To those of you test driving AT...
 

Turn it on Sports/Sport. Don't just put it in drive. This will give you a closer feel to what the manual would be like.

Why did you make a thread about this? This was just stated in another thread that I just read...

Because in the past 2 weeks there have been about 5 different threads about people not doing this when they drove it. Think of it more as a service announcement.

i wish i would have known when i drove it yesterday. came away from it very disapointed.

See, service announcement lol!

Hm... it's up to driver/member's opinion. It's good idea to try out both. Try as of normal mode & sports mode

Yep - definitely try sport, and then try manual sport mode. It is a completely different car.

I would say try all 4 modes. D - D with sport. M and M with sport. All 4 are different experiences.

I would expect, D & M would be natural thing, cuz it's there ;)

Wrong. If you want a "manual transmission impression", start using both legs to drive the car.

Yes, but it is not obvious that sport mode on and off in D &M modes is actually 4 different modes in total - all different. Most people would probably assume that sport mode is sport mode and D/M is just to pick who is shifting, you or the car. From what we observed they are 4 distict shift schedules / profiles.

was the first to test drove a manual Raven FRS in one of the dealearship yesterday here NWI and the first thing i notice how crisp and smooth the transmission is even at low speed. Although that boxer wail at 7000rpm on third gear running @ 75mph sounded anemic but the ride was composed and smooth. The shifter i notice was kinda long on throws when compared to an RX8. Still it was fun.

Im still waiting to test drove an auto if ever it comes available.

lol... dang, I swear some of you guys get loooong test drives. I barely had time to shift up and down all the gears for like 8 blocks maybe. I didn't have a chance to turn sport on / off

Not everyone is getting a chance to drive a manual. I was signed up to test drive the FR-S 6AT next week but then my friend told me he'd be picking his up this weekend, so I could drive the 6MT instead.

How so?

And this is why I have sticky notes on the dash of the ones that we just got in today saying "Please keep RPM's to under 4,000"
It's just fair to whoever ends up buying the car. We explain to any test driver that it is to stay in accordance with the engines break in protocol.

biggest problem with that is that from what I read almost everywhere the thing really comes alive after 5k... :sigh:

Like fred flinstone duh.

That's because max torque is made at 6600rpm. You need to be in the 5-7k region to really get the most out of the car. A connondrum for sure for people wanting to really see what the car can do before they buy and the dealer, who wants to stick to the break-in period... Clearly I can see both sides.

Hate to say it, but before I drop almost $30k or more, I need to know what I am getting. Especially in real world driving conditions when I need to pass someone quickly. That ain't happening under 4k rpms in this car. This is how the engine is designed..

Well, then according to you you're not passing anyone for the first 1000 miles anyways. You can still get a good feel for the steering at low speeds if you have good turns.

Yup - probably the best way to deal with this is have the dealer assign you one as a personal demo and let people drive that one to experience teh full capabilities, and then they can test drive the one they are buying per the break in instructions.

It will suck being stuck driving one as a demo, but really thats the best way right? :D

As much of a pain in the ass as it's been even getting them to the lots I don't see them doing another 1000 demo units.

I agree. It is the only way to really know what you are getting with the engine. Otherwise I will be honest with the dealer when I test drive and tell him I am going to have to push the car above 4k rpm (but would not rev to redline) to know what I am getting, and if they have a problem with that I will talk to another dealer.

Like those people that trash V8 mustang tires and tell the sales guy they're going to buy the car then don't. It's not yours. At least have enough respect for the car itself to not do stupid shit like pushing it past the RPMs during the break in period. You CAN get a feel for the car below those RPMs you just need to find decent roads to do it on. There were plenty where I test drove mine. If you have to go a bit father to get to those roads then tell the sales guy that you'll keep it under 4k RPM but you want more than a 1 mile test drive.

I have owned about 10 cars in the last 12 years. I have followed the below for break-in:http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I have never had issues driving a car during break-in using the method above (driving it during break-in as I would once it was broken in).

Like I said, I am always upfront with the salesman and will tell them that if they want me to buy the car (especially a sports car) I am going to need to get a feel for the car but would never drive it to redline. And I am not talking about burning out or drifting or spinning out. Jeez..

The twins do not make peak torque until you get to 6600rpm which is below redline. I think 5-6K rpm would be necessary for me to get a proper feel for the car. I respect the dealer and if they say we wont allow it, I would never do it. I have never had a dealer tell me no. And I have been test driving cars since 1989. These are sports cars, not minivans.

i have to test it, i couldnt resist.......... :thumbup:
pls take note, that black color looks amazing in person.

doing a burnout while test driving is just dumb, but testing the limits of the engine and how it behaves past 4000 rpm is justified especially if the car is a demo unit and depends on how your relationship with the dealer is. Coz you cant test drive cars that are meant for sale.

If im gonna buy a car ill make sure i test it out not to its limits but close to it. why limit yourself to 4000rpm when you can see how the engine behaves at 7000rpm.

These are the kind of dealers who are accomodating and worthy of my business. And i wouldnt buy any demo unit or any car that has more than 20miles in the odo. who would?