Knowing the incredible experience in this place I pose this question. I ask your favorite manual transmission that you have driven. Independent of price, could be an old beater that you once had or something exotic. Was it very precise and mechanical, a short throw, whatever reason you liked it.

Nothing trumps the exceedingly smooth short throw Honda S2000 6-speed manual transmission period. Snick. Snick. Snick.

I've driven a multitude of manuals going back to 3 on the tree pickup to '70 era muscle cars to various sports cars.

Escaped Upstate NY in the mid '70s.

I learned to drive on the hills of downtown San Francisco in a datsun b210 honeybee standard. That car had probably gone through hundreds of student drivers before me and the clutch/transmission was amazing while facing practically uphill.

That's all I got.

I miss the manual trans I had in 3 old cars.
1966 Shelby GT350
1970 Corvette coupe 454
1972 DeTomaso Pantera
I don't miss the 4000# Hayes 3 finger clutch in the Pantera, It was tough when I was young, don't even want to think of dealing with that now that I'm old.

2007 Mazda 3. Great clutch, great shifter feel.

The one in my 1968 Porsche 911. A long linkage to the transmission towards the rear of the car, but Porsche made it work well – butter smooth. There was something unusual about the Porsche synchronizing mechanism, but I no longer remember the details.

Muncie 4 speed, had a close ratio and a wide ratio.
The wide ratio in a 396 chevelle with a Mr.gasket vertical gate shifter a great combo.

+1 on the Honda S2000. Having an engine that revs to 8200 or 9000 rpm (depending on model year) was icing on the cake.

A car that just loved to be driven.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MagnumU,

AP2, snickety slick. Wonderful transmission but the motor never did much for me. Not a fan of traditional inline 4’s. I’ve been able to get close to the AP2 trans multiple times. SS, bushings, etc, haven’t found a 6MT I couldn’t tame yet.

Motorcycle, RC51 clutch. Hydraulic, how all bikes should be.

1973 Porsche 914 2.0.

Also the Honda S2000, whether in AP1 or AP2. I do miss the scream to 9000.
The car is such fun. Loved driving it around Maui as long as I could find a time there wasn’t a lot of traffic.

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
Muncie 4 speed, had a close ratio and a wide ratio.
The wide ratio in a 396 chevelle with a Mr.gasket vertical gate shifter a great combo.

I had a "64" Pontiac Tempest LeMans sports coupe with the Muncie M20 CR 4 speed with Hurst linkage behind a 326 v8 that was the perfect 1/4 mile set-up in that era. I came home with a bunch of trophies because of it.

Jim

Favorite transmission, 2002 Camaro SS T-56 6 speed manual with the factory optioned Hurst shifter.

Favorite car t drive with a manual, 2006 Pontiac GTO. Same transmission, but without the Hurst. Gear selection wasn't quite as positive but 6th to 4th downshifts were a religious experience...

My former 2003 Corvette Z06 with a built MN6 6 speed from RPM and a MGW short throw shifter with a pistol grip. Stock trans and shifter were sloppy with long throws. Installed the transmission and shifter myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
Muncie 4 speed, had a close ratio and a wide ratio.
The wide ratio in a 396 chevelle with a Mr.gasket vertical gate shifter a great combo.

i had the wider ratio/2.54, in my '57 chevy!!

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
My former 2003 Corvette Z06 with a built MN6 6 speed from RPM and a MGW short throw shifter with a pistol grip. Stock trans and shifter were sloppy with long throws. Installed the transmission and shifter myself.

WOW! At first glance I thought that I wrote the above. LOL

My 2003 Corvette Coupe was born an automatic (A4). I was killing it on the racetrack. I converted it to a manual. I installed an RPM Stage 2 MN12. I also put in C6 shifter. I'm very happy with the swap.

the muncie 4 speed in the 60's ss chev

Datsun Z-car. Drove mine for 20 years before I sold it. As has been said ad nauseum, snick snick.

2019 Type R. Hondas have always had smooth manuals, but this is silky smooth with a short throw.

My favorite manual to drive was in my 1980 Porsche 911SC...but I might have been unduly influenced by the whole 911 experience.

The most enjotable manual I've driven recently is a Mazda MX-5 Miata