Manual vs Auto MPGs

[reeves]

Originally Posted by FRiSson

The fact is that EPA mileage estimation is imperfect...

Again, if you check the available data anearly pattern seems to be emerging that AT and MT transmission FRZ's get about the same mpg.

^^This

The real world MPG's between AT & MT on this car is closer than the EPA "estimates".

[Lytheum]

brz mt here...best tank so far came out to 31.5mpg. had 3 that came out to close to 30.5. i think my lowest so far was 29.5. usually drive 70-75% highway. i dont drive crazy but dont baby it either.

[kramerica_industries]

I took a trip from Chicago to Iron Mountain, Michigan and back this weekend. Mostly highway driving (65-75 mph) with some slowdowns for construction and traffic. Posting a pic of my two+ tank trip avg. mpg upon return to Chicago. I was blown away. And I have the MT!

[Boosted2.0]

Originally Posted by 4thehorde4

If there is no performance or fuel efficient reason to get manual, whats the point anymore?

The manual does accelerate faster and launch better, so there is definitely a performance difference.

You can get really good fuel economy on the manual, but you have to be willing to drive 75 or less and use very gentle throttle inputs. let it loose a little speed on upslopes and slowly gain it back on downslopes. When you press the gas just gently feed into it. Better still run at 72 MPH or less - it seems MUCH easier to keep the fuel economy good in that range. Also turning on your gear and shift suggestion indicators will help you stay efficient on acceleration, and watching the instantaneous MPG will do the same.

Speed for speed the auto will always win at fuel economy due to the gearing advantage, but I've gotten up to 34 MPG average on highway trips and 44 MPG average on rural roads (40-60) in my manual. For a car that performs like the FRS does that is astoundingly good IMO.

[Boosted2.0]

Originally Posted by kramerica_industries

I took a trip from Chicago to Iron Mountain, Michigan and back this weekend. Mostly highway driving (65-75 mph) with some slowdowns for construction and traffic. Posting a pic of my two+ tank trip avg. mpg upon return to Chicago. I was blown away. And I have the MT!Attachment 11541

Thats fantastic! I have noticed the same trend. Ever since the motor got broken in I have neeb able to get mid 34s at about 75 and I can get better when I go slower.

[JTM]

Originally Posted by hav0c

Depending on how much you drive, and where gas prices go, the AT will pay for itself within a couple years. I plan on keeping mine much longer than that.

How much is a new clutch? Depending on the mfg. a new clutch could be as cheap as $50 or as expensive $300. Most kits <clutch, throw out, pilot, and pressure plate> fall in the $100 to $500 range.

How often do those need to be replaced in these cars? Someone who races will have to correct me, but in our offroad rigs we typically see 60-100k miles on a clutch. In a street car like this, you should see 100-200k miles before you need to replace a clutch if you don't race. For refrence a torque converter will typically fail in the same mileage range for the same level of abuse.

I see a lot of folks for whom this will be their first MT and I'm sure that's going to result in a lot of additional wear/tear on the transmission. It will result in more wear on the clutch, and if they jam gears it will result in more wear on the trans. However, your average street racer wannabe will be doing more damage to his auto trans by constantly going WOT and unlocking the torque converter.

Automatic transmissions do fail, and it can be expensive, but in my experience they last a lot longer and have fewer problems than most of the manuals owned by friends. This says more about the people you hang out with than the typical failure rate of a trans. In some cases you can buy a new manual trans for what it costs to rebuild an auto. In most cases a Manual transmission will out last an auto, and is likely to only need basic mantaince and consumeable parts for the life of the car.

This setup in particular seems pretty beefy and capable of handling more power than the car can put out in stock form. Aisan transmissions have been around for a long time, my offroad rig is still sporting the original Aisan Warner automatic that it rolled off the assemble line with in 1988, it needs some love and a new torque converter but it still gets me throught the rock garden at my favorite offroad park.

My last MT was bought used but having to spend 20% of the price of the car to swap the clutch after a couple months due to wear from the previous owner did not make me happy.

I answered your question in green. With the lay out of this car, replacing a clutch should be as simple as any other RWD front engine car.

[smbrm]

Two all highway trips(still in break-in) today with FRS-AT:

1) Speed range: 5% city, 97% 100-110kph: 396.5km:6.6L/100km (35.7 mpusg)
2) Speed range: 1% city, 99% 90-110kph: 316.5km: 5.7 L/100km (41.3 mpusg)

91 AKI fuel

Just cruising!:happy0180:

calculation method: compared amount of fuel added to top-up since last fill and then compare with odometer distance travelled since last fill. It is important to ensure that you attempt to use a consistent top-up method. First cutoff of the fuel nozzle can be deceiving as it can vary with depth the nozzle is inserted, speed of fill, aeration of the fuel, etc. I usually go to first cutoff, wait to let aeration subside, then fill again with same method a few times to get it as full as possible without overflow spilling. Takes some practice!

[roddy]

My car is a manual. I have a 35 min drive to work. About 3/4 of the drive is two lane country blacktop with an 80 kph (50 mph) "limit", and 1/4 of it is in town stuff. I don't exactly take it easy and still average 33 mpg.

[BlaineWasHere]

I'm getting 28.8 mixed on my MT.

[Buggy51]

Out of curiosity, how is everyone actually calculating their MPG?

Based on however many miles they driven and calculated by hand by comparing what you just filled in the gas station? Or what?

I'm not too fond of trusting the onboard computer

[Bonburner]

I've gotten ~23 mpg .. granted I drive a bit harder than most but usually keep it under 4k, never past 5k.
computer says 25 though.
Calc by the 1st fill up mileage and then at second fill up find the difference in the odo and how much gas i've filled until full

[eriktherod]

I've been trusting the computer but I believe the last time I checked it was pretty spot on. I remember filling 10.9 gallons and the odometer said something around 300 miles, so that'd be the ~27.5mpg I've been getting. MT and I have definitely not been babying it... ahem.

[lokvo]

Originally Posted by 4thehorde4

If there is no performance or fuel efficient reason to get manual, whats the point anymore?

Because it signifies that ur a man. I kid, I kid.

[KRAZYK]

Originally Posted by Buggy51

Out of curiosity, how is everyone actually calculating their MPG?

Based on however many miles they driven and calculated by hand by comparing what you just filled in the gas station? Or what?

I'm not too fond of trusting the onboard computer

Everyone SHOULD be hand calculating.. reset trip every fill up and then divide your trip miles by how much fuel is needed to fill up. Although I will say, my computer was dead on when I filled up for the first time.. 26.5 mpg. (MT)