Auto car drivers, please skip the thread

[Keavze]

i drive a manual car cos my female friends and colleagues are impressed when i give them a ride...

 

one of them when first sat in my car goes: "wow...u drive a manual car, how u do it? Cool..."

 

anyway the main reason is that manual car can let me 'blend' with the car.

[Heartbreakkidz]

I haf been driving manual all these yrs,3cars & 1van b4 till last yr i change to drive an auto honda fit,this is the 1st time i am driving an auto car,pick up will be more slower but will save u lots of leg muscles during massive jam especially during peak hrs,but there is one thing i would like to ask experts here that what if when we are driving halfway,then when wanna shift to s gear to haf higher torque but accidentally shift to R gear,what will happen? will the vehicle overturn or come to the complete stop,i noe there is a stopage for u to go to gear R but let us say what if accidentally depress the gearswitch and go to R when car is in motion(fast),i am just curious to noe as noobie to auto gear :) thx buddies.

[Carnut]

Just hate the feeling that the auto car is just wasting and losing power via the autobox. Besides boredom which I think encourages

complacency, auto engined vehicles can really be a problem during accidents as the engine would never stall even if you mount railings,

tress, slopes and what have you. Manual transmission car engines would probably go dead the moment you lift off the pedal if you hit

obstacles.

[Fenderbender]

Newer manual gearboxes have the traditional numbered gears, but putting them in gear flips the corresponding electric switch that controls some hydraulic/electric motor to change gear ratios. The traditional foot clutch is still there. (Not to be confused with semi-manuals like Selespeed gearboxes which do away with the foot clutch.) Gear change is smoother of course.

 

The 'old school' types use direct force from your arm to mechnically shift the physical gear inside the tranny. The feeling is of course more rough, and you may have to arm-wrestle it to get it in a stubborn gear. But that's part of the real driving experience, isn't it?

 

I feel safer driving manual, somehow feel the clutch is an extra safety net.

[Felipe]

Not to dispute about the technicality. I always believe drivers play an important part in a sprint, be it auto or manual.

 

What I'm trying to say is paddle shift is used in F1 because it changes gear faster than conventional manual. Obviously, using finger to change gear is faster than using your arm power to shift up and down, left and right.

 

Thanks .

 

Regards,

 

of course drivers play an important role in sprint as a good driver will know how to get the best out of his car, whether auto or manual. But we're trying to compare auto and manual cars so let's assume driver is the same. if you compare torque converter type auto, then sure lose to manual. But if it's clutchless manual, then sprint times are the same given the same car. For myself, a manual is still the most engaging.

 

about the jams, i don't buy it that it's tiring. The point of manual is to shift, shift and more shift. It's not that it's tiring in jams, but i've to admit it's boring. but shift gears through corners, that's exciting.

[Hermitage]

Newer manual gearboxes have the traditional numbered gears, but putting them in gear flips the corresponding electric switch that controls some hydraulic/electric motor to change gear ratios. The traditional foot clutch is still there. (Not to be confused with semi-manuals like Selespeed gearboxes which do away with the foot clutch.) Gear change is smoother of course.

 

The 'old school' types use direct force from your arm to mechnically shift the physical gear inside the tranny. The feeling is of course more rough, and you may have to arm-wrestle it to get it in a stubborn gear. But that's part of the real driving experience, isn't it?

 

I feel safer driving manual, somehow feel the clutch is an extra safety net.

 

Thanks for the explanation! Great to meet like minded people here on MCF ! In my car, you really have to use strength to change gears, friends of mine tell me that they can hear the gear change from far away

 

Yes, it is actually scary to drive an auto car, IMO driving an auto isn't really driving at all, it's more like commuting

 

[Enzomatrix]

auto or manual, as long as driver happy can liao~ I drive both

[Goldpen]

 

I drive a manual because it is fun and engaging. It is driving as I dreamt it to be while I was young. Don't get me wrong, I love auto too, But it is a different experience altogether. You manual drivers ought to know what I mean. I also find that I pay more attention to the road while driving my manual than my auto.

 

Only setback is the of course JAM. The worst was in KL during peak hours PLUS heavy downpour. That was a nightmare. I hardly drive a manual up north after that incident.

 

Cheers

 

 

[So_nice]

a manual makes u felt involved in the driving :)

[So_nice]

not forgetting the bendy roads during the wee hours before reaching work place. priceless!

[Elfenstar]

Not to dispute about the technicality. I always believe drivers play an important part in a sprint, be it auto or manual.

 

What I'm trying to say is paddle shift is used in F1 because it changes gear faster than conventional manual. Obviously, using finger to change gear is faster than using your arm power to shift up and down, left and right.

 

Thanks .

 

Regards,

 

After getting up close and personal with a formula car, all i can say about their gearboxes is that damn they shift quick!!! As soon as you can fully release the paddleshift, its time to press it again!

[Elfenstar]

paddle shift? urgh.. the main issue is the absence of a clutch.

 

tried the DSG before. brilliant gearbox but just not for me

 

Absence of a clutch pedal

 

[Fenderbender]

Thanks for the explanation! Great to meet like minded people here on MCF ! In my car, you really have to use strength to change gears, friends of mine tell me that they can hear the gear change from far away

 

Yes, it is actually scary to drive an auto car, IMO driving an auto isn't really driving at all, it's more like commuting

 

Yeah, A/T cars are like push button 'Appliances'. There's nothing wrong with them, they'll get you to work, your kids to school and back, etc. But being too easy to operate in a way breeds a false sense of security, almost always the precursor for accidents. It can happen to anyone.

 

M/Ts are true unforgiving 'Machines'. Get sloppy and use it the wrong way, it will not work. It may even get someone hurt. That respect and added complexity tends to keep us on our toes. Well, at least some of us...hehe

[Hermitage]

Yeah, A/T cars are like push button 'Appliances'. There's nothing wrong with them, they'll get you to work, your kids to school and back, etc. But being too easy to operate in a way breeds a false sense of security, almost always the precursor for accidents. It can happen to anyone.

 

M/Ts are true unforgiving 'Machines'. Get sloppy and use it the wrong way, it will not work. It may even get someone hurt. That respect and added complexity tends to keep us on our toes. Well, at least some of us...hehe

 

Ha! I certainly hope so! But I actually feel more relaxed and at ease when driving a manual. Contrary to what most people think, I feel an auto car is really difficult to drive and requires more concentration than a manual!

 

But that's just me lah, always a little !

 

[Bicolor]

I''ve always driven manual, and will continue to do so till manual transmissions are no longer available. Like I said in a similar thread some time back, I don't care much about the speed (in Singapore and in most of Hong Kong's roads, how fast can you go anyway), nor fuel efficiency (my 1300cc manual car has indeed proved economical, but I'm aware that many auto cars are getting more fuel efficiency these days). I just love the feeling of 100% driver input, like many who love manual will agree, the "shiok" factor. And after a long tiring day at work I'm always grateful that I own a manual car - it makes travelling through the seemingly endless road back to my home more pleasant and bearable.

[Iliketodrive]

feel manual car is most fun when driving in winding roads, one hand steer, the other hand on the gear lever. Compared to an Auto Civic, a Manual Civic is about 1 sec faster in a 0-100 km/h sprint. That's quite a lot of difference.

 

Manual cars can also be driven very smoothly, just as smooth as CVT cars, but more responsive. As far as comfort is concerned, it doesn't loose out to auto at all.

 

I'm just so used to it I never think about the clutch and gear shifts, so even in a traffic jam, it's nothing at all.

 

Auto cars with paddle shift and s-mode can be just as fun. Gear shifting can be achieved by finger tips. I used a combination of paddle shift and shifting of D to S (to/and/fro).

 

Alot of time, it is the driver that makes the difference rather than paper specification, particularly on street racing.

 

Regards,

 

waste time. +-+-+- in the end still slow n auto.

if 2 car, same model, 1 auto 1 manaul, in a drag, no way the manual will loss. if manual loss, than it the driver dont know how to drive manual.

 

 

 

 

[Slayer666]

I feel manual car enables me to react faster and better to road conditions and traffic. More involvement as well. Of course, during a jam, abit pain in the .........

 

i totally agree with u. driving a manual makes u more alert to the surrounding and we tend to react so much faster. Safer lah.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Slayer666

[Honkhonk]

i prefer to drive manual only if my car is a sports car, eg evo, sti, wrx, civic type r etc... cos can feel the power n u r in control, damn shiok

 

however, if it is juz a NA car, i'll juz get auto over manual anytime, esp if driving in sg. juz too lazy to keep shifting gears in sg road plus NA cars also no power, drive manual also not shiok. well thats for me