Transmission comparison

[GTRS Fiero]

In the motortrend review, the manual in the MR2 got a much better review than that in the Fiero.  Is there a manual transmission, such as the F23 or F40, that compares favorably to the MR2's manual transmission?

[Raydar]

That's a hard call.
Back in 85, I drove an 85 MR2, before I went out and drove (and purchased) my 85 GT.

I have repeated this comment often...
Up until I droe the MR2, the only car I had ever driven that felt anything like it was a Lotus Europa that belonged to a friend of mine. It was just... precise.
The Fiero won me over due to the sound of the V6 over my right shoulder. Add to that, the fact that I had just put a front clip on an Olds Cutlass that a G/F had wrecked, and was sick and tired of fighting rust.

I can't speak to the F23, but shifting my Beretta Getrag (aka New Venture T550) is like stirring a bucket of ball bearings. The forward and backward (shift) function is fine, but the  side-to-side (select) is especially stiff. My shorter shifter doesn't help any.

[GTRS Fiero]

I've read that the Fiero 5-speeds are particularly ”notchy”.  I realize that there are 2 stock 5-speed transmissions: Isuzu and Getrag.  My understanding is that the Muncie 4-speed is smoother.

I never really thought about it with the manuals I've had in the past, but some of them were hard to shift.  On one, my youngest sister couldn't shift into reverse.  She didn't have the strength or the weight.

[TopNotch]

They only dove the Getrag on that Motortrend show. The Isuzu is actually a pretty good transmission. The only complaint I have about it is that 2nd gear is too "tall". You have to wind up 1st pretty far to get into the power curve in 2nd, but if you wind up in 2nd, you're already 1/2 way through 3rd.

[GTRS Fiero]

Hmmm.  Maybe that's one of the things that gives the Isuzu less MPG than you'd expect.

[Raydar]

The smoothest shifting Fiero I ever drove was an Isuzu. (The one that was in my red 3.4 coupe, temporarily, while I searched for a replacement for the Getrag that I shattered.) I still have it in a crate in my garage. The one that is in my current coupe is not quite as smooth, but I also have a very short shifter installed. The shifter really does make a difference.

Edit... I absolutely love the Isuzu 3rd gear. For some reason it just seems to pull forever. behind a V6. No real logic to it, though.

[GTRS Fiero]

If the Isuzu was so great, why pull it?  Why did you want a Getrag?

[TopNotch]

It's not a strong transmission. Easy to break with a strong engine.

[GTRS Fiero]

Um, the Getrag didn't hold up, so went with a weaker Isuzu, or did I miss something?

[Raydar]

It was purely a temporary measure, to get the car running.
I babied it while it was in there.

[GTRS Fiero]

Was the Isuzu meant for the 2.5, or is the 3.4 that much more powerful than a 2.8?

[Fierofool]

Both.  The Isuzu was in the 85-88 Dukes.  I ran Isuzu's behind both my 85GT's with 2.8's.  Lots of RFTH excursions.  I was just easy on first and second.  It would run all day in third.  I know my first one still has the Isuzu, but hasn't been driven in years due to Robbie's accident, but I believe the 2nd one is still running on the Isuzu. 

[Drewbdo]

Man... Y'all are making me want a manual transmission in my car.    lol

When I was 16, I drove a 1966 Ford Falcon Futura station wagon with a 302 or 351 V8. My dad bought it in about 1982 for either $50 or $100 because the on-the-column shifting automatic transmission had died. The neighbor didn't know how to fix it, and didn't have the money to have a shop fix it. There were four kids, so dad needed a bigger vehicle... station wagon to the rescue. He found a 3 speed manual transmission, cut a hole in the floor for the shifter, installed a clutch pedal, and away we went. When I turned 16, that old hooptie-mobile became mine. The handling was somewhat reminiscent of an early model aircraft carrier, but in a straight line, it would haul butt, as well as kids and groceries.



I also drove Dad's 1960's era GMC truck with a straight six, and a 3 or 4 speed manual. Glass packs made it sound awesome!

My next car was a 1979 Mazda GLC with a 5 speed. It had so much rust, I had to tie the rear hatch down with a rope. Otherwise, it would lift up at highway speed... although, that was effective for scaring off tailgaters on the highway. 



Also had a 1984 Mazda B2300 truck with a 5 speed, and a 1984 Ford Escort with a 5 speed and factory installed 4 cylinder diesel engine... that Escort always got funny looks when I'd pull in between dump trucks and 18 wheelers to fill the fuel tank.



In over 30 years of driving, other than my wife's vehicles and company vehicles, I've only had two non-manual transmission rides... A Monte Carlo (late 70's early 80's model?) when I was 19, and the 1997 Ford Escort I drove from 1997 to 2016. That Escort had 246k miles when the odometer broke, and I drove it 3-4 years after that. It was probably over 300,000 miles. That was the car I had when I bought the 88 Fiero GT/Testarossa replica.

Maybe I'll have to find a Fiero with a 3800SC and 5-speed, and install the Ferrari replica body on it. lol

Photos are from Google, not my cars

[GTRS Fiero]

I had an '86.5 Escort that looked like that, but was red.  Mine was also a 5-speed.  It was my car that kept popping out of gear.  We replaced a bearing and spring, and that fixed the issue

[Drewbdo]

That old '84 diesel Escort would do 0-60 MPH in about 5.3

... minutes. 

It was SLOOOOW to accelerate. On the good side, it averaged well over 40 MPG, close to 50 MPG sometimes, if I remember correctly.

Unfortunately, it was very hard to find parts. That was back before the internet was widely available, and junk/salvage yards and parts distributors didn't have a strong presence online. The vacuum booster died, so I lost power brakes, and had manual brakes. Heading back to Houston after visiting my parents in Tennessee, the lights got dimmer and dimmer. Somewhere along I-40, they went out. IIRC, it had a generator rather than an alternator. Once the battery died, the engine would continue to run, but there was no way to generate power for headlight, taillights, etc.

It was a 12 hour drive, and I had no lights, so I spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Once it was daylight, I finished the drive home. I can't remember if I found a replacement generator or had to get it rebuilt.

Finally, enough stuff broke without replacement parts available, so I ended up buying a 1987 Honda CRX ... with a 5-speed manual.  Forgot that one in the list above. That was a fun little car... two seater, sunroof, red.