Manual gear shift in Automatic 86

[Ubersuber]

Plastic paddles are better in winter, especially if you drive without gloves In Socal it's easy to want nice shiny metal paddles. Most "metal" inside cars these days is metalized plastic, still plastic.

Paddle shifting an automatic actually takes some practice both for enjoyment and to gain any real advantage in doing so.

My recommendation is you be guided by what you are expecting from the car: for hard acceleration you shift at or near redline, in some paddle shift cars the tranny does this for you, once you have reached your desired cruising speed select the highest gear possible, and in this case full automatic actually works best. This engine is quite happy pulling cruising speeds at rpm as low as 1,500 rpm, despite all the stick it gets for its supposed torque deficiencies. I routinely select 5th to cruise around town at 30 mph and will use 6th at 40 mph, on my manual shift car.

The really enjoyable part of paddle shifting an automatic is downshifting for corners so that you are in the correct gear when you get back on the gas... this takes the longest to learn (and you can't learn this from watching the tach while in D because most automatics don't do automatic downshifts very well at all, even the good ones, because the tranny software cannot see the road ahead like you can, although the latest Mercedes are working on this deficiency with cameras and integrated gps nav).

I recommend you just go out and play with the car. The software will prevent you from overrevving or from lugging, unlike a full manual which severely punishes certain mistakes like downshifting into too low a gear for the road speed or downshifting into too high a gear as you brake resulting in severe lugging, your automatic is your friend in those situations. Once you have figured out maximum acceleration then work on the downshift technique. Automatic upshifts at redline are a good feature for road driving but there is no substitute for a correctly timed downshift into exactly the right gear to accelerate out of the bend (and bonus, this car should blip the throttle for you which makes you sound sooo expert).

But, don't bother learning any of this if you don't like to hear that engine screaming its way to 7,400 rpm. This car really wakes up from 5,000 rpm and up, below 5,000 rpm it's pretty docile. To really drive this car aggressively you need to be using the engine from 5,000 to 7,000 rpm and a tad more. For around town I rarely get to 5,000 rpm and generally shift at 4,500. Your autobox can do that with no help from you.

[djmm]

Yeah exactly, still need to practice on the gear behaviour. Ideally on a track or long quiet road. A bit hard to do in suburban area where roads are short. I'll just keep practising it and sure I'll get better over time.

But honestly I'm also very happy with driving this car playfully in sports mode.

[Guillaume]

Originally Posted by djmm

Thanks guys. Not trolling but I genuinely wanted to know as I've been learning from and driving in automatic cars only.
Maybe one of these days when I have free time I should try borrowing friend's car and learn the manual.

Didn't know about the arrow though, haven't paid attention to it. Will try again on my next drive.

Friends don't learn to drive a stick with a friend's car.

[paulca]

Just my 2 cents.

High revs generates high heat, high noise, high vibration and high fuel usage. It won't damage the engine per se, but it might wear it faster.

I very occasionally accelerate up to 25 or 30mph in 1st gently just for the noise and the lolz, but you do get some funny looks and it can intimidate the car in front some. The cops might even pull you over to ask what you think you are doing...

What gear you choose to be in depends on what you intend to do. If you don't need torque to accelerate you might as well be in the highest gear you can be in. 3-6th when cruising around town at 30 ish mph. If you like deep burble noises, try flooring it in 4th or 5th at 30mph.

Deciding which of 3, 4 or 5 at 30mph will highlight my point.

If you might have to slow under 30mph occasionally and accelerate back up again OR there is a notable uphill, then 3rd might be worth it. Similarly if you are about to hit the highway and want to nail it up to 55/60, 3rd. 4th is still fine down to 25mph (or even lower, but you risk laboring if you floor it.

If you are established at 30mph and cruising consistently on level road, then 4th or 5th is great. You can cruise at 30mph in 6th to save fuel, but the right pedal is rather "cosmetic" at that point and it will rattle if floored.

Accelerating from a stand still in "normal" or "commuter" mode I go up through the gears in a matter of maybe 1-2 seconds per gear to 4th at 30mph and then 5th if I intend to stay at 30mph. Sometimes 6th if I feel like it.

Should I arrive at a 60mph speed limit sign I'll drop it to 3rd and nail it all the way up to 60mph and then put it back into 6th. Similarly, cruising in 6th at 45 behind a slow car and an overtake comes up, drop 6-3 and floor it. Maybe take 4th for a while or just go straight back to 6th.

Take these are reference gears:

1st below 10mph
2nd below 20mph
3rd below 30mph
4th below 40mph
5th below 50mph
6th for everything else.

Then adjust.

Need torque to accelerate? Lower it one gear.
Want to chill out and save fuel, raise it one gear.

Want to drive like you stole it, drop it two.
Want to hyper mile it, raise it two and forget about accelerating.

The auto box should lock you out from damaging the engine, but it is a grave mistake dropping it a few too many. Braking at 60mph and grabbing 1st instead of 3rd will not only over rev the engine, but will send the car into shift lock drift like you pulled the handbrake.

[Rice Plz]

Djmm, if you have any friends with manuals who are used to driving manual, go for a ride with them in their cars. you'll get an idea of how/where to shift. If you need some hands on example, that would be the best way to do it without having to go through the troubles of getting an actual manual car and messing around with that. That way, with your friend, you get a quick reference as to how the engine should sound and feel at what speeds.

[Tromatic]

People must look at you when you drive down the street at 6k RPM, though.

[Nevermore]

To add to what I said and what paulca said I can actually give you the specific speeds (again using speed instead of RPMs for an auto user to understand). It stays in first unless you put it in neutral, so nothing to worry about there.

2nd - 7mph
3rd - 16mph
4th - 21mph
5th - 31mph
6th - 37mph

These are the relative lowest speeds at which you can shift up if you want to save the most gas. I say relative because depending on the load it might take a mph or two higher to get the gear you want. But, like paulca said, you can't do everything in 6th, so get a feel for the gears and what torque comes in where you need it. When I'm feeling like driving slow I can do an entire commute in 5th and 6th, others want more power so they go lower, it all depends.

[Tromatic]

I tried driving in first at 6k on the clock. Holy shit, how could you do that on a regular basis? The FR-S auto is a very nice transmission, and usually gets it right, but not learning how to run the thing in manual is a waste. As said above, it will downshift on it's own to keep you moving, and according to the manual everyone has read will protect the transmission from user error. Or so they say.

For an easy tutorial, take it out for a drive and get a feel for when it shifts in "auto" in various conditions and then dupe that in "manual".

This is the first auto-trans car I have ever had, and I really don't miss the manual all that much. Other than burnouts, I guess, but that is one less temptation to be stupid I have to deal with. Besides, I don't have to set down my Martini or bong with it in auto.

It's easy. And rewarding. And great fun. And you won't sound like an assclown cruising through town.