[Ocala FR-S]

Day 2

Well here’s my Day 2 report of the week of A/T manual shift mode only.

Just when I thought there was nothing left to confuse, I managed to downshift when I meant to blip the cruise control down in speed. Just a brain fart concerning what my hands are used to doing on the wheel. Other than that, I am quickly gaining a second nature as to when to shift. With my last car being an M/T, it’s coming to me quickly. Though the less I think about how to shift, the more old habits creep in. My left leg and right arm get restless each time I think about when to shift (must remember... just use the paddle). It seems there is more to unlearn than there is to learn in this process.

I am being stubborn about using the paddles over using the stick. I want to avoid confusion about how I do manual shifts. As one poster pointed out, you can’t use the stick to do the occasional manual shifts while in auto drive or sport mode, otherwise an upshift maneuver puts you in neutral. So for now, paddles it is.