m7
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,884
Likes: 2,884
From: Toronto
Yup. My smoothest manual was my 90's Integra Type-R. But with an LT engine it would have snapped it like a twig.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
A CAGS eliminator is well worth it and removes one of the frustrations of using the M7.
Installing a short-thow shifter is a mixed bag. The shifts are shorter (of course) but take more effort. The feel is more notchy, but more precise. Many are very pleased but I know people who took the shifter out as they did not like the shifter.
Unfortunately this car will never shift any thing like a Miata.
Installing a short-thow shifter is a mixed bag. The shifts are shorter (of course) but take more effort. The feel is more notchy, but more precise. Many are very pleased but I know people who took the shifter out as they did not like the shifter.
Unfortunately this car will never shift any thing like a Miata.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 6,442
Likes: 2,535
From: New Jersey
I have read this entire thread. And I will give myself more time to get accustomed to the transmission. I have a 2014 I bought with 5,500 miles. It now is just short of 7K miles. But a LOT of it is highway miles. So far, I DO NOT LIKE this transmission. No problems at all with stalling. The clutch and I get along fine. I believe it is the mushiest, rubbery feeling transmission I have encountered since learning on a 1963 VW bug in '65. I have alway taught people to shift by making them just use two fingers to push the shifter. Even that old VW would "know" to go from 3 to 4 at high rpms and into 2 at low engine speed. I got spoiled by a 1999 Mazda Miata. One of the car mag writers compared shifting it to closing the chamber on a pump shotgun. This feels more like the shotgun is made completely from old tires. I do NOT like a transmission telling me to shift from 7 to 4 when all I need is a little more umph to move up in a lane going uphill. I don't intend to ever compete on a track. I already do shift palm-down. I still feel like I am fighting with a sentient being that thinks it knows better than I what the traffic condition is and what is gear is best. I just got home from two days, putting about 500 miles on it and I am wondering if I ought to sell it before I put many more miles on it. So with my (bad) attitude in mind, do any of you think a short throw shifter and the eliminator would make me happier? This car cost more than any I have owned - by a long shot. And it is more stressful to drive than any I have ever driven. Well, with the exception a low-end Tesla I rented one week-end. But that's a long story . . . .
I don't find the gear box mushy at all and I have been driving sticks exclusively for the past 40 yrs and can tell a good gearbox from a mushy gearbox.
The 1 to 4 shift can be eliminated via CAGS or by not shifting between 15 and 19, I think mph. I don't have CAGS and if I am not paying attention to my revs and I feel it going into 4th, I just complete the motion back into 2nd with the same shift.
I really have not read any reviews about the gearbox being mushy.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
I never use 7th gear-it is solely for gas mileage.
I don't find the gear box mushy at all and I have been driving sticks exclusively for the past 40 yrs and can tell a good gearbox from a mushy gearbox.
The 1 to 4 shift can be eliminated via CAGS or by not shifting between 15 and 19, I think mph. I don't have CAGS and if I am not paying attention to my revs and I feel it going into 4th, I just complete the motion back into 2nd with the same shift.
I really have not read any reviews about the gearbox being mushy.
I don't find the gear box mushy at all and I have been driving sticks exclusively for the past 40 yrs and can tell a good gearbox from a mushy gearbox.
The 1 to 4 shift can be eliminated via CAGS or by not shifting between 15 and 19, I think mph. I don't have CAGS and if I am not paying attention to my revs and I feel it going into 4th, I just complete the motion back into 2nd with the same shift.
I really have not read any reviews about the gearbox being mushy.
Last edited by ARAKNID; Feb 21, 2022 at 12:50 AM. Reason: Change "shift" to "skip shift"
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Cruising
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 10
Likes: 1
From: Toronto, Canada
There are 2 main pain points with the C7 manual. Weird inconsistent off-idle behaviour and clunky 1-2 shift. You can fix them with a Soler 95mm throttle body and a skip-shift eliminator. The best $400 you will ever spend on your car.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
I had thought about turbocharging the Miata. It still wouldn't be anywhere near 460 ft.lbs. But I still think the trans would have had a short and merry life. I would have thought the bigger, tougher gearbox would be harder and clunkier. Shows what I know.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
)
Cruising
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 10
Likes: 1
From: Toronto, Canada
Also the OEM GM shift **** is a tad big if you're used to the skinny Miata *****. What you can do is order the MGW with the special 9/16-18 C5 thread size. Then order a Miata shift **** from knobmeister and request the custom C5 thread size. Surely you've heard of knobmeister if you are familiar with the MX-5 aftermarket. He will make shift ***** for Corvettes.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
The transmission is robust. You will not harm anything unless you do something remarkably ham-fisted.
A skip shift eliminator is worthwhile if you drive in busy traffic. Skip shift is easy to avoid if you drive in little to no traffic, but can be a bother when coming out of a parking ramp merging into slowish busy rush hour traffic. An eliminator gives you once less thing to think about, and you can drive the car as you would like under all conditions.
At ~ $15 and a few minutes of time a CAGS eliminator is cheap. Of course, if you drive only under conditions where is easy to avoid CAGS, do not bother to get an eliminator and save a few dollars.
A skip shift eliminator is worthwhile if you drive in busy traffic. Skip shift is easy to avoid if you drive in little to no traffic, but can be a bother when coming out of a parking ramp merging into slowish busy rush hour traffic. An eliminator gives you once less thing to think about, and you can drive the car as you would like under all conditions.
At ~ $15 and a few minutes of time a CAGS eliminator is cheap. Of course, if you drive only under conditions where is easy to avoid CAGS, do not bother to get an eliminator and save a few dollars.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 44,969
Likes: 892
From: Texas
CI 1-4-5-8-9-10 Vet
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '10, '17
I've thought about that. And the more I read about the auto, the more I think I wouldn't miss running through the gears. First, though, I'm going to try some of the mod suggestions from this thread. I may be able to make it just exactly what I want. It's already so close I don't want to give up on it.
I had thought about turbocharging the Miata. It still wouldn't be anywhere near 460 ft.lbs. But I still think the trans would have had a short and merry life. I would have thought the bigger, tougher gearbox would be harder and clunkier. Shows what I know.
I had thought about turbocharging the Miata. It still wouldn't be anywhere near 460 ft.lbs. But I still think the trans would have had a short and merry life. I would have thought the bigger, tougher gearbox would be harder and clunkier. Shows what I know.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 44,969
Likes: 892
From: Texas
CI 1-4-5-8-9-10 Vet
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '10, '17
That's interesting. I haven't noticed either of those issues. I'm beginning to think mine is a couple of standard deviations away from the mean. The skip shift eliminator is definitely on my gotta-do list though. Sounds cheap, easy and good. (I knew a girl in high school who was . . . . )
)I came from the Mazda world, you can fix the rubbery feel with the MGW short shifter.
Also the OEM GM shift **** is a tad big if you're used to the skinny Miata *****. What you can do is order the MGW with the special 9/16-18 C5 thread size. Then order a Miata shift **** from knobmeister and request the custom C5 thread size. Surely you've heard of knobmeister if you are familiar with the MX-5 aftermarket. He will make shift ***** for Corvettes.
Also the OEM GM shift **** is a tad big if you're used to the skinny Miata *****. What you can do is order the MGW with the special 9/16-18 C5 thread size. Then order a Miata shift **** from knobmeister and request the custom C5 thread size. Surely you've heard of knobmeister if you are familiar with the MX-5 aftermarket. He will make shift ***** for Corvettes.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 44,969
Likes: 892
From: Texas
CI 1-4-5-8-9-10 Vet
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '10, '17
The skip shift became a real annoyance to me driving on a four/six lane. I do use 7th gear and drive in eco mode on that 225 mile route. You can't really use the performance aspect of a C7 in that scenario. Well, or the prior iterations either. But occasionally you need to get the heck out of the way of a tractor-trailer. All I need is 6 or 5 -not 4 or 3. So with the way I drive it, the eliminator will go a long way in making my C7 meet my preferences. Thanks.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
BTW, I appreciate all of the good advice I have received in this thread. I'm not even the OP. But I have a lot more confidence that I can make this trans like I like it now. Or close enough I won't care.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 446
Likes: 35
From: Central Florida
I have read this entire thread. And I will give myself more time to get accustomed to the transmission. I have a 2014 I bought with 5,500 miles. It now is just short of 7K miles. But a LOT of it is highway miles. So far, I DO NOT LIKE this transmission. No problems at all with stalling. The clutch and I get along fine. I believe it is the mushiest, rubbery feeling transmission I have encountered since learning on a 1963 VW bug in '65. I have alway taught people to shift by making them just use two fingers to push the shifter. Even that old VW would "know" to go from 3 to 4 at high rpms and into 2 at low engine speed. I got spoiled by a 1999 Mazda Miata. One of the car mag writers compared shifting it to closing the chamber on a pump shotgun. This feels more like the shotgun is made completely from old tires. I do NOT like a transmission telling me to shift from 7 to 4 when all I need is a little more umph to move up in a lane going uphill. I don't intend to ever compete on a track. I already do shift palm-down. I still feel like I am fighting with a sentient being that thinks it knows better than I what the traffic condition is and what is gear is best. I just got home from two days, putting about 500 miles on it and I am wondering if I ought to sell it before I put many more miles on it. So with my (bad) attitude in mind, do any of you think a short throw shifter and the eliminator would make me happier? This car cost more than any I have owned - by a long shot. And it is more stressful to drive than any I have ever driven. Well, with the exception a low-end Tesla I rented one week-end. But that's a long story . . . .
I know this because I can drive and shifter my car flawlessly. When my wife first drove it, she had almost the exact same issues as you. She’s leaned to get around it but it is a lot more effort and stress for her to drive it than my ND Miata was, or an other low powered manual car she’s driven where the car required low effort to shift.
Last edited by C7 Apex; Feb 22, 2022 at 05:53 PM.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 99
Likes: 17
From: Waaay Northeast Oklahoma
I think you bought the wrong car. You are moving large beefy gears around. It will never shift like you want. It’s a physics thing. You have to be far more deliberate and “sure” with your movements. If you try to shift it silky and slow, with really low physical effort, it will never feel good. I love the way the MGW makes it feel, but it doesn’t really reduce effort. It just makes everything feel more solid and less rubbery. The centering force that you are mistaking for the skip shift feature will be more pronounced with the MGW shifter, and will be very annoying if you aren’t using enough “umph” to shift. The shifter is shorter, and you have less leverage as a consequence.
I know this because I can drive and shifter my car flawlessly. When my wife first drove it, she had almost the exact same issues as you. She’s leaned to get around it but it is a lot more effort and stress for her to drive it than my ND Miata was, or an other low powered manual car she’s driven where the car required low effort to shift.
I know this because I can drive and shifter my car flawlessly. When my wife first drove it, she had almost the exact same issues as you. She’s leaned to get around it but it is a lot more effort and stress for her to drive it than my ND Miata was, or an other low powered manual car she’s driven where the car required low effort to shift.