i've always wondered this
so many of us would agree that some of the best shifting manual transmissions are the older Honda trans found in Integras and Civic Si's. But regardless of what you actually prefer, we can all agree that the older manual transmissions from Honda just felt so much better to shift than just about anything on the market today. (if I'm wrong, correct me since I haven't driven every manual car available to man).
I understand engines needing serious change to cope with emissions regulations (thus losing character) but manual transmissions and clutch interaction should be pretty much completely unchanged, unless you're perfecting it. Having driven quite a few recent manual cars (including my Mazda3) it gets me wondering why every manual transmission ever produced today doesn't drive and feel as good as the best manual ever built.
Why is that? Why do some manuals (engineered today) feel spongy, vague, lock you out of a gear on occasion, have "lazy" synchros, have long spongy clutch engagement, notchy crunchy shift feel...etc. Would manufacturers not have weeded out all of the things that didn't work well with their old manuals 20 years ago? Did they not drive a competitor's car at some point and say "oh sh!t, yeah that's nice lets do that". How come a brand new Corolla shifts like your cutting cheese cake with a wooden spoon, or a 2017 Subaru Impreza STILL shift like moving a spatula in a tuna can full of coins?
and question 2; what hardware differences have the better transmissions had that made them so much better than the others?