Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I've driven a good few jap performance cars and gearboxes vary greatly.

Which cars have impressed you with their feel and operation, and which others were shithouse.

I'm really asking about feel as opposed to the internal stregth and glass vs tough as nails gearboxes.

How does a 33 skyline box say pull up next to a RZ Supra 6 speed?

I've found that GTiR boxes are horrible, it seems like you can snap the stick off at any stage and it's really springy.

WRX's boxes were alright.. though I prefer the notchy throw of a skyline better.

S4 rx7's are crap too.. and everyone who I've let have a fang of my car mis shifts and speak poorly of it.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/146894-great-feeling-gearboxes/
Share on other sites

Lol the box in my 96 r33 is getting abit tired, and by tired im mean shit house.

Each gear change is accompanied by a nice "crunch" as the gear is selected..... *sigh* if only i could afford to get a new box or just the synchros replaced in mine.

cheers

For some reason I've found in general over cars of all age, FWD gearboxes tend to be smoother than a RWD counterpart. Why, I dont know (maybe because the gearsets are smaller and thus less syncro work) but the S2000/MX5/350Z are nice to use!

Feel of the MY04+ WRX box is nice imo, a bit clunky at times but probably more due to AWD+being new to it. I have also found FWD boxes smoother however one of the nicest feeling in terms of throw and takeup would have to be a mx-5.

Easily the S2000. Snap, snap, snap and away you go. Nice and short throw. The R32 GTR was pretty alright too but throw is not as nice as the S2000. MX5 was also pretty good (6 speed box).

My old 94 WRX was too notchy, didn't like it much. But the worst has to be the new VW Golf DSG sequential box. Takes about a second/second and a half to change gears once you hit the paddle.

Easily the S2000. Snap, snap, snap and away you go. Nice and short throw. The R32 GTR was pretty alright too but throw is not as nice as the S2000. MX5 was also pretty good (6 speed box).

vouching for MX5 6 speed, nice and short engagement, i prefer it over my r34's

I don't mind the 350Z box. Its a bit heavy, but its got a relatively good feel.

I also quite liked the manual in the new MX5 I test drove recently.

I don't like the DC5 Type-R's gearbox (no matter what the journos say). Actually, I'm hard pressed to think of a FWD gearbox I actually like. All the ones I've ever driven (Satria, Lancer, Mazda 323, Pulsar, Integra) have been pretty sloppy.

Edited by scathing

I was impressed with the Renault Clio Club - 2L. Not sure of renault models but this one was click click click. The stock clutch in it was even pretty 'race inspired', I stalled it a few times cos it was so springy... Either way the box lets you shift like a meth head.

But the worst has to be the new VW Golf DSG sequential box. Takes about a second/second and a half to change gears once you hit the paddle.

Are you kidding? My bro has a Golf GTi and the DSG is the best gearbox I have EVER experienced, it shifted faster and most smoothly than anything I have ever felt, if it's taking a second to shift there's something seriously wrong with it...

I don't know how the Skyline gearbox is, but the Supra 6spd Getrag unit is really clunky, it's very solid and you can certainly feel it when driving, it's not a super refined box, but you get that from a racing box.

Are you kidding? My bro has a Golf GTi and the DSG is the best gearbox I have EVER experienced, it shifted faster and most smoothly than anything I have ever felt, if it's taking a second to shift there's something seriously wrong with it...

The model I test drive was the 5 speed semi-auto TDi. It was simply too slow. The TDi and the GTi probably have different boxes. I also test drove the Mazda 6 and the Honda Euro and their boxes are much quicker. Thus I ordered the Euro.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Try looking at Eibacb/H&R springs Thats what Gary sourced for mine.
    • Hey y'all! I'm curious about how y'all go about widebodying your cars. I noticed that when running a square setup, my front wheels are a bit more tucked in than my rear wheels. Not by much, maybe 5-10mm. This leads me to wonder - when I widebody, should I use narrower front flares and wider rear flares? I found a set of 40mm rear flares that I really like, and was thinking of pairing them with some 18mm front flares, but I don't want the car to look strange. How have others done this? Note, I'm in a sedan. Thanks!
    • And if it was anything other than an auto tranny part, it might be a problem. But seeing as all auto trannies belong in the recycling bin, it's fine.
    • I have an R32 Fenix rad. It is good.
    • All the schemas I can see, indicate your typical setup of ATF 'cooler' (read: heat exchanger) in the bottom radiator tank..ie; https://nissan.epc-data.com/stagea/wgnc34/5413-rb25det/engine/214/ ...but I can prattle on a bit here. These trannies have a thermistor in the sump ~ the TCU reads this and 1. bumps the line pressure up when the ATF is 'cold' and 2. prevents the TC lockup clutch from operating, until the ATF comes up to minimum operating temp (keeps the ATF 'churning' through the TC so it heats up quicker) -- trigger point is around 55C. In these conditions, the engine coolant temperature rises faster than the ATF temperature, and also helps heat the ATF up, which is why it's best to think of the in radiator tank setup as a heat exchanger ; the heat can flow in both directions... ...with these trannies, the 'hot' ATF comes out the front banjo bolt, flows through the cooler/heat exchanger, and returns to the box  via the rear banjo bolt. This gets a mention, due to the wildly different opinions wrt running auto trans fluid coolers ~ do you bypass the in radiator tank altogether, or put the cooler inline with the in radiator tank system...and then, do you put the additional cooler before of after the in radiator tank system?... ....fact is the nominal engine operating temp (roughly 75C), happens to be the ideal temperature for the ATF used in these trannies as well (no surprises there), so for the in radiator tank system to actually 'cool' the ATF, the ATF temp has to be hotter than that...lets say 100C -- you've got 25C of 'excess' heat, (slowly) pumping into the 75C coolant. This part of the equation changes drastically, when you've got 100C ATF flowing through an air cooled radiator ; you can move a lot more excess heat, faster ~ it is possible to cool the ATF 'too much' as it were...(climate matters a lot)... ...in an 'ideal' setup, what you're really trying to control here, is flash heating of the ATF, primarily produced by the TC interface. In a perfect world, wrt auto trans oil cooling, you want a dedicated trans cooler with builtin thermostatic valving - they exist. These should be run inline and before the in radiator tank system ~ when 'cold' the valving bypasses the fin stack, allowing the ATF to flow direct to the in radiator tank heat exchanger, so it works 'as intended' with helping heat the ATF up. When 'hot' (iirc it was 50C threshold), the valving shuts forcing the ATF through the cooler fin stack, and onto the in radiator tank heat exchanger...and you sort of think of it as a 'thermal conditioner' of sorts...ie; if you did cool your ATF down to 65C, the coolant will add a little heat, otherwise it works as intended... ...the 'hot' ATF coming from the front bango bolt, is instantiated from the TC when in use, so all/any flash heated oil, flows to the fluid-to-air cooler first, and because of the greater heat differential, you can get rid of this heat fast. Just how big (BTU/h) this cooler needs to be to effectively dissipate this TC flash heat, is the charm...too many variables to discuss here, but I just wanted to point out the nitty-gritty of automatic trans fluid coolers ~ they're a different beastie to what most ppl think of when considering an 'oil cooler'... /3.5cents   
×
×
  • Create New...