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Thread: What made you decide to give up daily driving a manual sports car?

  1. #21
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    I converted nearly 20 years ago, in my mid 20's, while we had a racetrack right in the middle of the city. This was before the days of SMGs, PDKs, and MCTs, or even paddles for shifting where automatics didn't rev match, and sapped more power from the engine than a manual transmission (lockup torque converter helped). Everyone on beyond ridiculed me back in the day for going automatic.

    I struggled with shifting with the left/right (or right/left in some cars) on the center console shifter, when to shift during hard braking, and when to rely on the transmission doing it's own shifting. Eventually figured out workarounds, and the automatic became my secret weapon of consistency on the road course and autox courses for me. Bonus was my commute to downtown was 100x more pleasant, remember this was decades ago, when Crowchild had no bridges, and every intersection was a traffic light. On a bad summer day with an accident, it would take nearly an hour to drive from Crowfoot to downtown in bumper to bumper traffic the entire way.

    Eventually, SMG's came out. That was great, fast shifting, no power loss like a traditional automatic, but clunky as hell. Then dual clutches came along and improved the (slow) driving experience. Now, automatics with a wet clutch (MCT) and hell even the old traditional torque converter gearboxes are so good that there's almost no power loss compared to a manual. I like to think of myself as a pioneer, going full auto before these advances.
    Originally posted by SEANBANERJEE
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  2. #22
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    I haven’t given up manual yet but I have given up on daily driving sports cars and modified cars because they are just a hassle reliability wise sometimes and take a lot of effort to take care of properly. That being said if I could justify a DSG Golf GTi or Golf R to daily drive I would probably switch over.

  3. #23
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    Ditched the STi with heavy clutch, bought an S2000 as a summer toy, and picked up a DSG GTI lease to DD. Made my commute so much more pleasant, and the wife is happy about having a year round car that's reliable and comfortable.

    Some days, I'll still take the S2000 instead of the GTI, but I no longer work downtown, so my commute is 15 minutes, and traffic doesn't affect it.
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    That's why I just say I have a 4" dick and lift weights to make up for it.
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    My car sounds like shit.

  4. #24
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    My 2 daily drivers are autos, and the weekend cars 2 out of 3 are manuals. However I did struggle this morning with my coffee and manual transmission though. lol.

  5. #25
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    I would love to have a RWD manual car for a weekend toy.. But for now with a condo and limited parking.. Makes more sense for wife and I to just have one fun car (her DD) we can both enjoy.. So auto (DSG) just makes more sense for city driving.

  6. #26
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    For me it was they just stopped being available. When I switched from BMW to Benz I lost the third pedal. I would love to go back to BMW but the M cars being RWD its not practical for me so RIP third pedal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by scboss View Post
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    Do you guys find you get bored when driving auto after driving standard for a long time? I went from 350z to Lexus Is350 and literally sold it for a Evo X because i was not as engaged. Found myself no paying as much attention and being complacent.
    IS 350 is a very boring car in all honesty, even if it wasnt auto.

  7. #27
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    I daily drove RWD manual sports cars from 1999-2017. The one I gave up was an E46 M3 and we brought in a B8.5 S4 with the Stronic gearbox. I find the S4 quite boring compared to the M3. If my wife was more confident with a manual transmission, that's what I'd have, but having daily driver cars that only one partner likes to drive isn't the best use of garage space. I'll always have a manual summer car for just me, but I can also see adding a fun summer car for my wife that has some kind of auto box.

  8. #28
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    I just bought my first ever automatic after owning 8 manuals. I drive Glenmore everyday and it can be a real pain with a manual sometimes. If I could have 2 vehicles, the auto would be my daily driver and the manual would be the weekend/fun car.
    _____ASP______

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  9. #29
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    High performance clutch and light flywheel and you'll not want to drive in stop and go traffic.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by ercchry View Post
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    M5 smg feels like a first gen smart car when it’s cold

    Wife not wanting to drive a manual is a plus

    My old ass father still daily drives his standard G37

    Modern standards have hill assist

    Yes I have a sports sedan... in manual

    You can’t clutch kick a dct

    The end
    RE: Clutch kicks..

    If you hold both PDK paddles on the GT3 it initiates a neutral mode. You can then "dump" the clutch.

    Burnouts, moving kicks, slides, and revvvvvs.
    "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents... some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new Dark Age."

    -H.P. Lovecraft

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by rage2 View Post
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    I converted nearly 20 years ago, in my mid 20's, while we had a racetrack right in the middle of the city. This was before the days of SMGs, PDKs, and MCTs, or even paddles for shifting where automatics didn't rev match, and sapped more power from the engine than a manual transmission (lockup torque converter helped). Everyone on beyond ridiculed me back in the day for going automatic.

    I struggled with shifting with the left/right (or right/left in some cars) on the center console shifter, when to shift during hard braking, and when to rely on the transmission doing it's own shifting. Eventually figured out workarounds, and the automatic became my secret weapon of consistency on the road course and autox courses for me. Bonus was my commute to downtown was 100x more pleasant, remember this was decades ago, when Crowchild had no bridges, and every intersection was a traffic light. On a bad summer day with an accident, it would take nearly an hour to drive from Crowfoot to downtown in bumper to bumper traffic the entire way.

    Eventually, SMG's came out. That was great, fast shifting, no power loss like a traditional automatic, but clunky as hell. Then dual clutches came along and improved the (slow) driving experience. Now, automatics with a wet clutch (MCT) and hell even the old traditional torque converter gearboxes are so good that there's almost no power loss compared to a manual. I like to think of myself as a pioneer, going full auto before these advances.
    Traditional Auto's are getting very fast, agreed.

    At the Half Mile 8 a couple weeks ago a new C7 Z06 was banging off upshifts, interesting part was a PDK GT3 was also there and I could get a good comparison. To my ear there was no difference, both machine gun quickness.

    I also saw your RC-F there. Is it sold or was the wife driving it?
    "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents... some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new Dark Age."

    -H.P. Lovecraft

  12. #32
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    Only the higher end cars seem to have the really good auto's / DSGs that are so refined and fun. A huge part of that is having lag-free paddles. A lot of the mainstream stuff still has pretty awful automatics, so it depends on the car IMO. Didn't Subaru go from that horrid 4spd auto right into a CVT? haha. I think the worst automatic transmissions I have experienced to date were a C6 Corvette Grand Sport, a ~2015 Jeep Cherokee, and the DCT in the older Ford Focus.

    I went with a manual because A) it is one of the better feeling ones out there and B) the automatic option was a CVT. To date I have only over owned manuals, but that will likely change with whatever I buy next (I have said that before though...)

    Hills aren't really an issue anymore because even cheap econoboxes have auto hill-hold/assist now. Zero roll-back.

    I wouldn't think twice about switching to a quality DSG / Auto box if that's what my next car offers, I would prefer it in fact since it can shift faster than I will ever be able to with little or no power loss and rev-match better than I will ever be able to.
    Last edited by Mitsu3000gt; 06-15-2018 at 09:53 AM.

  13. #33
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    Answer to OP's title, rush hour traffic on Deerfoot/Henday.

    8 years ago when I was in Calgary, I had my Swift GTi that rev'd to 9k rpm with cams to make it happen. Ruined daily driving for me for a long time.

    However, manual transmission is too much a part of the driving experience to give up. So I just moved so my commute wouldn't be a problem with a manual

    As with the car guy/car enthusiast differentiation, same is the auto vs manual. Auto's suck, no matter how "amazing" they are. Its like people who say electric cars are faster, and therefore better. Nobody gives a fuck, because its still an electric car.

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darkane View Post
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    I also saw your RC-F there. Is it sold or was the wife driving it?
    Probably Renee... she bought an orange one

  15. #35
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    I'm back to driving manual now for about 1.5 years after having owned automatics for previous 5 years (ISF, Evo MR, GTI DSG). I don't think I can ever go back to an automatic... I always feel too disconnected, even the best dual clutches are missing something.

  16. #36
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    Drove a manual RX8 back when I was in my early 20s for a good 7 years and enjoyed every moment of it. But life caught up, like lots of inner city and rush hour driving, gf couldn't drive stick, etc, and just felt right to move onto a more 'adult' automatic car (Q50s). I did miss driving stick when I had the Q50s, but swapped it for the MK7 DSG Golf-R couple years ago and haven't looked back. Best of both worlds.

    Don't think I'll ever get a manual again unless it's a weekend fun car that only I'm allowed to drive.

  17. #37
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    We will be lucky if we are allowed to be in control of our own cars in 20 years let alone change gears in them lol.
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

  18. #38
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    It's still fun, but DD a manual? That's crazy. Maybe it's age, but I gave it up after my first DCT and haven't looked back.

  19. #39
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    I agree .. getting old .. (over 40) ... getting lazy ... kids .. wife .. bluh bluh bluh ...

    But unless I have left leg cancer .... no way to give up manual ...

    My next dream car will be the new 6 speed Manual Corolla Hatch sport!!!
    The Original !

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  20. #40
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    Rush hour gridlock, that's it.

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