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Manual or Automatic?

T

TheodoreRoosevelt

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Messages
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Which do you prefer, manual or automatic transmission? Pros or cons with the kind you use and kind you prefer? What kind of driving do you do?

I love manual. The only problem is that, despite manuals being more gas efficient if driven like a Square, my gas tank acts like it has a hole in it. I'm supposed to get about 29MPG city (most of my driving is stop and go) but I usually fair less than 24. I can do above 31MPG, but not the way I drive...

Oh well, it's worth the fun.

Most of the driving I do, like I said, is stop and go in the suburbs or fairly urban areas (think stoplights). The only way an automatic may be preferable is if you commute alot in rush hour and traffic jams. But I think just holding clutch and first gear works just ifne in it.
 
i love em manuals that is! cause when you find a good bit of open country road you can really drive the car harder but have more control of the car as well.
currently i drive a auto tho which is ok for the city and motorway (lazy driving) but i still miss the stick when i get on the twisty bits!
i'm off to the nation kit car show on the17/18 of this month to get me one of these
locost.jpg

then its off to the peak district to hunt me some twisty roads!
 
I prefer automatic only because just about 98% of my driving is city driving.......NYC driving. Try driving a stick in that lol....by the time you get where you're going, your left foot will be dragging behind you.

Automatics today are pretty darn good - way better than the ones 10-20 years ago. And even then, those were better than the slush bucket autos of the 60's and 70's. The Automatic transmission is one thing that technology actually HELPED.

Automatics are actually VERY complicated units. Which is why maintaining them is the key to longevity. Fluid AND filter change at least every 24,000 (I do mine at 12,000, but I'm just a stickler for things like that). Most modern day automatics hane drain plugs on the tranny pan, and many lazy techs will just drain the fluid and replace it - which is why you see these $40 tranny fluid change specials all over the place. To do it propperly the pan has to be dropped, any crap in it cleaned out (theres usually a magnet in it to catch and metallic particles), the filter replaced, and the pan installed with a new gasket. Not to mention the tranny fluid. Cost..........~$100-150 Maybe more or less depending on a)the cost of the filter kit b)the amount of labor involved (my car has a support bracket that has to be removed to allow the pan to drop) c) how much fluid is needed.
 
I love diving manuals for fun, they're just a lot more enjoyable to make trips in. Gives you something to do while you drive and you have more control performance wise.

However, driving a manual in traffic that is going 30 where you're overrevving in second gear and about to stall in third gear is shitty.. Also, stopping on steep as hills and someone pulls up close behind you is annoying (I live in Seattle, it's pretty hilly).

I like automatics because when you let go of the break they won't roll back and you don't have to worry about shitty traffic situations.. other than that though, manual all the way.
 
Manual. You just can't accelerate properly in an automatic, IMO.

Plus, you can jump start a manual. :)
 
fairnymph said:
Manual. You just can't accelerate properly in an automatic, IMO.
Click to expand...

True, to an extent. Although I'm very interested to see how these new 6 speed automatics are going to perform once they go into mass production.
 
Confession: I don't know how to drive a stick shift. And I don't think I will ever learn.

Friends and family have attempted to teach me how on their cars, it has never clicked and is not for lack of trying.

I loathe driving in general and I live in a city where I can't justify the expense of separate parking when the public transport is so good.

It has only been a problem when I was the only one sober enough to drive and the car was stick... I couldn't get the damn thing out of the parking lot without stalling every 10 feet :)

Automatic <3 And I'd love to experience one of the 6 speeds.
 
fairnymph said:
Plus, you can jump start a manual. :)
Click to expand...
you can jump start an automatic too. (i think you meant 'bump' start :) )

i have had about 10 cars in my life - two automatics and the rest manuals. when i was commuting up and down silicon valley in traffic, i liked the convenience of a automatic but, generally, i much prefer driving a manual car. so much more control.

my current car is an automatic (on my latest budget i don't have a lot of choice) and, when i'm parking on a steep hill (i live in san francisco) in reverse gear, the lack of control compared to a stick is annoying.

alasdair
 
i still haven't learned how to drive stick properly but i did drive my dad's taxi in scotland and it seemed fairly easy.

i'm stuck with a shitty automatic but i guess in L.A. traffic, it's nto that bad. my car shouldn't be allowed to have manual shifting anyway (toyota corolla).

a few tricks that i've been told but never tried are instead of braking with the brake pedal, just use the clutch to stop (like when in traffic).

someone wanna teach me how to drift?
 
*~*geNeRaTiOn E*~* said:
a few tricks that i've been told but never tried are instead of braking with the brake pedal, just use the clutch to stop (like when in traffic).
Click to expand...

Wow, I hope what you meant was stopping by downshifting, instead of shopping by using the clutch. I assure you, if you try stopping by holding down the clutch, you will sorely disappointed (to say the least).

Downshifting, on the other hand, is a much better way to stop and start in city traffic. Less wear-and-tear on the brakes, and keeps the transmission operating smoothly.
 
yea, i didn't fully explain it. i don't drive stick and my BF taught me the trick. i'll ask him again and clarify.
 
if you know how to properly drive a manual, I would most certainly lean towards that. but the first thing I look for when buying a car, honestly, is price. so I would take whatever is cheapest.
 
I definitely prefer driving a manual, I couldn't be without it, dunno why, there's just something sort of satisfying about it.

It's easy as hell once you get the hang of it.
 
It's probably due to my lack of experience using them, but I just don't feel 100% in control when driving an automatic.

My car has a really heavy clutch pedal and a really biting clutch (virtually a paddle clutch :)) but it's never bothered me, even in heavy traffic.
 
i used to drive a turbo charged car which had a race clutch and broken hand brake cables! hill starts were interesting!
 
AxL BLaZe said:
if you know how to properly drive a manual, I would most certainly lean towards that. but the first thing I look for when buying a car, honestly, is price. so I would take whatever is cheapest.
Click to expand...

manual cars are usually cheaper than autos ;)
 
In the UK, it's pretty much all manuals, so i've never tried an automatic. I think i'd find it really, really boring though! (That said, a relative who lives in London & has to deal with fucking awful traffic is singing the praises of their recently aquired auto!)
 
I drove an auto while on vacation in the UK a few years ago, on a Peugeot 307. Was reminicent of the old slush bucket automatics from lets say a "75 Caddy.........
 
If you are stuck on a steep hill and you have to go up it, and someone is on your ass, and your in a manual, my suggestion is you pull up the handbrake (don't set it), and then put the car in first gear, add gas, and release the handbrake and clutch slowly. This is a must when you are parking or parallel parking on steep hills.

I would advise against engine braking, or downshifting, or "braking with the clutch". The engine costs much more than the brakes and transmission do. An object at rest stays at rest, and object in motion, stays in motion (makes sense if you understand how a manual works). Plus if someone is slamming their brakes in front of you, you won't be well-prepared to react on it if you rely on engine braking. Just use your brakes.

Some places also don't allow engine braking, such as small, quiet towns.

Just curious, but explain why you guys think a manual has more control (although I do agree)?
 
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