...

No, there is no such thing as a specific shift speed - the right point to shift depends on conditions: the harder you are accelerating, the higher the engine speed should be at the shift point. Also, because the steps between gear ratios are wider in lower gears, the appropriate engine speed to shift from 1st to 2nd is higher than from 2nd to 3rd, and so on.

Bassist said:

It seems like 1 to 2 shifts at a low (1500) RPM but from 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 shifts best as the RPM's get higher (2000-3000 RPM).

.... I'm not an expert manual driver but I'm getting along fine and I hope I'm not using the clutch too much slipping between 1-2 and 2-3.

Click to expand...

Are you really shifting up from first when the engine speed is only 1500 RPM? Perhaps I have misunderstood the description. That would put you around 800 RPM in second, which is only idle speed and way too low to be applying any significant power.

The only time there should be any more than a small fraction of a second of clutch slipping is when starting from a standstill - a shift while moving doesn't need any clutch slip at all. If you are shifting up way too early you might be slipping the clutch because the engine speed is too low otherwise... if this is what is happening, you need to wait until the engine speed is high enough in the next gear.