Does anyone know what are good mods/maintenance to keep the car shifts smoother? Specifically neutral to 1st to 2nd gear. The shifts are a little rough. And when I'm cruising on 2nd gear or 3rd gear, if the speed drops to a specific speed, the engine would rock/torque a bit. I recently had the front control arm bushings replaced, and that helped a bit. But I wonder if the engine damper kit from Way Motor Works would fix this. Thanks.

 

there was a thread started about this very subject that had some good info, it should be on the first couple of pages from the recent days

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-possible.html

 

I read the thread. Completely different topic. His thread is about the shifter being smooth. My shifter is fine. I'm more interested in the engaging and disengaging of the gears and the engine/transmission rocking.

 

I would say, rev match better?

 

I have done poly bushings for the motor and tranny mounts. The motors movement has been reduced significantly. They are pretty easy and cheap install, and the added vibration is minimal.

 

Glad you read the other thread, I'll post this again, hopefully others that read this can benefit. While not addressing your engine rocking this DOES fix smoother shifting and creates smoother gearbox shifts.

I just fixed mine with some white lithium grease. Works better than new.

First you need to remove your airbox, this gives you access to the shifting mechanism attached on the gearbox below. I have the JCW airbox and once the top is removed, I can rotate the bottom half 90 or 180 deg without unhooking the ECU.

Have a friend shift through the gears inside (or you can do it yourself at the gearbox) grab the two cable ends and get familiar with how the shifter parts function. This gives you an idea of where lube is needed.

- Pack lithium grease underneath the ball joints at the shift cable ends.
- Smear on weighted shifter part where the large rod is (this can be accessed from the drivers side wheel area with wheel removed).
- Put lithium grease on pivot points.
- Pull up shift boot cover on the inside of the car and lube the shifter ball
- Pack grease into the right side where it shifts into reverse.
- Reinstall airbox
- Test drive

 

Thanks. That's good info. But my shifter and shift cables are fine. I'm interested in bushings or dampers that can help relieve the engine rocking. The stage 4 clutch bites very hard. Smoothing out the rev matches obviously help. But that's not what I'm referring too. Because if my car is already in gear, I can tap the throttle and the car would jerk forward in acceleration. I'm wondering if the lower engine mount bushing and the TSW engine damper would help relieve that.

 

I had the same problem with shifting being a bit jerky because of engine/trans movement. I installed the Powerflex passenger side upper engine mount bushings and now shifting is nice and smooth. Starting out in 1st is also a lot easier as the power is getting to the ground and not getting spent on rocking the engine around under the bonnet.

 

I hear the passenger side engine mount is a pain to install. Requires jacking up the engine a bit right?

 

The TSW motor mount is a great option. There is also the powerflex bushings for the lower engine mount and gearbox.
The idea is to get it all to rock less cause that stretches on the shift cables making it not as smooth, let alone the rocking motion in general.

 

I did just the Powerflex lower engine bushing, it's basically an add-in part rather than replacement. It really tightened up the feel, not nearly so much engine rocking. It also increased NVH but I'm cool with that. It's especially noticeable when idling with the A/C on, but once you get up past 2K RPM it's smooth.

 

i seem to have the same problem

 

The PF bushings usually settle in after a week or two. To minimize NVH I recommend only installing the large end on the lower bushing and the gearbox bushing. If you replace the small end on the lower bushing it can stiffen it up too much.

 

Way, do you sell those in a "minimal rocking with minimal NVH" set?

it's crazy cause you posted that as I was trying to go through your site looking for what might meet those EXACT needs, once I get the powerflex LCA bushings in, that's probably my next move.

 

+1

 

There's a reason I ignored his comment. Obviously the problems stems from something other then rev-matching.

 

I know, it was done in a joking manor I generally have the same issue as you, even further with my R53 not even wanting to be in 1st. It drives smoother in 2nd at the really low speeds better than in 1st.

 

FYI, I was joking too, thus the rolling eyes. :D

 

My powerflex LCA bushings really help getting into first, engages predictably now

 

Not really. I'm a novice mechanic and did all 3 mounts - TSW upper, OEM upper stabilizer, and OEM lower in a few hours.

I jacked up one side of the car, put it on a jack stand, and then used the jack to put just enough pressure under the engine so that it didn't move when I removed the engine mounts.

It helped a lot with jerking/bucking but there is still a lot of noticable movement when I drive. In second gear, just moving the throttle quickly up or down an inch will make the car bounce.

I want to put the poly transmission mounts in and possibly upper stabilizer / lower engine mount poly inserts or the BSH lower mount.

 

You're a novice mechanic. I'm mechanically inclined. We might have a problem. LOL