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headshrink · October 12th, 2009, 01:17 AM

I had a funny experience this summer that I was just thinking about as I was reading another post about shifting.

When I go away for the weekend with my wife, I like to rent fun cars, if I can swing it that is. Since we are in CA and typically vacation at the coast, this is usually a convertible. While in San Diego this year I FINALLY got my hands on a 350Z Convert - FUN!

Here is the thing though..... for some crazy reason, here in the US all you can rent are cars with automatic transmissions (suck), unlike in Europe. I grew up driving manuals, am not afraid of anything that shifts, and believe it is a mortal sin to have a sports car that has an automatic transmission. Although I try to keep an open mind with some of the new fancy paddle shifting cars, I prefer a clutch I can feather/modulate myself. Now a lot of cars with autos have those "tiptronic" (brand name I think) or sports types, where you can override the auto tranny by selecting your gear...... but they SUCK because they shift so SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW, and override YOU when it thinks you are being an idiot (maybe I WANT to be an idiot), this brings to mind a certain Airbus crash when the pilot couldn't override the "smarter than pilot" computer... but that is a different story.

Getting back to my story, I realize I digressed a bit. OK, I didn't have a manual to play with, but of course I had to play with the sport shift option (if that is what it is called), to gain a modicum of control. Yes, the tranny really sucked, but the whole package was a blast.... and being a rental it was the more basic trim package. I believe the touring model has an upgraded tranny. So, I'm screaming along, crossing the Coronado Bridge, taking to my bro on the speaker phone, and he says, "what the hell are you doing to that poor car!" He was right too..... I am so used to riding a "sports bike" 365 days a year, that I was trying to shift the poor thing like my bike. Ouch... I did keep it out of the red and brought the RPMs down for the rest of the trip though (no wonder the power band was so weak up there) - LOL
I have an excuse though.... when we got the car there were LESS than 1K miles on it, so I was just braking it in the MotoMan way!

October 12th, 2009, 01:17 AM	#1
headshrink ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Bob Location: CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): '08 Ninja 250r, '14 CBR500r Posts: A lot.	Fun with rental cars I had a funny experience this summer that I was just thinking about as I was reading another post about shifting. When I go away for the weekend with my wife, I like to rent fun cars, if I can swing it that is. Since we are in CA and typically vacation at the coast, this is usually a convertible. While in San Diego this year I FINALLY got my hands on a 350Z Convert - FUN! Here is the thing though..... for some crazy reason, here in the US all you can rent are cars with automatic transmissions (suck), unlike in Europe. I grew up driving manuals, am not afraid of anything that shifts, and believe it is a mortal sin to have a sports car that has an automatic transmission. Although I try to keep an open mind with some of the new fancy paddle shifting cars, I prefer a clutch I can feather/modulate myself. Now a lot of cars with autos have those "tiptronic" (brand name I think) or sports types, where you can override the auto tranny by selecting your gear...... but they SUCK because they shift so SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW, and override YOU when it thinks you are being an idiot (maybe I WANT to be an idiot), this brings to mind a certain Airbus crash when the pilot couldn't override the "smarter than pilot" computer... but that is a different story. Getting back to my story, I realize I digressed a bit. OK, I didn't have a manual to play with, but of course I had to play with the sport shift option (if that is what it is called), to gain a modicum of control. Yes, the tranny really sucked, but the whole package was a blast.... and being a rental it was the more basic trim package. I believe the touring model has an upgraded tranny. So, I'm screaming along, crossing the Coronado Bridge, taking to my bro on the speaker phone, and he says, "what the hell are you doing to that poor car!" He was right too..... I am so used to riding a "sports bike" 365 days a year, that I was trying to shift the poor thing like my bike. Ouch... I did keep it out of the red and brought the RPMs down for the rest of the trip though (no wonder the power band was so weak up there) - LOL I have an excuse though.... when we got the car there were LESS than 1K miles on it, so I was just braking it in the MotoMan way!