Manual or Automatic transmission??

[Davidif 0]

I'm looking at a GT86/BRZ as a second/fun car for the weekend or a summer's evening drive.

My current daily is a Toyota CH-R Hybrid/CVT which does the daily role perfectly.

My question then is what are peoples thoughts about the auto both dynamically and in terms of reliability?

Thanks

David

p.s. to add I'm not looking to track day it just an A/B road blast.

[Leeky 84]

Manual owners will say manual and auto owners will say auto.

Reliability wise the auto is a stronger box than the manual. But on track days they do get hot and its heat that kills autos so i monitor temps of my auto on track days.

The manuals clutches aren’t much good once you got turbo/SC and need upgrading, but if you are staying stock then this isn’t a problem.

Personally i bought my 86 as a pure track day car. I drove both manual and auto and chose auto as it just felt much quicker once moving (except 0-60 where the auto86 just cant build enough revs to get off the line quick enough) a bit more special/exotic/sportier and nicer/easier to drive going from home to the track.
 

I’m not fishing to bait people with this comment but on track I find that I’m always faster than the manual 86’s simply because I'm not backing off the throttle to change gear.

If you want the pleasure of old school manual gear changes then go manual. If you want to be on power without lifting off and flying through the gears super fast like you are on Gran Turismo then go auto.

They are both super reliable boxes. It all comes down to which type of driving experience you want.

[Shad 20]

I have a manual. I love manuals, love changing gear, rev matching, heal & toe, all that good stuff. Never owned an automatic car in my life.

But as manual transmission experiences go, the FT86 is nothing to write home about. The 2nd gear selection issue when cold is a bit ridiculous, and the clutch pedal feel is very poor. I will seriously consider the auto if I ever buy a different one.

With that said, changing to Motal 300 or Redline MTL can help with selection issues, and a different clutch pedal spring can help there too.

[Kaltorak 111]

If you just after a nice backroad/ AtoB car. Take whichever you prefer, testdrive both if you can

Reliability wise, the auto will be fine, I dont think there have been any reports of issues with the auto box over the manual.

[Church 209]

I'm manual owner and have been since almost always. I have never driven auto more then one or two drives, that never was sufficient to get accustomed to it and find it wished for. But perfectly understand those, that driven any car with AT at least month and in city jams, to get easily accustomed & depend on that extra comfort. In some markets, namely US, manuals are almost non-existing .. while it may serve in funny way as extra defense from car thefts, it may also make it harder there to sell it off later on, when potential buyers consist of 95% AT drivers.

Meanwhile .. from all i've seen, AT in twins is rather good, both reliability and shifting feel wise, not exactly lagging slushbox of past. So i'd say that you can easily go with either, depending on your or your significant other preferences. Mine is both daily and track day car, and as i wanted more involvement feel and also to learn some advanced handling techniques, to improve me as a driver, i went for MT. Both options are good, both can be considered. Individual choice is subjective thing, and as people have different priorities/wishes/preferences, "best" choice is different for many.. 

[Varelco 211]

I don't think I've ever read or heard an issue for the Auto it's only ever been manuals. Then again manuals probably heavily outweigh autos sold. 

 

20 hours ago, Shad said:

I have a manual. I love manuals, love changing gear, rev matching, heal & toe, all that good stuff. Never owned an automatic car in my life.

But as manual transmission experiences go, the FT86 is nothing to write home about. The 2nd gear selection issue when cold is a bit ridiculous, and the clutch pedal feel is very poor. I will seriously consider the auto if I ever buy a different one.

With that said, changing to Motal 300 or Redline MTL can help with selection issues, and a different clutch pedal spring can help there too.

Shad get yourself MTEC gearbox springs, won't help crunchy 2nd if you suffer from it but it makes the gear shift feel lovely.

[Conscript 45]

Adding MTEC gearbox and clutch springs, decent gearbox oil (Millers) and adjusting the clutch pedal to lower the biting point slightly has vastly improved my manual car. 

[Lauren 2259]

I've driven autos on road and track and owned a manual for 8 years. The auto is slow on up changes. The gearing is longer so it accelerates slower. Comments about autos being quicker on track defy logic. Depends what you want. All I can say is I don't like autos.

[Leeky 84]

1 hour ago, Lauren said:

Comments about autos being quicker on track defy logic.

As I said, I wasn’t looking to bait. But I’ve never had a manual 86 come past me on track unless I was on a cool down lap or intentionally backing off/going easy.

And yes its a fact that the auto gears are longer, but seeing as I’m always gaining on all the manual 86’s on the long straights shows it doesn’t appear to be an issue. Logic wise, I’ve always just put this down to not having to come out of drive to change gear.

Or maybe its nothing to do with the car and I’m just a better driver  lol

[MR2 4]

3 hours ago, Leeky said:

As I said, I wasn’t looking to bait. But I’ve never had a manual 86 come past me on track unless I was on a cool down lap or intentionally backing off/going easy.

Presumably the relative performance on track of the two gearboxes is of limited interest to the 'not looking to track day it' O.P.

EDIT - on the other hand maybe it is, as just realised he also said he was interested in thoughts on the Auto's dynamic performance 🤔

Personally if I run two vehicles, then 'as a rule' the more different the two vehicles are the more fun it is swapping between them. So, if I should happen to be running an Automatic SUV as a daily (unlikely as I hate SUVs and I've never owned an Automatic) then all the more reason for my weekend/ evening sports car to be manual.

But I am biased against Autos......

Only reason I can see to get an Auto GT86 for road use is if you are going to daily it in stop start traffic.

Love the manual gearchange on my 86 which is certainly beautifully positive and short of throw compared to other manuals I have used in the past, would agree that the clutch action is not the best in slow traffic, but for an evening / weekend car surely less of an issue.

[Lauren 2259]

4 hours ago, Leeky said:

As I said, I wasn’t looking to bait. But I’ve never had a manual 86 come past me on track unless I was on a cool down lap or intentionally backing off/going easy.

And yes its a fact that the auto gears are longer, but seeing as I’m always gaining on all the manual 86’s on the long straights shows it doesn’t appear to be an issue. Logic wise, I’ve always just put this down to not having to come out of drive to change gear.

Or maybe its nothing to do with the car and I’m just a better driver  lol

It's more likely down to your driving. I seem to go past turbo'd GT86's easily enough on track, but there's no way I'm faster than them in a straight line. Bold statement but I don't think I've had another GT86 overtake me on track ever, though I fully expect there'll be someone along to tell me they have. 😂

[Shippers 30]

18 hours ago, Conscript said:

Adding MTEC gearbox and clutch springs, decent gearbox oil (Millers) and adjusting the clutch pedal to lower the biting point slightly has vastly improved my manual car. 

I can second that. Gearbox springs are a great addition and not very expensive. Mike at TD did mine and I'm always grateful he suggested doing it.

Clutch pedal spring seems to divide people in the reviews I read. I have it fitted and think it makes for a nicer clutch pedal feel. Again, a cheap part so worth trying I thought and I'm glad I did. 

@Davidif, as for auto or manual? I love an auto and had a few......just always been in big cars and used for commuting. Manual GT86 all the way in my opinion. Messing around changing gear, rev matching etc etc is part of the fun for me 😀

[Ignited 24]

I agree with driving them both to see what you think. I also agree with having a difference between the fun car and the daily. This is one of the reasons why I bought the auto.                    I also agree that the auto is hard to get off the line very quickly but think it is great when you want to get away reasonably quickly as it just adds speed very smoothly. The overtaking in the auto is great although there is a small delay while it works out what gear it can drop to. After a while though you factor this in with your driving style.

I have the Tuning developments NA package with their super resonated exhaust and 4.67 final drive now and it is quick.

I prefer to drive in auto mode but using the paddles to over ride the box when needed and I think this is better than pure manual mode for making progress.

If it was my only fun car though I think it would be hard not to go for a manual.

Which brings us back to driving both and seeing what you think will work for you!

[MartinT 514]

I've followed @SimonG68 in my supercharged BRZ with his auto 86 in sport mode. I can tell you he doesn't hang around. I had to be on it in the right gear all the time, and could pass him on a straight, but the auto also looks like a bundle of fun.

Choose whichever you prefer.

[SimonG68 71]

I've followed [mention=2497]SimonG68[/mention] in my supercharged BRZ with his auto 86 in sport mode. I can tell you he doesn't hang around. I had to be on it in the right gear all the time, and could pass him on a straight, but the auto also looks like a bundle of fun.
Choose whichever you prefer.

Haha, thanks Martin, I’ll take that
Sport mode, flappy paddles and away she goes. Stock as well

But in a previous life I did used to drive a Fire Engine.. which incidentally was also an Auto


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[MovesWithClouds 5]

Lucky for them you didn't drive the fire engine on track then! Imagine the embarassment being passed by one of those!

[MR2 4]

46 minutes ago, MovesWithClouds said:

Lucky for them you didn't drive the fire engine on track then! Imagine the embarassment being passed by one of those!

Not embarrassing if it's got its blue lights on.......😉

[MovesWithClouds 5]

2 hours ago, MR2 said:

Not embarrassing if it's got its blue lights on.......😉

Is there something about embarassing overtakes you want to share with us then , .. Ethel?

Anyway I'm waiting for the obligatory youtube link now. Then I can add the other one.

[MR2 4]

1 hour ago, MovesWithClouds said:

Is there something about embarassing overtakes you want to share with us.....

 

https://theorytest.org.uk/highway-code-rule-219/

🙂

[Jay 37]

The automatic gearbox is more reliable. If it's just for the eventual road trip, I'd go for the automatic. I have one myself as a daily driver, which is 100% stock. If I occasionally want to have some fun, I put it in manual mode.