Quote:
Originally Posted by Jedi1
Odd that you asked this question today of all days. I just took the FRS into the dealer this morning. I had a break from my current tour about 4 weeks ago and took the car out for a day of serious driving.
About 10 minutes into my second run, the transmission started shifting itself from 3rd to 4th when I had not called for an upshift. In a straight line, not a huge deal. In a braking zone when you are expecting some engine braking to aid turn in, HUGE DEAL! My dealer is consulting with Toyota regarding whether this is a heat related fail safe or ecu/pm issue. If it is a heat based fail safe I have asked to question whether or not adding a quality trans cooler will effect our warranties. I'll let everyone on here know the response as soon as I get an answer.
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A trans oil cooler is almost a necessity imho (in my humble opinion). Especially if you track the car. You might also want to contact either Level Ten or IPT. They do some great work. But seeing as how well the auto transmission is coming straight from the factory, I highly doubt the need for any upgraded solenoids and such. They do however carry the Raybestos friction plates and such. Which again, from the way the factory transmission comes from the factory, I doubt it will be needed unless you make a HUGE amount of torque.
I really do recommend B&M racing's transmission oil cooler. They have a nice cold fluid bypass built in so if you're in an area that sees snow like me, you don't have to worry about your tranmisssion oil never heating up. lol.
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As for the people that discuss what a driver's car is and how a manual is a necessity. That's not necessarily true. I think overall it has to deal with how the car responds to the driver input. For instance, if I turn the steering wheel, does the car turn? or does it just "roll" around like a boat?
I think the same thing applies to the transmissions. If I choose to shift, does it let me do so. With the FR-S, it does. Those shifts are extremely quick. From that perspective, I think it does suit the idea behind a "driver's" car.
Next we have to discuss the generation difference. I am currently 24. I grew up in a high school where we were almost picked for the high school for the show for "laguna beach" but then it wouldn't have been called laguna beach... anyways... There were kids that drove 7-series and such to class. Parents were rich and bought their kids new cars. I drove my 91 accord which I later swapped. If you went in to my school, you could count on your hands the amount of people that could actually drive stick. 10 years before that... things were a lot different. (this applies mainly to the USA since Europe has a lot higher percentage of manual drivers).
But... given that note, there were not even driving schools that would teach a manual. Most families never had a manual car and simply put... the kids never learned. As a result, they never had a car to practice on. However, with the car culture booming, people often modified their cars and such (think back to when fast and furious came out. Note i did not say "tastefully"). People who's parents were never into cars became interested in cars.
Taking that into account, is the 86 meant to be a civic, corolla, etc? No. It was meant as a sports car. Traditionally, that means that it came with a manual transmission. Sports car owners wanted the sporty look, the fast shifts, the power, the handling, etc. In order to achieve that, it was necessary to use a manual as the automatics 10 years ago were no where near what it is today.
So we talk about a drivers car. We talk about the automatic paddle shifts taking away from the experience. Does it really? To those who are experienced drivers who autocross all the time, race all the time, who have owned a manual car all their lives, pick the manual. You like it. It's what you grew up with. Go for it. For those that are NOT the magazine drivers, those who can drive a stick but not more than daily driving it, get a auto if you want.
TL;DR version...
Car culture has evolved to include first time car enthusiasts who've never owned a manual car and have never learned.
Technology has evolved/improved.
For those that can drive stick from point a to point b, it may be faster for them to race with an auto since they're not as experienced but have no time to practice day in and day out.
It is a matter of preference and what you personally want from your car.
An auto transmission does NOT exclude a car from being a "driver's car".