After driving the auto for a year, I have finally decided to trade in my Auto tC for a 06' 5spd. Any comments or advices? I hope they have fixed most of the bugs for the 06' tC and hope nothing's wrong with the 5 spd either.

 

no way the tranny is good...typical toyota but good, congrates on moving to the "dark side"lol ....no relevance jus felt like sayin thatlol..wat color u gonna get ne options? or u could just wait and get it wit the supercharger...hmmm

 

saving money on the s/c.... b/c it is my destiny..

 

i always figure the automatic to be the dark side... heh.

 

Nice. I couldn't imagine having an Auto tC.

 

so how much money did you lose in this transaction?

 

Great question. I'm also curious. I'm bored of my AT after 6 months! I was thinking about trading for a MT...So please let us know!

 

well.. it's not pretty.. around 3k.. in other words, all the monthly payments i've been paying for the past 13~14months (i bought it a yr ago) will be gone and now i'll have to start over again. (that's about 3~4k!) It hurts me of course but i've alwayst wanted to get a 5spd. My story is similar to many of u guys, getting annoyed by the auto and got so frustrated by driving it (no offense auto owners, it's just me and some few others 5spd lovers) In the end, I found a 5spd with the color i want and they only have one left. I had to decide and I decided to get it. Is it worth it u ask..? To me, it is.. definitely just b/c i like stick and I'm not changing it until i'm 80 and my hand can't shift no more or i'm crippled.

 

P/s: I learned a lesson, don't let others to stop you from getting what u want or u'll end up like me. I didnt get the 5spd at first was due to my parents, they didnt want me to drive stick and didnt think i could handle it. Well I finally convinced them and getting my 5spd on thursday!

 

what color are you getting?

 

Hey ya'll. I'm new to the forum and am in need of your opinions and miraclecreator's post seemed the most relevant to my question. I will be purchasing a 06 tC this coming week, but haven't decided on the transmission.

My experiences: I've driven automatics exclusively since I began driving 5 years ago, and only recently have had an interest in learning to drive stick. So far, I've spent about 20 minutes in my friend's Dodge Neon learning the basics. And so far, so good. I didn't stall my friend's car, but I did have some trouble with the timing of shifting and overall feelings of uncertainty.

My daily drives: I commute to school and it takes an hour in bumper-bumper traffic in the morning (Southern California: 405 South from Long Beach to Costa Mesa). The drive after classes (at night) is without traffic.

Everybody has told me to buy a tC with manual transmission because 'tC's are meant to be driven stick.' I want to gain better control of the car, and get more out of driving (with stick). But at the same time, I'm under the impression driving stick (especially in traffic) is more difficult/work.

Any opinions/thoughts are appreciated!

 

I honestly find that driving stick requires less work in traffic, but it's how you look at it.

My foot gets sore when I sit in traffic and have to constantly switch pedals with my right foot, from brake to gas and gas to brake. I also hate holding down the brake to keep from creeping. Yes, I do shift into neutral sometimes in an auto, during traffic jams.

In a manual, my foot is less sore, as I don't have to hold the brake pedal down, nor do I have to switch feet as often, since I can use engine braking to modulate. I also find that my right arm is much stronger than a pesky shifter, and that it doesn't really take much work anyway to just move it a couple inches. It takes more work for me to type a long sentence. Lastly, I find that the clutch pedals on these cars are very light. . . so light that it makes traffic a breeze (it would be a different story in an old Jeep or something like that). Even in a Porsche, the throw is so long, it's a bit tedious. But our clutches are light and short.

Finally, I'm one of those guys that can't scratch an arm without scratching the other side. . . it's a mental thing. . . it's like wearing uniform socks. Having a manual gives my left foot something to do, rather than just sit there idly by.

The only time I regret getting a manual is when I'm drinking coffee in traffic, or I have a lady friend with me, riding shotgun. It makes every so slightly more difficult. . .

 

good luck and good job w/ trading in ur auto for a 5 speed, lol i raced my friends auto tc.... and omg what a BIG difference... althought i commute and expereince bumper to traffic, manual is like 2nd nature to me so its really no hassle at all.. at least i think

 

Yeah, good luck with your 5spd. I wish i had botten a 5spd tC. more responsive than my automatic. There go my plans out for a stage 1 turbo, out the window. tears are rolling down my check.

 

smart move! :D

 

Yea, I was really discouraged by my parents, brother and some other adults b/c they all told me that it's stupid and I will lose money. Well, I dont care what they say anymore and I think I should find out myself whether I will regret or not. And of course it allows me to carry out many of my plans (S/c, there's no point in driving an auto s/c is there??) Finally, I would like to share the essay I wrote for my class to show my enthusiastic for manual transmission

 

Manual transmissions are usually more entertaining to drive, more affordable to buy and maintain, and offer improved performance and fuel economy versus automatic transmissions. Yet many cars are only offered with an automatic, and their numbers are growing. A manual transmission is more complicated and harder to drive compared to an automatic transmission because a manual transmission requires constant stick shifting, and it has a third pedal called the clutch. Before I can drive a car with manual transmission, I must learn how to seat properly, launch the car, and upshift the gear.
Knowing how to seat properly before I learn how to drive a manual transmission is important. Far too many people drive too far away from the steering wheel and pedals without knowing the proper seating position. Proper seating position means when I extend my arm while I’m seated in a comfortable position, top of the wheel should be contacting my wrist. My legs should be able to reach the clutch without any trouble, because it allows me to exert more force and power for braking and throttle.
Learning how to launch the car is important because it means getting the car to roll. Many people have trouble with this technique because it takes a lot of practice and it’s all about timing. What I need to do is rev the engine to about 1000 revolution per minute (RPM), and then start to let go of the clutch out slowly without any additional throttle. When the engine is hooked up and the slip has stopped, then I can add as much throttle as I want. However, a manual transmission also requires the driver to upshift when the tachometer reaches the desired rpm.
The third step of learning how to drive a manual transmission is to upshift the gear. The clutch can be easily damaged particularly in the 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 shifts as in any other time, because when I get too excited, I tend to get my foot to the floor. If I let the clutch slip while the engine is decelerating to the new lower rpm and my foot is to the floor, I will burn out the clutch easily. The trick is to get the clutch all the way out very quickly, and I should hear an instant pitch change from the engine.
Downshifting is just as important as upshifting because it means slowing down or stopping the car. When I am downshifting, I need to match the revolution of the engine to what the speed of the transmission is turning into. The job of my right foot is to rev the engine to the new speed while the clutch is in and while I’m moving the level to the lower gear. The goal here is to reduce the load on the clutch by matching the rev of the engine to what they need to be in the new lower gear. Mastering the launching technique, upshifting and downshifting are vital before I drive on the street because it involves my live and the lives of others.

 

Welcome to the 5sp world

It's not as hard as people says it is. Just be careful on the hills =P

that was my only fear when i first started driving a stick car.

 

Hills are only a problem when you get nervous. . . then you tend to clutch out too fast or over-rev. In all honestly, hills aren't too bad. I was driving up and down San Francisco hills within the first three days I was driving stick.

The hard part is parking in tight spaces on extreme hills.

 

any hints guys?? i mean on the hill