Little Sports Car - Sweet But Manual Gear

[Firefan]

Looking at the Maxda MX5 (used models. Also know as Miata in USA) they all have manual gears and I wonder how quickly my foot would cramp up when using the car in BKK?

(Ps. I am used to driving manual gear in Europe)

Cheers!

[RAZZELL]

Looking at the Maxda MX5 (used models. Also know as Miata in USA) they all have manual gears and I wonder how quickly my foot would cramp up when using the car in BKK?

(Ps. I am used to driving manual gear in Europe)

Cheers!

Driven a Japanese import MX5 ...("Eunos") in an auto...nice

[Phil Conners]

Why should your foot cramp up? Do you have a medical condition?

I never had an automatic until I was past 30 and never had a problem with it. Just got lazy and less interested in "stirring the porridge" with age.

Anyway, I think Thailand is way too hot for a cabrio.

[Plus]

I think he's concerned with Bangkok's bumper to bumper traffic. I pity taxi drivers who have to shift every 20 seconds. Even in moobans (housing estates) every speed bump - two shifts. There are seven speedbumps from our house to the main road, two minute drive.

[Firefan]

Madsere - never been to BKK? Lots of traffic... Plus has it spot on.

It has a hardtop but can be changed into cabrio yes.

Meanwhile practically all the taxis have the manual gear - and just discussed with a friend driving manual also and he did not find it a big problem - maybe best thing to do is rent a manual gear car and test it for a few days.

Advantages are apparently better fuel consumption and more "fun" "stirring the porridge". Cheers!

[Firefan]

Yeah - the never models have automatic - but too expensive for me. Cheers!

Looking at the Maxda MX5 (used models. Also know as Miata in USA) they all have manual gears and I wonder how quickly my foot would cramp up when using the car in BKK?

(Ps. I am used to driving manual gear in Europe)

Cheers!

Driven a Japanese import MX5 ...("Eunos") in an auto...nice

[PeaceBlondie]

That's what I drive when I'm back in Texas. Great little car. I must have gotten stuck in heavy traffic a few times, and never had a cramped foot. Had a lot of fun, too. I say, go for it.

[KhunMarco]

Yeah - the never models have automatic - but too expensive for me. Cheers!

Looking at the Maxda MX5 (used models. Also know as Miata in USA) they all have manual gears and I wonder how quickly my foot would cramp up when using the car in BKK?

(Ps. I am used to driving manual gear in Europe)

Cheers!

Driven a Japanese import MX5 ...("Eunos") in an auto...nice

Never owned cars with manual gears in my life.

It becomes second nature, you don't even think about it. No prob.

[Phil Conners]

Madsere - never been to BKK? Lots of traffic... Plus has it spot on.

Yes, but not much worse than so many other places, London, Paris, Milan,..

It has a hardtop but can be changed into cabrio yes.

A hardtop? Then why a Miata?

[Plus]

I think the whole trend is a shift away from manuals to sophisticated autos with "manual"mode and CVTs. There are pocket's of resistance, I suppose, and Miata looks like a "classic" that shouldn't be compromised, but overall manuals are on the way out.

[chonabot]

I think the whole trend is a shift away from manuals to sophisticated autos with "manual"mode and CVTs. There are pocket's of resistance, I suppose, and Miata looks like a "classic" that shouldn't be compromised, but overall manuals are on the way out.

Not if you value the feel of a proper sports car , auto is great for larger cars , but for a decent roadster like a 911, auto will never take manual's place.

[Firefan]

khunmarco: think you misread; it is a manual gear - I have no problem driving that (or automatic for that matter!) but was worried about BKK traffic making my clutch food fall off being over used

madsere: hardtop best in city, then cabrio out of town. Has soft top too for back up should a rain shower drop by! oh; and it looks great with hardtop too!

plus; yeah I think you are right there - sports cars with "manual" function but without the clutch are popping up. I do enjoy the feel of the manual gear, and like chonabot mentions if one likes that (yeah, I know that the MX5 is more look than propor sports car) the manual gear might be the right thing, even here.

Cheers!

[KhunMarco]

khunmarco: think you misread; it is a manual gear - I have no problem driving that (or automatic for that matter!) but was worried about BKK traffic making my clutch food fall off being over used

madsere: hardtop best in city, then cabrio out of town. Has soft top too for back up should a rain shower drop by! oh; and it looks great with hardtop too!

plus; yeah I think you are right there - sports cars with "manual" function but without the clutch are popping up. I do enjoy the feel of the manual gear, and like chonabot mentions if one likes that (yeah, I know that the MX5 is more look than propor sports car) the manual gear might be the right thing, even here.

Cheers!

whoops , sorry yes, misread your post

[Thairish]

Looking at the Maxda MX5 (used models. Also know as Miata in USA) they all have manual gears and I wonder how quickly my foot would cramp up when using the car in BKK?

(Ps. I am used to driving manual gear in Europe)

Cheers!

Firefan,

It's a great little car, but never let your other half switch it to auto!

I have had mine for about 4 years now (the bright coloured one!). Make sure you get a hard top with it, some people sell them with it missing! It's now my second car, but it used to be my run around. The automatic conversion has ruined my wheel spinning capabilities, but it's wife friendly, doh! I'm starting to think I should save up for a bigger 4 seater cabrio though!

[Thaiboxer]

For a sportscar, you should definitely go manual. At the Siam Paragon mall here in Bangkok I saw an automatic Porsche 911...my dad and I just laughed. An automatic is simply out of place on those cars. The only advantage of an automatic transmission is the ease of driving in bumper to bumper traffic. Once you've driven a manual for a while you get used to it and you'll find that you don't have to shift ALL the time. Manuals are cheaper to run, longer lasting and cheaper to fix if something goes bad. It also feels like real driving with a manual.

[kasi]

For a sportscar, you should definitely go manual. At the Siam Paragon mall here in Bangkok I saw an automatic Porsche 911...my dad and I just laughed. An automatic is simply out of place on those cars. The only advantage of an automatic transmission is the ease of driving in bumper to bumper traffic. Once you've driven a manual for a while you get used to it and you'll find that you don't have to shift ALL the time. Manuals are cheaper to run, longer lasting and cheaper to fix if something goes bad. It also feels like real driving with a manual.

Actually the automatic in the Porsche is called a tiptronic transmission. It's a very slick piece of engineering. Not really a boring old automatic.

I'd prefer a manual myself but there are people who only have one leg and would make driving a manual impossible.

BTW all the formula 1 race cars now have some version of an automatic transmission.

Technology has really come a long way!

In the near future, automatic transmissions still have an edge in handling high torque for high-end luxurious cars. Continuous improvement to performance, cost and weight may extend its life span into the next decade. German transmission expert ZF has developed the world’s first 6-speed automatic gearbox for production cars. It will be adopted by the new BMW 7-series. Not only offering 5-7% reduction of fuel consumption and improvement to performance, most impressive is that it uses 30% less components and weighs 13% less than the existing five-speeder.

[tuky]

What sort of prices are they going for?

[Plus]

What? Porsches? Seven to ten million. If you've got that kind of money there's no point asking plebs like us what gear you should choose.

It's all nice about real men driving real sports cars with real manuals, but in real life I've never seen any sport car driven faster than Honda Jazz here. Why do you need manual for that? Incindentally, how often our Jazz drivers use the manual switching mode on their seven step SVTs? Hardly ever, I surmise.

Benz and BMW put seven speed autos in their top models. Would you like to shift seven speed manual instead?

Cars like Subaru WRX and Mitsu EVO offer only manuals, but their racing, WRC versions, are all equipped with autos, so it's not only Formula1.

[Plus]

I forgot to add that Miata might be an exception - an affordable car (2 mil) that would clearly benefit from manual driving.

[tuky]

No mate, the little MX5.

For some reason rotbarn.com doesn't seem to work past the enquiry form stage, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to ask.

[Firefan]

He,he - I think that the 1-legged market is pretty small! There are also people with NO legs that still manage to drive in special build cars.

Yeah the MX5/Miata is around 2M+ Baht from new here. Naturally they can be had for much less when used as have been around here since 1992 or so.

I have been convinced that manual gear will not be that bad for me! Thairish; how much did the conversion to automatic cost you? (or your better half - he,he - besides the wheel spinning loss!).

Nice pics!

Cheers!

[GoodHeart]

I think the whole trend is a shift away from manuals to sophisticated autos with "manual"mode and CVTs. There are pocket's of resistance, I suppose, and Miata looks like a "classic" that shouldn't be compromised, but overall manuals are on the way out.

Not if you value the feel of a proper sports car , auto is great for larger cars , but for a decent roadster like a 911, auto will never take manual's place.

Auto may not, but the paddle shifts coming out of F1 racing have for some time made manuals obsolete. That proved to be a blessing from above to the poor Ferrari, Maserati and Lambo owners constrained as they used to be by the old gated shifts. And Porsche's Tiptronic has been licensed by most mfgrs. and included in most of the better sporting models.

[Thairish]

...

I have been convinced that manual gear will not be that bad for me! Thairish; how much did the conversion to automatic cost you? (or your better half - he,he - besides the wheel spinning loss!).

Nice pics!

Cheers!

Firefan the conversion knocked me back about 50k, but as mentioned the feeling changes drastically, plus the shift from 1st to 2nd with the auto is quite a jolt, I'm sure the new MX-5s (NB & NC models) have much better auto gear boxes!

Oh Tuky, here's a link to give you an idea of price!

[Thaiboxer]

Good point about the new auto and CVT's being offered in high end sports cars; makes them more than just a standard auto. However I question the reliability of such devices since when it comes to machinery, complex, computer controlled devices can break down easily and bring about hefty repair bills.

[Firefan]

Thai boxer, that is another good point. I guess if one buys one of the NEW sportscars with that kind of gimmicks one can also afford the service/repairs Etc.

I was also looking at (old!!!) Porshes and while they can be had for 800k and up the costs of service and repairs - and spares(!) would quickly ruin me!

Cheers!

[kasi]

High end sports cars are often higher quality cars too and can make great used car buys if the car has been taken care of. Often the type of person who can afford a new Porsche can afford to take good care of it too. But not always! Checking maintenance records and vehicle condition are key.

Porsches in particular are very well put together cars in general and the suspensions are robust from racing technical overlap into the production cars. Service is another issue which might be problematic though I've noticed some very capable mechanics out there who are superior to some of their counterparts in the west. Being a mechanic myself I can spot a good mechanic from a lame one. Language and communication is the challenging aspect much of the time for me.

Back to the MX5. It's a good nice handle car, but small. Good for a single person touring trips.

[corkscrew]

khunmarco: think you misread; it is a manual gear - I have no problem driving that (or automatic for that matter!) but was worried about BKK traffic making my clutch food fall off being over used

madsere: hardtop best in city, then cabrio out of town. Has soft top too for back up should a rain shower drop by! oh; and it looks great with hardtop too!

plus; yeah I think you are right there - sports cars with "manual" function but without the clutch are popping up. I do enjoy the feel of the manual gear, and like chonabot mentions if one likes that (yeah, I know that the MX5 is more look than propor sports car) the manual gear might be the right thing, even here.

Cheers!

With the A/C on high you can be comfortable with the top down even in BKK....the cool air stays low, like it does in a flat-bed supermarket freezer.

[Firefan]

Ah, corkscrew, your sweet SLK! I was not so worried about the temperature as I was about people spitting and throwing trash out of open bus windows, and filling my lungs with the exhaust air of charming BKK!

corkscrew,Whatever happened to the car-club meetup at the night market we were planning? Cheers!

[corkscrew]

Ah, corkscrew, your sweet SLK! I was not so worried about the temperature as I was about people spitting and throwing trash out of open bus windows, and filling my lungs with the exhaust air of charming BKK!

corkscrew,Whatever happened to the car-club meetup at the night market we were planning? Cheers!

I am ready for a night market meeting anytime...no one signed up. When shall we meet