i went to test drive the tc again but this time with a shift ****. Is it me or is the shifter angled to the right a little? i couldnt tell what gear i was in if i just look at the ****. It seemed like everything was shifted a little to the right. For example 1 is in position 3....

for comparison the rsx-s i drove the everything was how it suppose to be, 1 was to the left 3 in the middle and so on.....

< 1.5 hour stick experience...go easy on me
heres my first thread on the tc
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...903&highlight=

 

actually, the tc's gearbox is pretty good for stock. all i have to do to remind myself of that is drive my friends manual cars. example: my friends volkswagen golf 5spd. now THAT car has a pretty sucky stock manual in terms of feel and precision. then again, once i buy my short shift kit, other stock tCs wont feel that great, either.

 

Is it "normal" for the stick to "stop" or "catch" when crossing neutral? It seems to be the worst when going from 5->4, some times I can't even go there, I have to stop at neutral, go left and right a few times, then down to 4th. Highly annoying! Doesn't look like the shifter assembly is flexing at all, so I'm assuming it's the transmission. Don't know how long I'll be able to stand it. (little over 1k miles on it now) Stock shifter. The dealer is kind of far, so not easy just to stop by and let them take a look..

 

yea.. i do have issues sometimes going from 5 -> 4.. you have to really rev match those two downshifting to get it in smooth... and it's a little tricky sometimes.

otherwise... there's not much for me to complain about.

 

Got ya... Been a few years since my last standard car. (01 R/T Neon)

 

can someone respond to my question??????

 

Seems "normal" to me..? If anything it seems like it's angled back a bit, being mounted on a "slope". After you drive for a while you don't even look at the stick any more. You just know what gear you're in.. (ie: if you're doing 85mph you're either in 5th or the engine sounds like it's going to blow up. LOL)

 

Ck123, honestly... you're overthinking it. To drive a stick, feel it. Seriously, sit in the car and look forward not at the stick. Put your hand on the shifter and pull or push to get into neutral. It'll easily slip from gear and into neutral, then to the center of neutral. Learn this without looking... left push = first, left pull = second, release (no tension left or right) and push = third, release and pull = fourth, right and push = fifth.

It shifts itself quite well if you don't try to force it.

Just give it a try then come back and give your opinion then.

 

yeah, the shifter is tilted ever so slightly to the right.... but it doesnt bother me. I dont depend on looking to know what gear I am in. I have driven 2 cars in the past where the shifter is about 10-20 degrees to the right. The tC is no where near that.
It's almost unfair to compare a Honda gearbox feel to almost anything else...... I have driven many Honda's and not 1 of the cars felt bad to shift. It's well known that Honda manual tranny cars have good shifting feel.
When you drive more manual transmission cars (especially domestic cars), you will probably appreciate the tC shifting feel more.

 

Those are the synchros doing their work. It's nothing to worry about, just don't force it because then you'll wear the synchros unnecessarily. What I do is just gently hold it against the gear until it goes in by itself.

I find the biggest synchro "lag" comes with downshifting into second; but that's understandable, given the fact that while slowing down for a turn I'll often do something like 5>2, and 2nd is a big ratio change. Basically I'll wait until I'm as slow as possible before moving the stick into 2 so that the synchros have the least amount of work as possible to do, thus meaning fastest engagement and least wear.

 

I don't think so. . . but you had the other thread about test driving without a shift ****, right? Make sure you try it with a **** before you make a decision. And make sure that the commission DOES NOT go to the guy who made you test drive it without one.

Just to double check, I ran outside and did a quick check. I don't think it's angled, but maybe it's just me. . . and I tried sitting in the passenger's seat just to be sure.

 

^^ it's more noticable if youre looking into the car from the hatch.

 

+1 to what Setiri said.

It doesn't really matter what angle the shifter is. No matter what angle, left forward is 1st, left back is 2nd, so on and so forth. It's gotta be pretty hard to mistake any of the gears if you know how to shift properly.

 

I don't know... I can usually clearly tell whether its 1,3,or 5.

With a short shifter, ok, there's going to be a difference, but with stock there's no problem.

 

what does a short shifter do?

 

Shortens the throw between shifts and the height of the shifter (in most cases)

 

hmm any other benefits?
how much $ they go for?

 

It's supposed to increase the speed of shifts and be more precise, but for a street only car, it's mainly for looks and personal preferences.

They go for anywhere between around $50 to $250 give or take.

 

Yup. Faster shifts really are only a placebo effect... the actual movement of the stick isn't really a big part in a quick shift.

Most people do it for the "precision" feel, or for the look.

 

I just like a shorter throw cause I don't have to move my arm so much Guess I'm lazy hehe!