2014 Asphalt Auto FRS
 

Brought home Friday night with 11 miles on her. 700 miles after 6 days of breaking in.

We went to the dealer intending to buy the stick MT. Test hammered the MT and AT - drove home in the auto to both our surprise.

We both have a long history of manual sports cars (her, Corvettes and Firebirds; me, imports and compacts starting with a '74 Bluebird 1800 SSS), almost didn't even test drive the auto...

Soooooo glad we did!

The clincher for me was when I put it in 1st, it hung onto 1st gear all the way to redline and never shifted into 2nd until I gave it the input. Clincher for her was the speed of the shifts when in Sport mode on the tranny. And we both love the auto-blip on downshifts... :thumbup:

This is really the best flappy-paddle gearbox short of an M3 or 911.

The other plus for us in the sequential AT, is that we both ride sport bikes too (her GSXR 750, me CBR1000RR), so our method of thinking about shifts is more 'up, up, up, down, down' instead of 2, 5, 3, 4, 2.


Planning a clean build focused on lightness, handling and speed over stance and flash. Good looks will be there, but serving a greater purpose. :D


Stuff we've done so far:

aFe Drop-in Air Filter
AREV Air Tube with sound generator delete
Enkei PF-01 Black 17x8 +45
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/45
Muteki SR35 Blue Lugs
Berk Dual Tip Muffler Delete
Testing a canned tune for autos with e85/91oct switching (not flex)


Then:


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Now:


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First track day. Kevin's HPDE1 and 2 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park East track March 15-16.

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Kevin and Lisa

Shhhhhh!! I still have my wife convinced that the auto is undriveable. If she learns otherwise, I'm in trouble.

Glad you're enjoying the auto! My last car was an E46 M3 SMG and the shifts are just as good if not faster.

We have the same car! I too was intent on buying stick but the auto shifts surprisingly good. What do you have planned for your car?

Auto vs manual
 

I guess if you can appreciate the Auto that's good for you. If you're not looking at autocrossing or racing at all in the future and just want a fun car thats nimble and easy to drive in traffic, then you made the right decision.

I'm partial to manual's, so it wasn't much of a debate for me. The other deal breaker was the difference in 0-60 times (7.7-7.9 for auto and 6.4-6.6 for manual) Just too big of a difference to ignore for me.

:bs:

Hey there, how is my post "BS"? My numbers are accurate. I respect the FRS as a car regardless of trim, I was just pointing out that the MT version is a little more performance oriented while the AT version is practical for someone who needs to battle traffic every day and, thus, doesn't feel like cramping up their left calf riding a clutch......:iono:

Hey Ricky, I totally understand your preference for the manual as far as 0-60, but we do plan to autocross, and road race, and I bet she'll be as competitive as the MT in anything other than a drag race (I quit racing 1/4 miles 15 years ago).

It's cool to see so many opinions on here about the two styles. That's the beauty of offering two strong options - we can wax poetic all day long, but truths will only be found on the track. ;)


Sent from the moon base using lasers

Hey Guzic, I'm glad we're not the only ones with a preference for the auto!

Plans are more performance and handling focused at this point. I'm pretty sure we've decided on models for the header, overpipe, and front pipe. We have custom fabrication plans for the rear half of the exhaust. Still researching performance specs on the intake side of things. We'll stay NA for a while, but probably go with a few pounds of FI sometime in the future. Nothing ridiculous HP-wise for us though.
Handling will probably just be lighter rims and coilovers after we play around on the stock rubber. Maybe spacers right off the bat.


Sent from the moon base using lasers

Nice, your plans sound good. I was thinking of the nameless exhaust for mines with a motiv OP. Just need to decide on what wheels, coilobers and air intake I want though.

LT, my buddy has an E92 and he can't wait for us to finish break in so he can drive her. I love his M3, and this is as close as you can get for waaaay less cheddar.


Sent from the moon base using lasers

Haha Jeff! Just block access to this URL, LoL.
Once we finish breakin and really start hammering her, I'll be sure to post straight forward opinions on the auto. I've honestly never liked an auto in any car other than M3 and 911, so this will be interesting. :)


Sent from the moon base using lasers

I highlighted the auto cross comment because it is bs.

The auto FRS/BRZ is very good here because of the taller gearing. Just search around the forum and you will see how many are doing VERY well in auto-x. And 1/4 mile times in this car? Relavent? Meh I don't think so.

The AT/MT convo has been had an infinite amount of times on this forum.

Let's not derail this enthusiasts thread because "I picked the MT so I can get better performance out of it." :clap:

If you think your 0-60 times are fast I know about 30+ auto owners on this forum who would gladly put money on it :thumbup:.