M/T, it's slowly becoming a unicorn

I hear you. In my truck, i noticed when i use non ethanol gas, it drives better. Thats all ive been using for a while now.

 

Nice to see someone that actually has seat time with a PDK. Not only does it shift like a machine gun, but also has launch mode.

 

I agree with this whole heartedly! If you are not racing a sports car then why bother driving one? It certainly isn't practical. The reason you drive a sports car is to have fun driving. It's a whole experience. The plush interior, the sound of the highly tuned motor, the feel of the gears meshing perfectly on that downshift. It's not necessarily about being the quickest. I'm sure a dual clutch car would beat an identical manual car around a track, but I'll bet the manual car would be more fun!

 

I actually test drove one before I bought my taco. Drove pretty nice actually, and I liked the vinyl floors.

Would've been a strong contender despite the Fisher Price interior and 10ft tall bedsides, but I just couldn't bring myself to seriously consider a 2WD even though it was substantially cheaper.

 

Yea that's cool! I've noticed better mileage too on pure gas but it's hard to find around here!

 

I really really hope this is not my last manual vehicle. I love my MT Tacoma

 

Sir, this describes my purchasing perfectly. Came down to my tuck or a 2015 DCOR 6sod MT w/ ~30k on the odometer. Once I drove my now truck, it was a clear winner

 

The first time I put it up into sport+ and started late braking for turns and the rpms popped up to nearly 4K and held it for me, I was kinda impressed. And then on my daily commute you could barely feel the shifts. Stomp the pedal hard and it would drop 2-3 gears really fast.

It wasn’t the fastest thing out there, but it was a great jack of all trades CUV.

My 981CGTS is slower than the new 718.... but I love the manual and raw and limited tech in it.

 

You know what I’ve noticed about the learning in automatic transmissions? They learn how you normally drive, but don’t give a crap about how you DON’T normally drive. If I usually drive like a granny, don’t you think I ‘really want to go freakin now!!!’ When I hit the pedal hard.

You would think they would appreciate if you’re doing something different, you’re asking for something different.

 

right on. so the plan was to tighten up the ride and response through suspension/hard E range tires/chassis mods, tune & exhaust for drivetrain responsiveness, keep 0 camber for no grip, increase caster for better steering at speed, and learn to drive it at the limit.

mission accomplished, most fun vehicle I've ever driven, and doing things in a truck that should not be possible. but this thing is pretty frickin hard to drive with my setup.

 

Haha, that reminds me of our old company vehicle! It was an '03 F150 so I don't know how much learning it did but a few times when I'd be merging in heavy traffic. It would instantly shift out of first to second and then quickly to third while accelerating very slowly. Finally I'd end up shouting, "Downshift you piece of sh*t!" as I stomped the pedal to the floor! Sometimes that's what it takes!

 

I love my manual Tacoma. Only way I would get it. It will be a sad day when manuals are no longer an option. I have an '88 E350 RV with a 460 & a C6 tranny. I have toyed with the idea of converting to manual for the overdrive option... it's tough to find the manual pedals for those things though.

 

There was an old Top Gear to this effect. James May was reviewing the highest end super fast Caterham something or other, and he then drove the lowest end model with about 1/4 of the HP and skinny street tires. It turned out that since the low end model had such lower limits of traction, it was much easier to drive at that limit. Thus the low end car was overall much slower but much more enjoyable.

 

Couldn't agree more.

Where I live and how I drive, I don't long for a manual in the truck, but sports cars are a different story altogether.
They look fun, they're meant to be fun, and shaving a couple tenth's in the quarter won't replace that smile banging through the gears put on your face.

 

Yep. It’s often much more fun to drive something slow hard, than it is to drive something fast slow.

 

If anyone in CKY is looking for a manual, this one is right around the corner from my house.
https://www.quantrellsubaru.com/use...ngton-ky-d945791e0a0d0c140d950c5deb7e7b13.htm

 

Maybe something like this is in order...

 

That's a great analogy!

The most fun I ever had behind the wheel of any vehicle was probably when I was 14 years old trying to drift my friends crappy golf cart at his camp! It never went over maybe 7 mph but it was a hoot!

 

No more manual transmission in the freightliner after 2020

 

Whoa, really!? Even big rigs and stuff?