A transmission question, Auto or 6 speed

I agree!

 

Off road in my manual 6 speed no problems. I did smoke the clutch pretty bad pulling this out though....



Anything short of recovering such stuck trucks and you should be fine

 

Manual all the way. I've never driven any automatic vehicle that's as responsive as it should be. Manual gives you way more control and typically gets better gas mileage

 

Manual FTW!

 

manuals get worse mileage and the auto is a great tranny!I drive my auto like a stick when the situation requires it.I have no problems dropping down 1 gear even 2 at a time.

 

Not in 2nd Gen Tacomas

 

Get a mt no issue's over here.

 

Lots of information here on this subject... going with the automatic should be a no brainer.

 

Big fan of the Auto. I had a manual a few years back and now find the auto much more convenient. You can always use the gears like a manual if you need to.

 

As someone said. Tonnes of information.

Aside from a bit more difficulty starting up boat ramps Etc i think the manual trans toes better. Granted I dot have extensive experience. But I have towed both a snowmobile traile and a boat weight a little over 4000 lbs. Both in a friends auto and my manual a bit better and got a bit better mpg towing.

I personally like driving manual. But there aren't all that many benefits. Engine braking can be done in both manual and auto...

Manual gets worse mpg unless you're doing 50 for long stretches. Then I think we may have a slight edge.

I feel that the vsc and trac are more intrusive to the manual. I've got a long gravel hill near me and the bumps cause vsc to kick in which slows te truck requiring shifting and then it happens again in the lower gear... I find myself using the vsc disable to auto LSD more often than I think the auto would require

You will use 4lo more with the standard. I use It on steep boat launchs. And more often offroad than I used to. Don't always need to I that slow... But I don't like smoking the clutch.

The other thing I notice. And it might be my personal use. But It feels as though j get more axle wrap with the manual than friends autos. That's double cab to access cab comparison but I notice it a lot. When I start and stop. Feels like the combination of manual trans, electronic nannies and offroad use have had an extra toll. The vsc can only limit the power so much (which I why I think it feels more intrusive on th manual). Te effect of braking a single wheel seems to be felt more and that makes me think its causing more wear.

Time will tell. It's sill fun to drive. But I don't have stop and go traffic...

 

They (autos) delay on the down-shift, genious. I KNOW when I grab the short-throw in my Taco, it's gonna go WHERE I want, WHEN I want. I pull a lawncare trailer with my trucks, and you couldn't convince me that an auto could do as good, because it's not me; it can't read my mind to know what I want it to do, it doesn't know what it's really pullin, and I can be way more consistent than a computer. Also, the stick won't downshift if it THINKS it's losing momentum. It stays put, no matter what. Predictability is nice. Also, my trucks would've come in a four-speed auto, three-speed in the case of the t4r; O/D is too tall, and 3rd (2nd) would rev too much past 50mph. Stick all the way.

 

Smoking a clutch is waaaaaaaaay cheaper to fix than boiling a slushbox.

 

Yeah, nannies do suck; luckily my tracks are all pre-nanny requirements (1987-2004). If you have a problem on a boat ramp with a stick, you don't actually have enough experience to say you can drive one. I'm 16, been drivin a manual since an 88 t4r when I was 11. My parents will tell you; I drive a stick as smoothly as anyone can, smoother than most, I NEVER stall or roll back (even starting uphill with my lawncare trailer), and I can drive ANYTHING from big-rigs, to hodrods, to tractors (any stick). It's all about skill. I've never smelled a clutch burnin while I was driving, mainly cause I have some experience drag racing, and I know how much throttle I need, and how to dump the clutch properly. Practice makes bad habits like you have on boat ramps, PERFECT practice mkaes perfect.

 

Also, I hardly ever use Hi-4, unless it's because I can throw it in on-the-fly if I'm questionin somethin while on the move. If I'm INTENTIONALLY drivin off-road, I'm in Lo-4, starting in second, and I never make it past fourth. First can move anything, but it will take forever; but first gear IS good for idling up hills without slipping, or if you have to move a fully loaded dump-truck...

 

I'm glad you're a manual transmission Jedi. I will continue to use 4lo on this boat ramp. A nice steep wet ramp and trying to start moving the 4500lb boat in 2wd just doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure I could get it going.

Regardless. In the context of this thread and given the op is asking about manual trans with likely not a lot of experience I hope he and others in a similar situation find my previous post relevant and helpful. Certainly comparing my 98 manual trans to the 2010 I now have there are many differences.

 

No delay Einstein

 

I've heard the manuals in Canada get 20% better milage.

 

as do the autos

 

Oh , you're younger than some of my t-shirts , your posts make more sense now

 

^ auto all the way! I'm with ya Oz, some people just don't understand the automatic transmission. 2nd gen tacomas auto vs. standard , auto hands down across the board .

Thanks,

Brett