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My clutch has been slowly slipping away since I bought the 5 and has occasionally been on the nose lately, so it's being replaced as we speak with a Exedy Sports Tuff kit. Machined flywheel and new rear seal etc. The gear box oil is being replaced with special attention to the shifter feel. 2nd has been a bit notchy for a while.

I get the 5 back Monday night, so expect a review over the coming week.

Hi Ando
I think the notchy 2nd gear is just a fact of life with our NB's, my 2nd gear is the hardest gear to get into though its never been a real problem just firmer than the rest.
But I will be interested to see how you like the new clutch, mine has 50,000km on it and has tha occasional shudder, so I will eventually have to change it.
Cheers
Dale

Hey Dale.

Do you have a 6 speed box or a 5?

Ando wrote:The gear box oil is being replaced with special attention to the shifter feel. 2nd has been a bit notchy for a while.
I get the 5 back Monday night, so expect a review over the coming week.

Hi Ando
Info might be a bit late.
Had a notchy 2nd in my 6 speed box same as mentioned by Old Dude.
Replaced the gearbox oil with Castrol Syntrans 75W/85.
2nd is still a touch notchy for the first 1 or 2 shifts when cold, but generally a notiable improvement in shift quality.
Not cheap as it is a full synthetic.

I have the six speed Ando,
But I have read a few post where people have notchy first to second gear changes especially when cold, so I think its a common characteristic of our cars.

Cheers
Dale

I've had 3 MX-5's, with 5 speed and 6 speed boxes, and all of them were a little recalcitrent going into 2nd gear when cold.

When changing up to 2nd, just pause for a fraction of a second in neutral, and the lever will slip in easily.
If you take too long to pause, or don't pause enough, it will still be stiff, but if you get it just right, it will be like a hot knife through butter.
Practise doing this, and in a short time, it will be a perfectly natural thing to do, and you'll do it without even thinking about it. Your gearbox will love you for it.

If you are changing down from 3rd to 2nd, double de-clutch, or even just give a little blip of the throttle as you go through neutral and the lever will go in much easier that just pushing against the synchros (which need some warming up to work properly).

Benny wrote:I've had 3 MX-5's, with 5 speed and 6 speed boxes, and all of them were a little recalcitrent going into 2nd gear when cold.

When changing up to 2nd, just pause for a fraction of a second in neutral, and the lever will slip in easily.
If you take too long to pause, or don't pause enough, it will still be stiff, but if you get it just right, it will be like a hot knife through butter.
Practise doing this, and in a short time, it will be a perfectly natural thing to do, and you'll do it without even thinking about it. Your gearbox will love you for it.

If you are changing down from 3rd to 2nd, double de-clutch, or even just give a little blip of the throttle as you go through neutral and the lever will go in much easier that just pushing against the synchros (which need some warming up to work properly).

Thats exactly what I do Benny a pause from 1st to 2nd and alls good never had any problem going from 3rd to 2nd.
But thats good to know that all three of your 5's did it
Cheers
Dale

Thanks guys.

I got the car back today and have had a few decent drives since, and I must say...

Fark! (spelling?)

The Sports Tuff is soft under foot and bites like a bastard. Light years ahead of the OEM for feel and performance. The 5 just wants to take off, as opposed to just pushing it off the mark. Absolutely no weight issue underfoot whatsoever. Two thumbs up!

I was so focussed on the clutch that it took me while to realise what was going on in the left hand. The synthetic oil for the gearbox and shifter has really transformed the box. Far more of a fluid feel than the nuts and bolts feel before. Really, really, really good! I know everyone who has one raves about the Voodoo knob, but this really does wonders for the feel. It's like a brand new box. It seems to have removed most of the 2nd gear notch.

These two things together give enormous bang for buck in the result dept, albeit a lot of buck, seeing I had rego, radiator, timing belt and a water pump to add to the bill.

But again, fark! My left foot and left hand are Jinba Ittai'ing they're imaginary arses off.

So its safe to say you like the results Ando
Cheers
Dale

How could you tell???

Benny and Old Dude are right. Many drivers really just bang the lever through the gate, ride clutches, and abuse machinery. I reckon some MX5's have poor changes because of thrashings from previous owners. I have no complaints with my standard Exedy clutch and was actually advised not to use the Sports tuff clutch for normal driving. I expect that the "tuff" clutch would be heavier to operate than a standard unit.

What brand and type/ grade of oil did you use in the gearbox Ando

Cheers
Dale

Mr Morlock wrote:...I reckon some MX5's have poor changes because of thrashings from previous owners....

I find it's usually the combination of parts that tend to wear out quickly in the MX-5; the shift bush and the 2 shift boots.

I assume quality oil makes a difference but i've only ever used good oils in my gearboxes so I don't know the difference.

I was thinking of synchros as well.

A SportsTuff isn't heavy to use & any heavy duty organic will be fine for normal driving if one knows how to drive. It's the button clutches which aren't good for daily driving or keeping gearbox life.

A heavy duty organic can be manually slipped still anyway if you want to be particularly nice to the driveline, a button clutch can't do that. The AWD guys use heavy duty organics too since launching with a button clutch is one thing that breaks AWD gearboxes.

If replacing the OEM clutch in any sporty/performance car might as well go heavy duty, I should of with mine instead of another standard clutch. One of the regrets now that I use the SportsTuff clutch in my Familia GTR.