leonrx7

Just wondering what you all think about the auto FD.. mine is currently an auto, i believe it to be a touring model 1994 with the sunroof.. although i cant conferm this, its just from the research i have been doing,.. do the manual's have a lot of advantages on the autos? and is it possible to drift the car with a auto box?

Might be a bit of a silly question but ive only really driven Manuals.. did have a Auto mr2 mk2 which was auto but its a differnt set up the the rx7, also how effective is the hold feature? and is there anything i need to be aware of? as you can probably tell i havent driven the car properly yet as its currently a project and off the road...



Any help will be appriciated

Signal 2

The Auto FD's usually have a lower re-sale value because overall performance is compromised to an extent. I think they can still be very fun cars though. I've been told that when the secondary turbo comes on line it's still a rush. And an auto FD will still be way faster than alot of lesser 5 or 6 speed cars.

The down-side is that, to an extent, the car picks the gears..you don't. No offense to the auto FD owners out there, but IMO it's not an enthusiast's sportscar anymore. It's a very nice looking secretary's ponycar.

As for drifting suitablity...Honestly I don't have much regard for the show but I'd guess no. You won't be able to break the tires free as easily.

GreyGT-C

I've only driven 1 auto FD... hated it. If i have bought it, i would have definitely done a conversion to manual on it. I agree with Signal on this one, an auto isn't a sports car to me.If i were you,look into doing a 5speed swap, several on here have done it and i don't think that it's THAT expensive to do.

leonrx7

Thanks for the input, I will see how i get usedto it when i start driving the car, i know it will still be a very fast car but you havent got the control as you have in a manual, Like you say, if its not what i want i will do a conversion, i have a few contacts where i can get parts, i know i would need to change the pedals, the diff and it will take a fair few weeks i would probably have a go myself, i have looked into it but i obviously wont change it untill i have driven it properly. the only thing ive heard good about is the 'Hold' feature and you can obviously change into sport mode which i presume will be good?

thatpoorguy

My issue with autos is the lack of control, something very necessary for drifting. With an auto if you downshift to start a drift, it's more than likely not going to downshift, or there will be a delay that will throw you off in the corner. About the only thing an auto has over manual for drifting is that the e brake is easier to use.

rxsevened

This is the closest thing I found to my answer. Sort of, so all in all, which performs better? Auto or Manual, I am about to go car shopping for a RX today. There is a 93 automatic with 54,000 miles $7,500, and there is a 93 Manual with 56,000mi $6,000

thatpoorguy

check for which one runs better. the manual will always perform better (unless you're bracket racing) and will be more enjoyable lol. manuals trans' can be had cheap when you can find them. when i had my engine rebuilt i had the trans taken up to a shop and inspected only to find out it would be 5k in parts alone to repair it (it had some synchro issues). instead i hit the web and found a company in texas that imports jdm parts. snagged a jdm manual trans for about 300.

Signal 2

All else being equal...body, interior, mechanicals, suspension, get the manual. I'm suspicious of that manual car with that low of miles being so cheap. My feeling is there WILL be a reason for that. Auto FDs will, all things being equal, cost less. They're generally less desirable. They have less performance to begin with and AFAIK, there are no kits or upgradable parts for the automatic transmission to get it to perform better.

I hear you. Though it's been a number of years, my car had the 5th gear synchro issue when I got it. I took it to a transmission shop who quoted me $1500 for a complete rebuild. IIRC, I fixed it for about $50, plus the cost of gear oil, and beer and pizza for a friend's help. Still using that transmission 8+ years later.

thatpoorguy

lol if i knew how to do transmission work i'd have done it. unfortunately changing the fluids or end seals is about the most i can do. the internals are controlled by pint sized wizard for all i know lol. i understand how they work, but wouldn't know where to start on disassembly/reassembly. the same shop i had inspect the new jdm trans and they told me there was nothing to fix on it so just charged me an inspection fee lol