Longer throw to 5th?
 

Is it just me or is the throw to the right for fifth and sixth gears slightly longish? I feel like it's taking me a bit to get adjusted to it. More often than not, I find myself going 4->3 instead of 4->5.

Is this a common experience? Is it something that will get easier as the car breaks in?

Maybe I just have a short right arm? haha

I don't have any 4-5th problems. I have gone from 5-2nd on accident though (instead of 5-4th)

If you grab the shift thingie from the top and rotate your wrist in the direction that you want to go in to shift , the shifty goes right where you want to, instead of forcing it.

...long??? uh, no, not at all actually.

I've gotten the swing of it. I just give a quick push on the shift knob at an angle perpendicular to the side that faces the driver. Perfect everytime. Thanks for the thoughts!

(guy321's comment actually makes sense)

Glad I was able to help!! I'll try to be a little less technical next time :D

The only time I get it in wrong is when I try to force it or I dont grip it hard enough and the knob just slips out my hand.

I'm sometimes having trouble getting the 4 to 5 shift to my liking. I still haven't decided if it's a diagonal throw or a dog leg. It seems to take more time, especially if I dog leg, and then I run into problems with timing the throttle and clutch....
I posted something about this recently....
I've been driving sticks for 28 of my 40 years, BTW.

It took me a while to get used to the 6 speed on my 8. Yes, my Miata had a 5th gear, but I only used that when going into "cruise mode" so there was never any rush. The way I drove it was not part of a performance shift pattern.

I experienced a similar problem to those listed above, when I got my 8. Shifting up and down to 5th was clumsey. I never seemed to use the clutch at the right time.

I finally realized that my problem was the shifter spring tension that keeps it in the 3/4 slot. I was used to the slight push-to-the-right from the 1/2 slot but I had no muscle memory to overcome the slight push-to-the-left going into and outof the 5/6 slot. Bugged me for a while until I got used to it. I just figured it for a 6-speed issue rather than an 8 issue.

I don't have a problem going from 4th to 5th, but 5th to 6th requires thinking about the shift. If I'm not paying attention to my shifting, more often than not, I shift into 4th.

My baby has little over 1600 miles on it so far, and it is getting slightly easier as I get more miles. Hopefully in another thousand or so, it should be fine.

Brian

With about 600 miles on the clock, I no longer have any difficulty with the throw to fifth. It did take a little adjustment. Now, I need to use fifth and sixth more often -- I have aspirations of fuel mileage better than 16MPG. haha