FR-S as first manual car?
 

Hi,

I've owned an automatic FR-S for just about a year - and the longer I've owned the car the more interested I have started to become in cars (after having no real interest before owning a FR-S).

I've recently kicked around the idea of trading/selling my current FR-S and buying a manual despite having never owned a manual car before...

Does anyone have any experience with a FR-S as their first manual car?

Are there any particular things I should know prior to purchase? How does maintenance differ from the automatic? Have any tips / things to watch out for?

Would it be better to buy a beater first and learn on that?

Thanks to all those who reply!

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edit: I've got no real time frame here as I love my automatic (purchased used, fully paid off) and there's nothing wrong with it... I guess it's just for the first time in my life I'm "intrigued" by the "other side" (stick vs. slushbox). I also have a love hate relationship with the color of my car - gray - and wouldn't mind owning a brand new vehicle now that I know the FR-S definitely suits my needs / tastes.

This is not my first manual car by a long shot but I would highly recommend it.
Probably one of the nicest MTs I have ever driven and that number is someplace in the 1,000s.
Maintenance has minor variations but nothing huge.
Getting a beater to learn on would just be a waste since you would have to relearn for this car and any money you spent could have gone to repairing the clutch in the very very remote chance you damaged it.
The hardest part of learning to drive a MT is getting over the fear of learning to drive a MT. They are not the complicated contraptions many seem to make them out to be.

Do you have equity in your current car? If you're upside down, I'd just keep what you have and not worry about it.

As far as maintenance, change the fluid every 30K miles and change the clutch when it starts to fail.

Things to watch out for: downshifting too far. Going from 5th to 2nd instead of 4th and then letting the clutch out is a great way to get a mechanical over-rev and possibly blow your engine. Otherwise, as a first time manual, you'll put additional wear on your clutch until you figure things out. Not a big deal.

I've seen several threads just like this on this forum. The FR-S manual transmission is easy to learn on. It's up to you to decide if you want a manual bad enough to trade. Find a friend with (any) manual transmission car and see if they'll let you learn/try it out.

<sigh> Back when most cars were manual, no-one thought learning or driving an MT was any big deal. It's just what you did. No special techniques, no big deal. And new manuals are far more refined and user-friendly than our old 3 and 4 speed boxes from the '50s, 60's, and '70s.

I recently taught my 13 year old granddaughter to drive my FRS. After about 2 hours, she could smoothly pull away from a stop, run up through the gears, slow dons, down-shift, and come to smooth stop. She could back up and do a K-turn. No pretty little girls, grandpas, or cars were hurt.

Thank you for fighting the good fight.

FRS/BRZ is great to learn manual on, simply because the car is so much fun that you get a great payoff for doing it right.
Once you force yourself to drive out a few times, you'll get over the fear and be driving like a pro in no time.

Also an old hand at driving a stick. This would be an excellent choice for your first manual trans.

It's as easy to learn as any other MT. It'll be 2nd nature inside of a week.

Damnit Bill now I need to change my age old saying!


Your Mother drove standard
Your grandmother drove standard
Your great grandmother drove standard
If you are young enough your great great grandmother dove standard.
Your 13 year old granddaughter can drive standard.
What is so mysterious or difficult about driving standard?

get a mustang bro...manual is so easy on them

you put your left foot in

you put your right foot in

you put your left foot out

???

profit!!!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

that's how they run into people at car meets... :burnrubber:
On topic, i got the car with absolutely no knowledge of how to drive a manual, my parents had to drive it out of the lot

just try to replicate what this guy is doing with his feet and you'll be good.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JNnzqwTUMI"]spoon s2000 2.2L - YouTube[/ame]

This was my first mt op, It took me a few days to learn it... It truly is a really easy car to learn on but it would be a lot easier if you take out the helper spring that makes the clutch have no feel. Id have done it right after i bought this car if i had known lol


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