This is a great thread, and think its great to have it get bumped for us "new-comers" to NSX ownership .
I bought mine in May, low mileage and very documented service records from day one. Nothing ever mentioned about clutch or tranny on any records.
One of the first things I noticed upon driving it initially (after all the people with twisting necks), was how the tranny felt, particularly 1st to 2nd, and 3rd to 2nd. - kind of like shifting in "Free-Air" (no resistance), and would describe it as putting a "square" object into a similar sized "square" hole...meaning that it you got it just right, it was fine, and solid feeling once in there, but if you happened to catch a corner fo the square trying to insert it, it was tough to fight it in....and just won't go, and almost had to start over. I have gotten used to it, but still a bit notchy overall.
The "free-air" meaning that it feels like no resistance, vs. say if something was being pressed through a liquidy gel...(I am not looking for "mushy" either though-just something that kind of "rounds out" the transition from one gear to another)
I changed my tranny fluid, with the Honda MTF fluid sold to me by dealer. (Not synthetic) it made no difference that I could tell. So although it is now put away for the season, I am following all threads tranny/shifter related, and be ready to try something different in spring.
I can attest to the fact, that when the car is colder the tranny is much notchier than warm, and when shifting very methodically (like slow and step by step as it goes from 1st to 2nd, feeling each step through the shift gate) makes it also less notchy. Speed/quick shifting needs to be very precise, or it bites back, at least on mine anyway. I am certainly no pro at manuals.
So my question is: lots of talk about Royal Purple, Amsoil, and GM synchro, along with various friction modifiers...on several differnet threads I have read of late. Some say yes, it helps, other say , friction modifiers will prematurely wear out tranny. Obviously, I would like longevity in my car's tranny, but if there is a way to get that "gel" feel to the shift mechanism, that would be nice. Is this in fact a tranny oil issue?...and if I did opt to try GM synchromesh with some GM Friction modifier, will I be doing more harm than good, just to reduce some of the notchiness? I hope I am describng this in a way that makes sense to you.
Is it like putting STP (for us old guys back in the day) in the engine to smooth it out? - short term fix on the surface, but probably was the sign of a deeper problem, and over the long run, made it worse once it burned out? From a layman's point of view, it would almost seem that the oil is too thin, and needs to be a bit thicker...like the contrast in kicking your leg in the air, or kicking it in the water....nothing is abrupt.
As a couple of side notes: I drove manuals for many years in the 80's and 90's - and never once replaced a clutch. Had over 250,000 kms on my 85 prelude when I sold it, same clutch just fine that I started with....my father drove an 82 Civic with 420,000 kms same clutch...no problems at all....
Obviously this is night and day comparisons to the NSX, but I do find that its a bit finicky to try and drive smooth (combination of the clutch and shifter). Maybe that is the inherent aspect of an exotic?
(or maybe just me...?)
Lastly, I had the occassion to drive a 99 Nissan Maxima SE yesterday, picking it up for a friend of my sons who indulged a bit too much at a Halloween party the night before. Without a doubt, this 5 speed manual in this car was the smoothest, easiest manual to drive I have ever driven. Car practically took off itself in 1st, no need to over acclerate, seemed to have so much torque on tap[...just a smooth transition of clutch and gas...and seemed to find all gears by itself, even though I had never driven it before...and had that "shifter going through a gel" feel...not once did I even feel the "edge" of a gear shifting up or down...very smooth, not floppy, but no resistance either...it was like a round object going into a round hole....kind of found its way with no rough edges. First gear was such that you could go from stop to decent speed without really needing to shift...of course in the NSX, you need to shift almost instantly....anyway, just some thoughts I would share on the topic from a non-technician.....
I find I need to keep RPM's fairly high in NSX to take off without chattering...where as in this Nissan, (comparing only) I think I was taking off pretty smooth and never going past 2000 RPM. Again, night and day comparison of cars, so don't flame me...just making a comparison from one manual to another. I am sure many of you have other manuals in sedan type of cars and can share comparisons as well. Its just funny how a 11 yr old Maxima can feel so much smoother and arguably, torqier than our NSX's....with coniderably more power and performance on tap...
(no need for someone to say "then go buy a 99 Maxima"...)
If anyone can make a suggestionfor me, to help me out with the NSX, I am willing to try it...for 3 litres of tranny fluid, I am willing to experiment a bit. I might try stopping by the local GM place this week and see if they sell it...
Also, is there a seperate procedure to change clutch fluid, or is this all part of the transmission?
Whoa, long post...I better stop now and leave the long posts to Tim....
(lol-all in good fun Tim)
Curtis