Manual or Automatic?

[Akoto]

My dad was telling me about this new automatic transmition (well, new at the time) that corvet came out with that would somehow anticipate when the next shift would occur, and could switch between gears with no loss of power what-so-ever.

They did a race between a pro driver in a manual car, and just some guy in the exact same car, but with this transmition, and the automatic won every time.

 

[IzaBadger!]

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)?

I'd agree with the engine braking thing if it's going to seriously over-rev your car (anything that makes your car go 'NRRRRRRRRR' that loudly can't be good!), i tend to do it just to bring the speed down a little bit sometimes.

More control..like if you're going downhill in a manual, you can put it in a lower gear and not have tread on the brakes all the way, i assume an automatic would just run off with you? Also stuff like starting on snow, you can put it in a higher gear & actually go rather than just spinning your wheels!

 

[Hanlons_Razor]

I've only driven stick once...

And once I got the hang of it, I loved it.

But I'm stuck with sharing a car with my mom until I scrap together the cash to buy my own...and no one is really selling stick aroudn here, most of this area is all soccer moms who couldn't drive stick if they tried, and I def. don't want to buy a new car, especially if I'm not well-versed with stick. Why strip the gears or completely wear the transmission within a month of gettin a new car?

 

[dwfan]

I would advise against engine braking, or downshifting, or "braking with the clutch". The engine costs much more than the brakes and transmission do. Some places also don't allow engine braking, such as small, quiet towns.

On a steep downgrade, you better damn well engine brake. True brakes are cheaper to replace than an engine or transmission, but if your brakes overheat they then become useless. No brakes = a VERY bad situation

 

[sn0wburt0n]

i prefer manual. except for driving in traffic.
manuals get better gas mileage, and are better for accelerating.
plus they're cheaper

 

[detonater]

^ i had the wheel bearings collapse on one of my old cars which cause the disk to rub on the pad which boilded the brake fluid! it was pretty scary! when i put my foot on the brake it just went straight to the floor!

My dad was telling me about this new automatic transmition (well, new at the time) that corvet came out with that would somehow anticipate when the next shift would occur, and could switch between gears with no loss of power what-so-ever.

They did a race between a pro driver in a manual car, and just some guy in the exact same car, but with this transmition, and the automatic won every time.

VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group) are using the DSG box on a lot of their cars now which is pretty close to what your dad was talking about

http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=770&fArticleId=2142264

as for autos being quicker than sticks, maybe in a straight line but not round a track or anything which has corners!

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

and no one is really selling stick aroudn here,

Stick is alot more common than you think. Next time you walk around a parking lot, check out which cars are sticks and which are autos - you'll be suprised how many sticks there are. It definately is more common with older cars, but most new cars today have the option to be stick, at a cheaper price. Plus, sticks gets better gas mileage so some people have been attracted to that recently.

That is just a tendency though. With the way I drive, I get alot less mileage with a stick! But I don't care, I'm one of the few people out there who would rather drive a car that gets 4 mpg that's nice then some run of the mill Toyota.

I would advise against engine braking, even if your just keeping it at 2K RPM. Just use your brakes. You may be thinking, well if that's the case, than accelerating in general must be bad for the car. And you'd be right.

I don't see how your brakes will just suddenly become useless or not work. Most states, if not all, require regular registrations and checkups so you'd know if your brakes were worthless. You could always use your parking/emergency brake, and if that doesn't work, you can engine brake.

 

[Kilgore]

I've never drove a manual but I love automatics. It seems like it's a laid back ride especially when you are drunk at 3 am in the morning, ain't got no time to shift.

 

[tskinny]

My rig is an auto, and to be honest it sucks ass constantly shifting gears when going on the trails so I'm gunna say auto is my preference......

In actuality i envy owners of manual jeeps and I wish I would have went that direction when I bought mine. As stated earlier I too had limited funds and the auto flavor was in that range.

 

[fleurbleu]

I prefer manual ... I drive a Honda CRX-SI ... my baby She's a 1990 but only has 68,000 kliks on her and she is immaculate, inside and out. When I decided to buy her I had seen the CRX's and was determined to have one .. and I haven't been disappointed Mind you, there are certain cities in Canada where I wouldn't want to have to drive her ... so much stopping and starting! My only regret is that, when I got her I refused air conditioning ... figured I didn't need it ... big mistake. Now that I'm older and it seems to be getting hotter during summer, I wish I hadn't of made that choice! But I will hold onto her though as they stopped making them the year after I bought mine

Nice thread

 

[Hanlons_Razor]

Question about stick:

Does the transmision tend to go faster than with an auto?

Cause I'm looking for a car...and in my price range, most of the cars are 100k+ miles. And I don't want to get a stick where the transmission is likely to fail very quickly...there's a reason why I'm looking for a car under 1500$.

And I was driving in two of my friends cars...you could really feel when the autmatic changed gears...the manual was so much smoother.

 

[7zark7]

On a steep downgrade, you better damn well engine brake. True brakes are cheaper to replace than an engine or transmission, but if your brakes overheat they then become useless. No brakes = a VERY bad situation

Indeed. Engine braking is good for going downhill and keeping a constant speed without having to use the brakes.

I was once told that you should descend a hill in the same gear you acsend it in... not sure if that is true though!

 

[detonater]

Question about stick:

Does the transmision tend to go faster than with an auto?

depends on how you drive the car, if your allways trying to be the first from the lights and racing up through the gears then the clutch will wear out super fast 30-40k miles ( some top end supercars that have launch control will eat a clutch in 4 or 5 launches) but a friends work van had 270k miles on it and it was still on its first clutch.

if you really want too save the cluch and gearbox then double declutching is the was to do it,

Double Declutching

Are you ever cruising along in fifth and suddenly you come across an obstruction? You want to whizz past, but even changing down into fourth won't give you the power you need. What's needed is a quick change down into third or second gear. Doing this, however, runs a serious risk of damaging your gear box. This is where double declutching comes in.

In ordinary declutching you use the clutch to change from a higher to a lower gear. It's what you do all the time. Double declutching is a little more elaborate:

* Push the clutch to the floor
* Put the gear lever into neutral
* Lift the clutch off the floor
* Give the accelerator a little blip to rev the engine up
* Push the clutch to the floor
* Put the gear lever into the desired gear
* Lift the clutch off the floor

Why do it? It puts the gearbox into an intermediate state where it is better able to slip into the new gear, and matches the engine speed to the new speed required by the lower gear.

The same process in reverse, but without the extra blip of the accelerator, is used to go up to a higher gear. You'd do this when you've passed an almost-stationary granny driver, for example.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1011853

 

[dwfan]

And I was driving in two of my friends cars...you could really feel when the autmatic changed gears...the manual was so much smoother.

Depends on the make/model of the transmission really. Some auotmatics are known good while others known shit. GM automatics are for the most part very good units, that have sharp shift points. Ford trannies.....so-so. Chrysler.....shitty, with the exception being the automatic that was coupled to the old 318ci engine (I forget the tranny model).

Also modern day automatics are computer controlled to adjust to driving style. Under normal conditions, it wll shift smooth (or as smooth as that model tranny will shift). Put the hammer to the floor and that's a whole different ball game. The tranny computer is then going to assume that you want maximum performance, and adjust shift points accordingly. That slight adjustment will make for a harder more noticeable shift.

 

[mariacallas]

I learned to drive with a stickshift....I've driven so many cars with manual transmission....and let me tell ya, I'm a damn good driver
I've driven automatic a couple times and it does spoil you but I love the feel and control I have in the drivers seat of a manual car. Plus I can drive absolutely ANYTHING and that's a plus. (also...girls who drive stick well are quite rare back here so I get lots of oooohs )

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

That double-declutching nonsense seems like more work than it's worth. I basically do the same thing, except without the nonsense. Say you want to do the same thing...

* Push the clutch to the floor
* Start changing into desired gear
* Add gas
* While you add gas, you release clutch, and you should be in the desired gear

I actually do this moreso for shifting up gears, but works for accelerating as this double declutching is supposedly used for. It's pretty helpful, as you are able to make very quick gear shifts without having to slowly release the clutch. As the intention in this double trick, your trying to match the clutch to the engine, or faster even. It's done very quickly, but most of you guys probably do it without realizing it.

I still maintain engine braking is stupid, even if your just trying to "control your speed" down a hill.

 

[mariacallas]

It's done very quickly, but most of you guys probably do it without realizing it.

Yep. Driving a stick is like breathing...I don't even think about it. It's very mechanical and yet natural.

 

[clip']

yeah i dont even thinking about driving stick anymore. its basically an automatic for me. i avoid rush hour, but even in an auto id avoid rush hour. its just useless. nothing beats driving a fast manual car. with my old car, it had a racing clutch so it was a bit of a bitch to drive, but was well worth turbo power. when i slap a turbo on my new car, its giong to have a stock clutchplate with a stronger pressure plate, which means, it can handle the power but will drive like a stock car apart from the fact that the clutch pedal will be a bit stiffer to push in and out. thats okay. its only a worry if youre a nanny or have puny legs

 

[clip']

That double-declutching nonsense seems like more work than it's worth. I basically do the same thing, except without the nonsense. Say you want to do the same thing...

* Push the clutch to the floor
* Start changing into desired gear
* Add gas
* While you add gas, you release clutch, and you should be in the desired gear

I actually do this moreso for shifting up gears, but works for accelerating as this double declutching is supposedly used for. It's pretty helpful, as you are able to make very quick gear shifts without having to slowly release the clutch. As the intention in this double trick, your trying to match the clutch to the engine, or faster even. It's done very quickly, but most of you guys probably do it without realizing it.

I still maintain engine braking is stupid, even if your just trying to "control your speed" down a hill.

even though your downshifting methods might work okay, its still placing a lot of load on your gearbox. theres two shafts in the gearbox and you gota make sure that theyre going at the right speeds or else your clutch takes the load and creates wear on it. the point in reving the engine while its in neutral is to match the speed of aonther shaft in the gearbox spo the final gear you select goes in easy and with no wear on the clutch.

double clutching removes the strain on your clutch when shifting down gears at high speeds. i dont do it if its just going from 4th to 3rd on a city road, but when youre going to overtake on the highway or something, a nice shift to 4th then 3rd then foot down without jerking the car at all is just a magical feeling.

if you can double clutch downshift properly, theres no wear on your clutch which goes to show all those people who are like 'which would u rather replace, your clutch or your brakes' those are only for the people who dont knwo how to down shift properly. done right, you dont even need to put the clutch back in when selecting the lower gear

its just clutch out, neutral, rev in neutral to the correct rpm for the lower gear then just slide the stick into the lower gear, no crunching cos everythings running at the proper speed. takes a shit load of practise though and usually only the hardcore track racers who have been racing their car for years can have that sort of precision.

 

[detonater]

I still maintain engine braking is stupid, even if your just trying to "control your speed" down a hill.

The drivers also utilise 'engine braking' by downshifting rapidly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_cars

Also for rapid braking in a manual RWD car heel and toe breaking is a good skill to learn!

I lived 5min away from castle combe racing track so i spent many a weekend in the summer blitzing round learning car control skills!