[Moto-P]

For those who are wondering if it was normal for the FR-S/BRZ 6 speed manual's 2nd gear to be at times, stiff on a cold morning start-up...

Don't worry, it's not a malfunction or a defect. I just got off the phone with the design team for the FT86 which include the Team 86 lead by Mr.Tada as well as specialists from AISIN.

What they told me was that this was a design constraint of two choices.

To make a superbly crafted actuation and interface for a manual transmission that's slick and sporty, with positive engagement feel, the various components were machined closer to that of a racing transmission in terms of clearance.

While that results sometimes in stiff actuation when cold, it is what gives the Toyota 86 siblings, the most sportiest, precise feel when it is at proper operating temperature.

So the bottom line was either to make a shifter with looser feel and have it perform loose and lazy at all temps, or to make something super precise at proper temperature and live like a sports car fanatic. They chose the latter and I am glad they did.

So fear not. It was intended and it was the choice the engineers made, to make this car with less compromises than ever before. See?

They thought of everything! And didn't cater to people who aren't into sports cars.

So next time, don't be embarrassed, as this is also the case with Porsche 996 GT3 and most exotic track-capable manual transmissions as well!! Brag about it instead.