Automatic FRS
 

I get a lot of flack for it at work. I'm personally not that great at shifting, and I like the freedom the auto gives me - while still allowing me to have fun. I love ripping around corners with my paddle shifts.

Problem is it's slower though

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qde3TcynFAI"]6 speed auto vs 6 speed manual FRS - YouTube[/ame]

and that's with mods even. So how much slower really is the Auto? This is already a pretty slow car to begin with, I raced a friends older civic and he was right on my ass the entire time. He later laughed at how under-powered he felt this car was. I at least managed to also beat another guys older v6 lancer though which felt nice.

I haven't done a 0-60 run yet, but it feels a hell of a lot faster than the apparent "8" seconds people have been saying on the auto that I've been hearing. I know I'm at least consistently getting around 7-7.5 if I'm doing the shifting myself and with traction/stability off but I haven't fully tested it yet. With a good launch it really doesn't feel that slow to me. I know having another person in the car (due to weight) can reduce the times. Performance also seems somewhat inconsistent, car feels faster at times to me then at other times (though it might be in my head)

So I was wondering what you guys thought? Outside of the better MPG, how much slower is the Auto really compared to the manual? I have trouble believing the official times as 8 seconds to 60 just doesn't seem right to me.

Did I #$# up in getting the auto? I tried test driving the standard but stalled it like twice so I kind of caved and went with the auto (I've been away from the clutch too long) I love shifting but cant stand dealing with a clutch - seems to take the fun out of driving for me. How do you auto drivers feel? Any of you get flack for buying the auto version of this car too?

Off topic but I heard turbo's worked better in auto's but I'm not sure if that is true or not or just some myth. I would like some clarification on that as well if possible. Thanks

i've only had like an hour of seat time in a manual so i'm really not that good.
during that time, i didn't find it as fun as people say. i like new technology and the freedom of not having to manually shift if i don't want to.
who cares if those people make fun of you for driving an auto.
if they really want to be purists, tell them to go shovel coal or use a steam engine or something

Dude, you bought your car already, stop thinking about whether manual or auto is better. You even said, "I'm personally not that great at shifting, and I like the freedom the auto gives me - while still allowing me to have fun. I love ripping around corners with my paddle shifts."

Sure it's slower than manual, but at this point it doesn't really matter. And who cares if a Honda was riding your ass, your friend is driving a civic (lol).. this car isn't meant to be a speed demon and yes that statement includes manual transmission.

Btw, try taking your friend on some curvy roads and see if his shitbox can keep up with you then!

My FR-S is the first manual car I've owned, although I've driven sticks before, and I was definitely rusty when I first got it. Still am, since it's only been a week and a half. lol But the progress I've made in that week is very good. A 5 hour drive that turns into 7 hours due to dead crawl holiday traffic will force you to get good at it. ;) lol This is actually the easiest/most forgiving manual gearbox I've ever driven.

That being said, it's to each their own. Some guys like the comfort and driving ease of the automatic, and that's good for them. Personally, I couldn't buy this car with an auto transmission. However, your car isn't mine and mine isn't yours. If you like it then that's all that matters, enjoy it as it is. If you do look at another in the future though, keep in mind that this manual transmission is very easy to learn on and get used to/good at.

This car isn't going to win many races, even with the manual transmission. Also, I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a v6 lancer, I could be wrong though.

Even with a turbocharger there will be a lot faster cars on the road that are a lot less modified. If you wanted a car for highway races you bought the wrong car.

I don't mean to sound like your dad, but filming youself while you're racing on public roads is pretty lame.

You mean track. It's more fun there and you can't make lame excuses like omg there was a wet leaf I didn't want to die.

Tracking my car really dropped the FI I wanted down the priority list.

LOL wet leaf DKM me man :lol:

I used to drive autos. When looking at this car at the dealer lot, I stalled it twice. It didn't matter to me, I knew what I wanted and I took the leap. Sure, the next 2-3 weeks of stalling in traffic sucked, but it builds memories. Struggling for a bit is part of the learning experience and makes for funny drinking stories.

I still stall from time to time, but I haven't regretted buying the manually nearly as much as I thought I would. Be happy with whatever choice you made and don't try to justify it to anyone - as long as you're glad with what you have, that's what matters.

haha somehow I managed to not stall it on the test drive. I had some casual experience driving my ex gf mt Si, but other than that my first MT car. As I drove it out the dealer lot into traffic, someone gave me a pass to enter traffic and I stalled exiting the dealer driveway haha :lol:

No, sounds like you bought the car you wanted to buy and you care too much what other people say, you can't hear them when you're at 7,000 rpm carving through a corner.

Like was said above, go to a track or autocross, a turbo will be the last thing on your mind unless you're secretly a super experienced racing driver and a great troll.

I can top that. I had learned stick ages ago on a janky '67 Beetle. Shift springs were worn/broken so the stick constantly leaned left while in neutral. Therefore, as far as I knew, getting into first was just pushing the gear straight on. Nope.

Left the dealership, stalling in 3rd about a dozen times. Got myself stuck in the middle of an intersection in the left turn stalling in 3rd. Didn't know about the reverse lockout because I was too eager to get my car home, so I didn't know how to get it into reverse. I was actually throwing it into first over and over again. So further I crept into the intersection as I stalled over and over again. Cars honking. Palms sweating. Feverish cursing.



And to this day I do not regret getting the manual. :bonk:

No true car enthusiast who is worth there time talking to would make fun of you for buying whatever car you did or which ever transmission route you went.

They sure will have there opinion on what is best, and might tell you why they feel MT is better or why there FRS is cooler than your BRZ blah blah blah. But if they look down of you for you being a car fan and choosing something that fits you best there not worth your time.

I have the AT, love it to death. Taken it to the track, take it out into the windy roads for weekend drives at least every other week. I normally am in manual shift mode but when LA traffic hits I can just chill in auto mode and not care. Its not a straight line car and you shouldnt look at it like one. I dont care if other people think its lame if I went AT, its not there car so who the fuck cares what they think.

If you wanted straight line drag race speed you should have bought American Muscle, not a Japanese Import.

This is my first automatic.

It's also my first new car.

No regrets.

I want to drive the wheels off this thing, which probably means at least 200k miles and twenty years. I'll be fifty in twenty years. I don't want to struggle to commute with a cup of hot tea in my old age. I've already had one kidney transplant.

The automatic is only about a second-or-so slower. Even the slowest of our cars would have been a supercar thirty years ago.

As far as bragging rights go, anyone who would put someone else down (in person) for the car they bought is a ****. Most people who brag about how quick their car is is usually compensating for something else. Or jealous. Or lying anyway.

I like my "slow" car just fine. :-)

This isn't a 0-60 car, it's all about the handling. Really, you made an awesome choice in some scenarios with the auto because sitting in traffic with this car is THE WORST.
If you're talking braking and corners you don't have to heel toe, rev match, etc. Maybe a small dip in acceleration if anything. Both autos and manuals have their setbacks. The fact is you bought an awesome car which can destroy most of its competition with a tire swap.