Dumb idea to get auto tranny?
 

I'm a manual guy, don't know how to drive an auto;), unfortunately it's wife's turn to get a new ride and frs/brz is one of the cars we're considering, along with 370z/g37/miata/TT/328i. Need a car that both of us can drive, pretty enough for her and fun to drive for me.

Is the auto going to kill the driving 'fun' out of brz? Should brz even considered with it? I know working the clutch and shifter is big part of the driving experience, and reading that one in the brz is s2000/miata-like, so really a shame.

Is the unit in the brz a traditional, dual, or single clutch?

Here are the vids of me & Moto-san driving AT tranny & we can tell you, we had a blast driving them!

Me driving
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSndiN24Wxk"]SCION FR-S AutoX 1 - YouTube[/ame]

Moto-san driving
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWyUo7caicY"]SCION FR-S AutoX 2 - YouTube[/ame]

Traditional at with lockup and good electronics. "Dumb"? It's a preference and only you can answer that.

I don't think it's a dumb idea at all. If your wife is going to be driving the car at least as much as you will be, it only makes sense to suit her tastes, too. I always see paddle shifters as more of a gimmick than anything else on automatic cars, but the transmission appears to have a very sporty personality which befits the car.

ichi-san, vids look good! Guess need to drive one to be convinced.

Yeah, vids & reviews, just take it as a grain of salt... But just let you know, it's worth it! Loved driving both MT & AT of this car

I'm in the same boat, need to share the car with my wife. (I've had too many car projects of my own, haha) And I've always considered MT to be the "only correct option" for a sports car. But in this case I'm thinking of getting the AT for these reasons:

1) It locks up the torque converter in gears 2-6. This should make the drivetrain feel as direct as the manual.

2) Manual shift mode holds the selected gear. (This is a must for me)

3) It blips the throttle to rev-match downshifts. (Also a must for me)

4) Gear changes are (reportedly) very fast, faster than typical "manual-matics".

5) Full auto mode seems very intelligent and I'm curious to see how it reacts to my driving style.

6) I want to teach my wife to control vehicle dynamics but she doesn't drive manual. The AT will allow us to share this hobby while she learns, and the manual mode will help teach her about using the proper gear before she needs to worry about clutchwork.

7) I've read great things about how the AT feels to drive. In spite of the lack of a clutch, I suspect it will be almost as engaging as the MT. At least it's not as much of a sacrifice as most AT cars.

Notice I didn't list mpg or less noise at highway cruising. Those are not factors in my decision for a sports car, although they are additional benefits.

The gear ratios are taller in the AT, so not as much torque to the wheels in each gear. On the other hand, you can stay in each gear longer before upshifting. Depending on how/where you drive, the MT ratios may or may not be ideal. For example, the mountain roads I drive contain many curves that would force me to constantly dance between 2nd/3rd gear mid-turn in the MT, whereas the AT would allow me to stay in the top of 2nd gear through most of those twisties.

If I was building this car up to be the ultimate competition beast I'd get the MT for sure, that's just me being set in my ways. But for shared duty with the wife, I think the AT is likely to work very well and still live up to my expectations for sporty performance driving. I'll make my decision after a thorough test drive but I'm leaning toward AT (hell must be freezing over.)

Second that.

It's absolutely not dumb to get the automatic transmission. Often these days the automatic performs as well as the manuals, especially when comparing speeds for the most of us, and let's face it, we are not professional track drivers. Also, with the paddle shifters and sport mode, this makes it much better than many automatics. Tell the haters to STFU and get the auto if you want to.

Top of 2nd is a ~3mph difference. You don't downshift to 2nd for a 3mph difference, just leave it in third.

I'm in the same boat. I've driven nothing but manuals the last 10 years and have not considered anything with an auto until now. Never thought I would be ordering this car with an auto but I did. I still have second thoughts about it, but every time I read accounts from people who drove one with the auto I am reassured.

Teach the wife how to drive stick. BAM! Now you both win :)

Finding a new wife shouldn't be too hard in your new (manual) frs/brz ;)

On a serious note, to me the different gear ratios in the AT is an issue. The car is already lacking in torque, and on top of the extra weight and torque converter of the AT, they sap more power by giving it longer gears. I'm sure the AT is still fun but I think the increased torque of the manual will be noticeable.

^^ That's my ultimate plan. :D

:laughabove:

With that mindset you'll be acquiescing to your wife for the rest marriage depending on how long it'll last. Good luck with that.

I say have a discussion with your wife, listen to her opinion, go drive both auto/manual and see which both of you prefer. But, ultimately make the final decision that is best for you & the wife. If you get auto and you like it yourself & the wife's happy, great. If you get a manual and she doesn't like it, so what? Teach her how to drive a manual and she will be happy because you gave her an activity to do together & a new experience.

I wish this Auto got more respect. It's a pretty darn good implementation of a Torque Converter Auto IMHO.

Not everyone cares to drive a stick all of the time.

Personally, I've always found manuals to be more fun to drive. I've got a dual-clutch DSG in my GTI and while it's technologically very impressive and quicker than the manual, it's less interesting to drive (for me).

I'll be going with a manual in the BRZ since it'll be my fun car, but I can understand why someone would go with an automatic (which is reportedly very good in the BRZ/FR-S).

Long story short, NO, not dumb to go with an automatic if you need or prefer one.

All the girls I've known know that I keep it classy.

Secondly, if she is paying for the car all by herself than by all means let her get what she wants. Her money her choice but it sounds like the OP is saying that it's his wife's turn to get a new car meaning to me that funds are limited at the moment or they don't want to spend money buying two cars so they are trying to find a comprise.

She wants something pretty, he wants something fun to drive. She wants an auto & he wants a manual. And if you re-read my post again, I said have a discussion with the wife & listen to her opinion but ultimately make the final decision that is best for him & his wife. From the looks he's gonna test drive an auto to see if he likes it.

Well, although that would be dream come true, it'll be unlikely. BUT my sister was like that, then after living in europe for a year being forced to drive her BF's Vauxhall vx220, she learned to appreciate the man(woman) and machine connection. Now she insists on manuals only. So there is hope.

Everyone is squeamish about learning to drive manual at first. I had a friend who bought a manual Accord, tried driving it twice and gave up. He let the car sit for months while people drove him around, then finally he needed a car, and had no choice but to take manual up again. Once he learned, and I mean, really learned, he said "now I know what you've been talking about all along! There's just no comparison!"

Both my current g/f and previous g/f drove stick, so I count myself lucky :)

:bonk::bonk::bonk:
What was a decent thread talking about the merits of the auto has turned into people trying to convince other people (even wives and gfs) to drive a manual.

Here is the original question.

Gears are to long in the auto. The 86 already has a torque problem without that problem.

Probably one of the reasons EVO hated their auto brz.

The auto will give you that instant response, i dont think the low end varies much on the auto so it feels just as powerful, correct me if im wrong.

I didn't notice that at all when I test drove the AT. I didn't drive the MT though, but there were a couple that got to drive both. Maybe one of them can respond.

Really? Every review ive read raves about how solid the auto gearbox feels and responds..

Worded poorly on my part, but I was agreeing that I didn't notice any issue. In fact, I ordered the AT.

nice, im still torn between AT/MT. Dallas traffic being the main reason:sigh:

It's all gonna come down to personal opinion. In my opinion, an auto transmission kills the fun in every car I drive (especially the Audi R8 V10 Spyder I drove last week!), so there's no comparison. I sit in Boston traffic frequently, but not every day. Even if I did, I still would not consider an automatic, even if it were a 911 with PDK or a Ferrari with F1 (Unless it's a 458 where you sadly don't get a choice).

The auto transmission in this car has been called "quite good" on more than one occasion, so if you think your left leg won't be able to take too much Dallas traffic, get the auto. If you want to deal with a manual transmission on a daily basis, I think you will be rewarded more when you go out to tackle some curves.

<--- And this purist snob won't call you a sissy ;)

Yea, I think we've beaten this horse, and the next 12 generations of its offspring, to death.

In the end, its personal choice. Honestly, when I entered the 1st86 contest, I selected auto but I was really going back and forth until I got to test drive it at the Long Beach event. I have specific reasons for selecting it that have nothing to do with me, but was ready to change to MT if I didn't like the way it drove.

In the end, I really liked the way the paddles worked, and the transmission is "that good", at least to me.

That's good to hear. It's all about personal choice. Although that snob in me was glad that the S2K didn't offer an automatic in all of those years.

I've only ever driven sloppy automatic paddle shifted cars. Miata, Mini Cooper S, and even (not paddle) Triptonic (or whatever it was called) transmission in a 98 Prelude.

They were all horrible. I've yet to drive a good auto trans, like the ones in the GTI's or GTR, or Ferrari. :) I'd like to take the auto 86 for a spin, but if the manual is as good as people say it is, then it's no contest.

Even the one in gti is no sub for having that 3rd pedal so I'm not expecting too much despite what some are saying. I am at least thankful that wife has ok'd brz as one of the options.

I suspect over the years the percentage of customers choosing the auto will increase. Right now, the safe bet is the manual and most of the die hards who have put their deposits down will get a manual no matter how good the auto is anyway.

I'm still on the fence but all i've read about this particular auto is that it's pretty damn good. It's actually a really good implementation considering its still a torque converter auto.

There's only two reasons why the auto isn't a slam dunk for me.
1. If the price premium for auto wasn't so expensive i'd have chosen the auto already.
2. I'm not sure how noticeable the taller gearing will be in real life driving. It will be noticeable on the track for sure but how much will I care about it driving to work 30 miles a day sitting in LA traffic half the time vs. the 5-8 track days a year i'll see.

I doubt it, or at least I should say I hope not:


"Automatic transmission. It’s what separates drivers in the U.S. from the rest of the world. An estimated 95% of all cars sold in the U.S. have automatic drive, versus less than 20% in Europe and Japan, where stick-shift is the overwhelming transmission of choice.
Things are changing in the States, however, as indicators show that the trend towards automatic driving has slowed, and may even be going into reverse.
According to Edmunds.com, the number of manual transmission cars sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year has nearly doubled to 6.5%, the highest number sold since 2006.
Last year overall, only 3.8 percent of all vehicles sold in the US used manual transmission, a number that had fallen in the two previous years from 4.4% in 2009.
The rise, according to USA Today, could be linked with the surge in small, fuel efficient cars in the US, with the publication noting that smaller vehicles yield the most power from manual transmissions, which are also normally cheaper than automatics.
One particular model affected by the resurgence appears to be the new Ford Focus, with Ford telling the U.S. newspaper that demand for manual models is running close to ten percent, far higher than the four to 4.5% Ford expected.
Interestingly, the firm also notes that one in four Focus buyers comes from a household with an annual income of over $100,000 -- Americans who are far more likely to have traveled overseas and experienced a manual gearbox on vacation.
AFP/Relaxnews

I was the same way, got my accord last year and it being my first took a little getting used to but it feels great now. Even traffic is more fun.

Anyone have any data on the weight of the auto Vs. the manny? That would be my biggest hesitation to getting the auto since they usually pack on pounds.

It will be heavier, but I don't think significantly more so. The lightest car of the bunch will obviously be the FR-S 6MT.

I've spent most of my my car life in Toyotas and Hondas, which have pretty weak auto trannies. How strong are Subaru autos?

I believe that the AT was a second slower than the MT at the track in japan :iono:
So, with this in mind I'm sure that the extra weight and torque loss is not a negative. I also can't decide on which transmission to get.

yes