My car would grind into 2nd when I would try to shift to fast. Having a lighter clutch disc or do a twin disc setup helps, installing a braded steel clutch line helps, and there is a restrictor in the slave cylinder that restricts fluid when you push the clutch in, it needs to come out. After I did all that the trans shifts great.

 

welcome to the bad synchro club.

My 03 used to eat synchros whenever I would go over 150mph for more than a few seconds. There is apparently a flaw in the '03 5th gear assembly that causes it. It happened to me twice and I had to pay for the 2nd one ($1,800.00) because the dealer said I was abusing the car. It had only been to the track once at that point and only made 3 passes and had no issues before or after going to the track.

Then I blew the t-case by putting the wrong fluid in it (Diaqueen or die!) So I sent the whole thing to John Shepherd at sheptrans.com and he fixed everything all at once and I have flogged it a few times since then and all is well. Haven't been back to the track yet though.

Call John at ShepTrans and he'll tell you what's up and how to fix it.

 

Same here

When at the strip I often miss (grind) second trying to shift super fast at 7300rpm.

It's just mechanically difficult in those conditions

 

yeah I kinda agree. Because it only ever happens at higher rpms that a better clutch flywheel and other drivetrain mods will cure this

 

This is a response posted by one of the guys on the ralliart forum.

 

Personally I think bad rev matching is blame. Many people buy the Evo as their first manual transmission car, and have no concept of rev matching. If you do not know how to downshift, your synchros will wear out considerable faster. I have changed the fluid to synchromesh on an 03 Evo with a 5th gear grind and it completely went away. Try the fluid change first before you assume anything.

 

I have the same issue with my new IX. When I shift from 1st to 2nd with the pedal to the floor at high RPM's, I have trouble getting into 2nd. Sometimes a "light" grind as it goes in, sometimes a little clunk, sometimes even a missed shift....but it is never smooth. I have driven manual transmission cars for a long time including road racing and autocrossing multiple other cars without ever having this issue.

I am going to see what the dealer says next time I take it in...not expecting much.

 

I had an 03 with a bad 2nd gear grind that started at about 18,000 miles. I thought it was the ACT clutch that ate them up. I took it to the dealer and they fixed it under warranty.

 

Do you always rev match when downshifting?

 

Synchros are supposed to make rev matching irrelevant.

 

WRONG. Have you ever heard of the heel to toe technique? It is rev matching while simultaneously braking. When you are taking a turn, and have to down shift into the corner, if you just press in the clutch pedal and drop it in gear, then let go of the clutch pedal, you are SHOCKING the hell out of the drivetrain and are causing uncessary wear on the synchros (as well as risking having the car go out of control because of the drivetrain being shocked). Talk to any professional driver, and he will tell you all about the importantance of rev matching (as it pertains to transmission life and high performance driving).

Trust me, I rebuild transmissions. I can visibly tell the difference between an idiot driver and a experienced driver by looking at the wear on the synchro's.

 

WTF are you talking about?! So we have to heal/toe on every downshift? NO. That's what the synchros are for. Stop being a moron. Not everyone races their damn cars from light to light.

 

My 03 Had the same grinding problem even after changing the fluid. What fixed the problem was a transmission overhaul and a good machanic.

 

Ummm I not being a moron. I didn't say you have to heel to toe at every light. There is a difference from heel to toe and just rev matching. Since you obviously are a newbie when it comes to driving a manual transmission, I'll give you a simple lesson:

When you need to down shift: (i.e. when entering a turn):

1.) first press in the clutch pedal
2.) jab the gas pedal to raise the rpms to the appropiate level (synch'ing the rotational velocity of the drivetrain with the engine)
3.) smoothly (don't drop it) take your foot off the clutch pedal

Ta-dah! Now you know how to downshift! Using this simple method is a sure fire way to increase synchro life. This is NOT RACING, this is something you should be doing while driving the car daily (not just the Evo, but any MANUAL TRANSMISSION equipped car). Damn kids these days... Think about it. Yes the sychro's help match the speeds of the shafts internally (like you said, thats what they do), but if the OPERATOR of the transmission rev matched instead of the synchros, there would be little or no wear on the synchro and the end result is a very happy tranny! It should be noted that this same method is taught at many introductory (i.e. high school) driving schools that teach kids how to drive a stick shift. Its very suprising to find so many people driving a sports car who don't even know how to shift properly!

 

If by "you", you mean you wish show everyone on the boards how smart you are and that you didn't even need to go to college to get so educated, then by all means - knock yourself out.

If by "you", you mean me - then go f yourself you condescending b1tch.