AT owners in here please
 

Has anyone tried to drive some twisty mountain roads mainly 2nd 3rd 4th gears with your paddle shifter?

Would you say this is a great experience and a different fun of it's own compared to MT, I heard the AT shift fast ( like less than half a second ) and I am sure it is going to shift faster than myself granny shifting when driving a MT.

You don't take the foot off gas when upshifting right?

I had the opportunity to do that two weekends ago as documented here and here (this one includes the route) in my Owner's Journal as well as some photos in the "Landmarks" thread here.

Summary, it was an absolute blast! The paddles do take some practice getting used to, particularly when it comes to keeping your foot in it rather than letting off like you would normally do on a MT. Since the car will not shift into an over-rev position no reason to lift hat I can see.

The shift speed in the AT is amazing! Much better than any other automatic I've ever driven (you think it, it does it). I'm finally coming to grips with the fact that its "that good" but it still surprises me at times.

Running in Full Auto Sport mode works pretty well in the twisties as it seems to keep up with what I would do myself. It's nice to always have that lower gear available instantaneously at the flip of the lever though.

Bottom line, the more I drive it, the more it impresses me.

I consider myself a MT guy, but the AT in these cars really sounds pretty awesome. I might at least need to give it consideration.

I never consider autos an option... but then this car came along. I reluctantly changed my pre order to an auto. It sounded so good but I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes wondering why I did that! The more I read about the auto the more I think it was the right choice. We'll see.

I think the highest compliment for the AT is that Moto-P selected it for his car. That should put your mind at ease.

Just remember, it is different. But, in this case, its different in a good way. I'd be happy with either the MT or the AT, but I have no regrets after my first 1600 miles with the AT.

Same for me. I preordered an auto, and I've struggling with that decision. Whenever I'm asked if I went with AT or MT, my friends give me wierd looks when I answer. I really hope it's as good as everyone's been saying, so I don't have to look back and regret it.

I preordered an AT, but had the chance to switch to MT. I stuck with my original choice. I have taken on some back roads and it was a blast even staying below 4K rpm. The paddle shifters are great and for regular driving I like the shifter position with the +/-, though I wish it was flipped like race cars (damn video games mess up muscle memory. lol)

I have to say that while I do get weird looks from friends for getting the AT I am happy with it. Moto's choice had a lot to due with it. I was planning on waiting to get the car in general as I had recently paid off my STi. Reading Moto's review gave me the push I needed and I don't regret it a bit. The AT really is amazing in this car, shifts faster than I ever could. You won't regret it as it is still engaging to drive when in manual mode with the benefit of a tired left leg during traffic filled commutes like mine.

The cool thing about AT is that I can pick when I want to deal with shifting gears.

Traffic you say? Leave it in Camry Mode

Twisty roads ahead? Slap that AT lever into M and click Sport.

Exactly! That's why I went AT with mine. It's just more versatile for me. It's easy, lazy driving in Camry mode when I'm in traffic or just cruising, and shift-on-demand manual mode when I can focus on just driving.

I'm just waiting for someone to 1/4 mile the car with an auto to see how much of an advantage the manual has on the auto. Just out of curiosity. They are both great transmissions but nobody on here has checked to see what can be run with the auto.

Yes....I am well aware that this car is not meant for straight line so dont start spewing bull****. Im not going to be using the car as such.

But so far we have:
Manual-14.9
Auto-16.3?

It cant be that big of a difference.

I believe the 0-60 is about .5 second slower for the auto.
16.3 might just be a bad launch!

Hey peeps. I've got a technical question:

When you shift at high RPMs with a manual you obviously wear the clutch but how about with an auto? I realise with a torque converter there isn't really much 'wear' (apart from the friction from the transmission fluid?) but what about in the auto gearbox? Not too familiar with planetary gears so some advice would be appreciated :)

the Auto on this car is 'Orgasmic' ! I took this out for a small 30min ride and i had to pull over and just catch my breath... its so comfortable that its scarry because on a regular twisty-road I really cant tell how much more i can push it.

I cannot wait to go back out on that road again and keep going for hrs i hope...

im sure the track would be way cool, but i TOO changed my mind to AT after i drove one - i am so glad i was able to drive one first.... that did it for me !
Unfortunately, the one i drove was the LAVA and i couldnt convince myself of that color .. after driving all over town for 6 hrs i found the right color in AT !!

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8158

back to back dyno with MT BRZ and AT FR-S

looks like the AT may have a bit more drivetrain loss

Since the AT on this car is still torque converter based (but with lock-up in each gear but 1st) the wear is virtually non-existent in terms of anything like a clutch disk. Wear on the gears itself should not be any more than that on a Manual.

Since the system inherently by nature of torque converter system, is buffered in driveline shock at each shift, the driveline shock is minimal and very smooth (and ultra-quick on this particular AT unit). Which means extremely smooth undisturbing shifts.

This trait of jolting shock is however, what most MT lovers miss about the AT's but in practical racing terms, it is good that it's smooth, and that is what MT racing drivers must strive to do at the very limits of adhesion with a clutch pedal anyway. (Unless of course, the whole reason for shocking the driveline is to induce a sudden loss of adhesion as in "clutch kicking" for drifting.)

As for speed and performance, the posted results in various tests are dependent on many factors. I've come to note that the FRS's FA20 engine systems, is pretty protective of the engine, and with high water or ambient temperatures, the engine does retard injection and ignition timing on the 4D-S quite a bit. So 0-60 times for example might differ quite a lot depending on the conditions and how hard the car has been run up to the point before testing. With Direct Injection, and 12.5 compression rate, and for it to be utilized with pump gas, this is actually a good safety measure, so as not to destroy the lightweight components like the con-rods, that are critical in allowing this engine to rev quickly and high.

Having said that, another very BIG variable is the driver and his ability to shift and engage clutch quickly and effectively with nice even force on the tire contact patch at launch and each shift when using a Manual transmission. This is especially true in milder stick tires like the OEM Premacy that is on the FRS.

So with a very talented driver, theoretically, will beat the AT each time, but an average Joe will have a hard pressed time trying to out-clock a AT where only difficulty is the launch, timing the torque converter delay's split second against the start light.

On the AT, from 1st-4th, the gears are slightly more spaced out and taller, giving the MT a fraction of a second advantage as well, theoretically given the perfect driver.

Again, I prefer the MT for performance driving where clocks count for trophies, but I chose an AT as it was something that was just as fun to play with in a different way, and pretty impressive , and thoroughly entertaining little gearbox at that.

Thanks Moto-P! Exactly the answer I was hoping for. I am glad I've decided to go with AT. :happy0180:

This is what I have been trying to tell folks on this forum for years. Lol

Does anyone think that there will be a taller sixth gear available that we can swap out that will match the AT's final drive ratio so that we can get better MPG on the highway?

My Asphalt AT is 4 days away and I want it even more after hearing about the good experiences with the auto trans.:happy0180:
It puts me more at ease, for not ordering the manual trans. It sounds like I made the right choice for me.
Thanks AT FRS drivers and Thank you Moto P for the technical info about the AT.:thanks:

This thread really puts my mind at ease. Now if my car would just get here already! The wait is killing me and all these people getting theirs already is making me really jealous!

the sport mode in full auto and the sport mode in paddle shift mode is just way too much fun on this AT. I felt soooo good also when at the last minute i TOO changed to AT from MT. Its so smooth when you want to just drive and sip your coffee... very coo.

How does it work with downshifting into corners?

Not sure what you mean fully. According to Moto-P and others, there is intelligence built into it so that when you are cornering hard, it will not do a disruptive downshift in certain modes, but I have not tried it myself. In normal street driving, including spirited mountain driving, I have not run into any issues.

Hey thanks for replying. I was just reading your thread about your car! :D Among others as well. I am having that debate about getting a MT like I have always had, or to finally go with a AT and relax a bit. I want to Autocross and hit up track days once in a while for fun, so I was curious how it did with down shifting while trying to hustle through corners. From what I have read it works pretty well.

Quick question for you AT owners.

In Manual mode, is it possible to be in neutral? Asking this in stop-and-go traffic, where I wouldn't have to keep my foot on the break to roll into the car infront of me.

Has anyone really noticed a slight bump when shifting manually sometimes with the auto? In full auto mode it seems to rarely do this if ever, but I tend to notice it quite a bit while shifting manually. Makes me somewhat nervous about it when it happens.

It's also a pretty rough swap from 2nd to 1st at lights if you're slightly rolling to a stop.

Just wondered if anyone else felt the roughness / jerks / bumps / whatever you would like to call them so far.

Thanks.

So I did a full weekend of autox and we had issues downshifting into first.

So last night I wanted to know why....

First goes to about 36 and you have to shift into 2nd. 2nd goes to 63mph.

You cannot shift back into 1st until 33mph due to over reving. Not sure how the other gears though.

Yep I get this as well. Its due to the rev matching. I wouldnt worry about it. Also if you are let it downshift on its own. It will downshift if you are in full manual mode at a certain rpm level.

Yeah, I generally let it downshift on its own as I get to stops (from 2nd to 1st anyway).

Just wanted to know if it was occasionally that snappy going up as well (kinda the same feeling as driving a manual without really having mastered the clutch / gas exchange between gear shifts).

Thanks for the info Feldy!

Not in the normal sequence of using the paddles or the shifter while maintaining manual mode unless someone knows a secret I'm missing.

Obviously you can move the shifter into neutral but you can do that in any mode but then would have to move it back down to Drive and over to Manual.

Has anyone noticed the occaisional rpm dip just below 500rpm which will make the engine feel a bit rough like it's going to stall?

Rob

No, are you at a certain mileage?

Almost 900kms

Rob

I have actually, around 550 rpm when I just start the car, get it warmed up, and it's idling. I think it has something to do with the Boxer engine and that it's just the way they are.

I haven't, but there's another recent thread here where some folks have noticed it, but mostly with the manual when idling. There were one or two ATs in that mix as well I believe. It has been in the last couple of days so should be near the top of the threads.