Serious off-roading: auto vs manual

Maybe you smart people can educate me on something.

For SERIOUS off-roading, does the auto beat the manual? This question came up on another forum. I have a manual OR, but I am pretty sure I will not be doing any highly technical trails, so any issues with the MT from that standpoint are moot for me.

The theoretical advantages of the auto are crawl-control and the fact that you’re not worried about clutching on hairy maneuvers. But I imagine experience and possibly the clutch start cancel feature might work for the manual to offset these advantages. There are a lot of advantages to the manual in off-roading as well—engine braking, simpler drivetrain, etc.

I’m not really interested in the debate of which is better in general, and I hope if you have one or the other you can see benefits to the other transmission for serious OR. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

Well you’re not going to stall or burn out a clutch.

 

The torque converter can provide additional torque multiplication at low speeds.

 

Good YouTube video on the subject-
https://youtu.be/BE_NMaIL5IQ

 

I skimmed through the video and have read some similar opinions on other websites. It seems like he’s saying Auto has a theoretical advantage on difficult terrain going uphill at least, but manual is more fun and engaging, and with practice you can compensate for the disadvantages.

Which is kind of what all manual enthusiasts say in response to any questioning of their choice LOL.

 

Just look at what all the pros use whether rock crawling, desert racing, King of the Hammers, Dakar the list is endless. I would say auto is by far the best!

 

I prefer a manual transmission with a very low 1rst gear (granny gear) with a aftermarket low gear t/case over an auto any day

An auto trans can and will create excessive heat which is detrimental to its components and shortens its life


My old 68 M38A1 Jeep was geared at 123:1 low range and with an overdrive I had 12 forward 3 reverse gears . This allowed super slow speed crawling in all gears and allowed less shock load on the drivetrain

Also going down steep terrain my gearing was low enough that if I didn't touch the throttle I didn't move

 

Tearing it up fast in the sand and forest “highway” trails: Manual

Slow over deep ass ruts and rocks: Auto

I miss my manual for the offroad control at speed.

 

To make it even easier for technical Rock crawling with manual I added a bicycle handbrake handle and attached it to the shifter handle , this was my throttle control . This way i could use both feet if needed for the clutch and brake

Also with the 123:1 low range gearing I could easily start it in gear without fear of burning up the starter . I even added a push button starter set up and mounted it to the dash in close proximity to were the shifter was in 1rst gear . This way I could easily and quickly hit the starter while my hand was on the shifter

The major plus of a ultra low manual trans set up is walking the Crawler !!!!

 

My first several Wranglers were all manual transmission. I learned to off-road in those.

Eventually I switched to automatics: it was night and day! The automatic makes everything so much easier. Not having to worry about shifting gears, releasing the clutch and keeping momentum, allows you to concentrate on picking your lines which, at the end of the day, is what matters most. Simply aim-and-go.

 

This. I own a manual. I do moderate to easy off roading. On some challenging routes and crawling the ease of an auto would be more confidence inspiring.

 

This is how you tell you've got a properly set up manual trans Rock Crawler !!!!

https://youtu.be/FaUymXP74R4


https://youtu.be/g4ygskAqoO0

 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/kYWyJoV2o6U

Boy, manuals do suck

 

I regret not getting a manual for daily driving until things get challenging off road, then I am grateful for the Auto. At my age, I don’t need to prove I can clutch and gear select properly, I just want my truck and myself to make it up and over and through safely, and in control. I find with an auto you typically don’t have to use as much momentum, which can really cut down on the possibility of trail damage.

Still, as others have said, on the faster, lower consequence sections, a manual would be nice!

 

I love my MT and wouldn’t change it for a AT. That said I think the AT with the extra fun features CC is better, that said MT is more fun

 

I will list all of my past and present 4x4's and let you decide my opinion. The timeline is too hard to remember, so I'll just list them by make. In the end, they were all better at some things than others. One thing for sure, the trucks with autos, especially the older ones with drum brakes, were a handful on long decents (think Lions Back). Riding the brakes and smelling them burning as they slowly lose effectiveness... Whereas with my manual rigs, it was let out the clutch and steer as you crept down in a very controlled manor.

• 1983 Toyota SR5 4x4 - 5 speed manual
• 1979 Toyota 4X4 truck - 4 speed manual
• 1970 Toyota FJ40 - 3 Speed Manual
• 1972 FJ40 - 3 Speed manual
• 1976 FJ40 - 4 speed manual
• 1997 FZJ80 - 4 speed auto
• 2017 Toyota Tacoma DCSB OR - 6 speed manual
  
• 1970 Chevrolet 3/4 tom 4x4 truck - 3 speed auto
• 1975 Chevrolet K5 Blazer - 4 speed manual
• 1984 Chevrolet K5 Blazer - 3 speed auto
• 1995 Chevrolet 1500 4X4 - 5 speed manual
• 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4x4 - 4 speed auto
• 1998 GMC k3500 - 4 speed auto
• 1962 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4 - 4 speed manual
• 1999 Dodge 2500 4x4 - 4 speed auto
• 1951 Willys Wagon 4x4 - 3 speed Manual
• 1954 Willys Wagon 4x4 - 3 speed manual
• 1975 Jeep CJ5 - 3 speed manual
• 1985 Jeep CJ7 - 5 speed manual
• 1984 Jeep cj7 - 3 speed auto
• 1995 Jeep YJ - 5 speed Manual
• 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon - 5 speed manual
• 1970 International Scout 800A - 4 speed manual
• 1978 International Scout II- 3 speed auto

 

They seemed to have solved that issue mostly, especially on the really steep stuff, with hill decent control on the Runners, and crawl control on the Tacomas. The only time I use CC is on extremely steep descents and it acts like having a very low gear, only better in some ways. I know what you are talking about with the older autos, but it really seems with the new technology that the auto knows when to hold a gear on a descent, and sometimes you don’t need to force it to hold 2nd or 1st, it just knows.

 

Skiwaves8 NASCAR drivers all use autos, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best (or must fun) car for a track for an amateur. I think I have read auto is required in a lot of races?

BillyToy that’s an awesome build there. I would really like to do something like this one day. Would have to give up a cup holder though...will have to wait til it’s paid for and out of warranty LOL.

Maspers you sir have had a lot of trucks and jeeps. And a Chevy sedan with 700 HP??? Does it run on rocket fuel?

 

Is the pedal bike brake lever run a cable, or is it also fly by wire ? That seems like a serious set up either way . Maybe a combo of both cable to pedal?

 

The cable from the brake lever( hand brake throttle lever) went to my carb linkage arm , could be easily adaptable to a TB linkage


Yes it made it so much easier to control the throttle , brake and clutch plus it also made for a poor man's cruise control