S4 RX-7.
Not a new issue for me, but still trying to solve it. I don't heel-toe downshift (I've tried, but might be too old to learn ). The two tracks I most commonly run require a 5-3 downshift at the end of the long straight. I prefer to row through all the gears on the way down - when I try a straight 5-3 shift it sometimes turns out 5-5 . The problem is that it won't reliably go into 4 - sometimes yes, sometimes no. So often, there I am in the middle of the braking zone struggling with the shift lever. Either I blow the corner when the shift doesn't happen or brake early every time.

So my preferred pattern is brake on, clutch in, 5-4, clutch out (schreech), clutch in, 4-3, clutch out (schreech), brake off, throttle and turn-in.

I've tried double-clutching - clutch in, 5-N, clutch out, clutch in, N-4, clutch out ... It's better but still not reliable.

I had hoped it was an issue with the one transmission I keep rebuilding. I switched to another transmission, planning on a problem solved and a good specimen to compare against when rebuilding the problem child. But this transmission is worse then the original.

So the question: is this inherent in the design of this transmission, or should I be able to fix it with a proper rebuild. If it's fixable, what specifically should I be looking for? And would proper heel-toe downshifting be a reliable solution?

TIA,