Automatic and manual transmission comparison

[AndyG]

Basically my experience is about the same amount of throttle gets more done in the auto. And leaving theory out of it... I'm talking about owning both vehicles and getting in one and then getting in the other.

I baby the manual a little bit because I don't want to tear this gears out of it but I shift at 2600-3000.

I'm talking about normal driving , same size tires and gears , the automatic will run off and leave the 5 speed, and the 5 speed is not down on power at all.

 

[pagrey]

You would be hard pressed to find a better stick driver than the one in the rigs. He races a manual 600 HP BRZ.

Funny you mention the BRZ, I was the first person to take Ali's BRZ down the dragstrip in Pomona to get a baseline when he was filming one of the "Born to Race" films. I think it has 1600HP now. It was auto and quite terrible to drive at the time.

Hope nobody goes and "hammers" on their Jeep because of my comments, talking about drag racing Jeeps is just like talking about economy.

 

[Hunter Rich]

Does anyone shift when the shift light comes on? It feels to fast between gears for me but I learned on a 72 Chevy with a 3 on the tree my last was a 84 CJ7..

 

[chino1969]

They will never be looked upon as superior forgotten technology because they aren't superior. Different yes, superior no.



Spoken like a true manual owner. No, they do not require more skill, they require a different skill set, but it is equivalent to the skill required to drive an auto. It is about the same learning curve as trap versus skeet. Trap shooters start hitting birds sooner and more of them versus skeet shooters. Skeet is much easier to master because the birds always fly the same paths. Trap is much harder to master because the path is never exactly the same. Auto and manual are the same. Auto is easier to learn, much harder to master. Manual is harder to learn but once you figure out how to not stall it, it isn't much different than driving a tractor.

You're right about that. Up to about 10 years ago I only had manual trans. vehicles including a 1975 International Scout ll. Once I got my 1st auto. I enjoyed not having to shift. Now I have a 5 spd. 2004 TJ and have gotten back into shifting but I do miss having that hand free while driving.

 

[chino1969]

Basically my experience is about the same amount of throttle gets more done in the auto. And leaving theory out of it... I'm talking about owning both vehicles and getting in one and then getting in the other.

I baby the manual a little bit because I don't want to tear this gears out of it but I shift at 2600-3000.

I'm talking about normal driving , same size tires and gears , the automatic will run off and leave the 5 speed, and the 5 speed is not down on power at all.

I do the same with my 5 spd. manual and use the same 2600-3000 rpm shift points.

 

[5632]

It is time to face reality. Manual transmissions were great for the automotive world. Technology has made great improvements in the automotive world. Many manufactures today do not even offer manual transmissions. Not ever the new C8 Corvette. Talk about advancements the new Corvette even has a duel clutch automatic 8 speed standard.

 

[Zorba]

Too much fun to be had with a manual for me to ever really want an automatic - my wife is the same way. My old MBZ has an auto, which makes that aspect of driving it boring. There are two aspects of driving, interaction with the idiots on the road, and interaction with the machine. Guess which I enjoy the most? Plus, like virtually all "technology", an automatic drives the costs up and the reliability down.

"Smiles per mile" indeed!

 

[jeepguy03]

There are way too many variables to say one is better than the other. A lot depends on gearing, tires, terrain, driving preference, and even which transmission. There were a few different transmissions both for automatic and manual options on the TJ, and the drive-ability of each can vary depending on gearing and tire size.

For me, my TJ is a second vehicle and a manual just adds to the fun nostalgia of it. If I drove it every day and had to sit in traffic like I often do with my daily driver, than I'd probably chose the auto. I also don't think the auto transmission options for the TJ are anything special. For the early ones they had a 3 speed. Really? A 3 speed auto in 1997-2002? The last Jeep with a 3 speed auto I drove was an early 80s Wagoneer V8. The later TJs had the 42RLE, which given my experience with the 42RE in the ZJ/WJ I don't have the best opinion of from a durability standpoint. If they offered the AW4 I'd probably opt for that, but a swap didn't really seem too fun. I'll stick with my AX-15.