SE gearbox - can't find third gear in the bends or corner

[rascal]

I have a 6 speed with a MR short shifter, stiff engine/diff mounts and never had any trouble with 3rd on the track, but again I do the gear change in a straight line and not mid corner.

Sometimes there is no option but to change gear in corners when chasing lap times.
For example, corners 10 & 11 at Broadford become essentially one long right hander, and you enter 10 in 2nd and need to change into 3rd before you exit 11. Running both corners in 3rd is slower than changing mid corner, so you just have to cop the mid corner change.

[Magpie]

Agreed Rascal there are exceptions to this 'general' theory. I personally think it is important to understand the consequences of a decision and yes if chasing lap times then just do it.

[cookie]

I've followed another mx5 up nebo/glorious before and they went from 3rd to 2nd mid corner. I was very lucky not to collect them as they lost it and spun after compression locking the rears and shifting the weight onto the front. Changing down isn't nearly as bad but yeah... avoid if possible!

[Lokiel]

Like others have said, changing gears mid-corner is a bad idea and I've had these issues before when changing up AND down at Queensland Raceway - down is scary as F**K when you want 4th and find 2nd (after that you spend way too much time fearing it will happen again and focus on it too much instead of driving the snot out of the car).

Some SE gearboxes are better than others which is why some guys never have problems and others continue to report issues (aka whining). Reverse is another issue with some SE gearboxes - originally I'd only find it one in three times.

To fix these issues, get a MiataRoadster SSK: http://miataroadster.com/miataroadster/miataroadster-short-shifter-kits/g-63251.aspx

I originally had the Short version which was much better than stock but I now have the Long Angled version which is much nicer again. Paired with a Voodoo knob, changing gears is something I never think about now (except in Summer when I just get in the car after it's been sitting in the sun and I sear the flesh off my left palm).

[JustinK]

Thanks guys - I appreciate your combined wisdom.

Although I understand that one should prepare a gear for the corner they are about to take, I knew I couldn't have been the only person who would change up in a corner if it's faster.

I had an Integra DC2R and their box is fantastic. In the same corners where I'm in second now, I would also be in second in the Teg but didn't find the need to change up as the power was all the way at 9grand so just kept my foot in it.

Now though, power in second in my SE (remember its stock) will start to die off at 6grand so I do feel it is faster to change...but then no third gate so I back off, and or muck around with the shifter until it neatly finds its way = not fast :-( lol

Will look into getting the MR shifter also.

RE changing down, I found that in my Teg going from fifth to third would sometimes find first!!! But then I figured out the solution was going from 5th, motioning toward fourth before going to third - worked every time. Doing the same in my SE seems to work.

Cheers,

Jk

[greenMachine]

I have a Voodoo knob on my 5-speed in the GM and love it, but Lokiel has it nailed with the tall angled Miataroadster SSK. I have this in the racecar, and just love the shift quality: with a 6-speed and a really short diff, I do a lot of shifting and this kit makes a big difference. Very happy, thanks Bill!

[Lokiel]

:
I had an Integra DC2R and their box is fantastic. In the same corners where I'm in second now, I would also be in second in the Teg but didn't find the need to change up as the power was all the way at 9grand so just kept my foot in it.
:Jk

Honda gearboxes are highly regarded.
The original 5-speed MX5 gearbox was highly regarded too (Mark Hammond claimed it's still one of the top 5 gearboxes of all time).
Unfortunately moving to the Aisin 6-speed gearbox has always been problematic for manuals, even the latest Toybaru which uses the Aisin 6-speed gearbox has had a lot of complaints trying to get 2nd gear when cold. Some people claim there's no problems with them but it seems about 20% of them have issues - this figure is way too high to be acceptable.
I still can't understand why so many manufacturers (Mazda, Nissan, Toyota - I think one of the French manufacturers uses them too) chose to use the 6-speed Aisin gearbox when it clearly had issues (or why they couldn't fix them).
Thankfully the new manual ND has an in-house 6-speed gearbox (the auto still uses the Aisin gearbox - they seem to have the auto sorted).

[smy0003]

Before going for the MR SSK, you could try all new bushings on your stock shifter. It makes a huge difference and the bushes are super cheap, not including the upper and lower insulation boots the bushings are less than $50 off the top of my head.

[JustinK]

Lokiel - you can't help but wonder whether those manufacturers have some agreement with the makers of the Aisin box which financially works for them, such that they can afford the risk of 20% having issues.

smy0003 - yeah might do that first...Emily on here mentioned to me a few months ago that that is something I should look into.

Cheers guys.

[CAR53]

The problem is caused by twist in the box caseing caused by engine rotation on a its mounts in the corner. The solution is s to either replace the engine mounts for stiffer items or add a engine stabiliser or tie bar.