Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomcat07
Dude, I was a stones throw away from getting an AT. The speed difference is really negligible, this car is a turning beast.
If people give you shit about your AT just throw these back at them:
"the GT-R is a paddle shift AT"
"if you do an NASA event in the beginner class, only paddle shift drivers are allowed to shift in the turns to the optimal gear they need." (this helped my buddy with a modded golf GTI mk5 take out porches at Roebling Road, GA)
"the AT will probably have better resale value in the future as MT drivers are a dying breed, and the way an MT was driven can really hurt its tranny/clutch etc..."
"you don't have to deal with stop and go traffic"
"or roads that are basically speed bump mountain ranges"
|
I don't think any of those arguments really work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rs999
I'll probably be buying a FR-S this week. I am getting the 6MT version. The reason being is I already have a DSG GTI whose gearbox is light years ahead of any standard automatic with torque converter.
This will be the first manual car I've purchased and the most I've ever driven manual regularly is moving my friends' cars from parking spots and driving an ex-girlfriend's car home.
I think I still have the clutch gas thing down but I am a little heavy on riding the clutch especially when getting out of first.
If the FR-S was offered with an automated manual, I might have chose that over the 6MT version.
|
I agree. I've heard mostly good things about the automatic transmission (I have a cousin with an auto FR-S and another with an auto BRZ), but I just feel like when offering an automated transmission, a sports car should deserve a dual-clutch at this point in time. But obviously that would add some cost to the car, so the automatic is a reasonable compromise for people who need it for whatever reason... usually if their significant other lacks the skill to drive a manual.
But maintenance on a dual clutch is even worse than on an automatic. In a manual, if you kill the clutch, then replacing it is a pain but not the end of the world. Replacing either (or both) of the clutches in a dual clutch tends to be a much more difficult install, one that probably costs a lot more. I remember seeing the prices for maintenance on cars with manuals vs. their dual clutch counterparts... it's a noticeable chunk more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88
The idea of AT purchases killing MTs in the future comes from the basic concept of supply and demand. If nobody knows how to or sees the benefit in driving a manual anymore, then the companies will not bother making them. Now, this isn't something that is going to happen over night... or anytime in the very near future. However, there has been a very significant decline in them, particularly in the last 10 years or so.
|
Yup. Just look at Porsche. Yes, their cars are some of the most involving on the planet. But the 911 GT3 is available only with the dual clutch. While it is the superior transmission in terms of performance, the car was meant to be their top dog in terms of pure driving joy but not necessarily the fastest they had to offer, so the faster shift times that you can brag about help with 'Ring times but don't necessarily represent its reason to be. Obviously it's still an insane car either way, but I feel like it would've been more at home in their most ultimate car possible, like a GT2, which is obviously their fastest non-hypercar. But anyone who likes cars will likely view the GT3 as one of the last cars out there they'd have expected would ditch its manual transmission.
At some point the manufacturer has to go with the times, but enough demand will create a supply. Remember the M5 V-10? BMW intended to release it only with the SMG transmission, but there were enough customers (mostly in the US) who made a stink about it to the point where they released it with an option to get a six-speed manual, even though it ended up being slower. But demand won that day, even though it was on a car that really didn't need it (two ton executive sedan), though admittedly the SMG transmission was just alright but overly complicated with something like 15 different shift modes.