The one thing I can't get over in this car is how notchy the shifter is. Does anyone else feel this way? I drove an 08 sti as well as a 350z and even some junkier cars and they were like shifting through butter compared to me shifting through rocks. Anyone else feel this way?

 

its so notchy to contain our Uber torque

 

Compared to my previous manual cars yes......but compared to other cars in this price market its a very nice shifter. I did the TWM short shifter with the bushing upgrade to help the feel of the shifter (it helped, has some weight to it and a better feel vs when I drive my brothers hhr ss)......but still not "perfectly smooth" like my previous manual cars.

I'm just curious to drive a Saab being they have the same tranny, I wonder how the shifter is in that car, being the Saab 9-3 was a competitor to the Audi's I was driven at the time, I would hope the saab had a smoother shifting assly.

 

you should drive an ls1 camaro if you think the lnf is notchy

 

to be honest I have only missed 5 - 10 shifts in this car with 15k on it .. Thats usually do to the fact I am adjusting the seat constantly trying to find a comfortable position that doesn't exist with out a telescopic steering wheel . I am a previous ls1 T.A. owner

 

i liked the way the lnf one felt compared to mine. felt more "sturdy"

 

yeah, i wanna get the twm but its so damn expensive once you add the bushings and weighted knob. i feel like sometimes by shifter bends

 

mine feels really smooth

 

TWM shifter with bushings and weighted ball is the best mod you can do! Very worth the money!

 

The telescoping wheel is the biggest thing this car is missing; I put up a post sometime ago about having problems finding the right position in my TC. In my 2.2 I got away with sitting way too low, slouching like a mother and still (somehow) having control of the car. The seat design in the TC doesn't allow me to do this and I've had to adapt a "coping" position which leaves my arms too straight for my liking, but it's either that or a cramped back and 0 clutch control, and to be honest slapping the clutch is too embarassing to put up with it.

Beyond that to the OPs question, I have 0 issues with this transmission, never once missed a gear, 5th can be occasionally ornery but it's when I have inconsistent pressure on the stick throughout the shift. Other than that, my 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 work out perfect, I've done numerous NLS without issue and I've yet to miss a gear since buying it in February. The tranny in my friend's SI is very smooth and he's had the 3rd gear recall done, but I've only ever driven Hondas owned by others so my experience is short lived from that perspective (and the TC is only my second manual vehicle).

 

I miss 3rd occasionally when shifing WOT NLS...
Other than that, I've not had any problems. It doesn't feel notchy to me, more rubber-bandy.

 

I'm glad i bought the rare 2008 ss/tc automatic

 

not feeling the shifter in this car at all. they failed hard on the design.

 

LOL

Maybe an HHR....

 

yeah my cobalt shifter is much nicer than my LS1 6-speed... Thats quite notchy!

 

Yeah same here. I don't think mine feels rubber-bandy though. It's not too bad. My Acura RSX-S was awesome. When shifting up through the gears it felt intuitive like it knew I wanted to go 2-3 and just flowed into the next gear really well. This shifter is lacking that, but I think it's not too bad actually.

 

I'm another fan for the TWM shifter with bushings and weighted knob. I would say it is the second best mod done to my car.

 

when you guys mention the ls1 camaro as a comparison.....you are talking about 10 years difference.
after market shifters make it shift like gravy.............




on a side note, i kind of like how the cobalt shifts.
i have yet to miss a gear on nail the limiter from missing a shift.

did it countless times in my z when it was stock.

 

Yeah I was feeling the same way, Its smooth compared to the t56 retro-fit I got in my 88 bird!

 

Your Z has a shifter? man the 6spd in my 00' is a mathematical algorithm, sometimes you get a gear, other times not so much. but the B&M changed all that.

-Alex

 

That's funny !

I'd describe my shifter as "stubborn". I have done the 4th to 3rd a couple of times now when really intending to hit 5th - not in a NLS , though.

No problems w/ the 2- 3 shift.

It seems like if you have to think while shifting, it may turn into a problem whereas when I am just "doing it" - like a fast 4th to 5th shift - all goes well.

Compared to the clutch feel ( IMHO ), the shifter is 100% perfect !

Britt

 

stock was horrible!!!!
after the pro 5.0, its great now
i admit to missing many gears with the stocker

 

I feel the same.. notchy at times. Also, I have had mine in to the dealer 2x's for shifter work. They overlooked the problem once. First time the linkage came off. The next I said it still does not work well under hard accellerations NLS. They tore into it and it needed a new shifter. Thank goodness for being stock and still having warrenty. Have also been in for a CEL once. It was a bad MAP sensor. So after like 800+ dollars in warrenty work. It's been nice since. Still would love to have a TWM STS some day.

 

I installed the complete TWM package shortly after taking delivery of my TC so I can't offer a valid opinion on the stock shifter other than it changed gears pretty well while I had it. Now the TWM on the other hand? Couldn't ask for a better shifter. Even at twice the price. After the install I had a question about "notchy" and called TWM. They walked me through the adjustment of the cables, primarily the one that controlls side to side motion and the front to back motion cable to a lesser degree. They must have been off to begin with. After about an hour of trial and error it worked like a dream. The stick, with the heavy knob, snaps through the gears with precision and ease. It's hard to make a mistake. I agree with the OP that the TWN shifter is, even considering the cost, probably the second best addition to the car yet. Maybe the first.

 

mine was really notchy so i poped up the boot and looked and realized after 12k miles all my grease was gone ... so i got some whitle lithonium grease and rubbed that ball