automatic OR manual? - Page 5

Quickstrike · 02-08-06, 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by klnyc

Word that!
its like Enzo > all their rides.

Veyron > Enzo .. ok enough!

klnyc · 02-08-06, 04:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickstrike

Veyron > Enzo .. ok enough!

Well, Im speechless...
Can you really drive that Buga Veryron around?

AlexRuiz · 02-10-06, 05:51

What a question!

You already know the answer. If the majority of replies so far are manuals, even taking into account they are mainly from folks living in the ONLY country in the world where automatics are preferred, what would you expect from a crazy latin driver, living where manuals are the norm?

Autos are perfect to learn, but not for more. As far as traffic, if you have driven in Mexico city or any other 2 million+ city in Mexico (Guadalajara, Monterrey or Puebla) then you will learn that bad traffic has a new meaning..... Oh, and we even learn how to eat with the left hand and steer / shift / turn signal with the right..... And we don't mind manuals in traffic.

I agree in the statement that the best auto transmition shifts faster than the best driver (aprox 160 ms) but I will place emphasis in the term "best". Almost no comercial cars have auto transmitions that can beat a good driver. Where NO auto transmition can beat a good driver is in road focus. Go uphill and before starting climbing you already downshifted... the auto will take some time.

Alex

PS. I only drive auto if there is nothing else available..... and as a comment, my driving skills are not that great.... I struggled to learn stick, but once you get the feeling there is no way back.

blkZ28Conv · 02-11-06, 02:30

Maybe some team in F1 will realize that manual transmissions are the way to go. Best drivers with an automatic will not stand a chance against another equally good driver in an automatic (computer controlled unit).

For real life safe driving situations the differential between the forms of shifting is non-existant unless of course we are only talking about low hp/torque vehicles with narrow power and torque bands in which a manual will definitely make life in these vehicles much more tolerable and maybe even exciting.

eddieg · 02-11-06, 05:12

I've had this theory -- what do you guys think?

An auto driver has an edge at accident avoidance; in an emergency, you are more likely to keep control and keep the engine running while doing emergency maneuvers. A manual driver doing a panic braking maneuver risks stalling the engine and then not being able to accelerate out of the way, if that became necessary.

I've run that by some friends - they claim "noo, no way it'd be automatic to brake/downshift properly". I would still claim many people would panic, leave the gear in fourth or fifth, slam it to 0 forgetting the clutch and stall.

White95Max · 02-11-06, 06:31

I always hit the clutch soon after the brake in a panic stop. It's just instinct now. If you're slowing down quickly, you need to hit the clutch in too.

Mike-in-Orange · 02-11-06, 07:55

I've got a '99 Miata with a 5 speed and it is pure joy to drive, mostly because it has one of the slickest manual gearboxes on the market. It's reasonably peppy even though the engine only makes about 140HP and 110lb-ft of torque at the crank - then again it only weighs 2300lbs.

I also have a 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo with the Stage 1 upgrade. It has an automatic, but since it makes about 245HP and 270lb-ft of torque in its current modded state, it will crush the Miata in straighline acceleration (1/4 mile in 14.4 @ 95mph) and can spin the front tires from a 20mph roll. Seriously: stand on it, the trans kicks down NOW, the turbo spools fast and BAM! If I need to get out of the way in a hurry whether from a dead stop, a 20mph roll or the run from 60-90mph (again, stand on it and the trans kicks down NOW), between these two cars I'll take the one with the auto tranny!

Then there's my 1992 Camaro RS V6 - also an automatic - that I consider to be my foul weather car. Since I live in SoCal and we get very little foul weather, I don't drive it that much. With the same HP as the Miata but an extra 1000lbs of heft to propel, it is far from fast. Mashing the go pedal at freeway speeds mostly increases the noise level, not the speed. Nail the gas pedal and the tranny eventually stops hitting the snooze button, figures out what you're asking and rewards you with...well...noises that sound like you're going faster (but you really arent't).

The moral of my story: lots of power and torque coupled with a modern, properly programmed auto tranny (Stage 1 on the PT also reprograms the trans!), even if the wrong wheels are driving the vehicle, get you moving plenty fast!

Kaiz · 02-11-06, 11:25

Manual transmission > *

It's faster and more fun. If you don't care about either of those, then get an automatic.

blkZ28Conv · 02-12-06, 12:59

I have always equated fast and fun with hp and torque. Gotta have these two or your fast and fun just turns into playing boy/girl racer stimulating these items while running through the gears.

low horsepower and especially low torque : manual tranny
hi hp and torque: personally preference of type of transmission

Have a couple of each form of transmissions, high hp and torque and the question becomes which form of transmission do I feel like driving today.

bimmer330 · 02-12-06, 04:12

My daily driver is a 6 speed 330i with zhp and my toy car is a 5 speed 1986 Mustang GT. My wifes SUV is an automatic. If I have a choice it will be manual.

Accumulator · 02-12-06, 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddieg

I've had this theory -- what do you guys think?

An auto driver has an edge at accident avoidance; in an emergency, you are more likely to keep control and keep the engine running while doing emergency maneuvers...

IMO it'll come down to the driver. But given the skill levels of most people, yeah, I tend to agree. And yeah, it's a lot harder to mess up so badly that you stall the car with an auto.

And in uhm, unusual types of emergencies, especially under great adrenal stress, the auto really is a lot easier to use. Ever try doing a no-warning, right-NOW! reverse-180 with a stick? Not easy; but it's pretty easy with an automatic, piece of cake with a column mounted shifter.

AlexRuiz · 02-13-06, 06:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by blkZ28Conv

Maybe some team in F1 will realize that manual transmissions are the way to go. Best drivers with an automatic will not stand a chance against another equally good driver in an automatic (computer controlled unit).

For real life safe driving situations the differential between the forms of shifting is non-existant unless of course we are only talking about low hp/torque vehicles with narrow power and torque bands in which a manual will definitely make life in these vehicles much more tolerable and maybe even exciting.

Aren't F1 transmistions sequential semi-automatics? The shift pads are mounted in the steering wheel. I remember reading that F1 went with sequential transmitions because the drivers were blowing engines at a high rate (7th down to 4th for example). With the sequential, to go from 7th down to 2nd you have to press the paddle a few times and go through all the gears in between.