Notchy shifter issues

[Nightrage]

I sat in my co-worker's G35 yesterday, and noticed that his shifter is much more nicer than mine is. You can shift through gears like a hot knife through butter. My shifter is extremely notchy feeling. You know that you're rowing through the gears, as opposed to is car which felt like a Miata's shifter. Is there any way to make my give my shifter that feel (aside from buying a different car)? I'd imagine something like replacing my transmission fluid with Royal Purple, or something comparable might help. Would I need to replace the transmission altogether? I have a pro 5.0 short throw shifter, not sure if that has any effect or not. As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

[97LT1Z28]

You're comparing apples to oranges.......

The Infinity is a highly refined car - made to be smooth, quiet, light and quick on it's feet.

The f-body cars are high powered, un-refined, noisy, shake you in your seat, raw horsepower. That's how they're meant to be. Enjoy.

[Nightrage]

I know there's a big difference between the cars, but my buddy had a third gen Camaro with a smooth transmission too. He had an aftermarket 6 speed transmission with a Centerforce clutch. I don't know if he had synthetic fluid or not. It was much, much smoother than my car. I understand that f-bodies are supposed to be muscle cars and not well- refined sports cars, but it would be much more pleasant to drive if the shifter wasn't so stiff

[ConElite]

I know there's a big difference between the cars, but my buddy had a third gen Camaro with a smooth transmission too. He had an aftermarket 6 speed transmission with a Centerforce clutch. I don't know if he had synthetic fluid or not. It was much, much smoother than my car. I understand that f-bodies are supposed to be muscle cars and not well- refined sports cars, but it would be much more pleasant to drive if the shifter wasn't so stiff

Get a G35 if you want that smooth shifting. My old Honda Shifted a million times smoother than my T/A but I understand why. My buddies Focus SVT is like driving a Lexus compared to the T/A. Its just how the Mechanical Harmonics work. An Aftermarket Shifter might help but you have to remember that the internals of the Transmission is what makes it Smooth. I personally love how Choopie and hard the shifter is, gives you a sense of feel for what the car is doing and how its feeling.

[Nightrage]

Get a G35 if you want that smooth shifting.

If I could afford one, I'd be all over it

[ConElite]

If I could afford one, I'd be all over it

I'd rather spend less money and spank those G35/350Z up and down the street.lol. With 30K you can be in the low 10's in the quarter and some work out sessions to shift that T56. ha ha ha ah. j/k

[Nightrage]

I'm not looking to break into the 11's or anything. I'm just trying to make my car nicer to drive. I rarely get on her. I like cruising and knowing I have some power on tap should I need it. Sometimes I'll bury the pedal just for kicks, but that's rare. I've been asking people what they think would get me the smoothest shift and everyone tells me the same thing- "It's a Trans Am. It's not meant to shift smooth or be refined. If it was supposed to feel smooth, it would have come differently from the factory." How that makes sense is beyond me. I want to tell them, "Don't bother wasting money on a 12 bolt. If the car was meant to handle that much power, it would have come from the factory with a stronger rear." If people want a 600 horsepower monster, that's great for them. I'm personally hoping to make my car look good, feel comfortable, handle well and improve efficiency. I'm going to drop some more weight with a dry cell battery, A/C delete, racing seats and some other goodies, plus maybe I'll add a few bolt ons. I'd really like to replace my side windows and rear hatch with Speedglass. I'm sure that would lighten up the doors considerably, though pulling that much weight off of the hatch definitely won't help with traction.

I had a love/ hate relationship with my car for a long time. I'm starting to appreciate it a lot. I know plenty of people with brand new cars which aren't nearly as reliable as mine has been. It's at 103,000 miles with the original plugs and doesn't idle rough, gets about 20MPG (combined), handles well and still pulls like the day I got her. I'm sure I'll only like it more as I mod it. I plan on having this car forever. I hope to do the 98+ WS6 front end swap, have t tops installed, maybe a motor swap. I know a lot of people think I should just sell this car and buy a 98+ WS6, but I've grown to like my car too much to dump it and buy someone else's nightmare.

Kind of off topic, but would a third gen center console swap directly into my car, or would it need to be modified to fit right?

[96FirebirdFormula]

Thats what new car vs old car feels like just buy new camaro when comes out

[Rhode Island Red]

After I had my clutch installed, I noticed my car shifted better than new. I know it wasn't the beefier clutch but actually the result of the fluid change in the tranny. I know it says you don't need to change manual tranny fluid, bu t I noticed a night and day difference when I had this done. It might be worth the time into looking into changing the fluid. All it will cost is some of your time and some fluid to find out

[ConElite]

I noticed that you have a 6" shaft on the shifter. That right there Makes it so much harder to shift. I have the one UMI offers. It feels great but Does get tiring. Try putting the stocker back on and see what happens.

P.S. love the Quote on the sig. ha ha ha

[Nightrage]

The new fluid is in. It's a little bit smoother. Not quite night and day, but I wasn't expecting it to be. I bet I'll be happier with it when the stock shifter is back on. Is the SLP shifter notchy too? I might look into that if it feels similar to stock. I've heard good things about the B&M Ripper shifter, but the stick is one piece so I can't throw the 6 incher on there. Is that shifter notchy? I guess I could always grind the stick down and rethread it.

[Z Ya Later]

I've been using the SLP shifter for a while and love it. It makes the car feel like it should have with the stock shifter. I'd recommend it.