gab

my 6sp shifter on the C230K getting much smoother and crisp now after 3000 miles
I hate it on day one and keep complaining how good my honda shifter is

I dont know if I have got used to the shifter or what I like the way it's shifted
it's not like the style honda and BMW is just it requires more effort to pull the shifter while the other car you can pull with one finger.

For people who hesitate to get 6sp i'd say go for it

tommy

I really missed the shifting on my crx when I first got my ccoupe. But now, 5500 miles later, I really like the c230's.

Imagine that - something that gets better with age. Now, if only MB-BOB could say the same...

edvpt

Hope you folks are right about the shifter getting looser on my C230 6-Speed in time.

One week into my new C230 and I really miss the shifter on my BMW. It was much looser, Of course everything on my BMW was much looser as it has 14 years and 200K miles on it.

I find I am thinking about shifting way to much in this car. The shifter keeps fighting me and I find I have to put more force and more thought into getting it shifted.

Other then the shifter though I have been very impressed with this car. What a great value for a car in the mid to upper 20's. My wife and I spend over $40K on her TT and we find we are both fighting over who drives the MB to work today. Mind you we love the TT for sprints around the lake, but as a daily driver it is not the most comfortable.

gab

good thing your wife likes to drive stick so you enjoy a lot more fun than a lot of people already.

so dont complain.

tommy

Have faith, young Skywalker. All will become better with about 3000-3500 miles on the odo.

You won't think that you're in an S2000, but it will be more smooth. Like you, I had to think about shifting; now, it's an afterthought. Brighter days are just around the corner.

benzy230

I love mine....especially with a NOS botton right below it

dasMafia

that was COLD... I like it.

MB-BOB

dasMafia, you're still here??? At least tommy drives a Mercedes-Benz. How's that for COLD???

tommy

Just when you think he's down for the count, he's back, alive and kicking.

SoCal240/6

I agree, the 6 speed (transmission and clutch) get better with age! I thought it was ok when it was brand new, but it does shift much nicer now that it has 7000+ miles on it.

Deb

I like the 6 sp just fine. Once I stopped shifting from 1st to 4th (just a couple of times:o ), I had no complaints. It is very different from my Honda 5 sp, but I like it.

Hey, hey, Tommy and all you other young whippersnappers, MB-Bob and I are the same vintage and when you hit our age, getting better is the best option, along with C5 and C7 and a few other C's. The c-coupe is my mid-life crisis toy, so we may be throwing MB's demographics off target, but hey, the twenty-somethings in the crowd will balance us.
Deb, the elder.

mbtech208

I love the feel of a Honda manual transmission. I still have yet to warm up to Mercedes' 6-speed transmission. The shifter feels like a broomstick in a bucket of rubber *****, a little "springy" and notchy. And due to the slight delay of the electronic throttle, it's tough to match revs on downshifts, which is second-nature in a Honda.

Mapman

mbtech:

Have you spent much time with the C230 6-speed? Or are your comments towards MB manuals in general? I realize that I'm going to lose something in shift quality (the S2000 shifter really does feel like a well-oiled rifle bolt), but I figure that there's no way it can be *that* bad. I suppose that I'll find out in 6 weeks or so...

MarkL

I haven't driven a Honda manual, but I have owned a couple of others, RX-7, '99 Passat. IMO, I don't feel the springiness and notchiness that you describe. I have a C240, and when I drove a C230 to compare, the stick did feel a little different. On the C240,I think the action between the gates is "direct" with very little spring feel, and gear engagement is firm and precise.

As far as downshifting, I still have some trouble I haven't had with other manuals, but after a lot of experimenting, I'm not sure it's related to any throttle delay. Even when I pause longer to try and get the revs just right, I still have trouble engaging the clutch smoothly without a "thud". My conclusion is that it's somehow the clutch. For me, this usually happens during a 3-2 downshift.

MB-BOB

Hey Deb, I read from your earlier post that you just picked up your new Coupe. Congratulations. There shouldn't be too many of those puppies running around the FL keys.

As for the age thing, I don't trip... When all the young farts catch up to us, they'll understand. They'll have to, because it's inevitable. Hopefully there'll be some decent music for them to listen to in 20 years, too.

Rick

um....is 42 considered a young whippersnapper?

Hmm...MB-Bob, you should seriously consider Tommy as a future son in law. You two seem to get along perfectly for that. Introduce him to your daughter, and if she doesn't like him....send him to your niece! (chuckle, snicker, guffaw)

tommy

Only at an MB discussion board or senior center personals would I be considered a whippersnapper, and I thank you old farts for making it a possibility.

Rick, that would be too much pressure. Though judging by the way that he spoils them with cars, I can only imagine what "Dad" would give to us for the wedding.

MB-BOB

tommy, I'd insist only that my daughter have you sign a pre-nup...

mbtech208

Bob, I thought I get first dibs on your daughter??

mbtech208

I've logged many many miles driving SLKs and C-classes with the 6-speed transmission, and while they really aren't "that bad", they don't have the accuracy and precision feel that some other carmakers manage to put into their manual transmission shifters.

MB-BOB

I'm still trying to get past your first autosignature line about that "skinny, naked teenager to rub you up and down" thing. Just keep dispensing the good MB tech advice as you have been to all us knucklehead shadetree mechanics, and we'll get over your youthful indiscretions eventually!!!

mbtech208

Hey, that signature line in question was thought up by Drew, the old fart. My youthful indescretions had nothing to do with it!