Manual or Automatic?

[Skyline_Addict]

What's your preference?
Ideally, it depends on the car for me.
For my 240 it's for sure going to be a manual to bring out the best capabilities (and it's more fun). But I'd rather drive an auto or sequential auto in a family sedan like a G35 or Maxima.

Other than preference, would one's choice on transmission be a factor of performance (if one has significantly more performance capability/potential than the other)?

Alot of my friends who don't really know cars tend to reason that having a MT will make the same car alot faster, but they're wrong. I read a comparison of a prelude MT vs prelude AT and the AT was slower in the 1/4 mile by only 0.2 seconds. Atleast that's not significant to me.

[ryder_23]

Pm tenzolude, he owns both, and has really driven both pretty hard....from riding along, 5spd good for bunch of other reasons than 1/4. like manual really good to choose good gear on track in the turns, and lets you control better to slow down. also when you pass certain points, car wont downshift, even tho its not dangerous to the engine, just computer wont let it. i dunno pm him for full details on his experioence

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by ryder_23
Pm tenzolude, he owns both, and has really driven both pretty hard....from riding along, 5spd good for bunch of other reasons than 1/4. like manual really good to choose good gear on track in the turns, and lets you control better to slow down. also when you pass certain points, car wont downshift, even tho its not dangerous to the engine, just computer wont let it. i dunno pm him for full details on his experioence

in some way or another, an auto still can be driven alot like an MT by making use of all the available gears......but yeah you don't have the benefit of being in total control of the car. only some gears on an AT will not automatically shift up.

[ACS-e36]

in some cars having a manual or automatic can make a HUGE difference in the 1/4 mile. alllot of power can be lost through an automatic slushbox

[GTS Jeff]

the most important thing imo is that mt allows u to stay in the powerband thru the corners without any massive jolting shifts

[Hakkola]

Am I the only one who enjoys massive jolting shifts????

When ACS says a lot of power can be lost through the auto he's right, but every auto is different, I think mb did a pretty good job with their autos, in some cars an auto is better for 1/4 mile if i'm not mistaken, I think when you get to certain hp levels the transmission won't make too much of a difference. For a Prelude I'd take a stick over an auto without second thoughts.

[ryder_23]

^
yes like the higher end cars, like MB or BMW's have great auto tranny or sequential shifters...but with a prelude not really...if you want a good auto, you gotta pay for it, imo

[ACS-e36]

in BMW's... their shifting is smooth but ALLOT of power is lost in the autos but MB might have a different story becuz stick isnt even an option

[Ben]

^^^

Kennys AMG is 349hp stock at the fly, and only puts down 270ish to the wheels, thats a 22% driveline loss. Its an amazing system with its ability to shift but thats alot of driveline loss.

Of course the higher end cars will have better trannys than econoboxes, thats what you pay for.

Basically. Go standard for all non top end cars cause the autos available blow (or are not available in the sport model like my GTI) The high end cars have wicked auto trannys that work amazing and are almost as fun and effective as a standard, and they shift so much faster and smoother that you can concentrate on driving and perhapse brake later into corners causing faster times...

BMW SMG = Good
Dodge 2.0SX = deserving of a good rodgering up the designers ass.


Mercedes Auto Tranny = Good
Pontiac Sunfire = An aborton survival story.


Porsche Tiptronic = Good
Honda Civic = Embarasment to automotive engineers around the world.

Make sense? :tongue:

[Mr.Touchdown]

that is why my prelude has a sport-tronic Transmission now im not sure how that would hold up? could someone tell me if it is good.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by ACS-e36
in BMW's... their shifting is smooth but ALLOT of power is lost in the autos but MB might have a different story becuz stick isnt even an option i was talking about DOWNshifting while turning into a corner...its hard for most auto trannies to make a downshift smooth, since it requires revmatching that would depend on how quickly ure decelerating...

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Ben
^^^

Kennys AMG is 349hp stock at the fly, and only puts down 270ish to the wheels, thats a 22% driveline loss. Its an amazing system with its ability to shift but thats alot of driveline loss.

Of course the higher end cars will have better trannys than econoboxes, thats what you pay for.

Basically. Go standard for all non top end cars cause the autos available blow (or are not available in the sport model like my GTI) The high end cars have wicked auto trannys that work amazing and are almost as fun and effective as a standard, and they shift so much faster and smoother that you can concentrate on driving and perhapse brake later into corners causing faster times...

BMW SMG = Good
Dodge 2.0SX = deserving of a good rodgering up the designers ass.


Mercedes Auto Tranny = Good
Pontiac Sunfire = An aborton survival story.


Porsche Tiptronic = Good
Honda Civic = Embarasment to automotive engineers around the world.

Make sense? :tongue: yea jbody bashing! :thumbsup:

actually ben, the 22% loss of power can also be attributed to the drivetrain layout...rwd cars traditionally lose around 20% (even the manual cars) so, 22% is pretty good for an auto.

[Ebbsvette]

for my car i deff. like my automatic.....i have a t350 fully built, 4:11 gears and a 2500 stall converter. This combo allows me to basically fly off the line. But for alot of less powerful cars, manuals are deff. my choice, even tho im not the best manual driver...haha