Anyone Else Considering an Automatic FR-S?

[Mr.Jay]

Originally Posted by madfast

did you drive them on a race track? on the street sure, you have nothing better to do than play around with a clutch and stick, but on the track you have a lot more to care about than shifting. sure manual will always feel better no matter where you are, but so does no power steering...

i wouldnt want to see manuals go away, but i also dont want to see automanual tech stay stagnant because closed minded people dont see them as sportscar worthy.

I was on the track with both of them and yes I agree on the track you have other things to worry about but it still just doesn't feel like I am doing the driving. I think it would take more skill as a driver to shift myself while racing on the track rather than a flick of a paddle, we all know the only reason why cars are moving to paddle automanual is because they can shift faster than a human thus they can advertise the car as being faster (deff helps sell a supercar plus opens up the market to more buyers) but it should wasn't more engaging. I was in Vegas when I drove those cars and yet I have more fun driving around my local track tho it wasn't nearly as fast, or cool but it was deff more fun to shift yourself IMO.

[zeroshift]

It really depends for me. If it's a 5/6 Speed with a twin clutch, I might opt for the auto on the basis of smoother shifts and a more comfortable ride. If it's just a basic CVT type auto, then definitely a manual.

[bigbcraig]

^ zeroshift, do you have any relation with the transmission company Zeroshift?

Their systems are really interesting.

[Dimman]

For the auto people, have a read:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1RvW64dT2

If Lotus is sharing how and what they do to that Camry tranny with Toyota (and Toyota opts to use it), you auto guys sound like you may be in for a real treat.

[tranzformer]

It would be interesting to see if Toyota/Subaru would also consider including a sport/track mode on the car. Probably not at this price point.

[madfast]

Originally Posted by Dimman

For the auto people, have a read:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1RvW64dT2

If Lotus is sharing how and what they do to that Camry tranny with Toyota (and Toyota opts to use it), you auto guys sound like you may be in for a real treat.

im sure its nothing "new" what they did. like the article said, they went with a basic upgrade due to cost and time. if you were to build a sporty auto from the ground up, you'd build something akin to the AMG MCT. that tranny uses a clutch pack instead of a tq converter.

all it takes is for toyota/subaru to have balls for the auto to perform well. you can make it to lock up at lower speeds (like in the lotus), you can make it to shift quicker albeit with more harshness, you can make it hold revs longer, you can set the shift points higher, etc. its all in the tuning and it is up to them if they want to trade NVH for sporty, quick shifts. also, any tranny that auto shifts at redline is a joke and shows that the car has no sporting intentions. some of he vw DSG's are horrible for this matter...

last thing is that automated manuals and how they operate change constantly. the single clutch automanual may be coming back in favor. the new aventador and its ISR tranny is a single clutch and is supposedly the fastest shifting production tranny...

back on topic i fully expect the FT to have a sporty automatic. i only hope that they have the balls to make it as sporty as possible. its already confirmed to be 6 speeds and paddle shifted so thats a good sign. lets hope it isnt slow shifting and mushy...

[Dimman]

It sounded pretty good for a Camry slushbox. The FT86 auto probably isn't going to be anything fancy tech-wise, so it's nice to know that they can make significant improvements with rather pedestrian starting points.

[Ikaros]

I didn't want to start a new thread about this, so I'm gonna rise this thread from the dead. With the news floating around lately it seems the GT86 is gonna get an automatic gear box based off of the IS-F. Does that change any of your views on getting an automatic?

I for one have never learned or driven am manual before. Plus I don't know anyone who has an manual who will let me learn it on their car. That being said do you guys think the new paddle shifter automatic is as good as the manual version. If I'm gonna get the manual one I'm probably gonna have to learn it with that car. Which means I will probably mess up the gear box or something more important >_< What worries me the most is I don't even think I'll be able to drive it home after I buy it lol.

[Sully]

If it's a super fancy automatic like the IS-F, I'll definitely test drive it.

I'm running around with a different group of friends than I was 5 years ago, and don't have any family in the city. Of the people I see the most, I think I'm the only one that can drive a manual. I'd like them to be able to drive the car in an emergency.

But if it's a terrible, run of the mill auto? Nah, going manual anyway.

[carbonBLUE]

im considering it, with auto i wont have to worry about shifting while trying to pass back a sippy cup to my kids from the front cup holders or handing back happy meals ect, manual is fun n all but if the auto is good iw ouldnt mind paying the extra money for the convenience...

[CXTKRS1]

If Toyota would go to a multi clutch system then yes I would consider (actually prefer) the automatic version. But their is no way in hell I'm driving a sports car with 150 pounds of torque being routed through a slush box.

[trifenix]

I am curious as to why people knock non manual transmissions. "sports cars need to be manual or nothing" Last time i checked F1 and Nascar were race cars and I swear I didn't see them shifting the knob? I guess they are all lacking the "real driving experience and oneness with the car"

I have manual, SMG and automatic vehicles; they are all fun to drive and serve their purpose. I will leave it up to the test drive to see how the auto tranny puts down the power. If it can't deliver power like a manual tranny, then auto is out of the question. I am very curious to see how they can drop in an affordable/strong/responsive tranny in the ft-86. This car will be taken to redline daily and hopefully make my commute enjoyable!

P.S. I still try to teach everyone willing to learn, how to drive stick shift so it won't die!

[old greg]

Originally Posted by trifenix

Last time i checked F1 and Nascar were race cars and I swear I didn't see them shifting the knob? I guess they are all lacking the "real driving experience and oneness with the car"

Last time I checked, racing had nothing to do with the driving experience. And besides, Nascar has nothing but old fashioned manual transmissions. Watch some youtube clips of Nascar @ Infineon or Watkin's Glen if you don't believe me.

Some people simply don't enjoy driving a car with a traditional (torque converter) automatic. Some have never driven a car with a decent automatic and judge all other autos unfairly because of it. Some people just like to have something extra to do (clutching, shifting) while driving. Some people don't like the power loss due to the inefficiency of torque converters. Some people don't mind automatics at all, but simply find a manual transmission to be more enjoyable. And, well, some people are just snobs.

[madfast]

Originally Posted by old greg

Last time I checked, racing had nothing to do with the driving experience. And besides, Nascar has nothing but old fashioned manual transmissions. Watch some youtube clips of Nascar @ Infineon or Watkin's Glen if you don't believe me.

Some people simply don't enjoy driving a car with a traditional (torque converter) automatic. Some have never driven a car with a decent automatic and judge all other autos unfairly because of it. Some people just like to have something extra to do (clutching, shifting) while driving. Some people don't like the power loss due to the inefficiency of torque converters. Some people don't mind automatics at all, but simply find a manual transmission to be more enjoyable. And, well, some people are just snobs.

some? dare i say most... at least online