Shifter wobble and play

[AK16]

Howdy everyone! Please watch this video and tell me if this is normal. The slop in the shifter is atrocious! It’s worse than my 2008 Elise SC was prior to the ShiftR111 and worse than my Evora GT was. I won’t even compare it to my Cayman GT4, 718 Spyder or FL5 Type-R because it’s not even close.

In this video, I show the slop in neutral. Then I row through the gears while showing side to side and fore and aft play. You can also see how I can’t slot into first directly. I have to go down to second, and from there I can push up into first. Lastly, you’ll see how when in neutral, pushing to the left springs back to center (sort of). But pushing to the right, it just kinda stays there to the right. No spring back action to the center.

FYI, I have the GRP short shifter installed already.

 

[seriously]

Resistance into 1st gear is not normal although it has been reported. Someone solved it and posted how to adjust a reverse lock out plate I think it is.

My shifter has no play left and right, very tight. It does have some fore aft play.

 

[AK16]

Resistance into 1st gear is not normal although it has been reported. Someone solved it and posted how to adjust a reverse lock out plate I think it is.

My shifter has no play left and right, very tight. It does have some fore aft play.

Thanks for the swift reply! I searched for a guide or something regarding how to adjust or tighten up the slack but came up empty. I did see the fix for the first gear struggles; thank you! What about the lack of return to center while in neutral only on the push to the right side? What would cause that?

 

[Blackthought_]

Do you remember if you had play before the short shifter was installed?

 

[AK16]

Do you remember if you had play before the short shifter was installed?

That’s a great question… I’ve been trying to remember and I have to say no but I’m not certain. I can say it’s progressively gotten worse. I feel like my initial reaction to the short shift kit was entirely positive which leads me to believe that this wasn’t caused by that install but I can’t be certain.

 

[seriously]

From my own experimentation the short shift kit doesn’t really impact any of the play. It shortens the throw (obviously) and it can change the neutral position and corresponding positions in gear depending on how far you thread the pivot unit.

 

[MiamiBlue]

I tested two cars before I bought the third one. I can tell you that all three had a gearbox that felt completely different in operation and how easily they went into gear. Someone suggested that because they were hand installed and connected in the factory by different operators there was naturally inconsistencies between them. It also means they can be adjusted. If you know how.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

I tested two cars before I bought the third one. I can tell you that all three had a gearbox that felt completely different in operation and how easily they went into gear. Someone suggested that because they were hand installed and connected in the factory by different operators there was naturally inconsistencies between them. It also means they can be adjusted. If you know how.

Is it possible to be adjusted so that there's absolute 0 play while in any gear? Or is some play expected for any manual transmission?

 

[RoryBellows]

Is it possible to be adjusted so that there's absolute 0 play while in any gear? Or is some play expected for any manual transmission?

I imagine if you tighten things up to zero play you may run into issues in the ease of use category. Probably best to aim for not much play vs no play. My shifter has a bit of wobble but still shifts pretty good. All the gears sit nicely with a notchy feel. Because of the wobble I tend to park in Neutral on anything but a hill though. My brain still associates wobble with neutral and i don't want to erroneously start while still in first.

 

[itsnightime]

Here is a post on the adjustment

DIY: V6 Manual 1st, 2nd & Reverse Adjustment - Hard To Get Into Gear

Ever since I picked up my car I've found 1st and 2nd pretty difficult to get into, especially 1st, I'd often have to get into 2nd and then get into 1st making taking off from a stoplight embarrassingly annoying. This also makes downshifting from 3rd into 2nd difficult as well. If this sounds...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[seriously]

I imagine if you tighten things up to zero play you may run into issues in the ease of use category. Probably best to aim for not much play vs no play. My shifter has a bit of wobble but still shifts pretty good. All the gears sit nicely with a notchy feel. Because of the wobble I tend to park in Neutral on anything but a hill though. My brain still associates wobble with neutral and i don't want to erroneously start while still in first.

It never occurred to me but this is the only manual I park in neutral. I think it’s because the auto parking gear. It just sort of makes sense.

 

[sbproducer]

Great post. I'm not doubting anything said here, the video is pretty clear. I'll have to get back to my car (in storage) to test my own shifter. I do have the GRP shifter installed default short throw.

If I were to take a guess, I think my gearbox would have some of that same slop. I mean there have been quite a few youtube reviewers that have mentioned the gearbox is not perfect. Myself having owned an FL5 Type R for 20,000 miles (definitely a great drivers car but has its own set of issues) the Emira gearbox was a downgrade in one key area.. vagueness.

That being said, if you can get past the "slop," brain and muscle memory definitely improve the shifting experience in this car. I personally like the car so much more after installing the GRP short shifter. I'm not questioning whether or not I'm in neutral anymore and shifting gears has become alot more precise.. Not sure how much of that is due to getting used to the gearbox or the short shifter itself. But I'm pretty sure the short shifter was involved because gearbox-ability improved right around the time I got it installed. And I clearly remembered thinking... damn I'm glad I did this immediately on the first drive out of the shop. Clearly though, the Emira gearbox is not as plug and play as porsche or FL5 shifter. This has also been mentioned by youtube reviewers.

I never had any issues getting into 1st or Reverse when the car was stock and even now with the short shifter. Guess I kind of won the gearbox lottery with that but there is clearly adjustments that can be made with respect to this in the above mentioned thread by previous posters.