Manual vs Automatic debate

[Kenneth]

The obsession of playing with "your own stick" all the time is a bit sad :P

Us autos just need to put our stick in the right position and the rest is taken care of :P

;) classic.. i like

[Shaunus Maximus]

Manual FTW! But.... Automatic Tiptronic (flappy paddle gear box) also FTW, especially on performance cars! But still, 6speed manual FTW!

[X-Power]

SMG!!! love it and want on all my cars and wifes

Edited April 19, 2008 by X-Power

[mms78]

Manual of course

Auto is for lazy, uneducated enthusiasts and old ladies

[Leroy]

SMG!!! love it and want on all my... wives

that gets Tony's seal of approval :D

[X-Power]

no problem at all ;)

imagine having Sequential manual transmission wives :P don't like her mood just press the button

pull back the shift lever to select the higher gear( more noise) and pushed forwards to select the adjacent less noise (lower gear).

[lylee]

manual cant be beat

manual FTW

[whitestivo]

Go the paddles, my mate has a GTI Golf, and the paddles are great.

[da68za]

man , although i do have both . i only get to drive the auto when the wife lets me

[Modena]

When you live in a city, auto gets the job done nicely. If you go to a track everyday then get a manual.

Then again, most Corollas and Celicass are fairly slow unles you did some serious mods, so what is the difference :)

Im getting one soon cos I want a nice, quickish car with great fuel economy and reliability.

[Saiya]

In my totally unbiased opinion, auto is teh best ever.

[Tool3y]

drive both (if the parents dont lock the auto's in the sheds ;) ) though i find you cant beat the manuals

but the next questions is..... forward or rear wheel drive? and the fun they both bring about?

[Cappuccino]

I guess at the end of the day it comes down to personally perference and what your using the car for. Since im still young i go manual I cant stand auto and just bores me.

Really like the look of the ISF but i would buy a m3 over it because the m3 has a full manual option and the ISF doesnt. I dont care for smg/dsg/paddle shift whatever they call it. When i buy a car i look for something thats fun to drive. I dont care how quick they can shift.

Probably going to get shot for this one but RWD>FWD :P but i do own both!

Edited July 8, 2008 by Cappuccino

[doublezero]

Auto is good for town rides but manual is still the best.

Manual ftw.

[supertownace]

It's called MANual for a reason :P

Also, there is no such thing as semi-auto. It's just auto with buttons on the wheel (same applies to duel clutch jobbies).

umm...YES there is.

this doesn't really relate to passenger vehicles but it's still kinda relevant......

in heavy trucks there is a gearbox made by a company called Eaton. the gearbox is called a Roadranger Autoshift.

basically the gearbox has a computer tacked to the side of it and uses 2 HUGE servo motors to change the gears....all 18 of them.

the driver still has a clutch pedal to start and stop, with and automatic type shifter instead of a stick. once moving the engine computer talks back and forth to the gearbox computer and it does all the changing by itself. even when you have the cruise control on and climbing up a hill.

i know because i drive a truck that has this gearbox. its great. and yes you can still change manually....just pull the shifter back into manual mode and you can tell the 'box when to shift. it makes driving a breeze.

ohh...one more thing.....this gearbox uses a dual plate clutch too. it also has a clutch brake...its in the throwout bearing.

this clutch is capable of handling 650hp and over 2000 pounds of torque.....yet its light as on the pedal. and no it is only dis-engaged when you either start off or come to a stop.....the rest of the time its engaged and locked solid.

cheers

[supertownace]

but to personally answer the auto vs manual debate..........

if you have big horsepower...auto is the way to go. (im talking over 350hp here)

if you want good fuel economy....auto.

if you get the fidgits in a car and want something to play with.....go manual.

if you are constantly having driveline problems due to a lead lined right foot and cant get the left foot co-ordinated....go auto.

cheers

[Hiro]

if you want good fuel economy....auto.

Unless you have a super modern auto (like a DSG or 7-speed or the like), manual will be better for fuel consumption, by far. Notice that just about every new car listing shows better fuel consumption for the manual model than the auto. Autos lose more power in the driveline, thus need more power to be made in order to go as fast as a manual.

[supertownace]

if you want good fuel economy....auto.

Autos lose more power in the driveline, thus need more power to be made in order to go as fast as a manual.

yes i agree with you on this point. typically you can lose around 10 to 15% flywheel horsepower using an auto box. hence the reason for the "big horsepower" statement previously. if you have something like a seriously modded v8 that throws out 600 odd horses then yes fit an auto behind it as it will be kinder to the rest of the driveline......that is no sudden shock loads and possibly breaking a uni joint or twisting driveshafts and axle splines. although i have seen one lunatic on a drag strip leave the auto out of gear.....slam the right foot into the floor....then reef back on the shifter into 1st. this had the graphic effect of launching several hot internal components of the auto box into a very low orbit while the entire oil capacity of the box was evenly sprayed across the track. he also twisted the driveshaft....and got disqualified from racing for a VERY long time.

cheers

[MIIKEY]

im stuck driving auto becuz the stupid P's law

my licence says auto :(

[PhantomCorona]

Manual!

Feel the power at the feet alot more than an Auto.

:D Manual :D

[Modena]

Manual!

Feel the power at the feet alot more than an Auto.

:D Manual :D

I hope your not referring to your car here lol :D

[*Ravenous*]

Personally i had an auto to start off with and found it really boring and lazy.

My rav is manual and i love it

So def manual all the way 4 me :D

[RXSeven]

Whatever does skids better imo

[PhantomCorona]

I nearly fell asleep in my mums auto on the way back from echuca to werribee.

Lol.

[thegourou20]

Manual All The Way :) I Will Get On Auto When I Will Be In My 60z If Ever I Make It There LOL