BAD manual transmission
#1
05-11-2004, 03:00 AM
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BAD manual transmission
I have about 8500 miles on my coupe and owned it for less than 5 months. I prayed and thought that I'll get used to it, that I'll like it (like everybody else on this forum), that it's good, awesome and all this stuff. BUT, I'm dissapointed to admit, that the manual transmission in this car, is totally inadequate (to say the least). It's the opposite of smooth, it shakes, it trembles, it's got ... Parkinson !!! You hear a "clonk" noise for every gear engaged, overall it just gives me the feel of an unrefined transmission. For a 40k car, which aspires to be a BMW-beater, it really doesn't cut it !
I heard that the BMW transmission is perfectly smooth, in fact, I had a friend of mine with a 540i who had his rev limiter kicking in when he forgot to shift into 6'th gear: he said he had the music loud but he didn't feel anything shaking at all until the rev limiter woke him up ! I owned an Acura and some previous Honda models and the transmission there is awesome, extremely smooth. I believe that even a Civic has a better tranny than ours. In our G, once I get it up to around 4500-5000 RPM, I can barely touch the stick as it gets so trembling and resounating that I'm afraid I'll start shaking and never, ever stop. Can you tell me that none of you guys felt that immense jolting when shifting above 4500 RPM ???? Another one that you can test for yourselves is the shake and lack of refinement when ... idling. I mean, what's up with that ? In a different car, I might have taken it in for a tune-up ... It feels like the engine is about to explode at about 5000 RPM, in comparison to other cars which have a much, much smoother feel.
I'm holding back here big time, but I'm really pissed at this car. Even the acceleration, that is praised by so many people, is under what I expected. I still have the impression that the automatic is faster off the line that a manual and in a race we have to catch up rather than smoke the competition (subjective, but I had to say what I felt !).
After all this, though, I still like the car but much, much less than when I first got it. A well-spoken salesperson could lure me into trading this piece of .... for a BMW. And, I have tried, believe me: going to bed with "yes, it's nice, it's beautiful, it's powerful, and so on", to just wake up next morning and start cursing when I see the way it drives.
Enough said ! I'm happy for you guys who like it, but I'm just curious to hear if anybody, I mean anybody, feels even remotely close to what I feel about this car. ANYBODY ????
I heard that the BMW transmission is perfectly smooth, in fact, I had a friend of mine with a 540i who had his rev limiter kicking in when he forgot to shift into 6'th gear: he said he had the music loud but he didn't feel anything shaking at all until the rev limiter woke him up ! I owned an Acura and some previous Honda models and the transmission there is awesome, extremely smooth. I believe that even a Civic has a better tranny than ours. In our G, once I get it up to around 4500-5000 RPM, I can barely touch the stick as it gets so trembling and resounating that I'm afraid I'll start shaking and never, ever stop. Can you tell me that none of you guys felt that immense jolting when shifting above 4500 RPM ???? Another one that you can test for yourselves is the shake and lack of refinement when ... idling. I mean, what's up with that ? In a different car, I might have taken it in for a tune-up ... It feels like the engine is about to explode at about 5000 RPM, in comparison to other cars which have a much, much smoother feel.
I'm holding back here big time, but I'm really pissed at this car. Even the acceleration, that is praised by so many people, is under what I expected. I still have the impression that the automatic is faster off the line that a manual and in a race we have to catch up rather than smoke the competition (subjective, but I had to say what I felt !).
After all this, though, I still like the car but much, much less than when I first got it. A well-spoken salesperson could lure me into trading this piece of .... for a BMW. And, I have tried, believe me: going to bed with "yes, it's nice, it's beautiful, it's powerful, and so on", to just wake up next morning and start cursing when I see the way it drives.
Enough said ! I'm happy for you guys who like it, but I'm just curious to hear if anybody, I mean anybody, feels even remotely close to what I feel about this car. ANYBODY ????
#2
05-11-2004, 03:15 AM
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#3
05-11-2004, 03:21 AM
Re: BAD manual transmission
i dont think G35 has bad manual trannys. once u get used to it, it takes off like nothing. this is my first manual and i have no problem at all. i've driven my friend's RSX, Si, and such, and i PREFER driving the G35.
i dont get why u dont like the sound when it hits 5k....thats the best sound!
i dont get why u dont like the sound when it hits 5k....thats the best sound!
#4
05-11-2004, 09:02 AM
Re: BAD manual transmission
Well I hate to disappoint you, but I have had no problems with the Transmission. I have driven both Man & Auto for the last 20 years, including American bred as well as BMW; Opel; Vauxhall; Rx7. The G35 is a great car with an excellent tranny. Sure it can be better, but so can the position of the seat belts, the size of the trunk etc etc
#5
05-11-2004, 10:18 AM
Re: BAD manual transmission
You must have a bad transmission. Mine is smooth as butter with a little vibration at 6000 rpms. The engine only sounds like it will explode because of the awesome power.
Maybe you should have test driven it a lot more before buying a 35K car????
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Maybe you should have test driven it a lot more before buying a 35K car????
2004 6MT Coupe Graphite/Graphite / Performance / Premium / Sirius / Navigation / Clear Bra / Aero / Trunk Mat / Splash
#6
05-11-2004, 10:25 AM
#7
05-11-2004, 10:30 AM
Re: BAD manual transmission
i hear yah. if you were an acura/honda guy b4 you'll feel the same. Had the Si and the RSX-S, both shift smoothly even at 8K rpms and the shifters dont vibrate that much, especially that Type-S, one of the slickest tranny I believe. Better than the IS300 and RX8 which I testdrove b4 I got the G. But knowing all MT cars feel slightly different, you should learn how to adopt and accept. That's what I have done for the last 20yrs of driving stick 
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#8
05-11-2004, 10:40 AM
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Re: BAD manual transmission
this is my first time owning a MT vehicle but i guess i can see where his uneasiness comes from. i've driven a few other MT cars and when i first experienced the G, i thought the shifter's vibration and movement through the gears was a little weird. but that mostly cuz i was still new to the manual tranny. i've grown accustomed to the car minus a few vibrations and noises that still make me a little uneasy. and what's with this uncomforatble position of the seatbelt? i dunno about you guys but the seatbelt is just fine for me.
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#9
05-11-2004, 12:00 PM
Re: BAD manual transmission
i'll agree that Hondas have awesome trannies, BUT, you cannot compare a fwd tranny to a rwd tranny simply because of the fact that fwd trannies have linkages to the shifter and bushings in between, while rwd trannies connect directly to the shifter, hence the amplified vibrations. i think the trannies are pretty good in this car, but the tranny noise is disgusting.
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#10
05-11-2004, 12:13 PM
#11
05-11-2004, 05:04 PM
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Re: BAD manual transmission
You will typically get more vibration from cars that are closer to "pure" sports cars in the way that they are disigned (i.e RWD). The one aspect of this car that is less "luxury" and more "sport" is the drive train.
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#12
05-11-2004, 05:36 PM
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#13
05-11-2004, 05:47 PM
Re: BAD manual transmission
traian- i'm right there with you. the vibration is quite annoying. I've never driven a MT car with that kind of vibration. I've driven the 330ci MT and it's pretty smooth. The vibration so minimal you don't really notice it but the g35 is extremely noticeable.
It's like one of those electric chairs with handles to test how much vibration you can take when you grab on the handles at the video game stores.
It's like one of those electric chairs with handles to test how much vibration you can take when you grab on the handles at the video game stores.
#14
05-11-2004, 06:25 PM
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#15
05-11-2004, 06:28 PM
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Re: BAD manual transmission
I only read the original post and a few posts after that, so forgive me if what I say is repetitive.
1.) Manual transmissions are supposed to be noisy. It's perfectly normal to hear sh*t underneath when you shift gears and it's perfectly normal to hear the clutch engage when you start moving. Most manual transmissions are like this and BMW is no exception. Same noises come from underneath, and believe it or not, Infiniti did take many steps to reduce the tranny sounds as much as possible.
2.) Vibrating shifter is a GOOD thing you fool. It allows you to "feel" where the engine is at so you can shift without looking at the gauges and you know what rpm's the engine is at. Yes, the shaking can hurt your hand after 5K rpm, but that's your own fault...if it hurts your hand, you're holding the shift **** too tight. The shift **** is supposed to have minimal pressure put on it from your hand...in fact, when you're in gear you're not even supposed to touch the shift ****! (although I hold onto it anyways since 1-2 and 2-3 shifts come so quickly)
3.) How can you even compare a BMW's manual transmission to ours? Yeah, go drive a manual 3-series and see how long the shifts are...sure it's not as notchy as our G, but BMW's have super long shifts. The G has extremely short and precise shifts, despite its notchiness (which is really only there for the 1-2 and maybe 2-3 shift...after that, it's gone, and I don't mind it).
4.) Yes the engine f*cking SCREAMS when you punch it because it is an absolute monster, but I can assure you that on the inside, everything is running smooth as butter. Not only that, the engine has to adjust its valve timing. If you go from 1K to 6,600rpm it won't be so fast, but if you hold the engine at like 4K rpm and then drive like a madman from there, you'll see that the engine is MUCH more responsive because you'll be chilling where all the torque is and the screaming will go away...I'm guessing it's the valve timing but as I said before, if you punch it from 1K rpm to 6,600rpm, the engine will scream like its about to explode, but if you chill for a few seconds at those higher rpm's, the engine will smoothen out.
The G's manual transmission and engine are both targeted for 100% performance. This is why we get the stiff clutch, vibrating shift ****, short and notchy shifts, and the wonderful exhaust note. =)
The only REAL problem with the car, in terms of the drive, is the hand-brake...it could use a stronger hand-brake for those of us who like to use the e-brake hill-start technique.
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MrElussive
03 G35C 6MT
1.) Manual transmissions are supposed to be noisy. It's perfectly normal to hear sh*t underneath when you shift gears and it's perfectly normal to hear the clutch engage when you start moving. Most manual transmissions are like this and BMW is no exception. Same noises come from underneath, and believe it or not, Infiniti did take many steps to reduce the tranny sounds as much as possible.
2.) Vibrating shifter is a GOOD thing you fool. It allows you to "feel" where the engine is at so you can shift without looking at the gauges and you know what rpm's the engine is at. Yes, the shaking can hurt your hand after 5K rpm, but that's your own fault...if it hurts your hand, you're holding the shift **** too tight. The shift **** is supposed to have minimal pressure put on it from your hand...in fact, when you're in gear you're not even supposed to touch the shift ****! (although I hold onto it anyways since 1-2 and 2-3 shifts come so quickly)
3.) How can you even compare a BMW's manual transmission to ours? Yeah, go drive a manual 3-series and see how long the shifts are...sure it's not as notchy as our G, but BMW's have super long shifts. The G has extremely short and precise shifts, despite its notchiness (which is really only there for the 1-2 and maybe 2-3 shift...after that, it's gone, and I don't mind it).
4.) Yes the engine f*cking SCREAMS when you punch it because it is an absolute monster, but I can assure you that on the inside, everything is running smooth as butter. Not only that, the engine has to adjust its valve timing. If you go from 1K to 6,600rpm it won't be so fast, but if you hold the engine at like 4K rpm and then drive like a madman from there, you'll see that the engine is MUCH more responsive because you'll be chilling where all the torque is and the screaming will go away...I'm guessing it's the valve timing but as I said before, if you punch it from 1K rpm to 6,600rpm, the engine will scream like its about to explode, but if you chill for a few seconds at those higher rpm's, the engine will smoothen out.
The G's manual transmission and engine are both targeted for 100% performance. This is why we get the stiff clutch, vibrating shift ****, short and notchy shifts, and the wonderful exhaust note. =)
The only REAL problem with the car, in terms of the drive, is the hand-brake...it could use a stronger hand-brake for those of us who like to use the e-brake hill-start technique.
OWNED biatch !!!!
MrElussive
03 G35C 6MT