auto vs. manual

[damacman]

taker on that challenge

$50 on Chan

 

[007]

I have an auto. I have the 4.10s, higher line pressure and revised shift points. I find it very frustrating not to be able to control shifts. My car will spin the crap out of every 1-2 shift which can be very dangerous if it shifts during a turn. On the other hand, when accelerating around corners you have to feather the throttle so it shifts to second without spinning out, then as you come out of the corner you bog. When you want to punch it, instead of taking off, you have to wait for the shift (isnt long on my car but still a pain).
I hate not having control to be in the right gear around corners or use engine braking. It is also very frustrating dynoing your car and getting much lower numbers that a 5 speed. My car would dyno higher with my mods but in fact my dyno numbers suck - see sig.

Modding an auto is harder and more costly also. A gearswap requires a programmer or chip vs a speedocal. Getting dyno tuned is not as straight forward because not many tuners can really do a good job with shift points etc. Some supercharger companies wont even support auto tuning at all. On top of all this the auto tranny costs more when you buy the car.

Its usually the 5 speed guys ripping on autos and the auto guys defending them. I want to give a point of view of an auto guy who doesnt like it at all. My car is set-up for street and occasional auto-X, and the auto tranny sucks. If you are a hradcore drag racer, or a daily driver that sits in traffic and doesnt care for performance, then get an auto. Otherwise I would never do it.

BTW: I bought an auto because my wife is disabled and cant drive stick. She actually doesnt drive my car anymore so I'm saving for a TKO swap. I just cant be happy with an automatic sports car.

 

[GinoGT]

I prefer 5spd, but it's just a personal choice. I like knowing I have full control of the power.

Aren't all top fuel etc drag cars autos?

They only have one gear. They use a multi-plate clutch setup and control the amount of slip for about the first 1/8 mile. After that they can (finally) fully lock the clutch up.

Oh yeah, another $50 on Chan.

 

[hobbes80]

I have an auto. I have the 4.10s, higher line pressure and revised shift points. I find it very frustrating not to be able to control shifts. My car will spin the crap out of every 1-2 shift which can be very dangerous if it shifts during a turn. On the other hand, when accelerating around corners you have to feather the throttle so it shifts to second without spinning out, then as you come out of the corner you bog. When you want to punch it, instead of taking off, you have to wait for the shift (isnt long on my car but still a pain).
I hate not having control to be in the right gear around corners or use engine braking. It is also very frustrating dynoing your car and getting much lower numbers that a 5 speed. My car would dyno higher with my mods but in fact my dyno numbers suck - see sig.

Modding an auto is harder and more costly also. A gearswap requires a programmer or chip vs a speedocal. Getting dyno tuned is not as straight forward because not many tuners can really do a good job with shift points etc. Some supercharger companies wont even support auto tuning at all. On top of all this the auto tranny costs more when you buy the car.

Its usually the 5 speed guys ripping on autos and the auto guys defending them. I want to give a point of view of an auto guy who doesnt like it at all. My car is set-up for street and occasional auto-X, and the auto tranny sucks. If you are a hradcore drag racer, or a daily driver that sits in traffic and doesnt care for performance, then get an auto. Otherwise I would never do it.

BTW: I bought an auto because my wife is disabled and cant drive stick. She actually doesnt drive my car anymore so I'm saving for a TKO swap. I just cant be happy with an automatic sports car.

I agree completely. Auto-X with Auto Tran blows.

 

[JoeySperz]

Heres an easy way to put it, power aside... Do minivans come in stick or do Ferraris, Porsche's, Lambos, and Cobras come in stick???????? There is no better feeling in the world than chirping gears. Juice on an auto may feel nice, but if it was stick it would be about 50000000 times more fun.

 

[laser2kgt]

can somebody explain to me how the torque converter and jerry mod work? i have an auto u c.

 

[BigHairyMonkey]

just to clear up some bs that i just read.. 5spds do not get better gas mileage than autos... in fact its completely the opposite.. autos get far better gas mileage in the city.. and marginally better on highway. This is due to the fact that some people like to roll around the streets in 3rd or 4th.. when an auto would always shift you into overdrive when u arent on it.. therefore droppin rpms and increasing gas mileage.

 

[e3troy]

Troy your numbers are awesome, how much boost are you running and what are your other mods?

There aren't enough fast autos on this board

Those numbers were with 10 psi. Not nearly impressive as a 5 spd but I'm happy with it. My only other mod is a prochamber mid pipe with a flowmaster catback. Headers and torque converter are coming soon (3600 rpm stall). I may end up losing the 4.10 for a 3.73 swap.

Troy

 

[kurst]

just to clear up some bs that i just read.. 5spds do not get better gas mileage than autos... in fact its completely the opposite.. autos get far better gas mileage in the city.. and marginally better on highway. This is due to the fact that some people like to roll around the streets in 3rd or 4th.. when an auto would always shift you into overdrive when u arent on it.. therefore droppin rpms and increasing gas mileage.

let me clear your BS up.

Sticks when driven correctly get better gas mileage then autos.

 

[Cobra Jay]

Personally I love driving a car with a manual trans. except for when I'm stuck in traffic. Nothing like driving a small block with a stick. I use to love winding my 340 Duster up to 6800rpm and going side ways into 2nd,3rd and 4th. But for an all out drag car(especially a big block), give me an auto with a reverse manual valve body and a crazy high stall converter and a steep set of gears! One of these days I'll have another A-body Mopar. Full tube front end chassis,tubbed out with either a BB stroker 440 or a Ray Barton built HEMI. Backed up by a 727 torqueflite with a reverse man. valve body,4500 stall, and a 4 link DANA 60 4.56 rearend. Oh, and a good set of Slicks and wheelie bars!

 

[007]

let me clear your BS up.

Sticks when driven correctly get better gas mileage then autos.

This is correct. Autos use more gas to put the same power to the ground. They dyno less with the same motor. Its obvious they use more gas.

 

[mist1006]

I wouldn't trade my standard for anything. Less to break This coming froma girl who has three other automatic sports cars in her life. GTP 62k miles 2nd tranny.. 86 camaro - tranny on the porch... 87 RX-7 tranny in junk yard

Also, I couldnt believe it when I got 32 MPG on the interstate going up an down some major hills continually.

Used to hate sticks... I love mine way more than I ever thought.

Now I need better gears

 

[damacman]

They only have one gear. They use a multi-plate clutch setup and control the amount of slip for about the first 1/8 mile. After that they can (finally) fully lock the clutch up.

Oh yeah, another $50 on Chan.

Upping the ante to $100 on Chan . . . Dark Knight GT, the ball is now in your court.

 

[Dark Knight GT]

let me clear your BS up.

Sticks when driven correctly get better gas mileage then autos.

I have to agree here. The manuals can get a bit better gas mileage than the autos. If you look at highway rpms, the automatics will have slightly higher rpms by a few hundred. This is also assuming the automatic is in o/d and the five speed is in 5th gear.

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Upping the ante to $100 on Chan . . . Dark Knight GT, the ball is now in your court.

If Jackie Chan looses, do I get the money ?

 

[Venom_Nitrous]

I got a stick because I feel like I have more control of my car. A couple years ago, I was in my mom's corvette (auto) and floored it in a turn. The car really got sideways, and in a stick, I feel like I can keep it in a gear in which I don't have to floor it to make it through a turn to exit quickly. Plus stick is a little cheaper, and the mileage is a couple MPG better.

LOL your mom has a corvette too, A bit OT. How old is she. I think it is cool that my mom drives one too. She's about 50, bright red. "Li'l red corvette" (Hums Prince song in head). But any who, I drove it a few times, once w/o her in it and I find the 6 speed to be a waste of time b/c first is so high and the shift points are so close together you spend too much time shifting. I also found that when I shifted into 3rd from 2nd at WOT that the clutch didn't hold. The RPM's stayed at like 5500 and it smoked like hell. I love the 5 speed in my car. Nothing can beat that fun. Tri-ax with a CF dual friction clutch. Never slips and it engages so hard that it can be felt in the car KA-THUNK. I drive my brothers auto from time to time and it is fast but it doesn't feel as fun.
Oh yeah, I have a D and D aluminum flywheel as well, 7 lbs. Gotta love that.