2 days ago, we had snow. by yesterday, the snow was melted and it was nice outside, around 65 degrees and sunny. i drove to college, about 25 mins away on the highway.
i parked my car outside in a lot.
i went to class, about an hour and a half.
when i got back in my car, it was a little warm, but i opened the sun roof and all that warm air left. when i started my car, i noticed that the temp gauge was just below what it normally is at once the car is warmed up.
then i noticed that all my shifts were as smooth as an automatic...i've never had it like this before. usually the tC provides a little bit of jerky feedback with at least the 1st and 2nd shift...but nothing, it was a dream.
my temp gauge showed 65 degrees.

anyone know the cause of this? maybe because i was parked in the sun and my tranny fluid was at the optimal temp? would a tranny fluid change allow this to always happen? it was really nice.

 

congrats...

its relaly all in the clutch and throttle control.

you practice for a while, ull get it down every time :D

kinda hard to explain but ill try my best why its posible.

when you shift the rpms drop but u engaged into the NEXT gear at the right time and such.
example

3rpm in 1st, then shift into 2nd at 2rpm. and it was the gear was engage exactly and precisely perfect so it was smooth. and throttle is included to to EASE into the gear too.

blah hahah hope you got that. jus practice is all i can say. it will be come natural after a while

 

heres the only thing though, i've had my tC for over a year and it's not my first stick shift car...thanks anyways

 

mine always feels silky smooth.

 

Nope, had nothing to do with it. Temp is always warm where I am, have >30 years of manual driving experience and my tC rarely ever feels "silky smooth".

 

well temp may have a little to do with it, because my shifts are harsh when it's cold out and the engine is warming up.
some people have also said this same thing on here too.

the 1st to 2nd bump is very common. i can usually minimize it, sometimes it will surprise you, i think it's related to the drivebywire system. people have blamed bumpy shifting on a hydraulic clutch, possible.
they also blame it on weak engine mounts, but i don't think thats the case, as i have an ingellis engine damper and it hasn't made much difference in the comfort level of the 1st to 2nd bump.

i find that if i keep all my shifts about 4000 rpm, that it will shift very smooth, the engagement of the clutch will me very much seemless. however, that kills gas mileage and i can't do that all the time, especially when i have a passenger like my grandma or something.

 

ya i forgot to add that your right about the tranny fluid warming up and stuff. it helps out A LOT

but ive driven my tc everyday for more than 100 miles per day (street) and there are days where i shift perfectly smooth lik an auto and some days where i just suck

 

I switched to Redline MT90 a few weeks ago and it really helped to smooth out the shifts and make the car feel quite a bit smoother under acceleration. It never cooler than about 40 degrees here in SoCal, but I can imagine it would really help out in cooler climates

 

i agree with the temp. i suck for the first coupl of min until it warms up then im smooth as lube. and it is a bit easier to shift at 4 rpms but damn that gas!

 

My automatic shifted like an... oh nevermind. Isn't that a good feeling when you get a smooth shift. It's small things like that that make driving to work and school enjoyable.

 

hahaah i enjoy the freeway up ramps where i can push my car and put distance between the car behind me and myself feeling max G

thats wat i get a kick out of :D

 

i would like to do that sometime, i remember reading about it in another thread in the maintainence forum....but no one posted a DIY walkthru, so i'm a little apprehensive

 

its pretty easy

there are 2 bolts. the 1st bolt you take out is parallel with the radiator and it has a sticker on it. (facing the radiator)

i believe its near a 24mm bolt (both are)

the 2nd bolt is the drain bolt, its facing the back side of the rotor and is actually very close to the axle/crossmember area. (if your not sure, its the only 24mm looking bolt)

drain it, many pamplets recommend waiting 30mins for it to drain completely.
close up the bottom bolt.
fill the tranny with new fluid through the top hole with a LONG TUBE. make sure you get the tube or something that can go into that hole.

2.5QT. ur set. close and drive :D

 

I ended up filling mine from the top through the reverse sensor plug which required a 1 1/16 socket to remove. I beleive the drain plug is 22 or 24mm and I would recommend using a box end wrench instead of a socket since the drain plug is so close to the suspension. I would also recommend draining the fluid with the fill plug closed since when I did mine the fluid came out super fast and made a ridiculous mess. Having the fill plug closed should make the fluid come out a lot slower.

 

you always want to make sure you can remove the fill plug before you remove the drain plug. just incase. because if you remove the drain and the fill plug strips out or something, your screwed.

pics? i would be so greatful!

 

I agree with the drain plug assurance, but you should still have it closed to make sure you dont make a giant mess like I did. No pics at the moment, but its really straightforward.