How is the manual transmission?

[itrsteve]

Coming from a E92 DCT and having past manuals in my e46 m3's and arguably one of the best in the NSX; I can say with extreme confidence that this 6MT is fantastic. The shift feel is somewhat similar to the past but the clutch pedal has been significantly lightened up.

Oh and the rev match feature is awesome. I didn't think I would enjoy it so much.

[katit]

No kidding. Getting used so fast that I kind of regret I don't have it in Sport+

[JibSTir13]

Looking forward to the rev-match feature, none of my previous manual cars had it, nor have I driven a manual car with it.

Test drove an M3 with DCT, which was fun, but it lacked the drive experience/involvement I'm looking for.

[Gibson6594]

Originally Posted by JibSTir13

Looking forward to the rev-match feature, none of my previous manual cars had it, nor have I driven a manual car with it.

Test drove an M3 with DCT, which was fun, but it lacked the drive experience/involvement I'm looking for.

I thought Rev match was going to be a feature I would resent, the way I did Active Sound, but I love it and wish it worked in Sport+ as well.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by Gibson6594

I thought Rev match was going to be a feature I would resent, the way I did Active Sound, but I love it and wish it worked in Sport+ as well.

Sport+ is meant for the sportiest of driving, like track days. If you need that help driving stick on a track day, then it's not for you! It's an M car!

[Gibson6594]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Sport+ is meant for the sportiest of driving, like track days. If you need that help driving stick on a track day, then it's not for you! It's an M car!

Sorry Cole Trickle. I'll go head to the dealership now and trade her in for a Prius. I guess I'm not worthy of the M even though I have been driving nothing but manual transmissions for the past 18 years.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Sport+ is meant for the sportiest of driving, like track days. If you need that help driving stick on a track day, then it's not for you! It's an M car!

The fact that you can't turn off auto rev match in all modes was a real turn off to me. I find most of the enjoyment of driving an MT is heel and toeing and rev matching. In my opinion rev matching makes an MT an SMT (Semi Manual Transmission). I understand and respect the fact that many drivers love the feature but I wish it was able to be turned off.

[Labeef]

I'm a few months from pulling the trigger on an M3, but I'll definitely be leasing a manual.

I was fortunate enough to get a weekend behind the wheel of an f83 which was fully loaded with carbon brakes. The only option that was missing was the DCT. I was apprehensive at first because I had driven several e90 M3's in manual and the tranny felt great, but the clutch was pathetic. There was no feel and the pedal was way to light. So when I drove the f80 chassis for the the first time, I was pleasantly surprised on how well the trans and clutch feel. It made up my mind there and then, manual only for the f80. However, I do not hate the DCT, it is allot faster and easier to drive. But you do lose the feeling of connection with your car, at least for me.

The only thing I hate is the auto rev match. It's cool and all, but I want to do everything on my own. That includes Heel & Toe down shifting. I don't understand why they would add this feature when you have already chosen to go manual.

I believe the F80 is beast and really would not change anything. It's almost perfect except the exhaust tone below 2k rpm. Sounds like a V6 Mustang with flowmaster exhaust. If you were in high school in the early 2000's and were into cars, you know what I'm talking about lol.

[katit]

There is no rev match in Sport+, you can use that mode

[MPakE90]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

The fact that you can't turn off auto rev match in all modes was a real turn off to me. I find most of the enjoyment of driving an MT is heel and toeing and rev matching. In my opinion rev matching makes an MT an SMT (Semi Manual Transmission). I understand and respect the fact that many drivers love the feature but I wish it was able to be turned off.

+1

I ordered a F80 ZCP with M/T that I'll be picking up on Monday

I'm with you, wish the rev matching feature would be separate from the Sport+ setting. Honestly, I never liked the aggressive throttle response from the sports setting for the E46 or E90/92 generations. Rev matching is a cool feature that I'm sure I'll enjoy for a DD but when I really want to row my own gears and downshift on my own, I want to be able to turn off the entire feature without resorting to the Sport+ setting.

Oh well, I saw that there was a coding solution somewhere on this forum. Worst case I'll end up coding out the rev matching...

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

The fact that you can't turn off auto rev match in all modes was a real turn off to me. I find most of the enjoyment of driving an MT is heel and toeing and rev matching. In my opinion rev matching makes an MT an SMT (Semi Manual Transmission). I understand and respect the fact that many drivers love the feature but I wish it was able to be turned off.

Right, most people who've been driving manuals for years prefer to do it themselves because it's a skill, and we enjoy pulling it off well. That's why I was surprised he'd want it even in Sport+ mode. A little bit of help is ok, like how on manuals with the E90 series BMW does the hill hold. But I wouldn't want it in the sportiest of settings.

[ClothSeats]

The best thing to do would be to give the driver control to turn rev match on and off whenever they want. I don't understand why BMW and Porsche don't do this. It's only a few lines of code.

[Gibson6594]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Right, most people who've been driving manuals for years prefer to do it themselves because it's a skill, and we enjoy pulling it off well. That's why I was surprised he'd want it even in Sport+ mode. A little bit of help is ok, like how on manuals with the E90 series BMW does the hill hold. But I wouldn't want it in the sportiest of settings.

There are times when it's nice to do it yourself, but to be honest, I'm not always in the mood to manually rev match and be in race car mode. Rev match still allows you the joys of rowing through the gears, but makes the clutch modulation require less attention. Guess it just depends on what you're driving style is at the time. Don't get me wrong, I frequently put her in + and go old fashioned, but I also appreciate the assistance when I'm not driving like that.

Like many have said, a switch to turn it on and off would best.

[cookiesowns]

Here's my take on it.

The first time I drove the F80 M3, was a car off carmax. It was a AW 6MT, late 2014 build, without adaptive shocks.

The manual felt light, but the shifts were ok. My only comparison at the time, was my daily BRZ, and also a few S2000's I've had the pleasure of taking out on weekends. ( Also driven some muscle cars, and a 911 Porsche )

Fast forward a couple months. Drove an E46, that had a 6MT conversion. I believe the gearbox in there was from an E46, but it had the F8X gooseneck shift knob installed. It was pretty good to drive, maybe not as direct as the BRZ/S2000 shifts, but it was pretty dang good.

Then just this weekend, I had the opportunity to test drive an F80 M3 6MT with comp pack, that was quite a bit of fun.

I would say the car feels really, really similar to an E46. While the car felt bigger, the power delivery before 4000RPM was similar to the E46, but past that, it just felt like you hit a power band, and it keeps going. Because of the torque delivery in 2nd/3rd/4th, you don't feel like you need to rev it out, but if you do, it still gives you just that extra bit, exactly like how I felt when I drove the E46 for the first time.

I still feel that the F80 has torque management in 1st gear, and also a bit in 2nd.. regardless of modes. It's quite annoying when you're used to NA power bands..

Going back to shifts, I think the clutch grab point is similar, although a bit "dampened", clutch is much lighter than the E46.

Had no problems getting the clutch feel. Sport+ was a bit too aggressive, and really responsive. I'd say it's a hint more aggressive than the "sport" throttle mode on the E46..

I think with the performance shift knob, the car would be fantastic to drive. The stock gooseneck is a bit long, and a bit "flimsy" feeling in my opinion.

Before I had hesitations about the 6MT, now.. I quite enjoy it.

The really only thing that was annoying at first, which will probably improve as you drive the car more and more was how responsive the brake pedal was.

That with the slightly limp throttle response when doing rev-matches makes it annoying to heel-toe in day to day driving. I'm sure once you're on it and can put more pressure on the brake and be more aggressive on the blips, it will be blissful.