To Drive a stick or cruise an Auto?
 

So what do you guys think? I live in LA so man, do I want an Auto. But IDK living near the Hollywood Hills it would be mighty fun to jam around with a nice six speed manual.

P.S. Boss told me I have teach her son to drive stick when he gets his! LOL

Would love to hear what you guys think!

MT can be nightmare in the traffic jam... AT is still fun to drive. It's all up to u, test drive MT & AT. If you're willing to go back & forth pushing in & out of clutch pedal for over an hr, go for MT. If not, go AT

Depends on how heavy traffic can be. Where i live traffic is nowhere near as bad as traffic can be so MT isnt a chore.

You want a stick. I lived in L.A. for 10 years, and still commute back and forth from Las Vegas, and I've never owned an auto. For me, it's easier to drive a manual on the 405 and 101/134/170 as I can control my speed through gearing rather than riding the brakes. Also... Laurel Canyon, Decker Canyon, Mulholland Drive, Sepulveda pass, PCH, and Kanan Dume are far more enjoyable when you row your own gears. :thumbup:

I personally love the kind of auto that comes with this car because some times I run into traffic so I use D mode but when the roads are clear I use M mode.

Now this guy know me well! I live 2 mins from Mulholland so I kinda consider it a slap in the face not to have a manual. I will have the first Raven Manual one that rolls off the truck!

For those of u who dont know... U dont have to push on the clutch to shift up or into neutral... Push the gas while the car is in "x" gear then wait for less than a sec and throw the shifter in neutral.. If u have a manual car go out and try it... Im sure it works with every car... (civic, rsx, eclipse) those are the only cars ive done it on... Doing a complete upshift without the clutch is a little stiff and hard on the tranny.. But a shift into neutral is smooth as can be... Stop and go traffic can be a pain in the ass in any car... But i hate pushing on the gas and waiting for my car to move or stepping on the gas and waitig for my cars computer to decide what gear it should be in... Driving stick is not as hard as automatic drivers make it out to be... For those people considering to buy this car with an automatic; they're missing out on the whole point of this car

Don't be a sissy - work that left leg! :thumbsup:

I sit in Boston traffic all the time; it's a small price to pay for the enjoyment of rowing gears through the twisties, in the mountains, and on the track!

The car manufacturer makes it with both tranny's so in other words the manufacturer is missing out on the whole point of this car. This car isn't a S2000.

Please dont put words in my mouth... But i wouldnt purchase an automatic car for myself.

If ur asking my opinion of why the manufacturer made the automatic option available; i would say its to expand their sales market and Maybe do some research on paddle shifters??? Thats just my opinion though

This car is about the "feel" of driving... It is hard to "feel" anything in stop and go traffic... Just dont be scared to get a manual tranny cause uve never done it before...(unless there is physical implications)

Let me know if u would like more of my opinions 🍺

Yeah, it should works. I always clutchless shift when I ride on my bike.

I agree. I drove my MK1 MR2 in DC traffic 100 miles commuting every day for years and never had an issue with it having a clutch.

That said, I'm getting the Auto on the FR-S. Why? In a word, personal choice. I would have never regretted getting the MT and if it hadn't had the AT I would have still gotten the car. I was also completely undecided until I had an opportunity to drive it.

I just liked the way the auto worked with the paddle shifters so (since this will be a DD and not a track car for me) I get what I consider the best of both worlds. Also, I am going to allow others to drive the car in the family, and while they all can drive a MT (I made sure of that), I don't want them driving mine!

I verified my left leg doesn't care and fortunately for me I've reached an age where I just don't care what others think of my choices.

Whereas I was initially considering the auto, now I am starting to have second thoughts about it.

Though the final gearing is 4.10 in both MT and AT, the gear ratios are spaced for fuel economy in the AT (hence the 4 mpg difference) and some reviewers have remarked that it is not nearly as engaging or quick as the MT.

My wife can't (and won't learn to drive stick) so I am in a bit of quandary. I guess it will come down to the test drive.

I don't really think of driving a manual as driving a manual anymore. It's just driving to me. I have done my fair share of driving far and in traffic everyday to get to work and home. In my opinion, driving in traffic or not in traffic isn't the point; it is how I want to have more control and feel for the car. I think you're making the right choice. Although, I do remember dating someone in the Hollywood Hills, and there are buttloads of traffic there which only matters because it's, erm, hilly. I'm not great at driving stick so that may not matter to you. I do not know when I will ever have the confidence to go all the way north on La Cienega right before it hits Sunset; steepest street hill I've ever come across (not counting neighborhood streets), and there is always a healthy amount of cars there.

Also, I know you only mentioned the traffic, but in the subject of LA and cars, I always think of parallel parking. For me, parking in a manual is different from parking in an auto because I can't turn around when I'm in my manual. So in essence I had to already be a good parallel parker to be able to park using stick. I think that's something else to consider: parallel parking, and doing it fast due to traffic behind you. And THEN there's my problem of not being able to parallel park without at least 2 car lengths between two cars on a hill... (ok that was a bit of an exaggeration... 1.5. but maybe I should just learn how to drive properly...)

Here is a good read on IS-F transmission, which is 86s minus 2 gears: http://www.lexus.com/models/ISF/feat...sion_Story.pdf

Its plenty lively based on reviews, and the fact that it handles 400 bhp engine with 100 ms upshifts in IS-F can tell you something.

I ordered AT specifically because of that transmission. MT is just same old story, boring. Need to try the best of the other world.

I don't get it. Why can't you look behind you in a manual?

I've never understood why people prefer an automatic because of heavy traffic. Having to keep your foot on the brake to keep from rolling into the car in front of you is ANNOYING.

Wow thanks for the feed back guys. Well either way I have ordered a manual. I found one thing to laugh/smile at this "I do not know when I will ever have the confidence to go all the way north on La Cienega right before it hits Sunset; steepest street hill I've ever come across (not counting neighborhood streets), and there is always a healthy amount of cars there"

For those that don't know I fear this street in LA with my lil 95 Civic so I would be proud to top it in an FRS.

Sorry to say this purchase really bares down to image for me. I am (just turned) 23. And live in Hollywood. Lot of people with lots of new cars. I am tried of pushing my 95 Civic around(would never trade that car EVER!). I just need something new. A "***** magnet" some would call it. And I think the FRS has it written all over it.

I sit now in my little office at Toyota while listening to Motley Crue. When a few lyrics come to mind :

Friday night and I need a fight
My FR-s and a switchblade knife
Handful of grease in my hair feels right
But what I need to make me tight are

Girls, Girls, Girls
Long legs and burgundy lips
Girls,
Dancin' down on Sunset Strip
Girls
Red lips, fingertips

When I was driving my auto, it was easier for me to turn around over my right shoulder to look behind me because I would firmly plant my left foot on the ground. Now I just use my mirrors to park. I'm sure it can be done; I've just gotten accustomed to not turning around anymore.

You know what, now that you point it out and I think about it, it may only be a little bit of that. My Corolla was high off the ground naturally (for a compact car) + the seat is high IN the car, so when I turned around I could see a lot. My tC is low to the ground and my seat is low in the car plus I have a spoiler, so when I turn around, I don't gain much more view and I'm better off using my mirrors. Yes, I now believe that is moreso the reason. Sorry, completely unrelated.

And major +1 to hating letting go of the brake and having the car go forward! That is easily the first thing I forget when I'm driving an auto.

Chloe sorry to be the one to ask male or female?

I never understood why people prefer manual in traffic either. It's annoying shifting up and down or to neutral in stop and go. Just like you can't understand the opposite, I can't understand the opposite either. A manual is only fun to me if your on a road with little to no traffic like a backroad or a track. Most of us are not as fortunate to live in those areas or go to a track. I love transmissions like the FRS/BRZ auto so I can switch between boring and fun. Manuals in traffic is boring to me but it requires annoying work. I would rather work if it puts a smile on my face like revving the engine enthusiastically and shifting up and down.

The auto will lack wheel spin and hardcore slides. Don't worry I will be the first to show off some skills in the manual when mine hits. I am waiting just like you guys. I just love hearing the pros and cons

Nonsense.

Also major loss in 0-60 times. Its all there read motor trend!

Again, not major. In return AT gets 100ms upshifts everytime. In daily life it will always be faster than manual, cause drivers with MT will be either checking out chicks on the side of the road or cursing about horrid traffic ;)

No one ever talks about how TCS in Toyota works with AT's. If you get slip in an Auto TCS puts on the brakes to help put traction to the no slipping wheels. Hinch losing the slide. Ever try doing a power slide in a post 06 IS350. Not happening TCS takes over.

In daily life it will always be faster than manual, cause drivers with MT will be either checking out chicks on the side of the road or cursing about horrid traffic ;)

Touche'

I've always had manuals, but I have to admit, the automatic in the FR-S was really good to drive. Yes, you can easily power slide with the auto. Just turn TCS off! Would I get an automatic for myself? Probably not, but at the same time, I can't criticize those that do, because it really was that good (at least on an autocross track).

i cant see myself ever getting an auto on a sporty car. autos belong in big heavy highway cruisers. even if the auto was faster i'd still have to row my own.

Say the same thing after driving this car's AT. Your thought will change

I 90% agree with Ichitaka. I've driven both on a few occasions and Ichitaka here was my driving partner in the FRS Press Event last week.

Coming from a SCCA SOLO2 Nationals, Instructor at Drift Day, and layout and operations consultant for Formula D and D1 Grand Prix USA, background, I'm no slouch or foreign to the standard manual transmission.

The FRS I ordered is an automatic, however, and am planning to also get a manual as time goes and resources and funds permit.

The Automatic in the case of FRS/BRZ is not like a traditional auto slushbox in actual use. Although its fundamental design may be close to the traditional automatic with a torque converter, the operation and feel, through advanced design and many years of R&D for the IS-F and this car, feels much closer to that of the pneumatic clutch systems of exotic cars.

As such, it merits from both the easy operation and smooth feel of the auto, with less maintenance costs and complexity, but also when asked and with choice of a few levels of selective software pre-programs, it does lock up for a direct linkage to the engine in 2-6th gear, and provides manual mode where it will snap into each gear, drop into a lower gear to full range of RPMs instantly, and also hold a gear to redline and even ride the rev limit without shifting, if you choose the mode of program.

In more than half the cases in the one day autocross, constant arc hold drift practice, and full 2.2 mile road course. The journalists present, posted faster laps, especially in the autocross section in the AT, over the MT.

In the hands of a seasoned driver, the MT should post fraction of a second faster laps after enough time with the car, but this is also mostly attributed to the wider gaps in gears 3-6th in the automatic. With full 6 speeds to choose, when I say wider, I don't mean wide at all in a traditional sense. The FRS AT has a really flexible, multi-use range and is still very close from 1-4th gears. 5 and 6 are progressively taller, but if you REALLY think in real practice, in MOST small raceway of under 2 miles, where the FRS shines well, these two top gears will not be used, as the car really doesn't hit the 125mph+ range in such tracks.
Moreover, even the most enthusiastic of Sunday racers prefer to stay off Super Speedway scale tracks of such speeds. So for all intensive purposes, the 1-4th is close enough and closer than most traditional 5speed Manual of the past.

The tall 5-6 gear provides in exchange, a rather whopping 3mpg difference on the freeway. And a much quieter ride with less wear on the engine, than the fully closed 6MT box.

Sure, the manual is the way to go if the FRS you want is an all-out track car dedicated for such, as upgrades to clutch to hold more power, or if changes to final gear ratios in custom racing approach actually requires you to have the closely packed full 6 speed, or in the case of those into drifting, clutch engagement and control of driveline shock, is a necessary element I suppose. (spelled in most youth terms, clutch kicking).

Keep in mind though, that shifting is actually a loss-time element in any track racing for speed and time. The more gears you have, and the closer they are, the more skills and concentration a driver needs. If the driver has enough talent and pretty deep senses in the art of dynamic driving, it may help as in theory it does provide the advantage. But it being a MANUAL as the term implies, the speed only comes at the available skill set, especially with cars this delicate, many geared, and underpowered, driver skill is the biggest factor in speed. With a novice track racer, the FRS will always post faster times with its sophisticated and responsive sport semi-auto mode transmission. Period.

I prefer Manual in most cases, even when I drove a Lamborghini Gallardo eShift, I had preferred the standard manual due to the unpredictable element and quirks, but with the FRS/ISF semi-auto mode shifting, it is one of the few I really would not mind at all, especially for a daily-driven part time Sunday track car.

PS. But I hear you... The amount of "WHAT THE HELL?" words that come from my peers is pretty deflating, but I am old enough to see through peer pressure, and I am positive that half of them will "STFU" when they try the FRS in Semi Auto at the autocross. :D And in due time, I will buy another with the wonderful, racetrack-ready 6MT-box-equipped car too, but that is when I get serious and toss the Torsen LSD, and shove a 4 pinion clutch pack LSD with even shorter final drive, and roll cage the crap out of it to partake in a ONE MAKE FRS CUP that I want to organize one day. LOL! Because I see this car like the AE86. That it is something I don't need to go all out in 2012, because it will be a part of my fleet for the next 25 years like the old Hachiroku.
Besides, if there are rumors for a Turbocharged or Supercharged Hot Version Release model in the future, wouldn't you rather that THAT one as the full manual?? That's my plan!!

Lastly, why did I say 90%? Well, even a great car will not chance some folks minds right? ahhaha! All good either way man!

I was getting pretty sideways on the raceway with the AT in Semi-AUto mode as well though... ;) Want me to tandem drift with you?

i was on the wall between MT & AT but, your opinion really swayed me toward the AT.

Well, everyone has opinions and preferences so just test drive one for yourself, even at a cost of losing a place in line if that is the case. Because you don't want to plunk down $28,000 out the door for a brand new car, and have regrets over the 60 payments.

Mine came to $29,080 for the Paddle-AT with no options selected but some floor mats. I'm in California too, where taxes are not the highest.

I'm glad to have helped you in providing some of my thoughts! Thanks!

i love my current manual so much, but when i went for a spin in the AT i choose it instead, i will have both a MT and one of the best AT in my garage, longer gears in the AT are a good upside to me cause i want a bit more power and the supercharger TRD is developing will give the car enough TQ to make up for the longer gears, plus have you ever been in a big turbo car with short gears? you spend too much time in the turbo lag area between shifts to have fun, and if i ever go turbo i dont want my boost to last longer through the gears


in my friends turbo lotus we found that shifting at 40-60-85-115 was too quick for the track, we put a smaller final drive, now the shifts are around 50-80-105-130, which is perfect

if we went supercharged we would have just raised the rev limit to achieve similar shift points

hahaha! In the early 90's a friend of mine got an NSX. The car was so low to the ground, and front window so raked and big, that his girl always complained that she can't wear skirts as people can look up her skirt sitting inside the car, from people standing on the sidewalk, OR when ingress/egressing from the car.

FRS is also such car, with even lower hip-point, so please do consult her if she minds wearing shorts or long pants. :)

Especially the JDM ones who are all in a trend to wear mini's and such. :wub:

If you live in the LA Area, I would recommend an Auto as bad that sounds.

Depending on what you do in LA and where your job is located maybe a manual will be better because if you do not go to Downtown often, then I think you should be fine with a manual.

If you do go Downtown take the stinkin' metro!! Avoiding traffic and saving $$$ is what it's for.

If you adjust your driving speed to the traffic you do not have to shift or shift a little. If the traffic is creeping ahead just creep ahead slower in 1st or 2nd gear if traffic is going no where fast.

it could be a ferrari or lambo...i still want a MT. theres just something about pulling though a gear and moving the shifter to the next one that makes me happy.

nothing wrong with auto's and im sure its fantastic

Things like this are what I like to hear about. That you can still have fun in the auto....which is what I think everyone really wants to know about. That this car, regardless of transmission, will be fun for the owner.

After all, if we're all having fun, does it really matter how we're changing gears? :happyanim: