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Reply 20
JC.
Graham you're way off.
acceleration and top speed are dicitated by the gear ratios inside the gearbox and the final drive ratio.
The nice thing about an autobox is you can, if you wish, tune them to the engine. You can set the change to occur to drop the revs right on the peak of the torque curve for the hardest possible acceleration.


Although, I would conceed that on a small car a manual box is the best way to get the best use of the power band.


Oh right i never knew that...

How come most cars are slower in the auto variant to the manual variant then?

If you look at most small and medium cars, the manual is nearly always faster 0-60 and top speed? Is this just cause the auto box is ****?

Graham
Reply 21
Ryan


You can't keep an auto in gear for acceleration purposes :smile:


You can't?
What do you think D1 and L do?

Fit a ratchet shifter and its even easier to change gear in an auto. You just bang the shifter a notch in either direction and the gearchanges are instantaneous.

Love it when people pass off there own misconceptions as facts...
Reply 22
gbduo
Oh right i never knew that...

How come most cars are slower in the auto variant to the manual variant then?

If you look at most small and medium cars, the manual is nearly always faster 0-60 and top speed? Is this just cause the auto box is ****?

Graham


Proberbly because when you say "most cars" you are thinking of econo-boxes.
A 1968 MGC is quicker to 60 in automatic form than a manual variant.
Perversely, a 1970 MGB auto is slower than its manual counterpart. How can this be when they share the same BW35 gearbox?
Simply put, the larger 3 litre straight 6 of the MGC can lock up the torque converter much quicker. Thus more efficient power transfer. The extra weight of the MGC is also an advantage. The heavier a car is the higher up the rev band the gearbox can change up. Although, obviously there is a ballance to be struck in this respect.

Big engines work better with automatic gearboxes. Mount a big engine with some real power to a manual box and you have to start looking at tripple plate paddle clutches and those things burn out pretty quickly! They also give a jerky action as the friction material is so good... not much use as a daily driver then?
A torque converter is pretty hard to kill. This is why you see 2000bhp chevvys that are street legal running round on autoboxes only. You'd have to be an idiot to connect a 2000bhp engine to a manual gearbox. It wouldnt last 5 minutes.
Reply 23
Thanks mate :biggrin:
Reply 24
I've never driven an auto, so have nothing to compare a manual with. I'd like to try it though, somehow I just imagine it being easier?

Am I right in thinking manual cars are popular in Europe, while autos are popular in the US?
Reply 25
dd1989
An Auto transmission kills small cars due to the combined effect of the extra weight, and the fact Auto boxes suck the power from small engines.

If you want to add 3/4 seconds to acceleration times, decrease MPG, and make the car more sluggish, then go ahead, get an auto lol

Yeah, but if you are buying a corsa then you obviously don't care about the power you will be losing. Buying a decent car with an automatic gear box is just silly.
Personally, I like the manual in my little car for having fun in, but come a long motorway journey, especially if traffic is heavy. then doing the 12121N Gets a bit tiring. So sometimes I'd prefer an auto.

However if you have a lot of power, then you really need an auto. I mean, if the Bugatti Veyron was a manual, how long do you think the clutch would last on that.
Reply 27
Nessyfencer
Yeah, but if you are buying a corsa then you obviously don't care about the power you will be losing. Buying a decent car with an automatic gear box is just silly.


if you read my posts you would understand why it isnt silly at all.
i always thought i'd had a manual over an auto, because my rents drive auto's and it looks so easy, but once i got used to a manual i decided yep, they're way more fun.

bit of extra work, yes, but they are much more satisfying to drive, and having driven my mums jeep i agree you deffo get more control with a manual.

so yer, manual baby.
Box's with no synchromesh for the win!
Reply 30
Friggerpants
Box's with no synchromesh for the win!


Have you ever driven a 'box with no synchro?! Its pretty tough, gear changes are hard and slow, unless you are very skilled.

Plus the box' would be nearly 50 years old, even the E-Type has Synchro in it!
Friggerpants
Box's with no synchromesh for the win!


Are you NUTS man, as much as I love playing around and double declutching in my corsa. If I HAD to do it say in stop start traffic on the motorway, or in London when its busy. I would give up the car and go to public transport. BAD IDEA!
Reply 32
Urg. No syncro? You must be mad. Its hard work, I tells ya!

Minardi
Reply 33
manual

i drove auto

and seemed to get board lol
Reply 34
Its gota me manual for me, I just feel in so much more control for some reason
Definately prefer manual. The only auto I've driven was a Megane Tourer (estate) - somewhat of a boat, so my views may be somewhat biased. The auto box on it was absolute rat******. I was using the selector to pop the override most of the time.
As far as autos being easier, could be but I don't think about changing, so the only time I really notice using clutch alot is on the rare occasion where I'm going through really heavy traffic.
Reply 36
Manual as I prefer the control.
Reply 37
I've never driven an automatic, but I used to think it'd be much easier. Now I can drive manual, I'd go nuts if I drove an auto and couldn't change gears! :rolleyes:
Plus the lack of handbrake (well, that's how they are in America, anyway - I've only ever been in an auto in America) would irritate me. I like being able to put on the handbrake and rest my feet when I'm stopped at traffic lights.
Dog BOx for the win!
Reply 39
i like the control i get from a manual, having driven cars of different weights and towing i like chosing when to change gear and controling the power. with an auto it felt like a "stop go" which i suppose is good when you have to drive. it also gives me the pride that i can do something, like balancing the clutch when setting off, moving up the gears when going down a straight. just makes the drive more interesting.

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