Manual Transmission in Cold Weather - Page 2

6spdhyperblue · 11-16-2017, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryephile

The stiff shifter complaint is really common.

A) the syncros need break-in time, several thousand miles
B) the factory trans fluid is garbage in cold temps, roughly below 45°F. Swapping in a very good fluid like AMSoil manual syncromesh oil alleviates almost all the cold weather notchiness.

Nearly anything not American, to be honest. Get to your nearest Miata or S2000 for examples of flawless shifter quality.

Meh can’t even compare. Those things feel flimsy by comparison. More prisisiom maybe. My pcar didn’t feel as good on a 10* day as a 100* but what do I know

Ryephile · 11-16-2017, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicul15

Meh can’t even compare. Those things feel flimsy by comparison. More prisisiom maybe. My pcar didn’t feel as good on a 10* day as a 100* but what do I know

You're right, you can't compare them. But know that they can't be flimsy and precise simultaneously. If you're going to try to diss them, make it believable.

6spdhyperblue · 11-16-2017, 12:18 PM

You seem bored. You want me to go into how it feels flimsy and precise? Lol

JRS · 12-12-2017, 09:30 PM

I drive mine all year and in cold weather mine seems like you have to force it into gear and it felt rubbery when it would go into gear until you got the trans warm. I have 10,000 miles now and just changed the trans oil with the ACDelco 88861800 Manual Transmission Fluid oil and it made a big difference in the cold, it makes the shifter feel more mechanical and easier to tell your in gear. The factory fluid seemed thicker than the gm oil which is basically dextron 3. I would recommend changing the oil just from my experience.

Dubchitts · 12-16-2017, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRS

I drive mine all year and in cold weather mine seems like you have to force it into gear and it felt rubbery when it would go into gear until you got the trans warm. I have 10,000 miles now and just changed the trans oil with the ACDelco 88861800 Manual Transmission Fluid oil and it made a big difference in the cold, it makes the shifter feel more mechanical and easier to tell your in gear. The factory fluid seemed thicker than the gm oil which is basically dextron 3. I would recommend changing the oil just from my experience.

I'm going to switch to redline d4. A good amount of people seem to like that stuff

metros11 · 12-21-2017, 10:49 PM

This is a very very helpful thread.

pjz1082 · 12-22-2017, 11:44 AM

Today was our first real freeze in AZ. It was 30 degrees when I started my car at 7:30am. The gearbox was extremely cold and made noises I've never heard before. I followed someone's suggestion and did a 1-3 shift for the first 15 minutes of drive. This didn't help with the weird noises but it was super easy to shift. 1-2 is usually very difficult when cold. I checked the trans fluid temp a few minutes into the drive and it was only 50. Around 65 everything started getting back to normal. As I pulled into work (about 25 minutes later) fluid temp was up to 85. Just some info on the stock fluid and temp readings.

NUCAR · 01-13-2018, 10:20 AM

Just switched to Redline D4. A noticeable improvement. With the stock fluid, working the shifter before moving helped but the change to Redline was a change for the better.

crankaholic · 01-23-2018, 12:39 AM

The crap ATF GM uses in these really doesn't do well below 40F... or in general if you ask me. I put in RP Synchromax and the difference is really noticeable when it gets below freezing. If you plan on driving it during winter just upgrade the oil.

I used a higher grade ATF in my old CTS-V and the improvement wasn't as noticeable as with RP oil... even though the TR6060 was much better to begin with.

Tyro · 01-23-2018, 07:42 AM

When shopping for oils there are a lot of variables. With regards to cold weather performance (or hot, for that matter) look for something full synthetic with a high viscosity index (VI). VI is basically the oils resistance to viscosity change in relation to temperature. A higher VI means the oil does not get as thick in the cold or as thin in the heat.
For a rough comparison the chart below shows the viscosity of Mobil 1 and Mobil Super, both in 5W30 grade, both with an API SN rating. At operating temperature they are pretty much the same, but as the temperature drops the mineral base gets a lot thicker.
The Mobil 1 pour point is -42 Celsius and the Mobil Super will pour to -36 Celsius.

I know this isn't directly related to the GM trans oil but I thought the information could be relevant here. I use aftermarket engine oils for comparison because they are easier to get data on then OEM fluids, which are not made by the OEMs anyways.

fahimghaffar · 10-29-2019, 12:28 PM

I am having same 2nd gear issue. One the customer got it fixed and found out that is a defective transmission housing. Here is the link to the video. https://youtu.be/FxngwiF7_Wg

GM knows about it but they are telling their dealer to tell customers that it is normal. Everybody, we need to report this issue to NHTSA.gov. Here is the link for that https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

All these camaoros have defected transmision housing which is causing multiple symtoms. For example, hard to shift to 2nd when upshift or downsift, 2nd gear popping out and shift into neutral, missing 2nd gear and sometime grinding.
I spoke to 2 dealers and they both have different openion. One says that i need skip shift eliminater and the other one says that it is normal to have symtoms like that also Advised me not to use the 2nd gear. Which is bad beacuse we spent a fortune buying this car and then we are unable the use 2nd gear.

Please everybody, go NHTSA website and file a complain because they are not going to fix it until government institution files a lawsuit against GM

01-23-2018, 12:39 AM	#23
crankaholic Drives: 2016 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 771	The crap ATF GM uses in these really doesn't do well below 40F... or in general if you ask me. I put in RP Synchromax and the difference is really noticeable when it gets below freezing. If you plan on driving it during winter just upgrade the oil. I used a higher grade ATF in my old CTS-V and the improvement wasn't as noticeable as with RP oil... even though the TR6060 was much better to begin with. __________________

01-23-2018, 07:42 AM	#24
Tyro Drives: 2017 V6 1LE - Krypton Green Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 18 View My Garage	When shopping for oils there are a lot of variables. With regards to cold weather performance (or hot, for that matter) look for something full synthetic with a high viscosity index (VI). VI is basically the oils resistance to viscosity change in relation to temperature. A higher VI means the oil does not get as thick in the cold or as thin in the heat. For a rough comparison the chart below shows the viscosity of Mobil 1 and Mobil Super, both in 5W30 grade, both with an API SN rating. At operating temperature they are pretty much the same, but as the temperature drops the mineral base gets a lot thicker. The Mobil 1 pour point is -42 Celsius and the Mobil Super will pour to -36 Celsius. I know this isn't directly related to the GM trans oil but I thought the information could be relevant here. I use aftermarket engine oils for comparison because they are easier to get data on then OEM fluids, which are not made by the OEMs anyways. Attached Images

10-29-2019, 12:28 PM	#25
fahimghaffar Drives: 2018 Camaro ss Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Florida Posts: 28 View My Garage	I have a camaro ss 2018 I am having same 2nd gear issue. One the customer got it fixed and found out that is a defective transmission housing. Here is the link to the video. https://youtu.be/FxngwiF7_Wg GM knows about it but they are telling their dealer to tell customers that it is normal. Everybody, we need to report this issue to NHTSA.gov. Here is the link for that https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ All these camaoros have defected transmision housing which is causing multiple symtoms. For example, hard to shift to 2nd when upshift or downsift, 2nd gear popping out and shift into neutral, missing 2nd gear and sometime grinding. I spoke to 2 dealers and they both have different openion. One says that i need skip shift eliminater and the other one says that it is normal to have symtoms like that also Advised me not to use the 2nd gear. Which is bad beacuse we spent a fortune buying this car and then we are unable the use 2nd gear. Please everybody, go NHTSA website and file a complain because they are not going to fix it until government institution files a lawsuit against GM

11-16-2017, 12:18 PM	#17
6spdhyperblue Drives: 6th gen Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: US Posts: 3,669	You seem bored. You want me to go into how it feels flimsy and precise? Lol

12-12-2017, 09:30 PM	#18
JRS Drives: 16 camaro M6/ 18 ZL1 camaro A10 Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: MD/PA LINE Posts: 202	I drive mine all year and in cold weather mine seems like you have to force it into gear and it felt rubbery when it would go into gear until you got the trans warm. I have 10,000 miles now and just changed the trans oil with the ACDelco 88861800 Manual Transmission Fluid oil and it made a big difference in the cold, it makes the shifter feel more mechanical and easier to tell your in gear. The factory fluid seemed thicker than the gm oil which is basically dextron 3. I would recommend changing the oil just from my experience.

12-21-2017, 10:49 PM	#20
metros11 Drives: 2018 SS 1LE Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: North Jersey Posts: 776	This is a very very helpful thread.

12-22-2017, 11:44 AM	#21
pjz1082 Drives: 2016 Camaro 1LT Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 648	Today was our first real freeze in AZ. It was 30 degrees when I started my car at 7:30am. The gearbox was extremely cold and made noises I've never heard before. I followed someone's suggestion and did a 1-3 shift for the first 15 minutes of drive. This didn't help with the weird noises but it was super easy to shift. 1-2 is usually very difficult when cold. I checked the trans fluid temp a few minutes into the drive and it was only 50. Around 65 everything started getting back to normal. As I pulled into work (about 25 minutes later) fluid temp was up to 85. Just some info on the stock fluid and temp readings.

01-13-2018, 10:20 AM	#22
NUCAR Drives: 68 big block Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: tossed off see ya Posts: 400	Just switched to Redline D4. A noticeable improvement. With the stock fluid, working the shifter before moving helped but the change to Redline was a change for the better.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password