Dadhawk's FR-S (6AT Firestorm)

[PERRIN_Chris]

Wow, I can't believe someone could be so clueless! I've seen people drive on flat tires, but not bad enough that it comes off and they're driving on the rim of their wheel!

[LeftFootBrake]

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
--Albert Einstein

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by PERRIN_Chris

Wow, I can't believe someone could be so clueless! I've seen people drive on flat tires, but not bad enough that it comes off and they're driving on the rim of their wheel!

I'm thinking the problem was we were on the inner loop of the beltway which meant right turns instead of left. You know how us Southerners are, if you ain't turning left you have to concentrate REAAL hard to keep the car on the track. Its just foreign to us.

[Sovran]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Just as the tire completely leaves the rim, and heads straight back for me, I'm able to dodge left out of the way just in time to avoid the road alligator that used to be her tire bouncing past the right side of my car.

This question is probably unnecessary, but did the car do anything you didn't expect during the emergency lane change? How did it handle? Did you get more or less lateral motion than you wanted? Any unexpected noise?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Sovran

This question is probably unnecessary, but did the car do anything you didn't expect during the emergency lane change? How did it handle? Did you get more or less lateral motion than you wanted? Any unexpected noise?

It reacted perfectly. Honestly, it was like I thought "go left" and the car just did it. It didn't lean, it didn't complain , it just moved almost laterally. Even in the middle of all this, I smiled at it and went "YES!" in my head.

[russv]

This is why I bought the car- to be able to get out of trouble!

[clintavo]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

It's been almost 20 years since I last drove my little red 1985 MK1 MR2. As many of you may have learned here, it was my hope that the FR-S would bring back the "fun sport" I had driving that car. But really it was more than that with the MR2.

Memories are a funny thing. I'm sure that my fondness for the MR2 has only grown over time as bad memories of mechanical breakdowns fade and good memories shine.

I'm sure there were times in its last 3 years I really didn't enjoy commuting in it 60 miles in S. Florida heat without AC because it was twice the value of the car to fix.

And I probably wasn't having too much fun when I lived in DC and the e-brake froze up, even though the handle was down, and I had to stop at "Bubba Joe's" shop to get it knocked loose in a raging snow storm for a mere $150.

What I do remember is going to the Toyota dealer in 1985 to buy a pick-up, seeing the MR2 on a car hauler, and having never even heard of one, asking "what's that, how much, and here take my money!"

I remember being in it going on the first (blind) date with my future bride of 25 years in the car and how beautiful she looked that night in her 80's hair and black jumpsuit sitting next to me. I knew by the end of that night, she was "the one".

I remember the time it spun across 3 lanes of traffic on the DC beltway after some a@#hole ran me off the road, into a bridge abutment, leaving me unharmed but shaken, and how relieved I was that the car had only damaged the front bumper slightly.

I remember driving it at nearly 100MPH to get to the hospital because same said bride was 65 miles away in a hospital getting ready to deliver my oldest son a couple of years later. And how I used to carry him around in the car in a carseat (no airbags you know, and really we didn't know better then).

I also remember thinking about all these things as I finally let the car go, after 7 years, 170K miles, all worn out, now more pink than red. It had a good life but all things must come to an end. I'm sure it went straight to the junk yard, but I pretend that someone bought it, restored it and its still running out there somewhere waiting for our paths to cross again.

After two weeks, does the FR-S replace that? Well, it can't replace the memories, but it does indeed replace the driving experience portion of why I loved that car so much. No, it won't outrun every car on the road in its class, neither would the MR2 and yes neither are perfect.

But, now that I have gotten over the initial period of getting to know each other, I love the way you "wear it" rather than sit on it. I love the way it pivots, instead of drives, around a corner. I love that I have to slow down on off-ramps and in curves, not because the car can't handle it, but because I catch up with everyone else that has to slow down. I love the smile it puts on my face when I see it, and the money it leaves in my pocket at the pump.

Already the memories have started. I have the memory of sharing the first 3 miles in it with my beautiful bride in the passenger seat. I have the memory of picking up my youngest son in it the first time from school, and the smile on his face as his friends making comments to him about his Dad's "cool" car. I'll have the memory of driving it to my oldest son's wedding in a couple of weeks. And one day, I'll hopefully have the memory of rushing to the hospital to see the birth of my first grandchild, my beautiful bride at my side. That doesn't need to happen tomorrow though!

To quote one of my favorite old-school movies, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I couldn't agree more with you on the MR2's greatness. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into mine. I hope to keep my current one alongside the the Toyobaru.

Just finished installing an AE101 4AGZE, replacing the very tired original one.

http://mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=379961



http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...t=MVI_1884.mp4

[Dadhawk]

MPG Figures updated in Original Post of this thread. Also, note that I added a description of my "Commuter Miles" since my commute includes a good portion of highway speeds rather than typical "City Mileage". EPA style city driving is really a small percentage of my daily commute, although there is a significant amount of stop and go.

Spent Memorial Day doing some highway driving. I averaged close to 35MPG during this driving, which included mostly highway speeds between 65 and 75MPH. This also included about 50 miles of driving in the NC mountains in either sport or manual mode.

I have to say, the FR-S sticks to the road like its on rails! I was consistently holding a speed of 45 - 65MPH through two lane twisty roads that were posted at 35MPH or lower with constant left/right turns and switchbacks. In both Sport and Manual mode the AT did a great job of handling itself around the curves. Only real time I had to slow down was due to traffic.

The AT also does a good job of engine braking on the way down, but you have to manually drop it, it does not manage it well itself. No real surprise there, I don't think.

For those that know the area, I was driving the back roads around Lake Lure and Chimney Rock in NC.

[Dadhawk]

Finally hit the 1000 mile mark! Fortunately it was just in time to do some fun twisty driving in the NC mountains. As noted above, the FR-S took to the mountain roads like it was born there, and put a huge smile on my face. A couple of stretches of particularly twistie road I did twice just because I could.

Here is the route I took, and some photos are located in my "Landmarks" thread. The map does not do the twists just but if you zoom in close you can get a better feel for it. Sorry, no video as I don't have a decent onboard camera.

As far as highway driving, it was great finally being able to downshift into the higher torque range for passing! The FR-S will easily slip as low as 3rd gear even at highway speeds.

[Ryosuke86]

And now the real fun begins. Lol.

[Dadhawk]

On my way back after having fun in the mountains, I got caught in about a 75 mile deluge. We're talking serious rain here.

At highway speeds, the FR-S had no issues handling the weather. I was impressed by how well it shed water off the windshield with or without the wipers. Still want to apply some RainX to it, but really there were no issues in this area.

Also, it held its grip on the road very well, I never felt at the limits while driving. In fact, I had to keep telling myself to slow down.

One other nicety is there seemed to be no tendency for the window to fog. This has been a problem in the Mustang and our former Lumina LTZ, even when you had the HVAC controls set "right".

[Memphis]

I know 0-60 isn't what this car is about. But you are the first to break in your car and I'm curious to see how quickly you can get the auto up to 0-60.

Just for reference purposes only. We know the manual is quick. I belive 6.4 is the quickest recorded?

When you get a chance will you do some tests?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Memphis

I know 0-60 isn't what this car is about. But you are the first to break in your car and I'm curious to see how quickly you can get the auto up to 0-60.

Just for reference purposes only. We know the manual is quick. I belive 6.4 is the quickest recorded?

When you get a chance will you do some tests?

I had actually planned on doing that yesterday on my road trip and rain got in the way. I need to find a relatively flat and not so traveled section of road for it.

Not sure I'll get to it this evening, and if I don't it may be delayed as I'll be traveling (sadly not in the FR-S) through the weekend.

[smbrm]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I'm second guessing the 55 shot, honestly. I'm wondering if I was in a slight incline or something. One thing I did notice is the MPG can vary widely at the same RPM even tough speed isn't changing if you are going up/down a small incline. I'll try that one again if I get a chance. It did hold there for at least 30 seconds though, and the road was relatively flat.

Dadhawk

Great thread and excellent reviewing. Really excellent!

I think you have captured and shared what everyone wants to know well beyond the specs. and that is: what it feels like and how it makes you feel as a driver!

You have answered many questions regarding the automatic while concuring with my brief experience with the FRS automatic. It is still fun while being convenient and economical. I always thought I would want a manual, but the mpg is attractive(even though it will take a while to pay for the transmission). If on average you get the 11-12% better FE it also adds to your range flexibility. AND you can still have fun with the paddles!!:happy0180:

One point about the speed MPG readlings. It would be nice to know how they are measuring the mpg for a start, fuel flow or correlated some how to engine vaccum or throttle opening? Just because the speedometer reads constant rpm and speed does not mean that timing and throttle opening are not fluctating with a consequence on fuel flow. The fluctations may not be enough that you would notice but the instantaneous fuel consumption readout could still vary as a result. So if you caught a slight uphill or downhill difference between the readings that could impact the readout comparison. Just a thought to explain the differences.

I am sure you know that drag also squares with speed, as well, so, throwing that on top may impact the differences, but would not explain deviations from an expected rate of mpg increase.

There could also be variations related to where you are on the torque curve. I think those rpm are on a transitional part of the torque curve. As well as we have no idea what the throttle map actually looks like.

Great reviews, you have helped my AT/MT deliberations immensely!

When the drop-dead-date for confirmation arrives I will be much better equipped. So thanks.

One interesting question:

I wonder if you increase the throttle on downshift more than the autoblip programming will provide? Not sure why you wouldn't be able too?

Also, once you have no clutch, left foot braking becomes an option, however that will I suspect be limited by the safety feature to prevent simultaneous brake and gas application(expect this is on the manual and the automatic). It would be a curiousity to understand just how sensitive simultaneous application would be? I suspect it just allows the brake to over ride the throttle(no matter) which would be best in terms of safety.