Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

I do, just not enough to know who they all are. I remember Jessica Alba, Rebecca Romjin Stamos...cuz, well

 

I'm baaaack! Just picked up a 2018 TRD OR DCSB 6/M. I swear this one shifts so much easier than my 2016 AC Sport. I have no idea why, but I remember hating the transmission on the 16. I drove this one just to remind myself why I didn't like the manual and immediately loved it. Weird-probably all in my head!

 

I've got a '16 with 6MT and recently had the TSB done for the pawl (TSB-0088-16). It shifts much smoother through all of the gears. That could be what you're noticing.

 

That could be it. I remember my '16 being really clunky.

 

Mine was much smoother than any other truck I've owned, but it was definitely a little notchy and it would occasionally be difficult to get out of gear after extended periods of time on the highway.

 

Where did you get that sticker, I need one

 

I just found one on Amazon and ordered two. Or this one from the curb shop ordered them as well for booth trucks.

 

Any ideas on what percentage of 3rd Gen Tacos are 6MT? They seem to be getting rarer and rarer...

 

Can't cite the source but I seem to recall reading 5% or so

 

Damn! Can that be right? That is so very sad if so... Boys we may be the last of a dying breed.

 

Yup

 

Not very many. It maybe different in the different regions of the country but down here in the southeast its very rare. Every time I go to my stealership I ask my sales guy and he says mine is still the only one he knows about.

 

Not that this is an exact science, but there are 1,766 results on AutoTrader for '18 MT's and 31,514 results for '18 AT. I had no idea. I was thinking like 20%.

 

If you go into each ad one by one you will see that it is actually auto on the pictures, dealers do that to increase click rate.

 

https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/five-myths-about-stick-shifts.html

The rest of the article is fluffy b.s. so I don't know where they got the number.

 

See I can believe that. Toyota, however has always been good to offer us more three pedal vehicles. Aside from sports cars, I'd say Subaru is leading the pack followed by Toyota and Honda.

 

As far as the higher end sports cars, Porsche seems to be the only company that is wanting to make them.

 

http://bestride.com/research/buyers-guide/manual-transmission-availability-2016-2017

 

We bought a Forester with a stick shift and it wasn't easy. It's only the base model and the dealer only had 4 total on the lot. It worked for us since we wanted the base but if you wanted some accessories, like a factory roof rack or alloy wheels, that would likely push you into a model with a CVT as the only option.

What's interesting is the EPA ratings suggest the stick and CVT get the same MPG but we get quite a bit better than the sticker says it should. The EPA rating is 32 highway and 24 city but we see more like 30ish in town and on the highway keeping the MPH reasonably it will go 35, 36 without much trouble. We actually get the rated 32 even with bikes in a roof rack here in Colorado and it got nearly 40 on a tank or two going back east across Iowa once (no bikes or rack though).

I've been skeptical of EPA ratings that say an automatic gets better mileage. There's no way other than in torque converter lock-up that an auto can be as efficient as a manual at transferring power. My assumption is engineers are tweaking engine and transmission programs to fit the EPA testing, which is why the driveability in the real world can vary. If you don't drive your Tacoma just like the EPA profile it will probably feel sluggish. OTOH with a stick it will always drive just like you want it, so you may or may not get good mileage but it always works like you want at least.

 

My salesman said 5% of Tacomas are sold with a manual. He knows his shit about Tacomas, so I believe him. Durango Toyota seems to be good about keeping manuals in stock. He says they have no problem selling them and people seek them out. They had mine and a black one with a few more "fluff" options, both TRD OR. He did say that they can't seem to get them with the Premium Package, although Toyota says you can. Mine just has the Technology Package.