i test drove the FRS yesterday! and im a little worried....

[pr086]

ntaphse, can yout talk more about how the manual frs compares to the si? it's good to hear from someone that has experience with both. i know the frs won't have that vtec kick like we get at 6k, but i felt nothing like that level of acceleration when i was in the automatic frs.

what does driving the manual feel like compared to the si?

[SUB-FT86]

But isn't the biggest difference between sport and auto being able to rev higher? It's not like sport has untapped hp/tq. In regular DD I don't think that would make a big difference unless you DD around 5-7k rpms daily right?

[Saber_TRD]

Originally Posted by pr086

they shouldn't have even put this "slow mode" on the car! (in my mind it shouldn't even come automatic, but from a business perspective i understand it.)

Maybe they'll do what they did with the Celica. The TRD edition came only in a 6MT, no AT at all for the TRD version. If you wanted AT you had to go regular GT or GT-S. The 86 does have that fancy nur-spec kit that looks very similar to the TRD Celica kit. I could see this happening again in the future.

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by pr086

ntaphse, can yout talk more about how the manual frs compares to the si? it's good to hear from someone that has experience with both. i know the frs won't have that vtec kick like we get at 6k, but i felt nothing like that level of acceleration when i was in the automatic frs.

what does driving the manual feel like compared to the si?

The new Si doesn't even have the VTEC kick anymore. The new Si is pathetic with it's steering light enough for a person having a stroke, to it's soft clutch pedal that pushes itself in from just a slight breeze or an insect landing on it. Or the ridiculous rev-hang that keeps your rpm's up even after you've shifted! What the hell was Honda thinking?!?

The driving pleasure of the previous generations is long gone. Now it's a DX with more HP and accessories. This coming from a 20 year Civic veteran.

[burt]

I had the same experience when I test drove the automatic. It made me rethink the buying of the BRZ completely. I got a chance to test drive the manual yesterday and I'm definitely back to wanting to purchase the car.

The automatic has tall gearing but even the manual BRZ has taller gearing when compared to the Si. I'm coming from driving a Integra with ITR gearing with 4.7 FD (not daily).

Test drive the manual and then see how you feel.

[Primo86]

Originally Posted by Saber_TRD

Maybe they'll do what they did with the Celica. The TRD edition came only in a 6MT, no AT at all for the TRD version. If you wanted AT you had to go regular GT or GT-S. The 86 does have that fancy nur-spec kit that looks very similar to the TRD Celica kit. I could see this happening again in the future.

I came from a 7th Gen. Celica also (yours looks great BTW.) I think you are deff. right about the TRD version and its kit. Heres the sad truth: they only offered the Celica TRD Sports M in the Japanese market, and a few made it to the Euro scene. Very limited number unless you lived in Japan. This will most likely be the case with a TRD FR-S if one comes to exist; especially considering the limited production, which the Celica really didn't have.

[Primo86]

This thread makes me so happy I bought a 6MT. =] I came this close to ordering an auto because I do a lot of city driving and don't have much manual experience, but luckily Esoteric Performance (FT86 Club member) talked me into the proper manual because of the gearing, diff, and driving experience. I am so glad now.

sorry for the double post.

[Saber_TRD]

Originally Posted by Primo86

I came from a 7th Gen. Celica also (yours looks great BTW.) I think you are deff. right about the TRD version and its kit. Heres the sad truth: they only offered the Celica TRD Sports M in the Japanese market, and a few made it to the Euro scene. Very limited number unless you lived in Japan. This will most likely be the case with a TRD FR-S if one comes to exist; especially considering the limited production, which the Celica really didn't have.

I wasn't referring to the Sports M, that beauty was indeed a rarity. I believe the Modellista will be the Sports M equivalent for the 86, that will likely never see the light of day over here. Along with this TRD version of the 86.

I do hope this kit, so dubbed the nur-spec, comes our way. (Squeezing as many smecksy pic links in there as I can ) As that reminds me of the TRD version North America received... on a Toyota (shameless plug for want of Toyota and not Scion/Subaru).

Edit: Fixed links as apparently google translate forces you to the main page.

[ahausheer]

One thing to watch for in the automatics is a lag in throttle response that lasts for a second or two and then is replaced with a very jerky acceleration. Some Toyotas from the mid 2000's suffered from this throttle lag, there was even a TSB out to fix it. The TSB reprogrammed the ECU to improve ''shift quality''. Sounds like you are simply describing less power than you expected but I wanted to point this out to others.

[Moto-P]

Originally Posted by Boosted2.0

I have driven both. the auto is actually faster than the manual, but you have to put it into sport mode. Regular "D" mode is intended for economy and smooth comfy shifts for your daily commute.

The auto trans has 4 modes in total:

1 - D mode - normal daily driving
2 - D with sport mode turned on - Tranny does all shifting, but does so much more agressively than in normal D mode. It holds gears longer and downshifts mmore agressively
3 - Manual mode - Kind of like D mode with wport, only you control the shifts
4 - Manual mode with sport mode turned on - This is where the magic happens. Upshifts are amazingly fast. Downshifts are throttle blipping and amazingly fast. It will let you downshift into very high revs (not oner-rev, but very high in the range0. It will also not upshift unless you tell it - it will bounce of the rev limiter unless you tell it to shift.

The auto is pretty amazing. I still chose a manual and I feel it leaves me more options on the tuning front, and I prefer driving a manual, but those are preferences. I reccomend going back for another drive.

One more... SNOW mode, where lock up is delayed and downshifts are slower/smoother to not break traction, and taller gears are used longer to keep torque low on treading snow.

[R36 almost]

i drove a manual today. its SLOW. i revved all the way to limiter and did wheel chirps while shifting, but its no SPORTS car. Its "sporty"
Its like plain cake so you can modify it the way you want. Add turbo or so.
Stock, its not worth money

[moniz]

Originally Posted by R36 almost

i drove a manual today. its SLOW. i revved all the way to limiter and did wheel chirps while shifting, but its no SPORTS car. Its "sporty"
Its like plain cake so you can modify it the way you want. Add turbo or so.
Stock, its not worth money

6-7 seconds(depending on various reviews) is slow for you? That's not bad as far as I'm concerned. Sure it's not a drag racer, but then again, that's never been the point of this car.

Love it for what it is, or look elsewhere, but slagging it for not being what YOU want, doesn't make it a bad car or "not worth the money" stock. Just not worth YOUR money is all.

[Koolkiid]

I also test drove the A/T and I was very disappointed(I was expecting better). It was a slow turtle(and I went full throttle with only 6 miles on it). The car feels heavier and slower than the TC. I didn't try the paddles but I did try the sport mode and trac off. and it felt almost the same. I just love the power on the g37s and g35 coupe. I heard that the M/T is better(will test drive it soon) I hope!

The car shifts very fast(like 4th gear going 40mph) and you can feel every gear change(don't like that) because it feels like the tranny is getting messed up? Why???

[Bristecom]

Like I've already said, I found the power to be acceptable on my test drive with an automatic so I should be fine with the manual. I wasn't expecting a lot from it to begin with though. I just wanted some push, which it has, so it's fine.