[Eel125]

2023 1SS 1LE 6 speed manual . When its cold out ( 40f) the car is hard to get into first gear, almost as if i didnt have the clutch depressed. The first few shifts arent the smoothest either . This is my 3rd manual Camaro . The 2019 i owned was much smoother and crisper . Today i was monitoring the Manual Transmission Fluid Temp gauge . I was on a 60 mile ride and for the first 40 miles or so the temp hovered at the low end neat the 100 f line . At the end is was at about 130F. Do these numbers seem low or about right?

[Tim M]

About right...get it on the track for 20 minutes and see the other end of the scale.

[Eel125]

Originally Posted by Tim M

About right...get it on the track for 20 minutes and see the other end of the scale.

I found a older thread on here from 2017 that pretty much said the same thing.

[N Camarolina]

What you are seeing with temps and rough shifting following start-up/initial driving is totally normal. Takes about 2 miles of driving before fluid warms up enough to make the shifting buttery smooth. And yes, going into gear from dead cold sometimes is balky. If it doesn't easily go into gear (don't try to force it), shift to reverse or another gear first (with clutch still in) or shift back to neutral and let clutch out, then back in and go to desired gear.

It never really gets that hot, even after 25 minutes at the track. The highest temps I've seen on my PDR are 180F. The trans cooler does it's job well.

[2k2ss]

I have a 22 with a thousand miles on it and mine is the same!

[Eel125]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

What you are seeing with temps and rough shifting following start-up/initial driving is totally normal. Takes about 2 miles of driving before fluid warms up enough to make the shifting buttery smooth. And yes, going into gear from dead cold sometimes is balky. If it doesn't easily go into gear (don't try to force it), shift to reverse or another gear first (with clutch still in) or shift back to neutral and let clutch out, then back in and go to desired gear.

It never really gets that hot, even after 25 minutes at the track. The highest temps I've seen on my PDR are 180F. The trans cooler does it's job well.

Thanks , i dont force it , sometimes i double clutch it and that seems to help . The car only has 900 miles on it so maybe it will loosen up a little more.

[Eel125]

Originally Posted by 2k2ss

I have a 22 with a thousand miles on it and mine is the same!

This is my first brand new Camaro . The other 2 i had were bought with only a few thousand miles on them and probably were already broken in. Mine has 900 miles currently

[Warrior102]

Living in the north east this is a problem, I've been using Royal Purple Syncromax for the last three seasons and 32K miles and it transformed the car, smoother first to second in all temperatures.

[Eel125]

Originally Posted by Warrior102

Living in the north east this is a problem, I've been using Royal Purple Syncromax for the last three seasons and 32K miles and it transformed the car, smoother first to second in all temperatures.

Good to know , thanks

[db2022cs]

I just picked up my 23 2ss 1le 6mt on Saturday and I barely have 400 miles on it. This morning was very cold. Abnormally cold for the area. It hovered above freezing all night. When I first got in the car I could not get into first or second gear initially. I had to go into 3rd-6th and reverse until I could eventually get it into 1st without fighting as much. I'm sure with the car being so new and the temps created this perfect storm of not being able to get into gear. It took a bit of time to warm up as I'm still in break-in so I tend to keep the rpm's fairly low which takes more time to get heat into the system. There were a few occasions that I couldn't get into first at a light so I just put it into second and took off that way gently. By the end of my drive I was able to get into all gears without any issue. I will probably do a change of the transmission fluid down the line, before 5k miles. My last manual didn't struggle with the cold temps as much but that was a hot hatch and I bought the car in upstate NY so the fluids are probably better for the temps.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by db2022cs

I just picked up my 23 2ss 1le 6mt on Saturday and I barely have 400 miles on it. This morning was very cold. Abnormally cold for the area. It hovered above freezing all night. When I first got in the car I could not get into first or second gear initially. I had to go into 3rd-6th and reverse until I could eventually get it into 1st without fighting as much. I'm sure with the car being so new and the temps created this perfect storm of not being able to get into gear. It took a bit of time to warm up as I'm still in break-in so I tend to keep the rpm's fairly low which takes more time to get heat into the system. There were a few occasions that I couldn't get into first at a light so I just put it into second and took off that way gently. By the end of my drive I was able to get into all gears without any issue. I will probably do a change of the transmission fluid down the line, before 5k miles. My last manual didn't struggle with the cold temps as much but that was a hot hatch and I bought the car in upstate NY so the fluids are probably better for the temps.

Sorry to hear about the difficult getting into gear when cold. I live by you, but mine stays in the garage so the fluid is never super cold when I take it for a drive.

You are doing well to not rev the engine out when it's warming up. That's a good practice not just during break in period, but for the life of the car. The oil temp (not the coolant temp; oil temp takes a lot longer to warm up) should be close to 200F before you rev the engine close to redline. Oil temp display can be found in the "performance" tab of the DIC.

If you have any plans to track your 1LE, feel free to contact me with a PM and I can tell you about nearby tracks/tips.

[Vtor_ZL1]

I see about max 125*F (same hash mark as photo) commuting in 40*F weather.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by Vtor_ZL1

I see about max 125*F (same hash mark as photo) commuting in 40*F weather.

Sorry if I made things unclear. My last comment was in regard to normal operating engine oil temp (200F).

Agreed about the trans temp of 125F max for street driving, and in cold ambient months seems to take quite a while to register anything above the low end of the gauge (100F). Seems like the shifting properities from cold start improve a lot quicker than the actual registered temps climbing above 100.

Track driving in summer will see the trans at about 175F.

[Boost Creep]

This time of year the trans temp gauge rarely moves above 100 even after a few hours of driving.
In the summer it seem to hover about 60 degrees above ambient.
So on a 70 degree day it will get up around the 130 range.