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