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

Well said! All four of the vehicles I've owned have been manual, and they will be until the day my knees give out or they stop producing them.

 

Wish we could sway the focus of better fuel economy in the Auto, to safer with the Manual. Less free hands to text with.

On that note, it would be an interesting to see what transmission is used most in text related accidents.

 

I feel the better MPG ratings for ATs these days are mostly bogus. Sort of like how early hybrids scored so well in testing since they were designed around the test (very moderate acceleration, top speed of about 55, and a split between high and low speed driving). With all of our MTs, we were able to meet or exceed the window sticker ratings even when driving more aggressively than the test program. With the ATs that we have had, the only time we saw the cars hitting the numbers is on long highway road trips.

But yeah, just like riding a motorcycle, MTs do keep the folks much more focused and in tune with the act of driving.

 

With an Auto trans, the user is mostly just steering the vehicle to keep it on the road.

With a Manual trans, the user has to actually operate it to make it go somewhere worth steering for.

 

I know us MT people can get into a circlejerk about driving manuals, but don't kid yourself that people can't eat, drink, smoke, text, etc and still manage to drive one. I might be guilty of doing some or all of those things in my younger days...

 

Have you tried the tried the f150 slave spring trick yet (believe it was f150)? Thats my next try, when i get the time. Supposedly only works, if you dont let it get too bad, the snout i believe. Hopefully mine isnt too far gone, by the time i get to it. Looking like October before i get time to try it. Mine only squeals in the cold months, so right now i am free of my little undercarriage birdy.

I should be working right now, lol...

 

Of course. Folks can do any of those things in an MT or even on a motorcycle. I'm guilty, not even in my younger days, and have seen other doing it also. On the whole, it happens much, much less with MTs.

 

I have a buddy thats about 10 years older than me that was a hard core skater/surfer back in the 70's and 80's.
He told me recently that he always preferred the manual transmissions and always had them, until he reached a point in his life where he needed to hold a coffee, a cig, and a cell phone while driving. Said the auto trans fit the bill.

 

Just steer with your knees, duh .Lol

 

I recently purchased a 2018 OR DC 6MT and have about 1500 miles on it. I am averaging about 16 mpg, is that about right for the manual transmission? I still have the stock keflar tires on it, was not sure if replacing those will increase the mpg. Thanks!

 

Give it time. It will increase as the drivetrain settles in. For a Toyota, there are some weird truck-to-truck inconsistencies though when it come MPG, tuning, and such. You can see my MPGs below. Clicking on it, you will see that the MPGs increased early on.

 

City driving maybe, but you should be over 20mpg on the freeway.

 

So what do you guys think of the new TSBs for the slush boxes? Those AT guys are really gushing! Think they will refine any of our 6MT tuning down the road? I know we are in a tiny minority...

 

Yeah. I am really happy for them. I've pointed a few folks to it that are not on TW. Everyone seems really stoked.

I do hope they launch a TSB for us also. I'm at 9k, so there's a bit of time for things to happen.

 

I'm curious on what they would improve on? Mine is pretty solid.

 

Put it this way, I have zero regrets and don't feel like the fixes are worth an $800 tune.

With that, in order:
-- I'd like to see the rev hang dealt with - just lessening it would be great.
-- The throttle closed a bit more when coasting - Torque shows it hanging at 17% min. That seems extreme for an idle angle, esp when it doesn't open more than about 67%? The max opening makes sense for altitude compensation.
-- I've had a stumble from time to time, never serious enough to feel unsafe - other folks have posted that it was pretty serious for them.
-- Maybe a smoother torque curve below 3,500rpm - this one is probably a snowballs chance.

Just my wish list.

 

ummmm.... replace your hand with someone else's? I'd like a reverse gear that wasnt so tall, but 2lo mod fixed that for the most part. I'd also prefer a better tob design, but neither was a deal breaker for me.

 

You did @BigWhiteTRD 's 2Lo mod? How has it been for you? I'm still slacking on getting the meso panel installed for a switch location.

 

On flat ground in town where acceleration isn't needed in 30mph+ zones, I usually start in 1st, then to 2nd, get up to about 27mph and go straight to 5th and then cruise up to 30mph or whatever the speed is. Can usually achieve 19-20mpg. I set my center display to show "Trip MPG Avg" below the digital speed, so I can monitor real time any increase or decrease mpg and tweak my driving style to try and maximize the avg. This is purely for fun and certainly not for frugal savings, as I am not a fool thinking that I purchased my second Tacoma in 21 years and expect Prius mpgs all of a sudden.

 

I'm so much more inclined to do with hardware now that i know about getting locking hubs and i can unlock them manually. that mod is amazing for the work he put into it, but I'm feeling much more secure about the mechanical nature of the hub mod. one day...