Automatic 86 On the Track! OH NO!!!

[SmireyFase]

Hi! I drive a '13 FRS automatic. I was wondering if there were any enthusiasts that currently have or had a automatic car that they took to the track and/or autoX. What was your experience and how was it different from manual and what was the pros and cons of it. Just for educational purposes I wanted to know how you guys feel XD

[xFury]

There was a post regarding picking Auto and Manual. He said the Auto performed better in the AutoX/Track, but I seen a few fellow 86er with Auto running AutoX/Track just fine.

Comes down to driver mod lol

[SmireyFase]

Originally Posted by xFury

There was a post regarding picking Auto and Manual. He said the Auto performed better in the AutoX/Track, but I seen a few fellow 86er with Auto running AutoX/Track just fine.

Comes down to driver mod lol

ahhh, I was just curious because I was watching a buncha informative videos on how to actually drive your car and the racer was basically talking about the types of racing and stuff. This question was just interesting to me at the time. I also do wonder if you can use different techniques with automatic as you would use in a manual. I'll probably look into this more XD

[FX86]

Originally Posted by SmireyFase

ahhh, I was just curious because I was watching a buncha informative videos on how to actually drive your car and the racer was basically talking about the types of racing and stuff. This question was just interesting to me at the time. I also do wonder if you can use different techniques with automatic as you would use in a manual. I'll probably look into this more XD

hands always on the wheel because paddle shifters

[Tcoat]

@soulreapersteve to the AT track thread please. Steve to the track thread.

[Mr.ac]

As long as you time your up/down shifts right, there would be slight difference compared to the manual.

Would you still have a fun time at the track? Yes.
Would you make record breaking lap times? No.
Would your car be ok on the track? Yes.

[Autocon]

Take my 14 Auto to the track and love it! Been a few times already. Biggest difference between MT and AT at the track is probably just getting off the line. MT will always feel cooler/faster than an AT where you just put your foot down on the gas.

Other than that you still have to up shift and down shift the same as a MT so there isn't much difference really other than the start in my opinion.

[strat61caster]

Yes people track and autox AT's and enjoy it.

Now don't come back to this thread again until you're signed up for one.

[soulreapersteve]

I'll give my thoughts and exp as a still newbie to auto-x, though have about 10 events or so under my belt. Also did a "introduction to tracking" event a few weeks back.

First off, you'll always leave some time out on the course due to the nature of how the auto tranny works compared to the manual. I'm not a car-technical person so I won't bother trying to explain why. Its simply the damn nature of the torque converter.

I did my 2nd serious event earlier this year in normal drive and sport mode. In my opinion, it simply sucks due to how sport mode works. Every event now, I switch over to manual mode and shift when needed. If you didn't already know, the tranny will never shift up on its own and itll only shift down when it almost reaches stall speed - which is perfect for auto-x.

The paddles forced me to be a "grip turner" than a "shuffle turner" regarding the steering wheel. I used to always hit the damn paddles which caused unwanted downshifts or upshifts, which usually turned out to be a wasted run when it happened. I use the gear selector btw.

Whatever people tell you elsewhere, DO NOT MOD THE CAR!! Especially the tires, I am glad I listened to the wiser minds on this forum and stuck with the tires. They are great to learn on and they break loose very progressively. They also squeal like a baby pig so you'll know the limit between grip and no grip. Looks like your car is a bit older so I dunno if you still have the "prius" tires.

VSC/traction control. I didn't turn that off until probably my 3rd or 4th event, that was because I was still learning how to navigate the sea of cones. Once I started being more comfortable seeing the course and not getting lost, I started to push the car more. That's when traction control kept kicking in and grabbing the car, and if you know how that works, it slows you down so much. I turned it off halfway through an event and gained about 8 seconds. Up to you when you want to decide to turn it off.


Looks like I digressed lots from the original intent of my post so I'll end with this thought: the auto is damn fun to take to competitive driving events. As I said above, I am still a noob in the auto-x world so take it however you wish.

[Twinz]

I have autocrossed a lot of automatics. The twins actually have my favorite auto for track use. I turn the nanies off, select "sport" for the transmission, and just run the cars in "D". Then the auto pretty much does what I want it to do without me even asking.

They can't launch as well as a manual, but are otherwise a lot of fun.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by Twinz

I have autocrossed a lot of automatics. The twins actually have my favorite auto for track use. I turn the nanies off, select "sport" for the transmission, and just run the cars in "D". Then the auto pretty much does what I want it to do without me even asking.

They can't launch as well as a manual, but are otherwise a lot of fun.

Oh thanks for posting this because I totally forgot about this part!

Using normal brake torquing, you can only get up to 2k rpm but there's slightly different way to get past the "limiter"/safety feature. Posted somewhere on this forum, I recall all you have to do is not press down on the brake pedal as much then you can go up to 4k rpm or more.

Of course, one doesn't want to do this for too long because heat = bad for the tranny. I'm only going to try this out once next time I am able to hit the course, then going back to original method.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I'll give my thoughts and exp as a still newbie to auto-x, though have about 10 events or so under my belt. Also did a "introduction to tracking" event a few weeks back.

First off, you'll always leave some time out on the course due to the nature of how the auto tranny works compared to the manual. I'm not a car-technical person so I won't bother trying to explain why. Its simply the damn nature of the torque converter.

I did my 2nd serious event earlier this year in normal drive and sport mode. In my opinion, it simply sucks due to how sport mode works. Every event now, I switch over to manual mode and shift when needed. If you didn't already know, the tranny will never shift up on its own and itll only shift down when it almost reaches stall speed - which is perfect for auto-x.

The paddles forced me to be a "grip turner" than a "shuffle turner" regarding the steering wheel. I used to always hit the damn paddles which caused unwanted downshifts or upshifts, which usually turned out to be a wasted run when it happened. I use the gear selector btw.

Whatever people tell you elsewhere, DO NOT MOD THE CAR!! Especially the tires, I am glad I listened to the wiser minds on this forum and stuck with the tires. They are great to learn on and they break loose very progressively. They also squeal like a baby pig so you'll know the limit between grip and no grip. Looks like your car is a bit older so I dunno if you still have the "prius" tires.

VSC/traction control. I didn't turn that off until probably my 3rd or 4th event, that was because I was still learning how to navigate the sea of cones. Once I started being more comfortable seeing the course and not getting lost, I started to push the car more. That's when traction control kept kicking in and grabbing the car, and if you know how that works, it slows you down so much. I turned it off halfway through an event and gained about 8 seconds. Up to you when you want to decide to turn it off.


Looks like I digressed lots from the original intent of my post so I'll end with this thought: the auto is damn fun to take to competitive driving events. As I said above, I am still a noob in the auto-x world so take it however you wish.

It was your beginner status and obvious enthusiasm for tracking the AT that made me page you. Gives a different and valuable insight other than the guys that have been tracking for years which the OP should hear.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I'll give my thoughts and exp as a still newbie to auto-x, though have about 10 events or so under my belt.

Dude, that was one of the best writeups I've read. You're spot on.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

It was your beginner status and obvious enthusiasm for tracking the AT that made me page you. Gives a different and valuable insight other than the guys that have been tracking for years which the OP should hear.

Speaking of which, think the forum is broken. I didn't get a notification saying I was mentioned in a thread, just happened to stumble upon this via "new posts" button.


Makes me wonder what other threads I've been tagged in :o