New 2020 Auto vs Manual Transmission???

I'm happy with stock for MT. I'm a pretty simple guy and just like to row my own gears. It will be daily driver as well as hauling stuff in the bed from time to time. I will rarely tow with it, otherwise I definitely would've gotten auto. Also once my boys are a little older we will be traveling pretty frequently and would like to take a few trips up north where there's snow and a need for 4x4. As well as Grand Canyon and other spillways where they have offroad trails. As far as mods, down the line I MAY delete accumulator if I can find enough info confirming it saves clutch some life. But all in all very pleased with how truck performs. I'm easy to please I suppose

 

Love my manual trans. Auto is for lazy obese or granmas.

 

Congrats on the new truck! I think you will be happy with it. I haven't done any OVtune or ADM so mine is completely stock with exactly 6000 miles on it as I type this and drives great. Not sure if I will eventually do any mods to the transmission. I plan to add some armor on it and possibly a topper in the back. So I will wait to see how weight will affect the way it drives.

When it comes to AT vs MT. Just get what you want. Especially, now that they seem to have the AT shifting properly in the 2020 models. I love my MT though. For me, even all those years in heavy Boston traffic it has only been very mild annoyance at its worst. About 20 years of driving stick I guess I just don't even think about it any more. But eventually the manual transmission will go the way of the dinosaurs and will be gone in pretty much all vehicles. I expect the 4th gen Tacomas to be all automatic.

 

Congrats and good color choice!

 

MT no question.

 

How old are you? And how kind have you been to your left knee?

 

Haha 24 years old. Other than a couple years of powerlifting, knees aren't in any bind. I will say, I'm only 5'10" and the steering wheel does hit my knee if I'm not careful when shifting. Minor issue but definitely wish they would've gave it more play. Also, the dead pedal to left of clutch is very close to clutch pedal and my shoe often hits the clutch when resting it there. As long as I am aware of it though it's not a big deal. Still happy I went with MT by far. Mpg went down from auto but smiles per gallon went way up. I've averaged 21mpg mainly cruising in 5th. Granted I am still in break in period

 

Absolutely. That's another reason I went ahead and pulled trigger on this truck. I want my boys to grow up being able to drive anything including manual. Seeing the trend, they will most likely be the only kids in school able to work 3 pedals. I like your ride as well. I wish I could've got a long bed because I always like to add toolbox. However, short bed would be rendered useless lol. At least they have that little compartment by 110 outlet that I can store a few tie downs

 

I know it says '2020' but the heart of the convo is MT or AT right (3rd GEN)? So, I just got a new to me 2016 MT OR. Had a 2009 AT Sport for the past 3 years, had a 2001 MT OR for a decade before that. Let me say that it feels like I'm driving a truck again now that I got my stick back. I control when it shifts and just run higher RPM for anyone saying the MT is gutless. Heard too much about the AT treading for shifts (I don't want to have to retune)...so glad I went back to MT. 2 cents...

 

Yeah I dont have kids so its just the wife and I with 2 smallish dogs so the access cab was perfect and since its the only access cab in manual (in the lower 48) I had to go with a Sport.

 

When I got my Tacoma, I was determined to get an MT. The sales guy could not find the one they had in stock. So, I test drove an AT while a different sales person kept looking for the MT (turns out, it was in the shop being unwrapped from shipping). The sales guy told me how he had sold an MT Tacoma to a friend who was a hard-core stick type. Apparently the friend ended up hating the MT Tacoma, even though he'd never owned an AT vehicle. Not sure how truth the story was, probably BS. But, it was around that time in the test drive that I realized that the AT in the Tacoma is "shiftable" (I also found out later that the MT did not have a start button, nor a few other gizmos that the AT has).

So I bought the AT and have not regretted it. One reason I love this truck is because it's very engaging to drive. However, most people who ride with me get confused with how much I mess with the AT shifter. E.g. right before a steep hill (up or down), I throttle down a little and switch it to sport (4th), and quickly down-shift to 3rd. If it's loaded with people and or cargo, and on a flat road, I keep it on D + press ECT. Freeway entrance, ECT + Sport regardless of load. If I'm the only person in the truck and no load, I just leave it on D. Etc., Etc. I love manuals, but my left knee started to make a clicking noise when releasing the clutch, so I needed to let it heal for a bit :-|

 

Does having a manual transmission make up for the horrible gearing ratios from the AT? Or are you guys in MTs constantly in low gear/ high rpms?

 

I tend to shift before rpms get real high in regular conditions. Haven't had any issues with any of the ratios at all. Also I have zero knowledge of the AT issues you're mentioning so might not be that much help.

 

Normal driving I usually try to keep the engine cruising along around 2k rpm on any gear I'm in which helps with mpg. The engine does "wake up" around 3500 though.

 

I love my MT, definitely wouldn’t trade it for an AT. The only downside that I see is that @MESO doesn't make a chrome delete for the cup holder trim on the MT.

Hopefully some day

 

MT run higher RPMs than the auto. 6th gear at 65mph is close to 2200rpm, (AT will turn 1620rpm at 65mph). The gearing allows the engine to produce more power and less downshifting is necessary.

 

Manuals are great, I've had my 4.0L 6spd Frontier for five years now. Still love driving it, especially off road, lots of fun.

 

Someone should make a fake account and post this topic once per month just to help certain members stay busy, especially during this unique time.

 

Haha, I was just thinking that!
We're all getting bored, so let's justify our purchase, and impose our opinions on others.