Ok so I've been driving the Cobalt SS/SC for about 5 days now. Shifting is effortless compared to the C5...and that's the problem. When driving it hard switching it to third gear, I feel like I'm about to break the shifter.

I know it's going to take some time getting used to gentle shifting, but what I wanted to know is if any of you have had the same problem or if any of you have broken it?

 

that would be a funny video of u racing and when u shift it broke off hahahahaha

 

yah ive had that problem before not wanting to go into 3rd gear, you feel like your bending the shifter in half.

 

LOL that would be funny actually.

Ok so I'm not the only one...I wonder if anyone can confirm breaking it

 

That's it? No one else?

 

never had any such problems

 

yeah i know what you mean the shifter seems like its taking a lot of abuse on the really hard second to third shifts. when i first got it (last summer) i wondered how long it might take to break but so far no problems.

 

you wont break it. if you do, try pulling the warranty card.

 

I agree, you can miss gears in the balt if you think you have to shift it hard. Its best just to roll it into gear with ease but still speed. Once I came to the conclusion on how much ease it takes to shift I did alot better at the track. Its not all about power shifting and trying to shift like a madman. Sometimes shifting swiftly with ease is much quicker and better on your transmission in a race or just normal driving.

 

If you're really worried I would just buy a Hurst or B&M shifter.

 

Hurst or B&M don't have that problem?

 

I have the b&m, and they bot hwork great...finding 5th is sorta a pain, but after the first try, you got it down.
with my old stocker, i had issues finding second gear, became very annoying especially at the track. i wailed on it, and still breakage free (sadly)

 

The only pieces I hear of breaking on the shifter is the knob coming off on a hard 1-2 or 3-4 shift. And the roll pin which is the result of constant missing between 2-3.

 

I have the hurst shifter, and yeah 5th can be a bit of a bitch, but you get used to it. Not a problem at all for me. I think the hurst shifts a hell of a lot better than the stock shifter, a lot more sure going into gear, and the shifter itself feels a heck of a lot stronger.

Read up on the set screw on the hurst though, some people have had issues with it, although I have not.

 

yes you changed your signatue i thought it would never happen

 

????? I bought another car...so I changed the sig to include both

What do you mean 5th gear can be a bitch? I'm not going to spend money on an aftermarket shifter unless it's flawless over stock.

 

Not that it can be a bitch, its just most dont have it adjusted correctly.

 

Yeah, 5th can be a pain unless you get it adjusted correctly. When I first installed the shifter I had problems finding 5th and reverse. ... Before I had it adjusted correctly, I could go past 5th. After I adjusted it, I can find both fine now. It just takes some fine tuning.

 

Ehh...I think I'd pass on an aftermarket shifter...I don't want to have to toy with something like that until it feels right.

 

Lol here's your break story...I was actually on my way to a carshow in tampa; took off from a light in first, shifted into 2nd, and the shifter came out and went into neutral...put it back in second, and back out it came...went into 3rd and it was fine; 4th, nothing, 5th, ok. No reverse. The B&M shifter broke the linkage that controls up and down. The stock shifter shaft hits the square under the boot when you shift (basically a mechanical stop); the B&M shortens it so you can overthrow the linkage too far which slams the cable in and out. About four months of that killed the linkage. Threw the stocker back in and called warranty on it, got it fixed free. B&M is back in now, but I take a little more care with my shifting...

 

thanks for sharing

 

lol glad to be of help...

 

since this is talk of the shifter, thought id post in here instead of making a new topic. since im new to driving stick (see label under name), this might have nothing to do with the topic. if so...sorry

when i shift into 3rd it feels like it doesnt want to go, as if something is rubbing against it somewhere down there in the car stuffs. its not grinding or making any noise, but my shifter kind shakes a little bit before sticking. only other manuals ive drove are a scion tc and a pos '86 nissan pickup. i dont recall feeling the problem in either of those. this normal for the ss/sc?

 

Might just be that you need to get used to it. If it doesn't go away, then might be worth a trip to the dealer...

 

i broke my knob off once shifting to 3rd almost had my fist in my radio