Manual Transmission Feel

[MooMoo]

Gotta give it to honda on the fl5. For the cheap plastics and fake alcantara it actually feels pretty nice but yeah cant touch a f87/g87 material wise. But hey at least does not have the wrap around screen if the g87

Sponsored

 

[citrus]

I take it that you have no rattles at all?

I don't have an FL5 yet, but my plastics don't rattle in any of my cars. Either that or I'm just not bothered enough to notice.

 

[John5880]

Lots of unnecessary hyperbole and emotional responses here but it seems that is the nature of many buying performance oriented cars. Everyone wants to feel like they made the best choice and everything they choose or value highly is the most important.

Honestly I think the shifter in the FL5 is a little overrated. It's very good, no doubt, but it's not on some higher level than every other shifter out there. It is marginally better in some aspects, but also not great in some, such as the 1-2 shift. It just doesn't like being made quickly. That's the only part that I find a fault with. It has nice short throws that are pretty precise, but not perfect, and feel is good, but again could have a more firm, positive feel going into gear. I attribute a lot of the praise to a confirmation bias, and reviewers all going in to their review with a predetermined idea that it's the greatest shifter.

I've owned nearly 20 manual cars over the last 25 years and this is certainly one of the best shifters I've experienced, but if I were scoring it on a 100 point scale, I'd probably give it something like a 92, not the 99 or 100 that almost every review makes it out to be. Even manuals from BMW or VW that don't generally get much praise I find to be nearly as enjoyable and I actually think the VW was better making 1-2 shifts and not far off the rest of the time. The Honda clutch engagement is what I find to actually be superior more so than the shifter itself. My favorite shifter is the Tremec TR-6060 with it's more robust and mechanical feel. I'd rate that as a 96. It definitely requires more effort than the Honda shifter but to me that's a positive, not a negative.

 

[John5880]

Gotta give it to honda on the fl5. For the cheap plastics and fake alcantara it actually feels pretty nice but yeah cant touch a f87/g87 material wise. But hey at least does not have the wrap around screen if the g87

Just curious how you define fake alcantara? Alcantara is by definition synthetic....

 

[MooMoo]

Just curious how you define fake alcantara? Alcantara is by definition synthetic....

Alcantara is a brand, they make that material. There are copies of Alcantara that do not feel like Alcantara. The stuff in the civic is fake alcantara, I dunno who makes it or what it is but it kinda looks like ancantara but it isn't, its cheap and does not feel like the real thing.

If you get the Alcantara steeering wheel from honda that one is real alcantara, the door panels, the arm wrest, ect is not. You can know this by brushing it, alcantara can be brushed and it feels really nice the brush just glides through it, this fake stuff does not, its crap stuff that looks ok.

The M2 I had had alcantara everywhere, was the real deal for example.

 

[John5880]

Alcantara is a brand, they make that material. There are copies of Alcantara that do not feel like Alcantara. The stuff in the civic is fake alcantara, I dunno who makes it or what it is but it kinda looks like ancantara but it isn't, its cheap and does not feel like the real thing.

If you get the Alcantara steeering wheel from honda that one is real alcantara, the door panels, the arm wrest, ect is not. You can know this by brushing it, alcantara can be brushed and it feels really nice the brush just glides through it, this fake stuff does not, its crap stuff that looks ok.

The M2 I had had alcantara everywhere, was the real deal for example.

OK, that makes sense. I was just curious since Alcantara itself is essentially just one brand and type of synthetic microfiber fake suede and doesn't necessarily mean that any use of a synthetic microfiber is a fake version of a specific fake version of suede....

 

[MooMoo]

OK, that makes sense. I was just curious since Alcantara itself is essentially just one brand and type of synthetic microfiber fake suede and doesn't necessarily mean that any use of a synthetic microfiber is a fake version of a specific fake version of suede....

yeah I mean technically its not fake alcantara because its just another material but you know if cost was no object they would have put "real" alcantara there as in from the brand alcantara or a good copy of that instead of the cheaper feelin suede.
I have 3k miles and already see some wear on this stuff, its just not very good stuff unfortunately. Hopefully cheap to replace

 

[John5880]

yeah I mean technically its not fake alcantara because its just another material but you know if cost was no object they would have put "real" alcantara there as in from the brand alcantara or a good copy of that instead of the cheaper feelin suede.
I have 3k miles and already see some wear on this stuff, its just not very good stuff unfortunately. Hopefully cheap to replace

Agreed. It's definitely not great quality stuff and for what it would cost per car to use the good stuff, Honda certainly could and should have for the premium price they put on the R. I used a ceramic treatment on mine when I got it and that seems to be keeping it looking ok, but I clean it every week and it doesn't stay looking good for long between cleanings.

 

[JCZ5]

Went and test drove the FL5 for the 4th/5th time today . It was a pre-owned with about 6K miles. There was definitely a rattle somewhere in the dash. Hope Honda is hearing this and will add some felt in subsequent MYs.

Now regarding the shifter feel, I drove my 992 GT3 to the dealership so I can get a clear sense of both transmissions. During my first few test drives, I thought it was very good. Not necessary one better than the other, they are just different. GT3 is a lot more "notchy" vs. the FL5 being more "buttery". However, after a few more test drives, I realized the transmission is a little too light to my liking, I wish it had a bit more resistance. I believe theTopher said once he added the PRL rear motor mount, it added the necessary resistance.

I also test drove a CT5 V Blackwing...oh my that was a real surprise, what a phenomenal car! I was also pleasantly surprised by the tremec shifter. It had the resistance I was looking for, I would put it up there with the FL5 and GT3 in terms of how great it is. Again, can't really rank them because they are all "different", but in my eyes, not necessary one is better than the other.

 

[geekatthewheel]

During my first few test drives, I thought it was very good. Not necessary one better than the other, they are just different. GT3 is a lot more "notchy" vs. the FL5 being more "buttery".

Thank you all for the great inputs, I feel like I need to drive many more old manuals to really be able to build a picture of what is out there.

Just to clarify, "notchy" vs "buttery" on the way the gear engages or the traction behavior once you re-engage the clutch?

Manual 992 GT3 is up on my wish list, congrats on your good taste sir!

 

[JCZ5]

Just to clarify, "notchy" vs "buttery" on the way the gear engages or the traction behavior once you re-engage the clutch?

Its the gearbox / shifter feel. Its hard to recognize until you have experienced the various "feels" of the shifter.

Sponsored