icecreamballer

No one has any feedback on any bmw?? I thought the g35 had a pretty nice feel as well. Any more porsche experiences?

I'm hoping that my next car feels better or as good as the s2000 which is why in asking these questions. Thanks everyone so far for the feedbacks

rockville

The ones I drove had decent shifting. I'm most familiar with the 5spd they were using in the 530 about 10 years back. It was easy to shift but didn't have a firm feel. Like shifting a good box through a rubber band. It also later developed a really lousy flaw. The centering spring plunger stopped working so the stick would no longer self center between 3-4 and 5-R. That made it much harder to shift as I have always relied on the sticks self centering to get between ranges.

FearlessFife

Thanks! I will be sure to do that. I already have the heavy, counter-sunk shift knob - so I am betting the greasing procedure would work wonders for my 12-year old car.

SlowTeg

The s2k has to be the best shifter I've ever felt (although I've never driven a ferrari/other exotics). I guess it depends on how you define what makes a good shifter. To me a short throw, direct engagement, is what makes for a good shifter. Factoring in notchiness/etc is a tough one, as sometimes trannys may have more or less abuse on them, and honestly cables can mask some of the "feel." My tranny doesn't really feel notchy. Moreso than other cars, but it doesn't detract from the experience for a sports car.

I drove a friend's '07 cayman S and wasn't impressed with the shifter. Honestly I much prefer the s2k. Yes it had smooth engagement and perhaps is a very good tranny, but in terms of simply feel the throws were a little long and weren't as precise. Any car that doesn't have a direct linkage has noticeably less "feel" imo right off the bat. For example, the honda B/D series cars (integras/civics) had incredibly good feel, especially considering they were econoboxes, and that was largely due to the direct linkages. When honda went to cables a little feel was lost, but they're still quite good.

berny2435

I have a BMW 98' M3 with 107k miles. Shifter was replaced with some German short shifter and I am not sure what else was updated in the linkage but the feel is good, but I would not rank it above a b16 or b18 series tranny with new shift bushings.

Yes, the Cayman S shifter is a little more vague than the S but for something not direct, right into the gearbox within 10", its really really good compared to mustangs, Chevy, corvette.

I had a 06' 350z. Too notchy. Not as good as the s2000 by a long shot.

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SlowTeg

Yep.. I've driven quite a few BMW's and their shifters are decent, but like you said not even as good as the old B series trannies (really goes to show how good they were back in the day). I remember the first time I drove a friend's Grand Am manual in the 90's.. It was as bad or worse than some trucks w/ manuals, so I consider most American shifters bottom barrel and not even worth comparing.. lol

I think people who grew up with hondas are quite spoiled when it comes to a nice feeling clutch/shifter. That's one of the things I can never get over with domestics. The Cayman is certainly a nice car, I just feel that it's not as big an upgrade in some ways as some people make it out to be.

CosmosMpower

Nothing is as good. Miata, RX-8 were close. Worst of the cars I've owned were the E36 M3 (row a boat), Mini Cooper S (rubbery) and Lotus Elise (before aftermarket bracing)

rockville

I had a friend with a '96 Grand Am. The 5 speed was an Isuzu box. When new it never shifted very well. After a number of years the shifter cable failed and we replaced it. With the new cable it was just as good as the BMW 530 I spoke of earlier. It was entirely a flaw with the original cable. Funny how that works. I also remember some of the Miata guys talking about getting a heavy shift knob to make the shifter feel better. Again at first I was skeptical. Nope, a heavy shift knob really works. Then again this might explain why Mazda had a led core in the original Miata shifter.

sahtt

NA2 NSX's have gear boxes on par with the s2000. Haven't driven enough NA1's to determine if it was also the case with them. Most porsche and BMW manual transmissions I've driven (the most common cars outside of Honda and VW that have manuals) were average at best. E46 gearbox was mediocre and up until recently only the newer caymen's and 911's had decent gearboxes. The newer boxster that shares most drive train components with the caymen should, of course, feel good now as well. The original ones left a lot to desire.

meccjoo

I guess I was one of the lucky ones, mine didn't have the second gear grind. My transmission was very smooth.