Posted: 6/24/2011 10:18:31 AM EDT
|
I was thinking today. Sometime next summer, I would like to upgrade out of my 2000 Ranger to something along the lines of a small SUV. Right now, my Ranger is an auto, but I have a "fair-weather-car" that is a stick. I enjoy the fun-factor of the stick, but I do agree that it is a it of a pain in traffic etc.
What do you guys think? Should I get my next vehicle in an auto or stick? Also, what do you guy's have in your daily driver, as this is what the vehicle will be used for. Thanks |
| my 1st truck was manual, second auto, 3rd & current vehicle is manual, i hate auto, it is always shifting when i don't want it to, and also just boring. my current truck is a 2004 reg cab short bed chevy silverado 4.8L v8 5spd, and i love it. 1st truck was a '99 4.3L v6 chevy s10 5spd, and the auto i sold was a 1997 2 door chevy tahoe 5.7L v8 auto. i loved the tahoe, and would've kept it if it was as stick shift |
|
It really depends on what vehicle you buy. I drive an automatic 08 Tacoma (heard the newer manuals blow) and it is perfect for my needs. I would like a fun car like a WRX or a Mustang with a stick as a second car, they just aren't practical for me as my primary ride.
If you already have one car that is a stick then I would get an auto for your daily driver, unless you are getting a Corvette or a BMW, etc. 
|
|
Get whichever you want.
Manuals are better in pretty much every objective category. Last longer, cost less to fix, get better gas mileage, and are better for starting out in low traction conditions. If all of the above is outweighed by the stop-and-go effort / convenience of an automatic, get the automatic. For my daily drivers I have one of each. Manual in the car, autotragic in the truck. The Jeep is a manual, but it's not a daily driver, it's hardly a driver ever. 
|
|
Quoted:
Get whichever you want. Manuals are better in pretty much every objective category. Last longer, cost less to fix, get better gas mileage, and are better for starting out in low traction conditions. If all of the above is outweighed by the stop-and-go effort / convenience of an automatic, get the automatic. For my daily drivers I have one of each. Manual in the car, autotragic in the truck. The Jeep is a manual, but it's not a daily driver, it's hardly a driver ever.
Current rumour is that the current automatics with computers get as good, if not, better mileage with the automatic. And have to agree with an above post, sticks are getting more and more rare, so if you like a manual, buy it now to show the market that people still like them. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Get whichever you want. Manuals are better in pretty much every objective category. Last longer, cost less to fix, get better gas mileage, and are better for starting out in low traction conditions. If all of the above is outweighed by the stop-and-go effort / convenience of an automatic, get the automatic. For my daily drivers I have one of each. Manual in the car, autotragic in the truck. The Jeep is a manual, but it's not a daily driver, it's hardly a driver ever.
Current rumour is that the current automatics with computers get as good, if not, better mileage with the automatic. The newer hybrid automatics (SMGs, etc.) are manuals with an add-on to allow automatic shifting, so mileage should be comparable. The steering cluster mounted P-R-N-D-3-2-1 (or without the '3') traditional automatics such as in my truck will always suffer for having less gears and more weight than a manual (if available). And have to agree with an above post, sticks are getting more and more rare, so if you like a manual, buy it now to show the market that people still like them. I really like driving a manual, but I'd be more than happy to have one of the new SMGs. If traditional manuals die out, but SMGs remain, I won't be too upset. |
|
I have an automatic in my daily driver, for a few reasons:
1. It's the only transmission offered with the engine I've got 2. I'm lazy. 3. I like towing and hauling better with a slushbox than with a manual transmission. The lazy part is probably the biggest thing. When I'm on my way home after work, I don't feel like rowing gears. |
|
Quoted:
I have an automatic in my daily driver, for a few reasons: 1. It's the only transmission offered with the engine I've got This was the case with my truck. Damn you Ford!
At least the transfer case is 'manual', in the sense that it's a big gear shifter with 2-Hi, 4-Hi, N, and 4-Lo. No "4x4" buttons here, plzkthx. |
|
THe only place a manual still rules is in small lightweight fuel efficent cars
Everywhere else auto's have eclipsed the stick, from heavy towing to performance Shit we have 8 speed auto's now, when was the last time you saw a passanger car stick with more than 6 forward gears 91jeep stick 06 tundra auto 11 Scion xb stick all of em 5 speeds ETA as the poster above pointed out good lick finding an suv with a stick |
|
Quoted:
THe only place a manual still rules is in small lightweight fuel efficent cars Everywhere else auto's have eclipsed the stick, from heavy towing to performance Shit we have 8 speed auto's now, when was the last time you saw a passanger car stick with more than 6 forward gears 91jeep stick 06 tundra auto 11 Scion xb stick all of em 5 speeds ETA as the poster above pointed out good lick finding an suv with a stick I only looked at the new Escape and the VW Tiguan, as those are the 2 highest on my list, looks-wise. Both are avaiable with a stick, but only in the base-model versions. My dad will kill me if I drive home in a VW, he has a thing for domestic vehicles. I also looked at the Auti Q5, but alas, no manual. Part of me was looking at a small hatch, like the 2-door GTI style (co-worker has one, cool little car), in which case a stick will be easier to find. |
|
Cars I've Owned:
1979 Plymouth Champ (Manual) 1987 Subaru GL-10 Turbo (Manual) 1989 Ford Escort (Manual) 1990 Mazda Protoge (Manual) 1992 Toyota MR2 Turbo (Manual) 2002 Saturn SL2 (Manual) 2004 Chrysler Crossfire (Auto) I Vote MANUAL! Just teach your significant other to drive it if they cant already. But my daily driver is a: 1992 Kawasaki KZ1000 (Manual) |
|
Quoted:
Disagree. Take the Ford Feista and Focus for example, where the "automatics" get better fuel economy than the manuals.
THe only place a manual still rules is in small lightweight fuel efficent cars Like AllenNH said, these new transmissions are really manual transmissions that have electro-mechanical stuff to do the clutching and shifting for you. You get the advantages of a manual with the addition of computer control to keep things efficient. |
|
Of the cars I've driven and owned, my vote is manual as well. However, if 100% of your commuting involves stop/go traffic (say, a metro city that is congested) you might want an automated manual (dual clutch setup like on the Smart car, Fiesta, VW/Audi/Porsche) or an automatic (with a torque converter). I run into construction traffic and I hate driving in that with a manual because almost everyone else has an automatic and enjoys coming to a complete stop, rather than crawling along at 4-5 MPH so I don't have to constantly use the clutch. The problem is that not all manual cars are made the same. Some have very rubbery shifters (Subaru WRX STI), others are crisp but the reverse engagement makes it weird (Mazdaspeed3 where you push the shifter down before going to R, but you can also push it down during normal driving), and others use a series of cables making it kind of quircky at times (Saab F35 used in a few GM cars). I enjoy the control from a manual, but given the choice between a manual and a stout automated manual - I'd go with the automated manual because it is much faster and more effective. |
|
Quoted: Save the manuals! If you are buying new, good luck finding a small SUV that is available with a stick. KIA, Subaru, and the base model Ford Escape are the only ones I can think of that are offered with one. Our 07 compass is a stick (my wife insisted on a standard!  )If I lived in a big city with bumper to bumper traffic..I would go auto. My sierra is auto, the wife's Compass is stick and my 86 IROC is a stick. I love standards and it pisses me off you can't buy a light duty half ton with one. If my sierra had a stick behind the 5.3..I would probably lose my license. |
| I've been driving a stick since I started driving. I can drive an auto but I don't like it, and to be honest I have a hard time driving automatics. I always go for the clutch and I cant ever get used to how the vehicle coasts when you take your foot off the gas. Im used to engine braking when I take my foot off the gas. |
|
Quoted:
I've been driving a stick since I started driving. I can drive an auto but I don't like it, and to be honest I have a hard time driving automatics. I always go for the clutch and I cant ever get used to how the vehicle coasts when you take your foot off the gas. Im used to engine braking when I take my foot off the gas. I miss engine braking in the truck, that's for sure, but I haven't mistakenly gone for the clutch yet. I have taken my foot off the brake twice, thinking that I had the non-existant clutch in, and caught it lurching forward when parking. This is just reminding me that in both vehicles, I need to turn the key to off *before* releasing the brake. Mostly the mistake I make is going for the window controls. The 5spd is a BMW, so the window controls are in the middle around the shift knob. I'm always reaching down there for the windows, then remembering I have to use my "steering hand" for that now.
|
|
Quoted: Quoted: I've been driving a stick since I started driving. I can drive an auto but I don't like it, and to be honest I have a hard time driving automatics. I always go for the clutch and I cant ever get used to how the vehicle coasts when you take your foot off the gas. Im used to engine braking when I take my foot off the gas. I miss engine braking in the truck, that's for sure, but I haven't mistakenly gone for the clutch yet. I actually hit the parking brake a few times in vehicles where there's a pedal down there....That's ALWAYS fun in the not so fun way. |
|
If you're going to be in traffic, any stop-and-go, think long and hard about the clutch travel and stiffness on an SUV before you decide. I drove a stick Tacoma around before I settled on my '09 (6cyl. auto). In about 30 minutes of driving in a small town, my left knee was about to dislocate itself. And that's after 11 years of driving my manual trans Neon. |
I DD a 6-spd Cummins 
|
Quoted: I've been driving a stick since I started driving. I can drive an auto but I don't like it, and to be honest I have a hard time driving automatics. I always go for the clutch and I cant ever get used to how the vehicle coasts when you take your foot off the gas. Im used to engine braking when I take my foot off the gas. I switch back/forth during the year and I programmed my auto car to lock the torque converter upon releasing the throttle down to the lowest speeds, giving the effect of engine braking. This results in noticeable driveline noise due to all the clearances in the RWD system (output shaft splines, driveshaft U-joints, rear gears, etc...) but I picked up an extra 1-2 MPG doing this. To be honest, an automatic isn't that bad if it is designed well. The one thing I really wish I had in an automatic is the ability to manually downshift very easily/rapidly. Like, "click" and it bangs a downshift instantaneously. The reason is that I need to sometimes downshift to get into the right range of RPMs without having to go wide open to force the downshift. With the current automatics, a wide open forced downshift causes a severe transfer of weight which is BAD on wet roads or snow covered roads. Why would I need to do this on slick roads? Merging onto the freeway in the winter is one reason. The highway traffic is moving at 50-55 MPH, and you're merging at 25-35 MPH while trying to manage with the slick surface. It doesn't help you accelerate if you're in Overdrive chugging along, and if you do a forced downshift into 3rd gear it can upset the balance and send too much power to the rear wheels at one time. With a manual, you can do a rev-matched downshift into 3rd, and slowly apply throttle. This is why my vote goes to an automated manual, not a manumatic with a torque converter, but something like the ones they use in Audi, Porsche (PDK), Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc... Some of the drivers I know complained that those automated manual systems feel weird when taking off from a stop. There's probably room for improvement, but not all cars have the clutch and shifter designed the same. There are shitty designs that are almost an afterthought, and then there are really good designs. An automated manual helps reduce these variances since you won't have to deal with a clutch pedal and shifter (with their associated variances), and can perform rev-matched downshifts (while braking) correctly 99.9% of the time. |
|
Quoted:
Merging onto the freeway in the winter is one reason. The highway traffic is moving at 50-55 MPH, and you're merging at 25-35 MPH while trying to manage with the slick surface. It doesn't help you accelerate if you're in Overdrive chugging along, and if you do a forced downshift into 3rd gear it can upset the balance and send too much power to the rear wheels at one time. With a manual, you can do a rev-matched downshift into 3rd, and slowly apply throttle. I agree with the sentiment, but you know the 'right' answer to this; disengage the overdrive before you're in that situation. What really bugs me on this topic is that there's no standard for what the lower gear indicators (1,2,3) actually 'mean' on an automatic. In some (Ford, others), it locks you into that gear with no shifting at all. In others (Chrysler, others), it just limits the highest gear the transmission will shift into. The latter is problematic when starting from a stop in super slippery conditions. In my manual, 1st sometimes won't do it without slipping the clutch, but starting off in 2nd usually does the trick. Quoted:
thats interesting metroplex...how'd you go about doing that? Interested as well! |
|
Quoted:
It really depends on what vehicle you buy. I drive an automatic 08 Tacoma (heard the newer manuals blow) and it is perfect for my needs. I would like a fun car like a WRX or a Mustang with a stick as a second car, they just aren't practical for me as my primary ride. If you already have one car that is a stick then I would get an auto for your daily driver, unless you are getting a Corvette or a BMW, etc.
The RA60 trans is not that bad outside a vin range where the throwout bearing liked to eat the pilot shaft. It also isn't as good as it should be with the cheesy one piece bell housing and pilot shaft. It is geared very low, which is bad for street driving but great when you add larger tires and 300lbs of trail armor. On topic, I say manual for personal reasons more than anything else. I dislike driving autos in any form, even in traffic. They are all I have ever owned or driven. I can control the vehicle better and feel more 'connected' therefore less likely to multitask. Manual trans will need servicing sooner than an auto- oil change, clutch disk replacement, etc., but is easier to service and simpler. Changing my gear oil takes less time than changing engine oil. I can also drive home (and have done it) with no brakes. You may not want to try that with an auto. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Merging onto the freeway in the winter is one reason. The highway traffic is moving at 50-55 MPH, and you're merging at 25-35 MPH while trying to manage with the slick surface. It doesn't help you accelerate if you're in Overdrive chugging along, and if you do a forced downshift into 3rd gear it can upset the balance and send too much power to the rear wheels at one time. With a manual, you can do a rev-matched downshift into 3rd, and slowly apply throttle. I agree with the sentiment, but you know the 'right' answer to this; disengage the overdrive before you're in that situation. What really bugs me on this topic is that there's no standard for what the lower gear indicators (1,2,3) actually 'mean' on an automatic. In some (Ford, others), it locks you into that gear with no shifting at all. In others (Chrysler, others), it just limits the highest gear the transmission will shift into. The latter is problematic when starting from a stop in super slippery conditions. In my manual, 1st sometimes won't do it without slipping the clutch, but starting off in 2nd usually does the trick. Quoted: thats interesting metroplex...how'd you go about doing that? Interested as well! Actually that is what I do on the Crown Vic with the 4R70W. I click off the Overdrive and it goes into 3rd gear, unfortunately you can also accidentally do a forced downshift into 2nd gear which is bad juju if there's ice. Doing a manual downshift into 2nd gear isn't as intuitive with an automatic due to the layout of the column or floor shifter. If you're too aggressive you can go into 1 or "L" or whatever they call it now. I thought about rigging up "paddle shifters" by wiring it into the automatic's shift controls, to simulate manual shifting into "2" or "1" but gave up. I used SCT's Pro Racer Package to modify the tune on the car. It uses one of the SCT programmers as a delivery device, but all of the programming occurs on a laptop. The only things SCT doesn't let you touch are the drive by wire settings and a few other switches like disabling all of the OBD2 system to eliminate MIL/CEL codes from appearing. You can tweak the shift schedule, when the torque converter locks/unlocks , when it shifts at low/part/full throttle, speed limiter, etc... I know SCT makes the PRP for GM and Chrysler vehicles now. There are canned value files that contain MAF transfer functions for different aftermarket airboxes, different octanes of fuel that you plan to run (87, 91, race 105) etc... I guess it is similar to VW's VAG or the Power Commander for motorcycles. |