"Crunchiness" in all gears - normal or not?

[UWU-mancer]

Interesting... maybe I'm misunderstanding but I bought the ACDelco Syncromesh 10-4014 everyone swears by and it definitely says "Friction Modified" on the label. I think theoretically friction modifiers could increase wear on the synchros because they're likely ever so slightly more abrasive as a consequence of the added friction. But I'll definitely reiterate that I'm not an expert in this subject, either.

Well shit. That’s awesome. Cuz guess what? I too am not an expert in this subject @Victorofhavoc we need an adult!!!!!

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[Victorofhavoc]

Well shit. That’s awesome. Cuz guess what? I too am not an expert in this subject @Victorofhavoc we need an adult!!!!!

They are no good for synchros.

Friction modifiers typically reduce friction for auto transmissions and synchros need friction.

You probably won't notice for a few tens of thousands of miles, but then things will get notchy, grindy, and particularly bad when cold. The subaru community was all about mixing fluids for a while and they used to go for 60-100k miles and then suddenly the synchros would lock up. I stupidly was one of the people who ran shitty mixes in cold weather and had to slip the clutch to warm up the fluid to even get it out of first when cold to get to reverse.

I recommend motul mt80 or mt90 depending on your use case.

 

[UWU-mancer]

They are no good for synchros.

Friction modifiers typically reduce friction for auto transmissions and synchros need friction.

You probably won't notice for a few tens of thousands of miles, but then things will get notchy, grindy, and particularly bad when cold. The subaru community was all about mixing fluids for a while and they used to go for 60-100k miles and then suddenly the synchros would lock up. I stupidly was one of the people who ran shitty mixes in cold weather and had to slip the clutch to warm up the fluid to even get it out of first when cold to get to reverse.

I recommend motul mt80 or mt90 depending on your use case.

Thnx for the info bro

I too ran rotella in my ej….

 

[Frenzal]

Ran the friction modified version in my 2005 6-6 Accord for 220 000 km and it was still shifting super smooth.
Switched to the AC Delco synchromesh friction modified at around 30 000 km because my 2nd and 3rd gears where notchy, and sometimes the 3rd would pop out of gear. Never had a problem with the AC fluid.

 

[SeanIsElsewhere]

I've generally heard good things about the ACDelco 10-4014 (though as above, I haven't personally tried it yet). It's one step up in weight from, but ends up being only just slightly above the viscosity of, the factory fluid, with added friction modifiers to reduce the overall lubricity slightly.

This sounds counterintuitive, but my understanding is that the slight increase in friction allows the synchronizers to match the speed of the gears more quickly and thus engage more cleanly. As UwU noted, because the LSD is a helical gear type, friction modifiers shouldn't cause any issues (note: I'm not speaking as any sort of expert here; this is all apocryphal "Honda lore" as it were, so grain of salt).

You'll also want two 20mm crush washers (part no. 94109-20000); one each for the fill and drain plugs, and a 6mm crush washer for the check plug (part no. 90442-R7G-000). I got both of these from my local Honda dealership.


That said, have you tried adjusting your CMC and checking your clutch pedal stroke against the factory spec? Mine was a good bit shorter than it should have been and while ultimately my entire CMC needed replaced, adjusting it did help a bit, led me to suspect what the true issue was, and for many people seems to be the only fix they need. It takes maybe 5-10 minutes once you're familiar with it, so it's an easier first troubleshooting step than a full fluid flush.

I’m going to try to take a look under the dash at the pedal and see if adjusting it is needed fluid will be due in 20k miles anyways so we shall see after the one and if not, then the other

 

[bvanlieu]

There is a placebo effect in the car community: aftermarket better.

Honda MTF is like aspirin: it just works. Very well. Been using it since the 90s and the usual suspects on the street didn't change anything (heavier ones can make cold shifting worse).

The transmission itself is excellent in our cars and for street driving no heavier grade is needed unlike (arguably) high temp track use. Easy to MTF it with an oil change, I do it every 30K miles or every 4 years whichever comes first.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

There is a placebo effect in the car community: aftermarket better.

Honda MTF is like aspirin: it just works. Very well. Been using it since the 90s and the usual suspects on the street didn't change anything (heavier ones can make cold shifting worse).

The transmission itself is excellent in our cars and for street driving no heavier grade is needed unlike (arguably) high temp track use. Easy to MTF it with an oil change, I do it every 30K miles or every 4 years whichever comes first.

Correct. Your operating expectations should dictate the parts choice.

Transmissions have a break in, just like engines, and that's often glossed over. By 1500 miles a first fluid change should occur.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Correct. Your operating expectations should dictate the parts choice.

Transmissions have a break in, just like engines, and that's often glossed over. By 1500 miles a first fluid change should occur.

Yup. Did mine at 1k miles but filled with Honda mtf. Then at 6k miles drained and filled again with amsoil synchromesh

 

[UWU-mancer]

There is a placebo effect in the car community: aftermarket better.

Honda MTF is like aspirin: it just works. Very well. Been using it since the 90s and the usual suspects on the street didn't change anything (heavier ones can make cold shifting worse).

The transmission itself is excellent in our cars and for street driving no heavier grade is needed unlike (arguably) high temp track use. Easy to MTF it with an oil change, I do it every 30K miles or every 4 years whichever comes first.

Can agree with the placebo comment you made. 200% agree

with the trans however, there are a few things that improve objectively and factually

for example. When I went to amsoil synchromesh about 200-300 miles ago. The trans, just the rowing action, it felt smoother. No way to quantify that tho

however

the extremely rare and occasional crunch from first to second has yet to return. The occasional crunch from third to second has yet to return too

that much I can definitely point at and say “see? See? It did a thing!”

my its has about 7k miles. Already needs rear brake pads. A slightly thicker mtf was preferred for my usage.

I won’t argue with U tho. In this hobby, placebo is a mf. You are so dead on.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Can agree with the placebo comment you made. 200% agree

with the trans however, there are a few things that improve objectively and factually

for example. When I went to amsoil synchromesh about 200-300 miles ago. The trans, just the rowing action, it felt smoother. No way to quantify that tho

however

the extremely rare and occasional crunch from first to second has yet to return. The occasional crunch from third to second has yet to return too

that much I can definitely point at and say “see? See? It did a thing!”

my its has about 7k miles. Already needs rear brake pads. A slightly thicker mtf was preferred for my usage.

I won’t argue with U tho. In this hobby, placebo is a mf. You are so dead on.

At 8k my rear pads were metal on rotor, and that was with two track sessions traction on and the rest off. Not sure how anyone is getting 20k+ out of their rears on these cars unless it's some crazy long wearing compound like duralast ceramic.

 

[UWU-mancer]

At 8k my rear pads were metal on rotor, and that was with two track sessions traction on and the rest off. Not sure how anyone is getting 20k+ out of their rears on these cars unless it's some crazy long wearing compound like duralast ceramic.

People get 20k out of the rears?!? I bet those folks are getting like 45mpg on the street. Ain’t no way

 

[Victorofhavoc]

People get 20k out of the rears?!? I bet those folks are getting like 45mpg on the street. Ain’t no way

When I'm driving on the street, I'm super gentle actually. I rarely go above 5 over and 10 over is my hard limit because I'm usually carrying kids. Same reason I don't slam on the brakes ever. I just can't understand how poor the wear is. Whatever they're doing for corner vectoring is absurdly aggressive for street use.

Even traction off for track use I'm getting 1/24th the life of every other track car I've owned 🫨

 

[UWU-mancer]

When I'm driving on the street, I'm super gentle actually. I rarely go above 5 over and 10 over is my hard limit because I'm usually carrying kids. Same reason I don't slam on the brakes ever. I just can't understand how poor the wear is. Whatever they're doing for corner vectoring is absurdly aggressive for street use.

Even traction off for track use I'm getting 1/24th the life of every other track car I've owned 🫨

I personally don’t care or mind it. To me the whole car is a consumable item made up of other consumable items

I just need it to be fun and engaging. I don’t mind having to do brakes frequently, or a clutch every two years, etc

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I personally don’t care or mind it. To me the whole car is a consumable item made up of other consumable items

I just need it to be fun and engaging. I don’t mind having to do brakes frequently, or a clutch every two years, etc

It's just a slow process for the rears. I can get the fronts done in about 30 mins wheels up to wheels down, both sides. Rears take forever in comparison.

 

[UWU-mancer]

It's just a slow process for the rears. I can get the fronts done in about 30 mins wheels up to wheels down, both sides. Rears take forever in comparison.

I heard about the parking brake drama with some of the obd scanners that have the ability of putting the parking brake in maintenance mode. May just skip this and make this the rotary shop’s problem.

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