Auto trans and why?

The manual trans thread got me thinking on why I chose my auto so here goes.
I drive for a living for the last 40 + years most of it with manuals,present is an 18 speed in my Western Star. Sometimes that means 4 shifts to get across the intersection. I originally wanted a manual Tacoma but after taking it down the road I hated it ,felt weak. The auto in these trucks(2nd gen) is pretty well bullet proof and I like the idea of sticking it in Duh and off I go. No clutch to deal with off-roading is nice also ,not that it was a difficult anyway.

 

Aisin usually produces good stuff.
The A750 is a great transmission.
I can’t complain about the transmission, but the transmission has every right to complain about what I’ve put it through.

I think a lot of it also comes from using the engine as intended also. When I tow, I’m I 4th. I let the engine do the work. I’ll run it 2,500 a 3,000 rpm. The engine is making good torque then, and you don’t have ti depend on the transmission as much.

 

I’ve driven strictly manuals for 10 years. And moving forward I only want an automatic as a DD, manual is cool if it’s a weekend sports car. Off-road automatic all the way.

 

This, you can thread a needle oh so gently with an auto if needed. The auto in the 2nd gens is a damned good trans, keep fresh fluid in it every 60k miles or so and it will outlive the truck.

 

I don't mind either transmission, but living in the city and dealingwith traffic auto is the way to go for me

Back in the 90s when automatics would fail all the time it was a different story

 

I sit in traffic all the time. If I lived anywhere else maybe.

 

<<<<<<< warning - sarcasm alert>>>>>>>

Because it shifts the gears for you....another nanny device like lane departure, blind spot monitoring and such so people can tend to their phones instead of driving.....

 

Modern autos have more gears, or speeds not sure if those are actual gears. Modern manuals don't feel that smooth to me. If I was going to get into a new Bronco, I would strongly consider a manual, I don't think a 2dr Bronco would make for the best on road vehicle, so a manual wouldn't be t a at much of a compromise.

I prefer the column shift lever for an automatic.

 

My biggest reason for an automatic? Launch ramps. And I've driven stick shifts for over 50 years.

 

Yea if I had to deal with city traffic for miles everyday I'd probably opt for an auto but where I live I'll stick with a manual as long as I can get one which unfortunately doesn't look like it's gona be much longer.

They both can have their shortcomings but they both can be reliable and last a long time but as with everything not all of them do.

I won't argue with anyones choice on what they get, that's up to them and what they are comfortable driving but I do wish manufacturers would keep giving us manual guys the option.

GM 6 spds anyone

 

Todays modern engines are designed to work best with an automatic. Back in the day truck engines got their torque at very low rpm. Around 2000 RPM, sometimes less. And both the transmissions and axle ratios were geared lower which made it much easier to get a load moving in 1st gear or to back a trailer. Of course many of those trucks got fuel mileage in single digits.

In the quest for better fuel mileage modern engines are designed to get torque at much higher rpm. A 3rd gen Tacoma needs 4600 RPM. That coupled with higher gears in both the transmission and axles means a lot of clutch slippage just to get loads moving and it is near impossible to back a trailer up a hill.

The torque converter in an automatic compensates for this. If you do any towing or hauling you will need to replace a clutch or 2 over the life of the truck which more than offsets the savings of buying a manual. There is no difference anymore in fuel mileage nor reliability.

No practical reason at all to choose a manual anymore. But if you just enjoy stirring the stick when driving then there is that option. I've had a Wrangler or 4 in my life and all were manuals just because I enjoyed driving them. But I never used a Wrangler for towing or hauling. I do use my truck for that.

 

I’ve been a manual guy my whole life. Not entirely by choice it’s what I learned on and just what I’ve always had. Up until a few years ago I probably would tell you that’s all I would own but as I’m getting older driving my wife’s 14 auto is a pretty pleasant and welcome change from constantly having to shift especially in traffic.

 

Ever go dune running/hill climbing? Sticks suck.....a lot. In a open top sports car running country roads, sticks are great.

 

My tacoma is auto but wouldnt want a manual for offroading. My Dailey driver civic is a manual but I only drive highway with it.

 

Mine is stick.

Any automatic that is old and 5-speed is usually bulletproof. Most of the time.

I'd be curious to know how much better an automatic is for offroading. It probably is. Which is the point of these trucks.

I was going up an obstacle and it was hard with manual. Between working the clutch, looking around at the mirrors and through the windows not trying to hit anything, watching ground clearance line, and being controlled with momentum so the suspension doesn't bounce down into something hitting the underbody
and trying to get enough speed to go up rocks, but not so fast that it's a hard impact

it was difficult

most successful wheeling videos seem to be automatic

If it was automatic, I think it'd be easier. I could just let off the brake so it crawls slow on it's own automatically, and apply some gas without even having to think about it. Even with a controlled burnout to heat up the tires and hopefully catch grip to hop up the rock, would probably be much easier.
I'm sure driving up hilly San Francisco in a stick is hard enough. Now throw vertical rocks into the equation the truck wants to stop against.

Yes, I plan to install a heavyweight flywheel, stronger clutch, and one day regear, but I don't know how much that would help.
Most purpose-built vehicles designed with offroad capability, including military vehicles, seem to be automatic
The drawback is in some cars, you may lose an MPG going to automatic. But in this case maybe it's worth it.
And not as much anymore with new cars, like the Ford Ranger, whose auto has way more gears.
There's pros and cons to both.
Manual is nice staying in a lower gear down a hill to engine brake, with or without payload/towing; it keeps under control well

 

I've driven manual my whole life, so I generally prefer it. I've driven both manual and automatic off-road and TBH I really didn't find a preference. That being said, I do have an auto in my truck and it's done great so far.

 

I wanted a manual transmission TRD Off-road, but when looking I couldn't find one.
I stumbled upon my current truck which is a regular cab, 4 cylinder with an auto (farthest from the TRD OR you can get).

I still bought it because I wanted a Tacoma, and a truck (I was driving a Lexus ES350 at the time).

 

I love driving manuals, but have come to appreciate having an automatic in my truck. I use it primarily for off-road camping trips, and on occasion, for towing and hauling, or helping folks move. I think the auto is better for all of these applications... especially the lattermost, it's nice to be able to loan my truck to a friend in need!

The torque converter can provide a huge amount of torque when starting from a stop and at crawling speeds. Power is force (torque) times velocity (rpm). A torque converter literally converts the power from a higher-revving engine to produce increased torque at very low speeds. It's not particularly efficient, but the result is that you can get substantially more torque than the engine is producing. It's designed for this, and can take a fair amount of abuse because it's an actively cooled hydraulic system.

A clutch cannot multiply torque. You have to rev up the engine to provide the full amount of required torque as you let the clutch out. When the clutch is partially engaged, like starting from a stop or crawling, the speed difference between the engine and the drivetrain results only in heat dissipation through friction in the clutch, with no multiplication of torque. It can't take a lot of this before you start smoking the clutch. We all know that smell.

The result is that with an auto, you don't need crazy low gearing for reasonable capability when towing, hauling, or crawling over rocks.

I've only smoked a few clutches in my life. The majority were in pickup trucks I had borrowed from friends... trying to back up a hill with a full load of gravel... trying to inch a heavy trailer into position... etc. (So I'm especially glad to have the auto when loaning out the truck, regardless of whether the driver knows how to drive a manual!)

No doubt a manual is more fun to drive. They're generally more efficient too, although modern automatics have closed or even exceeded this gap with increased gear counts, computer control, and locking torque converters. But for typical cases where you need a pickup truck, especially for stock setups, then the auto has huge advantages.