Dadhawk's FR-S (6AT Firestorm)

[PERRIN_Chris]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

It's been almost 20 years since I last drove my little red 1985 MK1 MR2. As many of you may have learned here, it was my hope that the FR-S would bring back the "fun sport" I had driving that car. But really it was more than that with the MR2.

Great post dadhawk! That's what cool cars are about, having a good time, and making great memories. The AW11 was one of my favorite cars as a kid. I made a model of one with my dad sometime in the early 90s.

[ESBjiujitsu]

MK1 MR2= $16000
ft86 = $26000
Having memories in both = PRICELESS!

[fernan2]

Dadhawk, what do think about the sheet metal quality? Does it looks stong or is it soft like a mitsu Lancer? Thanks!

[zoomzoomers]

Originally Posted by ESBjiujitsu

MK1 MR2= $16000
ft86 = $26000
Having memories in both = PRICELESS!

:happy0180:

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by ESBjiujitsu

MK1 MR2= $16000
ft86 = $26000
Having memories in both = PRICELESS!

Exactly!

[zoomzoomers]

BTW, Dadhawk. So do you like the AT in the car? Some impressions would be great.

[Heero]

Furthermore on the AT... how does the gear selecter "look" & feel? Does it feel cheap? Does it look tacky? Can you tell me how shifting gears from the gear selector works versus selecting gears from the paddles?

Thanks... I'm seriously considering switching to AT because of family + traffic... just worried that the center console will look cheap because of gear selector instead of a stick... I really wish Scion did a nicer job with the auto. They could have made the gear selector alot nicer.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by fernan2

Dadhawk, what do think about the sheet metal quality? Does it looks stong or is it soft like a mitsu Lancer? Thanks!

I find the sheet metal to be solid. Mind you I haven't gone leaning against it anywhere to test, but the parts I have pushed on are pretty rigid, and there seems to be plenty of bulk where it's needed. The hood is light, but seems to be well braced.

[Grateful Dave]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

My office is freezing today so walked outside to warm up for a second. Something about seeing this makes me want to take the rest of the day off and go to the mountains! I hate when work gets in the way!

She's a thing of beauty. Seeing her parked in the parking lot with the other cars, she stands out as the pageant Queen. Is it possible to have your desk or work station outside so you can work and watch her all day?
The mountains do call out for you and her to drive the roads.
I can't wait for mine after seeing yours and hearing about your honeymoon. :happy0180:

[Dadhawk]

OK before I respond all the hATers, can ignore this post. I know, real men and Helga drive MTs. Having driven everything from ATVs, to ecoboxes, to motorcycles, to sports cars, to dump trucks and harvesting machines with manuals, I get it. It was just time for something different for me.

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

BTW, Dadhawk. So do you like the AT in the car? Some impressions would be great.

I would defer to Moto-P's discussion of the AT transmission. Basically, anything I write here would echo his opinion. I think he was spot on and he has experience with it in a track situation which I cannot compete with.

The only thing I would add is that even in full manual mode, the AT does kick in in two situations:

1. It won't let you underrev/stall the engine. It will downshift once you get below about 1800RPM if you continue to slow down.

2. It won't let you overrev the engine. It will hold any gear right up to cut-off, but if you try to down-shift into what would be an over-rev, it won't let you do it. It won't up-shift into a higher gear, you just bump off the rev limiter. (Caveat: I have not tried that myself on mine, but I did experience that in Long Beach)

I don't consider either of these a bad thing, just thought we should add that to the mix.

Originally Posted by Heero

Furthermore on the AT... how does the gear selecter "look" & feel? Does it feel cheap? Does it look tacky?

Everyone that has seen my car thought it was a manual until they sat down and saw the gear selector panel. It looks just like the manual except for a small 1 inch cover just at the e-brake handle that shows the gear selection. I think it is the best looking one I've seen.

Originally Posted by Heero

Can you tell me how shifting gears from the gear selector works versus selecting gears from the paddles?

Actually no, because I haven't used the gear selector, only the paddles. I like not having to take my hands off the wheel when driving "agressively" on the streets, so I doubt I would ever use the lever. I would imagine the response is the same though.

Originally Posted by Heero

Thanks... I'm seriously considering switching to AT because of family + traffic... just worried that the center console will look cheap because of gear selector instead of a stick... I really wish Scion did a nicer job with the auto. They could have made the gear selector alot nicer.

Those are the exact two reasons I went with the paddles, combined with me liking the whole F1/Supercar aspect of them. I would have been happy with either, but so far I'm glad I got the AT. No regrets.

Only a couple of things I need to get used to (true confessions time)

On more than one occasion, I've tried to use the "clutch" when using the paddles. Haven't done it recently but I did do it more than once in the first couple hundred miles. Muscle memory is a bitch.

When in manual mode, I sometimes "forget" I have to change gears once I get to 4th. Since I'm staying under 4K by then I'm at highway speed and think, "why is the engine racing, oh yea <forehead/paddle slap>".

For some reason I have on more than one occasion pulled it all the way down to Drive meaning to put it in reverse. I think its because pulling it to drive the lever "moves" into different positions, and my mind thinks "yep, shifting it down, over and up into reverse". See issue one above concerning muscle memory. Fortunately I haven't pulled forward yet before correcting.

[NemesisPrime909]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Approaching the end of my first two weeks, I have to say my FR-S is meeting the (relatively realistic) expectations I had for it as a daily commuter.

The gas mileage as recorded in the OP continues to impress at 30.22MPG over 616 miles of mostly Atlanta commuting. That means there is some time at highway speeds, sometimes at city speeds and sometimes at a dead stop. Just to set a benchmark, I did some measurements this morning. It took me 50 minutes to get to work. Of that 50 minutes, a little of over 20 minutes was sitting at a dead stop at lights, behind traffic, etc. This morning was a little unusual as I would say its normally under 15 minutes of dead stop time. Still pretty doggone good.

In two weeks, the FR-S has "saved" me $42.34 in my commute over my previous DD, and that includes allowing for the difference in purchasing Premium vs. Regular fuel. If the FR-S used regular, the price savings would be $56.29.

Fantastic! This car hits the nail on the head in pretty much everything I want to use it for.

[Heero]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

OK before I respond all the hATers, can ignore this post. I know, real men and Helga drive MTs. Having driven everything from ATVs, to ecoboxes, to motorcycles, to sports cars, to dump trucks and harvesting machines with manuals, I get it. It was just time for something different for me.


I would defer to Moto-P's discussion of the AT transmission. Basically, anything I write here would echo his opinion. I think he was spot on and he has experience with it in a track situation which I cannot compete with.

The only thing I would add is that even in full manual mode, the AT does kick in in two situations:

1. It won't let you underrev/stall the engine. It will downshift once you get below about 1800RPM if you continue to slow down.

2. It won't let you overrev the engine. It will hold any gear right up to cut-off, but if you try to down-shift into what would be an over-rev, it won't let you do it. It won't up-shift into a higher gear, you just bump off the rev limiter. (Caveat: I have not tried that myself on mine, but I did experience that in Long Beach)

I don't consider either of these a bad thing, just thought we should add that to the mix.




Everyone that has seen my car thought it was a manual until they sat down and saw the gear selector panel. It looks just like the manual except for a small 1 inch cover just at the e-brake handle that shows the gear selection. I think it is the best looking one I've seen.



Actually no, because I haven't used the gear selector, only the paddles. I like not having to take my hands off the wheel when driving "agressively" on the streets, so I doubt I would ever use the lever. I would imagine the response is the same though.



Those are the exact two reasons I went with the paddles, combined with me liking the whole F1/Supercar aspect of them. I would have been happy with either, but so far I'm glad I got the AT. No regrets.

Only a couple of things I need to get used to (true confessions time)

On more than one occasion, I've tried to use the "clutch" when using the paddles. Haven't done it recently but I did do it more than once in the first couple hundred miles. Muscle memory is a bitch.

When in manual mode, I sometimes "forget" I have to change gears once I get to 4th. Since I'm staying under 4K by then I'm at highway speed and think, "why is the engine racing, oh yea <forehead/paddle slap>".

For some reason I have on more than one occasion pulled it all the way down to Drive meaning to put it in reverse. I think its because pulling it to drive the lever "moves" into different positions, and my mind thinks "yep, shifting it down, over and up into reverse". See issue one above concerning muscle memory. Fortunately I haven't pulled forward yet before correcting.

Thanks for the response. Nice to see that people don't notice the auto right away.

I'm new to driving manual & I don't particularly enjoy it (might just be because I have less then 1 months exp driving!). However the Auto is a big appeal to me due to worry free driving + family friendliness.

Awwwww mannn... Verrrrryyyy hard choice!

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Heero

Thanks for the response. Nice to see that people don't notice the auto right away.

I'm new to driving manual & I don't particularly enjoy it (might just be because I have less then 1 months exp driving!). However the Auto is a big appeal to me due to worry free driving + family friendliness.

Awwwww mannn... Verrrrryyyy hard choice!

Good internal shot of the auto from the passenger side in this thread.

[Dadhawk]

Got to do my first emergency lane change yesterday.

I'm driving to work in the morning on I-285 in Atlanta when I detect the distinct smell of melting rubber. The truck in front of me pulls to the left lane, and there in front of me is a old Tercel doing 70MPH with a flat tire!

The driver either has no clue, or has decided she can't pull over. I can't believe she doesn't know because the tire is completely flat.

I'm thinking OK, I'll pull over to her right and wave her over. Unfortunately, there is a semi on both sides of me, no where to go. Just about this time, the tire decides to shred itself. Just as the tire completely leaves the rim, and heads straight back for me, I'm able to dodge left out of the way just in time to avoid the road alligator that used to be her tire bouncing past the right side of my car.

Lady is still clueless, now driving on the rim, sparks flying! I pull up, try to wave her over but she's got the 1 mile stare thing going out the window.

Fortunately, about that time a cop comes up behind her and pulls her over.

The good news is that she was unharmed and the FR-S survived the event.

I felt like stopping and saying "Really, Lady, you didn't think the fact that your ass end was dragging the ground there was a problem?"