DRCC with a manual transmission, what's it like?

The 2021 Sport MT I've just ordered lists DRCC as a feature, but how does that work on a manual transmission?

Seems reasonable that it'd likely engine brake, but not clutch into neutral if speed got too low? Obviously it's not going to downshift for you... right?

How about when there is an obstacle and it needs to slow quickly, will it brake? Does that braking happen while in gear??? That seems.. awful...

Just wondering if anyone here has used DRCC with their MT and if it's weird or not. Seems like it'd be weird and something like vanilla CC would be the way to go. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Regardless I'll find out for myself in a few weeks, but since it's 2,100 miles home from the dealership ( the break-in, I guess...) it'd be nice to understand how CC worked on the dang thing.

 

Yes it will brake for you, no it won't shift. As I recall on the 2nd gens though, if you clutched in it turned off cruise. On the radar cruise you can clutch in and change gear and it keeps the cruise on. I've used it a few times and needed to downshift to maintain CC speed. It will only apply brake to I think 35 mph, then you have to take over. It won't come to a stop by itself.

 

Is it braking while the gear is engaged? That seems like it'd be bad for the brakes and engine. Admittedly I don't know a ton about cars, but I've driven stick for years and AFAIK "if you're hitting the brake that clutch best be depressed."

 

Wait what? No no no

Completely separate. That's called riding the living hell out of your clutch. Use the brakes all you want without the clutch. The clutch is to change gear, and use when you're coming to a stop so your truck doesn't stall out when you stop completely.

Yes it will brake with the gear engaged. No it's not hurting the truck a bit.

 

Dear god.

If that's accurate, then I've been "one of those people" this whole time, thinking I knew what I was doing... Just feels like hitting brakes while in gear is going to stress the engine and be more likely to stall out

Time for the University of YouTube after 10+ yr driving stick on and off

Edit to add the following (dear god, I've even "taught" friends to drive stick and now have to share my shame to help correct them; regretting this thread...)

 

You can also downshift with out the cruise control disengaging if you need a lower gear to maintain speed up an incline.

 

Well, glad this all came up prior to beating the crap out of a brand new truck.

Egg just all over my face, but live and learn.

 

Your clutch will thank you!
Now that you've come this far, go research the cool things you can do with the "clutch start cancel" button.

 

i wish its default setting, hate having to clutch in every start

 

I use that once in awhile when I'm starting the truck from the passenger side, but I was more talking about starting in 4lo 1st gear w/out clutch on a steep incline when wheeling.

https://youtu.be/P6WMAHZLenU

These guys' videos are great.

Edit: Yes, this will add more wear to your starter motor. IMO starters are cheap and relatively easy to replace, a clutch, not so much.

 

yeah, I never truly understand this feature. All the times that I used just when I got lazy and didn't want to clutch in to start the engine.

In your scenario, 4lo 1st gear incline w/out clutch in, if you start the engine that way, aren't you putting lots of stress on the starter motor because it needs to overcome the resistance from the drivetrain?

If you worry about the truck rolling back, you can always left foot clutch in, right foot on the brake to start the engine, am I missing something?

 

I actually really like the DRCC in my MT, and specifically this feature. It's the first vehicle I've had that will reengage the cruise after switching gears without me commanding it to. Manual Acura and two Subarus, you had to manually reengage.

 

Yes, you are stressing the starter motor more, but its not something I do commonly. Like he says in the video as well, you can start a truck without a starter, but you're pretty much dead in the water without a clutch. Not worried about the truck rolling back, e-brake can fix that most times, more worried about burning a clutch on the trail.

 

I thought the fancy cruise would be stupid in general but it came on my 2020 manual trans and it's fine. It's really no different other than it will let off and adjust the speed to keep you 3 seconds from the car in front. Haven't tested it to leave it in 6th and see how far I can slow down before it shuts off yet. Other than that it's not really noticeable or different and it's a click of a button to turn it off/change distance.

One thing I thought was pretty cool though, when cruise is set you can shift down and it will hold the speed for you. To pull a hill just shift 6th to 5th or 4th, get off the gas and it holds the same speed for you.

 

I just towed a car from Flagstaff to Dallas and this was a massive help on that drive. The truck handled the towing great, and being able to just pop down to 5th when I came to a hill was really nice.

And I got down to about somewhere between 40 and 45 in 6th and it hadn't cut off the cruise yet.

 

I picked mine up in Florida and drove it back to Texas, so 1,100 miles for its first trip. Plus I just did a 3,000 mile trip this past weekend. One other thing you may not know: the truck already has hill assist built in. If you are on a hill and let out the clutch, it will keep the brake applied for 2-3 seconds so you can smoothly transition. In fact, as far as I can tell you can't turn this off. My motorcycle has it as well, but I have to manually activate it, which I kinda prefer. But the feature does work well on the Taco so I don't really mind that much.

 

That's cool, I really liked HSA on my Subaru. Are you implying that it is active on any incline regardless how steep? That's fine by me, but at least on the AT it sounds like hills need to be a certain grade for it to activate.

 

It works surprisingly well with the manual.
And a random side note since it hasn't been mentioned- you can hold down the "cruise on/off" button for about 3 seconds and it'll switch from radar guided cruise to regular old fashioned cruise control.

 

Most of TW LOVES to shit talk the dynamic cruise but I love it. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't make me a lazier, distracted driver. The only think I "dislike" is getting into a car without radar cruise and re-adapting. And as others have said it re-engages after shifting gears which is a fantastic feature.