Five Myths About Stick Shifts: Manual vs Automatic Transmissions
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Five Myths About Stick Shifts: Manual vs Automatic Transmissions
You often hear that cars with manual transmissions have many advantages over automatics (cost, better MPG, cool factor). But that's not always the case.
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1. The EPA published values indicate that manual transmission and automatic transmission fuel economy is very close. What this doesn't point out is that EPA fuel economy is calculated via a formula based on spec sheet values for the vehicles. At no point does the EPA drive the cars and test their actual economy. It turns out that the EPA formula makes a very poor estimate of the actual milage that can be expected from manual transmission vehicles. Generally you can expect 10% higher fuel economy from MT vehicles in the real world. ALSO, the way that the manufacturers boost the AT fuel economy is by having a much higher final drive ratio. This makes the engine turn slower at a given speed for AT vehicles, and thus consume less fuel than they would if the engine turned at the same speed as a comparable MT. Higher gear ratios and slushbox transmissions mean less power transferred to the road. This has been taken to such an extreme that some of these cars (ex: Chevy cruze) have dangerously slow acceleration capability.
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3.) People are purchasing Ferraris with automatic transmissions? I hope that these Ferraris also have cupholders for a flavored coffee drink of choice. 'Sports' cars with slushbox transmissions (or cupholders for that matter) are not 'cool'. I don't doubt that the AT versions could beat the pants off of the MT version at the track, but is really as fun to let the computer drive for you?
4.) Like it should be. Its really not rocket science to learn how to operate a manual transmission. The cars are about fun, not convenience.
5.) All teenagers should be in manual transmission vehicles. One hand on the wheel + one hand on the shift = no hands for texting.
I strongly disagree, my son turns 16 next year and his first car will be a stick shift. Cell phones and texting are a complication he doesn't need.
I know it may not stop him completely when I'm not looking, but it will definitely hamper it.
I strongly disagree, my son turns 16 next year and his first car will be a stick shift. Cell phones and texting are a complication he doesn't need.
I know it may not stop him completely when I'm not looking, but it will definitely hamper it.
True, automatic transmissions have gotten more efficient over the years, but they're also complicated to diagnose due to the fact that there's more sensors & wiring that help run the transmission smoothly. When these fail, it takes a fair amount of time to access these, diagnose these and then determine if the failure is either a hydraulic or electronic issue (or both). This means lots of $$ to the customer when an issue comes up. That alone would make me steer clear from an automatic.
Now, what I've stated above are facts but the following is just my opinion that I believe to be generally true: When you're driving a stick shift car, you pay more attention to the whole driving experience. Whenever someone pulls out in front of me, then drives *under* the speed limit, I assume they're driving an automatic tranny because all they do is press the gas and by magic, the car just goes. Meanwhile, I'm downshifting and pressing my brakes, pissed off that this person just disrupted the flow of traffic. I generally believe if this same person was driving a stick, they wouldn't make such an inconsiderate move, since they're more in tune with the car and would probably get annoyed if someone did the same thing they just did to me.
Also, I always hear from my friends "oh, stick's fine, but I don't like it in city traffic" - I tend to think this is a statement that is more of a popular regurgitation of an excuse than an honest opinion. I learned to drive on an automatic and then learned to drive stick in my 20s and have been exclusively driving stick ever since....in the city. Both my girlfriend and I drive stick in the city daily and never once have I wanted to revert back to a sluggish automatic. In fact, I'd rather drive an inflamed standard tranny off a steep cliff than be putting around town in an automatic feeling like the biggest puss in the world.
Not being of that crowd, I personally find that a stick is usually the better option for mixed driving, mixed conditions and safety. My children (all 4 of them) are required to learn stick and if it takes them longer to get their license, that's a good thing. I take them out on a track too, to do some racing where it's supposed to be. They also can't get their license until they can do basic car maintenance regardless of gender (change tires, wipers, basic tune up.) The point at which they have done an engine swap they get a bit of respect from grandpa too.
- you are the cool dude
- chicks dig stick
- Good luck jump starting an automatic (most of them)
"Sticks" aren't for everyone, but that doesn't mean everyone need to conform to automatics for the sake of being lazy or just not wanting to learn..... god I miss living in Europe (I took my driving test in a manual 84 VW ... you can keep your big auto-4 speed Ford trucks and automatic cookie cutter Honda Accord clones gguuuhhhk garbage.
My 'Dream Car' - 1999 M3 Coupe (MANUAL!!!!!!) S50B32
Not so. Fuel consumption does NOT depend on engine speed. You have to ask the question, "What does the energy obtained in burning the fuel do?" Answer: It overcomes air resistance and other frictional forces opposing the vehicle's motion and supplies gravitational potential energy to the vehicle if it's climbing a hill." If the gear ratio is different, the same work has to be done and in many cases a higher engine speed may take the engine into a more efficient power band. Too low an engine speed takes it out of the efficient power band. While travelling with a friend in a manual transmission car with an m.p.g. readout, I was shown that the m.p.g. returned at 30 m.p.h. was higher in 3rd gear than in 4th - a practical demonstration of the preceding argument. The purpose of any gearbox, automatic or manual, is to keep the engine in an efficient power band as much as possible. The down side of a MT is that it depends on the driver's ability to judge when to change gear. An automatic will usually be more efficient than a manual with most drivers IMHO.
But again, driving manuals in traffic, especially those heavy clutches on sportier cars, makes you cry. If you have passengers on board, they will cry too.
I've spent a lot of time in Europe, notably Belgium. Everyone drives manual, only the elderly or disabled drive automatic transmission cars. Apparently, if you get your drivers license with an automatic transmission car, you're not allowed to drive a manual.
AT cars are regarded as being "not real" and "for [non-permissible content removed]".
Funny, when you think of it...
also, repairs on most manuals are much easier than on automatics, esp when it comes to any type of transmission work.
manual-1 automatics-0
There are so many components to an Automatic transmission to go wrong.
Second, if you battery is dead , you can start a manual car by rolling down a hill or pushing .. can`t do that with automatic.
Wife has a Toyota with the 'manual' option on her automatic, no matter what gear you 'lock' the stupid thing into , when you mash the gas it STILL shifts automatically !!!!
That would not happen with a true mechanical manual car.
Speak of economy, I can start my car in any gear ( given enough torque at low RPM ) , you can`t do that with automatic .
Not to speak of towing with an automatic.
Automatic is more convenient , but better ? I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
The facts this article presents are, I would assume, very easily accepted by automatic drivers who have no manual experience.
They have the ability to use a smaller engine, likely diesel and consume less gasoline. A BMW diesel 1 series I rented for work holding 4 people
and traveled 535 miles at an average of 75-90 MPH we got 43 MPH
with a decent load
Manual transmissions are not sold in America because we have gotten
lazy and have too many distractions stateside in a car
1. It's the secret of gearing. AT with torque converters getting the same mpg will always put less power down on the road. unless it's a DCT, which leads to 2.
2. This is partially correct for up front purchase for consumers. Sure, MT sometimes is a no-cost option. But you are basically paying for the huge fixed cost, not the actual transmission. When it comes to servicing and repairing, good luck.
3. Again, these AT's will cost you a lot, probably not up front, but waiting to bite you. And the cool factor is totally a subjective matter. For me, AT even DCT, defeats the purpose of sports car. I want to have fun driving, I don't care about lapping the fastest time on track, I don't make a living from doing that. I would vote for DCT if I'm a race driver, but I'm not.
4. guess these are companies that get the formula right. pretty good sales numbers and product images, aren't they?
5. probably. when electric cars take over the earth, I guess youngsters won't even understand the word "transmission". hehe.
And since most teens aren't very rich, they resort to buying used cars, which tend to be manual.
I am not American, however, and I do realize that in USA automatics are more popular than elsewhere and that some Americans buy new cars for their kids.
An automatic on the EPA test can shift constantly. A manual has to follow a rule - at 30 mph be in 4th gear or shift at 4500 rpm, which does not go in its favor. In the real world, when you want to accelerate youa re in 3rd gear at 40mph, when youa re stuck behind grandma in a Camry you can be in 6th at 40mph. The EPA test also isn't required.
The great MPG number on an automatic car is just an engineering sample trick on the gear ratio. If the gear ratio between a stick and an automatic transmission is identical, stick's MPG will win the race by far.
Careful calibration and programming to control the drive-by-wire throttle and shifting engagement will help reducing the spin lose. The biggest advantage of automatic transmission is to allow the engine to be shut off when you are waiting at the traffic light. However, it is just the nature of the automatic transmission to have a hard time winning the MPG game at this moment.