Ok i hear people saying the key to going fast is smooth shifting and not HARD shifting, and using the fingers/wrist to do the shifting and not the arm. BUT, i always find that when i depress the clutch and move the shifter from 1st to 2nd, it's very stiff. How in the world are you supposed to do it with just u're fingers/wrist. I've got about 4500KM on it right now so i think the break in period is over. Everytime i go from 1st to 2nd it's pretty stiff and i do have to use a little bit of arm force. Would a short shifter be better? Or should i tell mazda to grease my shift linkage a bit more when i go in for my first service?

 

mine used to be like that but it's getting better....... I think I'll give Kartboy bushings a try

 

I hear ya with this 1-2 shift. I got my new Kartboy shifter and bushings yesterday and hope to install them tomorrow. I'll post the results about any improvements.

The shifter is a nice piece of machine work. It looks waaaaay better than the picture on the Kartboy Website and feels substantial and solid . It's finished in a black powedercoat, very professional work. I can't wait to get it on cause I hate that 1-2 shift.

 

I have the kartboy bushings installed and they really do make a big difference. I didn't get the short shifter yet, but the bushings made such a big difference in accuracy and feel that I may wait a bit. It's a cheap and easy solution to the sloppy feel of the stocker. They remove the flex in the shaft and it is easily noticeable the first time you shift from 1st to 2nd.

 

got the bushings too and love them. shifting is more fun now.

 

i also find shifing from 1st to second a little rough, especially when cold...what bushings are you guys talking about?..would they fit the 1.6ers?

cheers
Cris

 

is synchros taking a long time to sort themselves out..
i don't think bushings will solve this particular feature of the transmission.
try switching to better tranny fluid (Redline or Motul) .. i think a couple other people on the board have done this.

 

I'm switching my engine to Mobil 1 and my tranny to Redline at the next oil change around 12000 miles. Everything should be broken in by then.

 

Installed Kartboy bushings and shifter today. Man what a difference. Most especially the 1st to 2nd shift. There's no wasted motion. You move the shifter down and your in 2nd. Really nice. I didn't drive the car with only the bushings installed so I'm not sure how much of the new tightness is shifter and how much is bushings, but together they totally change the feel of driving the car. The shifts are much more accurate and precise.

The install was simple as well. The two trickiest parts were removing the one piece stock bushing and removing the O-ring from the top of the shifter. Even with snap ring pliers it's a slippery little bugger. Those two tasks probably ate 20 minutes but I got the whole thing done in less than two hours from jack up to driving the new stick.

Good stuff Kartyboy guys!!!

 

OOOPS! Sorry for the typo! "Kartboy" Guys!!!