trading auto FRS for Manual

[ericmpena]

I bought mine with manual transmission 2 1/2 years ago, before that I had a Genesis Coupe that was 6 speed as well for 2 years, and before that I had a Eclipse GTS that was 5 speed for almost 10 years.

In all honestly, I wish I had bought an auto this time around. Manual is fun, but all I do is use my car for a daily driver. I don't do anything crazy except go to work and back....so with Austin traffic as bad as it is I would rather be driving an automatic. Not to mention that I've heard the FRS/BRZ in auto is actually very good.

It's all preference of course and depends on your situation. My gf doesn't know how to drive manual transmission, so that's a negative for me since it limits our options. If her car is having trouble then I gotta wake up and take her to work...I can't just tell her to take my car. If I need to borrow her bigger car then I have to work around her schedule, I can't just tell her to take my car for the day. For long road trips we can't switch drivers...I gotta drive the whole way.

Those are my reasons why I'd rather have an auto right now.

[3nl]

Originally Posted by totopo

That's not how the 5-60 test works. they do dump the clutch and launch.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/commen..._feel_lied_to/

normally, yes. but not this one. physics 101 tells us 0-60 cannot be slower than 5-60. definitely not 1.5 seconds slower.

the test says 0-60 is 6.5s but 5-60 is 8.0s for the mt frs. that's nonsense...

[Futaba]

I am not the best person to answer since I have driven MT my entire driving life, with a short, brief spin in an AT brabus smart car, but what I can say is with MT, after a while you get so used to changing gear that you do it automatically based on nothing but the engine tones and memory of what speeds and what road angles need what gear, so in effect you're driving a (moderately less efficient) AT anyway, the only real benefit, if you could call it that, is having control over which gear and when, which makes 'hooning it' easier, but also, for this particular car, makes hill starts and (for a beginner) finding the biting point harder because the twins have a tendency to be pretty unresponsive to pedal movement for the first 10% of pedal travel, so stopping briefly on a hill or moving up a hill slowly can be a little bit of a challenge when the ECU senses you're in first gear hovering around 1k rpm and decides it's going to drop/gain revs intermittently, especially if you have just come to a stop after blasting it on a highway.

My honest opinion is that you should do what makes you happy, if the cars already fun then changing may make it more fun but also may make it less fun, I would say before you decide, spend a little more time in someone else's MT and do some regular every day driving first.

Ultimately if someone says to you, 'lol screw AT real drivers drive MT!' You should ignore them entirely.

[Futaba]

Originally Posted by 3nl

the test says 0-60 is 6.5s but 5-60 is 8.0s for the mt frs. that's nonsense...

Anyone that believes that test should email me, I have a bunch of $5 I'll swap for $20 bills because 5 is higher than 2, so you'll be making more!....

[nmctacticz]

I have a manual 2010 subaru WRX and the 2015 Frs in automatic. I have tried the manual Frs and yes its tons of fun but the automatic is not bad either because it has manual capabilities especially in VSC mode. If you were to add 100+ horsepower to your Frs and take it to a circuit track you will definitely have more fun. The stock Frs in paddle shifts is too slow and boring as a daily driver IMO. Have you driven/owned a manual car before? How do you know you're going to like it? For example; I sometimes get really sick of driving my manual WRX in city traffic... its brutal man. On the other hand I have big plans for my FRS as a project car and I dont mind it being a paddle shift for the set up I will be running.

[Spacemane969]

It's nice to see a lighter tone here on the forums lately.

I'm actually going through these same motions right now. When shopping for my FRS I was wayy too specific about condition and color, and probably passed up on a lot of good options along the way, but when I couldn't hold out for a sparkling used MT I bit the bullet and chose the AT that I felt was "the one". I love it to death but I still wonder if I'm missing out on anything and so I'll be going to test drive a used MT in a couple days or so.

While on topic, can anyone give a ballpark of what offers I might expect for a trade? I know values are based on a lot of variables but I figured the starting price of the AT could help take some of the depreciation hit...I'm hoping no more than -2.5k to -3k for a clean trade at a dealer.. maybe even a flat trade via private party.

[whataboutbob]

Something that those who haven't driven the AT in this car might not know. You can use the paddles to shift while in auto mode.

[RichardsFRS]

Also, to me the clutch in these things is very stiff. Just another facet you have to deal with if you get the manual. In heavy traffic, my knee will start hurting if I'm clutching on clutching off repeatedly. I try to hang out in second in traffic if I can. But my knee probably hurts because I'm 46 lol and I run and work out and leg days really put it thru the test.

[RichardsFRS]

Originally Posted by nmctacticz

I have a manual 2010 subaru WRX and the 2015 Frs in automatic. I have tried the manual Frs and yes its tons of fun but the automatic is not bad either because it has manual capabilities especially in VSC mode. If you were to add 100+ horsepower to your Frs and take it to a circuit track you will definitely have more fun. The stock Frs in paddle shifts is too slow and boring as a daily driver IMO. Have you driven/owned a manual car before? How do you know you're going to like it? For example; I sometimes get really sick of driving my manual WRX in city traffic... its brutal man. On the other hand I have big plans for my FRS as a project car and I dont mind it being a paddle shift for the set up I will be running.

If he's going to dump 10+ grand into the car to get 100hp , he may as well start with a more powerful car, Mustang GT in which case if he got an auto or stick it wouldn't matter, because they are just monsters regardless

[Scenic Driver]

Another reason to stick with the auto is you'll never have to worry about changing your throw out bearing early.

[Kendallkab]

Originally Posted by Spacemane969

It's nice to see a lighter tone here on the forums lately.

I'm actually going through these same motions right now. When shopping for my FRS I was wayy too specific about condition and color, and probably passed up on a lot of good options along the way, but when I couldn't hold out for a sparkling used MT I bit the bullet and chose the AT that I felt was "the one". I love it to death but I still wonder if I'm missing out on anything and so I'll be going to test drive a used MT in a couple days or so.

While on topic, can anyone give a ballpark of what offers I might expect for a trade? I know values are based on a lot of variables but I figured the starting price of the AT could help take some of the depreciation hit...I'm hoping no more than -2.5k to -3k for a clean trade at a dealer.. maybe even a flat trade via private party.

Depends on the condition and the year. I had a dealer tell me they would give me 15000. Mine is in fair condition and has 38000 miles on it a 2013.

[NyC Zn6]

For A/T cars is it DCT or DSG style shifting?

[iag48st]

Originally Posted by NyC Zn6

For A/T cars is it DCT or DSG style shifting?

Never driven a DCT car but the shifts are crisp and very fast (.3s).

My previous car was an MK6 DSG GTI and I loved the quick shifts but hated the lack of full control over the tranny. In manual mode it would automatically upshift at redline. It also would downshift if you depressed the pedal all the way.

The FRS on the other hand gives you full control. You can bounce it off the limiter while drifting, you can double tap up or down to skip gears.

I'm in Woodside Queens, if we ever meet up, ill let you take her for a spin.

[totopo]

Originally Posted by NyC Zn6

For A/T cars is it DCT or DSG style shifting?

neither... it is a torque converter automatic transmission.