Auto vs Manual which one is stronger?

Wow the polls are super close!

I remember wanting a manual when searching for a truck, oddly enough all my friends that had one- talked me out of it. I'm glad- gives me more room to focus on my poor driving. lol

 

Let's see, I have a manual, so I'll vote.....................................................Manual.

 

The problem to me with the auto is when you put in 2 or 3, you don't start out in 2nd or 3rd, you start in 1st gear. There's times when first gear has too much torque to the wheels, you really want to feather the clutch to vary the torque reaching the wheels, and you can't do that with the auto. Just can't do it.

And there's times where you want to rock the truck between reverse and a forward gear to get out of a snowdrift or a mudhole. That's hard on an auto, and of course with the auto you can't go from reverse to 2nd or 3rd or 4th, you're always gonna hit first gear.

I'm for the manual.

 

PDP, it's just the time when you let off the gas and push in the clutch then shift to 2nd. If you really try to shift fast to hit the next gear, you don't have the car behind you creep up on you. An auto gains speed even while it shifts.
Your foot is on the gas all the time and dont have to take it off to shift.

Greg

 

There's no "feathering the throttle" option sometimes. Sometimes you want to start out in 3rd gear and the auto doesn't let you do that. You start out in 1st gear every time. I don't like that. It's a badass truck with auto or without, certainly.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but what about downshifting to control your speed when going down a steep hill? I know, automatics can do that too, on the highway. But how about when you're off road? I've found that first gear in 4 low makes for a nice slow steady descent. Especially down a sandy hill with loose rocks, and I don't need to touch the brakes unless it's got some large dips or bumps I want to be careful over. Trying to ride the brakes the whole way down is just asking for tire slippage and loss of control. Will the auto trans perform similarly, or are the rpms too low at idle to provide enough transmission engagement to engine brake like this? I only ask because I've never tried it for myself. Personally I like the manual trans. Anyone who complains it's too hard to multitask with a manual, is exactly the type who needs one. It keeps you focused on driving, not distracted on the phone, and trying to eat a cheeseburger at 70mph Call me old fashioned, I don't care, it just seems right shifting my own gears. I know, the new automatics are great, even the drag racing folks have found ways to make them faster than the manuals, but where's the fun in that? When you take too much control of the vehicles functions, away from the driver, driver skill suffers. That's my opinion, maybe I'm just getting old and refuse to change my way of thinking, but it's what works for me, and it makes driving fun! At least when there are no more new cars with manuals, eventually I won't have to worry about anyone stealing my cars. And if you really wanna mess with someone, try having them try to drive a 3 on the tree, always good for a laugh!

 

I shift down for slopes in 4H and 4L all the time

 

does the torque converter stay locked pretty good in 1st and 4lo going down hill? Never really driven an auto offroad so Im just curious.

 

Not sure , I know for a fact though , that in 4L in 1st ( L ) , it crawls pretty slow even on a fairly steep slope .

In snowy decents of steeper stuff , I usually select 4L and 1st and actually give it some gas and drive down

 

Not to Hijack or anything, But my dad always tells me to drive in 4 when going under 45MPH and if im on highway to always have it in D. Is there a big difference? Am i shortening the life of my tranny by driving 20MPH in D?

 

Actually the auto does not continue to accelerate during the shift. What happens is the shift takes place in such a short time, that you nearly never have a lag. Average shift times in an automatic are .12-.50 seconds depending on the conditions during the shift. It is impossible in a wet clutch system to actually accelerate during a shift.

The torque converter will only stay locked up under a minimal accelerator pedal apply, and typically will not engage until 45MPH or higher. When you take your foot off the accelerator pedal, (even for a second), press the brake pedal (for those crazies who two-foot an auto), or drop below 45MPH, the torque converter will disengage. There are some aftermarket kits where you can modify this however.

Tell your dad that was old school. Today's automatics, for the past 20 years, will make no difference at all if you drive it in D all the time. You will not shorten the life of your transmission.


By the way, I didn't vote because I like both transmissions, and can handle either one just fine off-road or on.

 

The 2nd gen 5 speed shifts a LOT slower than the 1st gen 4 speed.

Exaggerated by the power, but all stock 5 speeds do this a little:

http://youtu.be/SX3MTYrvQDY

 

It's fine in D. Sometimes when I drive my dad's Accord, I put it in D3 for traffic so I can zip around quicker, but like the others said, these modern autos are fine in D all the time. Awhile back I heard a rumor that one day the automotive manufactures might even drop all the gear selections on an auto except D, N, and R since the majority of drivers don't use the other gears. But that is just a rumor, so don't quote me on it. I would think they would only do that to cars, not trucks.

 

When you select the "lower" gears in an automatic (i.e. D2, D3) your transmission will engage the clutch packs that are used for engine braking. What this does is prevents the internal rotation speed to "overrun". This is the same as using a manual transmission when doing down grades, and allows a certain amount of engine braking to occur. This doesn't happen when in the "D" range, so that you will have a much smoother deceleration. I do not see any of the manufacturers eliminating this, as is will DEFINATLY be needed when towing down inclines and going through hilly or mountainous regions.

D3 is nothing more than locking the transmission in the lower gears, and engaging the overrun clutches. You get that "peppy" feel because you have engine braking, and it keeps your RPMs in a higher power curve for a quicker response. Fun? yes! It won't damage your transmission any, but will help you burn that fuel out faster! lol.

 

The taco auto is an awesome tranny. If I had a 4cyl access cab, I'd have the manual. My new jeep will be a manual as well - more fun to drive.

 

Downshifting is normal in D. I am referring to actual engine braking in gear, where the engine remains in the gear, and loads up due to the overrun sprag holding inside the transmission. If you are going down a grade in D, you will still have to use your brakes to prevent over-speed. If you are in any of the lower gears (D3,D2) then you can pretty much coast down the grade without ever touching your brakes. (depending on the steepness of the grade, but here I am referring to typical mountain region highways)

 

That's just something men who can't drive a manual say.

 

Meh

 

Towing and hauling is much nicer with a manual.