Do engines last longer when connected to manual transmissions?

[21Rouge]

I do enjoy driving a 5 speed. And I do think they are definitely less problematic than an automatic....that has been my experience.

Currently we have a 2000 Montana minivan

(but which we need when the 5 of us go any distance) and a base 5 speed Pontiac Vibe.

*If* tomorrow I was able to ditch the Montana and purchase a new vehicle that could easily and comfortably accomodate my wife and I and our 3 teenage boys AND have a manual transmission...what are my limited

choices?

 

[SpitfireS]

I guess, but...
In Europe, a diesel engine with an automatic gearbox is becomming more and more popular too.
Common rail diesel injection, turbo/intercooler diesels produce a lot of power these days at high gas mileage.
Low rev torque suits the automatic.
And some have the Formula 1 style "flipper gear change" at the steering wheel.

 

[21Rouge]

quote:

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Originally posted by SpitfireS:

I guess, but...
In Europe, a diesel engine with an automatic gearbox is becomming more and more popular too.

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Just wondering what 5 speeds available in NA are offered on larger family vehicles...say vehicles with 6 cylinders?

For example the Mazda 5, although a 4 cyl, has tons of room for 5 people and in a pinch can accomodate 6. It comes with a 5 speed.

 

[Titan]

Automatics don't allow me coast in neutral (without risk of harming the unit after time), which I often do with a manual. I'm sure that well-timed coasting is why I sometimes can achieve highway MPG when I'm in the city. It's also why I ALWAYS get much better mpg than on the sticker when driving a manual...and people comment that I accelerate much harder than they do. Regardless of which transmission I'm driving, I look ahead and anticipate what the traffic patterns and terrain are going to require. With automatics I usually beat the sticker mpg, but, not by much, and I don't have much fun while driving them.

Manuals weigh less, therefore allowing better handling. When cornering at the limit of a particular car's capability, a manual gives better control of the car's path of travel...at least, if the driver knows how to drive well.
Automatics are for the lazy, those stuck in traffic day after day, the handicapped, for people that simply don't drive in a spirited manner that requires better control at the car's limits, or people that simply don't like to have to think so much about proper shifting.

Automatics with paddle shifters will still never get as good economy as a manual for me, until they find a way to be able to pop it into neutral, and back to fifth, or third, or whatever gear is appropriate for the situation.

Long live the manual transmission, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[21Rouge]

quote:

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Originally posted by Titan:
Long live the manual transmission, as far as I'm concerned.

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I agree completely so to encourage its popularity I love to know which readily available minivans/suvs/.. can be obtained with a 5 speed.....maybe I should have started a separate thread?

 

[spiderbypass]

I have noticed that other posts discuss "engine lugging" when people put in a thicker viscosity oil. Members note that people with manual transmissions notice this lugging where folks with automatic transmissions do no because the tranny will downshift automatically. Maybe people with automatic transmissions are less sensitive to the oil, and are smothering their engines daily.

 

[hone eagle]

NO your all wrong

engines last the longest when not attached to a teenager!

 

[Titan]

Boxgrover, I think the Mazda5 mini-mini-van comes with a manual. In fact, I'm sure it does. It might have a small engine for a fully loaded van, it uses the 2.3, but, that's one smooth-running sucker! I'd buy it, or the Mazda3 wagon, if I were to total my current car.

 

[Titan]

spiderbypass...I drove a Ford Focus wagon today...automatic. Darned if it wasn't the FIRST automatic I've ever driven where I could hear the engine lugging in top gear. Outright shuddering rumble. RPM's were about 1500 and I was going 45? Anyway, it didn't downshift until I pushed the accelerator a good bit. Weird.

 

[OriginHacker21]

I got my first car and it was a manual. I still have it 1.5 years later with 36k. I can't imagine letting a computer steal all the fun of driving by shifting for me... Automatics are boring to drive, even if they are powerful. Might as well just take the bus...

I even live in LA and get stuck in traffic once in awhile. I'd never drive anything else than a manual.

My parent's 2000 Honda Accord w/ Vtec is horrible... You can floor that thing and it will decide whether or not to downshift. Had several times where I wanted to pass someone - floored it - only to stay in gear and barely pass the guy. Then sometimes it downshifts when you least expect... Who is really in control???

Besides, it is getting hazardous driving an automatic. Left foot goes after brake without thinking...

 

[Korean_redneck]

The first time I enjoyed my Manual transmission is when I changed the Trans. Oil to Amsoil MTG GL-4 75w90. Driving a Manual is now more enjoyable. The shifts are smooth, the syncros are smooth. I'm so happy. THANKS AMSOIL!

 

[oli]

quote:

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Originally posted by i:
Fifteen years ago, in a former life, I was buying/selling cars at auctions, and noticed the following odd phenomenon:

Cars with manual transmissions invariably had engines that were in better shape. ..........One possible reason I came up with is that maybe people that bought cars with manuals were likely to be "enthusiasts" and were a little more religious about oil changes, -- the cars with manual trannys had better engines.

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Define "better shape" and "better engines". It is unlikely that oil changes made any difference. Were you driving these cars or just listening to them in the "line". Manual tranmissions were already pretty scarce 15 to 20 years ago in most cars.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Manual tranmissions were already pretty scarce 15 to 20 years ago in most cars.

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15-20 years ago, even the Ford Taurus came standard with a manual transmission...

 

[oli]

quote:

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15-20 years ago, even the Ford Taurus came standard with a manual transmission... [/QB]

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[/QUOTE]
That is only partially correct and mostly misleading. The 86-88 base model "MT-5" with the 4 cyl were the only ones with a stick. They would have been a very small percentage of Taurus sales. Most would have been autos with either the 4 cyl "L" and the 6 cyl "GL" and "LX". We will leave the small numbers of 89-91 SHO out of the picture. My grandmother had an 86 4 cyl and although she knew how to shift, hers was an auto. She had quite a few minor accidents in that car. I ended it's life in a demo 2 years ago with only about 70k miles on the clock.