Newb with questions vs. RF & Abarth

[funwheeldrive]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Maybe funwheeldrive always wears a helmet, like that kid that lived down the street who had a soft area in his skull.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not everybody tracks their car.

I have epilepsy so I probably should wear a helmet.

If you don't track your Miata at least once you are doing something wrong. /opinion

[Jordanwolf]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Having read some of the threads he started I suspect it is a different material.

Shots fired.

Pretty sure it's in the contract you sign for your car that you are required to take the car on a track. It's also in the owners manual on page 86.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf

Shots fired.

Pretty sure it's in the contract you sign for your car that you are required to take the car on a track. It's also in the owners manual on page 86.

Unless you want warranty coverage.

[Coachrhino11]

Originally Posted by funwheeldrive

I find it hard to believe that a tall guy can fit into a RF while wearing a helmet.

Look, pretty sure you are correct. I don’t plan on tracking car anyway, dd, fun get around twisty car. Not opposed to it ever, but no plans to.

[Coachrhino11]

Originally Posted by funwheeldrive

I have epilepsy so I probably should wear a helmet.

If you don't track your Miata at least once you are doing something wrong. /opinion

I personally don’t want to track a 35k car, just me I guess. I don’t trust others. If I really wanted to track a Miata I wouldn’t do it with RF, it would be older Miata.

[Coachrhino11]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Some actually race the AT.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69139

Nice read, thx. I killed time last night reading that instead of doing house crap. I’m thinking AT in newer BRZ is quite a bit better than ND’s from what I read. The Fiat has the turbo unlike Miata, so the AT is better in that vs. Miata. I live in Austin and traffic here sucks pretty dang bad. Before anyone here says it, I already know there’s many who live in larger cities and drive stick daily, and that is absolutely your choice. Traffic pisses me off enough, not sure I’m wanting to add more to have to focus on.

That said, I will test both eventually and report back. I also like increased mpg in AT being as I drive a Wrangler for my other vehicle and I’d like this vehicle to be good on gas. Filled up Jeep last night, ouch. Prices rising. I don’t want to pay 3-4$ in a Jeep.

[Tcoat]

Can't quote.
The At tranny in these cars is not some off the shelf unit that is used anyplace else. It was designed and built specifically for this car. Contrary to what many of the "MT is life" crowd may think it is not your granny's Corolla transmission!
Interesting reading on the tranny development here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5274

[GalloVecchio]

I had the Fiat 500 Abarth, and loved it... HOWEVER... quality control is an issue. The hood didn't line up properly, among other things and the paint is like paper. The seating position for such a compact car was high and the short shift kit sucked. I imagine the Spider sits a little lower. If they're the same seats, they're not particularly comfy. It sounded the business though, stock. My BRZ in stock form sounded like an angry sewing machine. My kid (9) hates the BRZ back seat, loved the Fiat. It's really low in the back and not easy to peek out of that tiny window, especially when tinted.

Anyway, good luck! Go test drive everything and remember the devil's in the details!

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Coachrhino11

I live in Austin and traffic here sucks pretty dang bad. Before anyone here says it, I already know there’s many who live in larger cities and drive stick daily, and that is absolutely your choice. Traffic pisses me off enough, not sure I’m wanting to add more to have to focus on.

I lived in Austin for two years, so I'm familiar with the traffic. It's ridiculous.

But I have a manual BRZ and an automatic Jeep, and I found the manual to be much better in heavy traffic than the automatic. With the auto, I had to have my foot on the gas or the brake pretty much all the time. Traffic was never the right speed where I could just coast in the Jeep. In contrast, with the manual, I could take it out of gear and coast slower than idle speed without having to ride the brake or accelerator. Or I could put it in first and creep along as low as 6 MPH in gear, which the auto wouldn't do without speeding up and forcing me to brake. I had so many more options with the manual that it was actually less work and less frustrating.

The only situation in which I have ever wished I had an auto was going uphill in stop and go traffic on the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi outside Baton Rouge. That probably took 1000 miles off the clutch and was annoying as hell. But I never had that problem in Austin, even with the hills it has, because the hill approaches weren't nearly as long before traffic would move again.

Maybe things are different for you, but I just don't see heavy traffic as a valid reason on its own to avoid the manual. I think a lot of potential new owners who don't have a lot of experience driving a manual see these comments and become afraid of the manual unnecessarily.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by GalloVecchio

I had the Fiat 500 Abarth, and loved it... HOWEVER... quality control is an issue.

The Spider is manufactured by Mazda. It's a Fiat engine, but you can't really judge the quality control for the rest of it based on other Fiat shitboxes.

[G-Man]

my weekend (AKA no fiat motors!)

"Ok, haven't messed with the fiat but some research has yielded the likely cause of the issue. The intake valves are run by an insanely complicated hydraulic system run off oil pressure, if the actuator fails, it holds the valves open and snags the spark plug on the way by one the piston bumps them, the mulit-air valve system is supposed to have a fail safe mode to prevent valve damage if an actuator fucks up, but I've read a couple accounts of what it did to you (me), all resulting in valve failure and a dead on road scenario. Also, the only warning of multiair system failure before it happens is occasional rough cold starts"

[BFIFE22]

My BRZ was my first manual car I owned and it was easy to get used to. The clutch was the only real learning curve I had, but it's light so it doesn't wear you down while learning. I loved the shifter because it was easy to tell I was in gear, and what gear I was in, without having to really think about it.

[bkharmony]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Can't quote.
The At tranny in these cars is not some off the shelf unit that is used anyplace else. It was designed and built specifically for this car. Contrary to what many of the "MT is life" crowd may think it is not your granny's Corolla transmission!
Interesting reading on the tranny development here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5274

Disclosure: I have a 2017 AT. Bought it against my wishes because I'm in so damn much start-stop traffic every day.

The AT gets a bad rap around here. I mean it's understandable; this is an enthusiast site. But the transmission is great. The flappy paddles are snappy. Fake stick mode is responsive and I love it.

Do I wish my situation allowed me a MT? Yes. Do I still love my AT car? Absolutely.

[GalloVecchio]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

The Spider is manufactured by Mazda. It's a Fiat engine, but you can't really judge the quality control for the rest of it based on other Fiat shitboxes.

Excellent point my friend.

My Abarth was assembled in Mexico. Not exactly the Mecca of Motorsports, but I expected the build quality to be much better.