A question for owners of 2.2L Manual Trans

[comanche]

So I have a 2.2L 5-spd.

I really like the performance, car has a lot of guts, not as much as I'd like, but you know...
Anyway...
The only thing I don't like is the stiffness of the shifter - has anyone else had an issue with this? (my 2.2L grand am had this too, I assume its made that way). I am used to my 96 SL2 5-spd, which is great fun to drive, you can just throw the stick around. Any ideas? Would an aftermarket shifter help?

Probably more questions later.

[misslindseysue]

In any trans a short-throw shifter will only make it harder to shift. You may have a problem with your trans if it's hard to shift. Sychros may be getting worn, you might have some moisture in the linkage that gets frozen in the winter (does it only happen cold?), or maybe that's just how it is.

[comanche]

True - ^ that makes sense. Maybe I need a long-throw shifter
No, I think this is just the way it was made, since my 02' Grand Am Ecotec was the same way.

[Spilner521]

That's probably just the way it is. The increased effort of a short throw shifter isn't even noticeable, but it's not going to take the stiffness out of the stock shifter.