Attention: Stick shift owners

[timewarped1972]

alot of it also depends on what you plan on doing with the car performance wise as well. a stick will be alot quicker and more fun than a stock slush box aod, however, if your not looking to set the world on fire and just want something nice and fun to drive an auto will work well too. don't forget if you get an auto there's always swapping to a manual......wich is something that crosses all aod owners minds when the aod blows up.
i was looking for a stick, but when i came across the aod gt i now have i just could'nt pass it up because of the cars shape. which there in is a big problem........you may go out looking for a stick and find a really nice automatic, which happens alot as i think sometimes you can find automatics that have'nt been beaten to death, not to mention, automatics tend to not have some of the drive train issues sticks do due to the fact your not as likely to have torn torque boxes worn rear end etc ( for you guys who own sticks relax im generalizing here.lol ). point being, depending on the selection of cars you find in your price range sometimes it's more important to go with a car thats in good shape regardless of the tranny ( i'd rather a really clean aod over a wasted stick )........plus sometimes the aod's are cheaper due to transmission racism........lol
when i was 16, my parents made me learn on a stick and drive it for awhile, granted it was a p.o.s nissan truck that i hated, but i can tell you after you drive one for awhile you do get to where it's such a reflex you hardly notice........have fun making a decision!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PlumCrazy5.0]

Stick all the way, get bored driving an auto. Will not buy and auto

 

[stangbear427]

Auto's make good parts cars.
I love my standard, there's nothing else like it. Of course, my car is set up for curves not quarter, so an auto would never do. However, I love grabbing the next gear on the straits too. Anyone who gets tired of driving a stick never was a purist to begin with. I drive over 20K miles a year, much of it in traffic, with a clutch that most people who drive my car hate, and I don't even think about it. Every day, rain and snow, doesn't matter- the control is so far superior that I'd die in an accident the first year with an auto now, if I didn't die of boredom first. Got stuck in an accident the other day for three hours, and moved just over one mile. Couldn't care less. My father, 56 years old, just bought a new GT last year, it's a stick. He test drove a few autos first, and then the 5spd- and said something like "driving that automatic GT isn't even driving- what a waste of a sports car". My grandfather, 80 years old, drives it every chance he gets, and if he could afford it, he's said several times it's exactly what he'd go buy. One of my best friends is a 55 year old schoolteacher with knee and back problems (woman!) with a '93 LT1 6spd, and it isn't unlike her to hop in it and drive from Connecticut to Florida to see a friend play a gig, or overnight to Canada to catch ZZTop and drive home the next day. She says "6 gears, 8 cylinders, 10 speakers, cruisin' happy". She has also said, like Michael Yount, "when I can't drive stick anymore, I know it's time to stop driving". You either have the salt or you don't; if you do you'll have it forever and if you don't, all you can do is pretend you aren't bland while you're young enough to pull it off.

 

[Lynx331]

thanks for all the replys guys. I think im going 2 get a stick. I loved driving it the first time i drove one. and my automatic is very very boring. Even shifting it from 1 up is boring.

 

[865.0HO]

My 86 is my DD and I wouldn't consider trading it for an auto.

 

[ECU5.0]

definetly love driving a stick. wouldnt trade it for an auto ever....especially since the tko just went it

 

[afast93stang]

My 5spd stang is my daily driver and I drive it in Dallas traffic every day on the interstates. I love it, wouldnt change a thing...

 

[Ray III]

only problems are when you need to use your right hand to hang onto something or are trying to eat, then you have to run out 2nd all the way and take a quick peck at the shifter and spill your coffee all over the place...

also, with a manual you have a MINIMUM speed... it's hard keeping with traffic at less than 7 mph, I'm going to build a transmission with really low 1-3 gears so I can creep along in traffic without pulling any goofy business. People like to get lower rearend gears but that makes the engine go too damn fast for cruise, I'm also gonna get a high overdrive gear... anyways

other than that, shifting is completely automatic and you don't pay attention to it when you're just puttering around, yet it is fun when you want to drop it into 2nd and break sideways on a whim.

 

[MadMatt5oh]

I cant stand how boring an automatic is in a sports car. IMO a true sports car comes as a manual. Although I like an auto in a nice SUV or cadillac.

Stop and go and get annoying -especailly when it comes to simmering down the bucking. I love it anyway though. Nothing like driving that heavy clutch in with bare feet! I love it!

 

[super302]

Manual all the way, sometimes early in the morning with lots of traffic (rarely) i wish it was an auto.

 

[super302]

the only bad thing is....it can be (not neccesarly) a pain to learn.

 

[PNY PWR]

I'm thinking of going to a built C-4, I drive a semi and shift all day long so I get a little tired of shifting. Plus I'm old

 

[25thmustang]

I love mine for a few reasons, and before anyone says anything it goes from CT to Jersey (almost 3 and a half hours on average) every weekend...

First reason, control. You have total control over the car at all times. You can chose a gear and use it to your advantage.

Second reason, fun. They are so much more fun. You can just mess around and have fun at any time, more so than an auto, IMO.

Third reason, gas mileage. Yup my stick gets amazing gas mileage sometimes. I have seen almost 28 and yet it still runs some decent track times.

Finally, impressive. Yes because you dont watch an auto run down the track and go, "that guy can drive" yet you do with a well drivin stick shifted car! Watching a good driver hammer some clean powershifts on his way to a great pass, hard to top it!

 

[HISSIN50]

i did not read each response, so my bad if this was said. i am a stick guy too (never owned a slushbox, but the rest of the family's cars are). sometimes it is nice to drive an auto (if you are not in the mood to drive). i bet a manual valve body might get close to the best of both worlds (though i like the actual motion of pushing a pedal - i like to heel and toe and play around).

i did not see anyone mention manual valvebodies, so i chimed in. no other reason.

:OT: Hllon, glad im not the only one who nails the MF switch. im working on CC switch mods so i can put a flat bottomed wheel on - so i can get into the car w/o breaking my cell and whatever else is in my right pocket.

who thought up the ergos on these things? i cant have the seat back to have legroom cuz then i cant reach the shifter. ok, im done.

 

[drgn5.0]

i hate automatics unless its a tt supra

 

[281pony]

i turned down 4 fox bodies last summer when i was looking for my car. couldn't find one with a stick.

finally found one and wouldn't trade it for an auto. the king cobra clutch is much easier then the clutch it had anyways (centerforce).

plus it is handy when you go by cops cruising at 2000 rpm's to just push in the clutch and go nearly silent.

 

[5.04Life]

I too vote for the stick shift. It's all I've ever had in my vehicles and is second nature to me, don't even notice anymore really. Then it hits me when I try to push the clutch in on my dad's bronco when I drive it, and then it hits me, oh its an auto lol

 

[guitarplayer5.0]

definately stick shift. I get bored very easily. I also have the opinion that any true sports car is manual shift. My Mustang and my daily driver SUV are both stick. The 5spd in my SUV saved my a$$ on more than one occasion in the Rochester, NY winters.

Now when I get into an automatic floor-shift car, I have a tendency to wanna shove it into reverse when I would normally be downshifting into 3rd or 1st... Wooooops!

Automatics are really cool for racing though. You almost can't beat the consistancy of a well built automatic with a converter and a valve body.

 

[stangbear427]

i hate automatics unless its a tt supra

Not sure where you're coming from with that statement, but it just got me thinking: featured this month in SCCM was the fastest Turbo Supra in the world; full weight daily driver that runs low, low, low 9's with the factory 6spd in place. To use their words "if an ant farted on a pass, it would be in the 8's".

Hllon, glad im not the only one who nails the MF switch. im working on CC switch mods so i can put a flat bottomed wheel on - so i can get into the car w/o breaking my cell and whatever else is in my right pocket.

who thought up the ergos on these things? i cant have the seat back to have legroom cuz then i cant reach the shifter. ok, im done.

You are definately not the only ones! These cars were designed to be driven by monkeys!

only problems are when you need to use your right hand to hang onto something or are trying to eat, then you have to run out 2nd all the way and take a quick peck at the shifter and spill your coffee all over the place...

Never had that problem, I eat my lunch on the run regularly. Stuff your coffee between the leg bolster and the door, eat with the left hand and drive with the right. I even still use my turn signals... and I can do it all while on the cellphone without anyone knowing too

 

[notch ya]

Manual tranny is far superior. I have it on my 91 Notch and also on my commuter Ford Festiva. I absolutely HATE driving autos. They annoy me.