I'm guessing the target audience likes the look just fine as it serves to differentiate it from earlier models. Everyone (who knows cars) well look at it and instantly know what it is
Ferrari's new "fake" manual gearbox.
- Thread starter Mr Boochie
- Start date
I'm guessing the target audience likes the look just fine as it serves to differentiate it from earlier models. Everyone (who knows cars) well look at it and instantly know what it is
RVT1K
Super Member
I went through nine sets of tires on that thing, most of them being Michelin Pilot Ss's. It was like a slot car, but I did a fair share of drifting. My 75 mile commute, each way, took me through some amazing, well maintained, Kentucky twisties. And they don't use Radar cops here. They use deer. Luckily, I never hit one but there were a few close calls.
Once I was riding the curves through a large flat of recently harvested corn fields, doing 85 in a 55, and I saw these two cars a mile or so away doing about the same speed coming toward me (no corn, so I could see around all the corners). As they passed I realized they were two state troopers. They didn't even slow down, but one flashed his blues for a second after they got a couple hundred yards past me. I reciprocated with my flashers, and we all went on our way... I'm guessing they called ahead for the deer.
I had a 2004 Honda RC51 when I lived in AZ.
There were some roads in the Bartlett Lake area that were god's gift to sportbikes.
One area in particular was my favorite crack-of-dawn-assault-on-the-corners destination. Tires and brake pads were thrashed and replaced regularly.
Last lap
Active Member
The sole reason I didn't get a convertible is this: I used to have a very nice LeBaron convertible, white on white with Burgundy leather interior. It was not a sports car and you could see the trunk deck flexing in a different plane than the mirror, but as a gigmobile, it was virtually worthless. Traded it in on a Scion xB 5 speed in 2006, which I still drive even though it looks like it does now (my wife refuses to be seen in it). But the FR-S could still take a bass and a small amp when I didn't need all that space in the xB.Twisties are what that car was built for.
Really, with the top down, the S2000 feels close to riding a motorcycle — extreme throttle response.
I'd kinda like to get a Slingshot now. especially since I have a gargage to slide it into when not driving it. In our state you don't need a Helmet.
BTW, the xB as it is today, the interior is still in excellent condition, but after the deer hit... However, it's a five speed and at 250k miles is still on the original clutch. I love driving it - and a side benefit is that the locals don't think I have any money.
I think I'll keep my Nova, but the Ferrari fake clutch & shifter isn't 100% "fake" per-say. It just isn't mechanical.
I don't know? I'd probably rather have that setup than the paddle-shifter.
I don't know? I'd probably rather have that setup than the paddle-shifter.
To me, paddle-shifting is a PITA. I just put the darn car into DRIVE and let it figure out the shift points.
My wife has never touched the paddle shifter in her Lexus. A completely wasted accessory, in her case.
I use the paddles in our Odyssey on occasion. At around 55-60 mph, it hunts between 8th and 9th gear. I will sometimes use the + paddle to get it into 9th gear, then watch as the instantaneous MPG goes up. Above 65 mph it stays in 9th.
RVT1K
Super Member
I've never driven a car with paddle shifters.
But I had a couple of cars with "built" automatics -727 Torqueflite and Turbo 400- with semi-auto valve bodies. This allowed you to manually shift if you wanted or just put it in drive.
I've removed and replaced those Turbo-hydramatic-400s. They are built to last forever. So much bigger than the TH-350s. Both are great transmissions.
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I have only accidentally touched the paddle shifters in my Mustang.
I have no illusions that I could do it better than the automatic. My motto is "just because you can doesn't mean you should."
Nice car and one of the best that Honda ever made.I'm keeping my S2000 for now. A real 6-speed manual (I think... let me check the owner's manual).
Lavane
Lunatic Member
My wifes Hyundai has a dual clutch manual trany that shifts like an automatic and without a clutch pedal. I hate the thing. It lurches and stumbles when driven around town. Especially in the winter when its cold.
Its the only car I've ever owned that I truly loath. She picked it, so she has to drive it, not me.
Its the only car I've ever owned that I truly loath. She picked it, so she has to drive it, not me.
Doesn't it have an automatic "no thinking" mode?
Lavane
Lunatic Member
Ya, it has a shifter like an automatic. You drive it just like you would an automatic. But it stumbles and cant decide what gear it should be in when taking off from a stop. Sometimes it just stays in between gears lkke its in neutral until you stab the gas pedal down more. Ive had it in to the dealer.
There diagnostics show it's fine, and it does drive fine out on the highway.
It just can't make up its mind which of the eight gears it should shift into when driving in town.
These days, there are very few long stretches of open highway. This hesitation in shifts must be annoying for daily driving.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
Very annoying. Unless you wait for the engine to reach operating temperature before taking off its way worse. One night in winter when leaving the state fair parking lot when it was really cold outside the car just leap frogged the whole way out without even putting my foot on the gas. I wasn't able to go any faster due to all the cars in front of me. Even when I had my foot on the brake a bit if I had to go even slower. The only other car that ever did that was a muscle car I had with a rather radical cam. It was a neck jerker going through any parking lot in that thing.
And the dealer says this is normal? A Hyundai that drives like it has a 3/4 cam in it?Very annoying. Unless you wait for the engine to reach operating temperature before taking off its way worse. One night in winter when leaving the state fair parking lot when it was really cold outside the car just leap frogged the whole way out without even putting my foot on the gas. I wasn't able to go any faster due to all the cars in front of me. Even when I had my foot on the brake a bit if I had to go even slower. The only other car that ever did that was a muscle car I had with a rather radical cam. It was a neck jerker going through any parking lot in that thing.
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Lavane
Lunatic Member
Yup. Luckily the engine, trany, and all connected to it is under warranty for 100K miles. At just over 23K miles the turbo let go. They had to replace the turbo, intercooler, all the pipes, hoses, and turbo sensors. They even had to flush the oil due to the metal bearing bits. It didn't cost me anything even though the standard warranty had expired.And the dealer says this is normal?
GM's 8 speed auto feels like that, or at least the early ones did. Seemed like it couldn't pick a gear, and it didn't always seem to know how to count. I swear they would skip gears entirely at random.
Its bad when a guy who has 80s Fords with high mile AODs think something shifts poorly.
Its bad when a guy who has 80s Fords with high mile AODs think something shifts poorly.
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