Fed Up with Driving a Manual Transmission?

[TiGeo]

I've had 3-4 manual cars, lots of fun and more control rowing the gears yourself. I had to give manuals up though because traffic in my area has gotten too heavy and they were a major PITA to drive as a DD in that amount of traffic. It's very hard to sit in traffic for 45-60 minutes constantly having to creep along. I would regularly space myself in a way I could just putt along in first gear but that really pisses some people off when you have a huge gap between you and the next car.

If I were to get a weekend cruiser it would be a manual for sure.

Bingo. It was what killed a manual for me when I moved to the D.C. area years ago. 4 mos of sitting on the beltway and I was done with my 5-speed '92 Toyota 4x4 pickup - bought my '00 Cherokee with an auto. Went back to a stick when we moved to a less-traffic-laden area. Now back to an auto. Folks that are #manual4lyfe often can't seem to understand it's horses for courses and that you weigh many factors when buying a car and choosing a trans for it and the least of them is some d-bag online calling them "autotragic". Current ride? DSG b/c that is the better trans for my needs and plans for the car. Autotragic? GTFO. Oh, I have a manual sitting in the driveway that I can drive if I really have the itch (previous daily that is now my son's). It's fun for sure.

My favorite manual meme...always talking about it....

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I like a good DSG. Even a "Bad" one**. I Had a Rental Fiesta in FLA a few years ago. Ford tuned the chassis better than the Mazda 2 BY LOT. and The trans worked well - not sucking the life out of a little engine as torque converters are want to do.

I guess I just don't like torque converters - or poorly designed ones.

The mini-converter in the Wife's CVT Crosstrek is great, it locks up at around 5MPH and never looks back.
Actually I think it is just a fluid coupling with a big clutchpack for parking lot trolling an idling.

**actually I hated the one in the early Smart fortwo. That was a pile of rubbish.

 

[jeepman3071]

Had a person once try to prove that because she daily'd a car with a stage 3 clutch, there's no reason for other people not to be able to do the same thing.

This is why I like to follow semis during rush hour. They may not be going as fast as the traffic around them but they're a lot more consistent. I hate driving manual in traffic and I will avoid traffic at all costs simply because I don't feel like pushing in/out all the time anymore.

That's hilarious. I love when people post stuff like that because it shows their ignorance. She either has a 5 mile commute on back roads so "it's not that bad bro" or is lying and doesn't have a stage 3 clutch.

You can daily drive a 1940s grain truck, but that doesn't prove that you are smart or tough, just that you enjoy physical punishment and hate comfort. I love driving manual vehicles and consider myself an enthusiast, but I'm fortunate that I can own more than one vehicle. If I had to drive only one, and I had a high traffic commute, it would be an automatic for sure. It has nothing to do with physical strength or being macho. Sometimes I just want to be lazy after working a 12 hour day and driving 50 miles home. Sometimes if I have a debilitating migraine I'll need a significant other or family member to drive me home. My auto with steptronic shifting allows me to both be lazy and chose my own gears when I want to. True auto enthusiasts appreciate both kinds of transmissions, as there are very good and very bad examples of both.

 

[TiGeo]

I like a good DSG. Even a "Bad" one**. I Had a Rental Fiesta in FLA a few years ago. Ford tuned the chassis better than the Mazda 2 BY LOT. and The trans worked well - not sucking the life out of a little engine as torque converters are want to do.

I guess I just don't like torque converters - or poorly designed ones.

The mini-converter in the Wife's CVT Crosstrek is great, it locks up at around 5MPH and never looks back.
Actually I think it is just a fluid coupling with a big clutchpack for parking lot trolling an idling.

**actually I hated the one in the early Smart fortwo. That was a pile of rubbish.

The DCTs definately require some getting used to if you haven't spent a lot of time in them or haven't drivena stick....b/c really, it's an automated manual vs. t-converter so behaves like one at slow speeds etc. I've driving sticks for 80% of the 32 years I've driven so herky/jerky doesn't bother me. I always imagine the brake pedal is the clutch...really helps with easing around at slow speeds, crawling onto ramps to work on it, etc.

 

[TiGeo]

That's hilarious. I love when people post stuff like that because it shows their ignorance. She either has a 5 mile commute on back roads so "it's not that bad bro" or is lying and doesn't have a stage 3 clutch.

You can daily drive a 1940s grain truck, but that doesn't prove that you are smart or tough, just that you enjoy physical punishment and hate comfort. I love driving manual vehicles and consider myself an enthusiast, but I'm fortunate that I can own more than one vehicle. If I had to drive only one, and I had a high traffic commute, it would be an automatic for sure. It has nothing to do with physical strength or being macho. Sometimes I just want to be lazy after working a 12 hour day and driving 50 miles home. Sometimes if I have a debilitating migraine I'll need a significant other or family member to drive me home. My auto with steptronic shifting allows me to both be lazy and chose my own gears when I want to. True auto enthusiasts appreciate both kinds of transmissions, as there are very good and very bad examples of both.

Well said and very much where I am now. STage 3 ClutCH iS NoT THAt baD BRo

 

[Pelican]

The Prius doesn't have a CVT. It uses a planetary gear set which is quite different.

Yes it does, it's only in 1st gear that it uses the planetary.

 

[mobilnissan1991]

I love driving a stick but getting stuck in Baton Rouge traffic in one taught me to never drive a stick in the city. Fine where I live, two lane roads

 

[sohccammer427]

I just sold my manual car a few months back. The wife hated it.

Ditto. Gave my wife my 2015 Passat Tdi with a six speed manual. Amazing car. Averaged 55+ mpg on our Florida trips. However she did not like changing gears. Traded it for a 2020 Jetta. Nowhere near as refined. But she likes it, so all is good.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Had a person once try to prove that because she daily'd a car with a stage 3 clutch, there's no reason for other people not to be able to do the same thing.

Maybe she does it for inner-thigh muscle toning.

I Might say that is a GOOD thing

 

[calvin1]

I have always loved my manuals, yes even in traffic, maybe even ESPECIALLY in traffic. I can outshift any slushbox so I can take advantage of much smaller holes in packed surface street traffic. Sure modern transmission tech can shift faster but that's all theoretical given my car budget. On interstate jams, they're only stop-and-go if you play that game. Even in an auto if you hang back just a back (don't have to get nuts, just a couple car lengths is enough) and try for the average speed you save yourself a lot of the stops and a lot of the wear and tear.

 

[Huie83]

Bingo. It was what killed a manual for me when I moved to the D.C. area years ago. 4 mos of sitting on the beltway and I was done with my 5-speed '92 Toyota 4x4 pickup - bought my '00 Cherokee with an auto. Went back to a stick when we moved to a less-traffic-laden area. Now back to an auto. Folks that are #manual4lyfe often can't seem to understand it's horses for courses and that you weigh many factors when buying a car and choosing a trans for it and the least of them is some d-bag online calling them "autotragic". Current ride? DSG b/c that is the better trans for my needs and plans for the car. Autotragic? GTFO. Oh, I have a manual sitting in the driveway that I can drive if I really have the itch (previous daily that is now my son's). It's fun for sure.

My favorite manual meme...always talking about it....
View attachment 35810

That's hilarious. I also swapped from a manual to a DSG, they are great transmissions if you understand how to drive them.

 

[Huie83]

I am familiar about that gap reaction but to hell with them I say. Besides the gap is there one minute and the next minute it is gone. If they were smart they would realize what I was doing and would fall in line. That actually happened once on 405 through Los Angeles long ago where I was pacing myself to avoid the start/stop routine. Once the guy behind me figured out what I was doing he got into it as a few others behind him and we went over 30 miles without coming to a stop. In the end my lane ultimately moved faster in the end which would be expected if people learned to pace rather than constantly start and stop causing brake lights to pop up all over the road.

I completely agree with you, I really didn't care if it pissed them off. However, it became a safety thing. For whatever reason people get SO ticked off in traffic. I had multiple incidents where drivers would get so worked up on the gap I was leaving, they'd speed around me and try and brake check me or whatever to " get back at me" for actually driving smart.

I still leave a gap because I hate being on and off the brakes all the time but it's much less with a auto trans.

 

[TiGeo]

That's hilarious. I also swapped from a manual to a DSG, they are great transmissions if you understand how to drive them.

Correct - and some folks don't. The funny part is the manual folks that drive them, don't like XYZ behavior, and then are lose their minds when DSG people tell them they have to actually interact with it to get the best experience (drive, sport, manual mode, combo, etc.)...ahahahah

 

[TiGeo]

I completely agree with you, I really didn't care if it pissed them off. However, it became a safety thing. For whatever reason people get SO ticked off in traffic. I had multiple incidents where drivers would get so worked up on the gap I was leaving, they'd speed around me and try and brake check me or whatever to " get back at me" for actually driving smart.

I still leave a gap because I hate being on and off the brakes all the time but it's much less with a auto trans.

When I drove a stick in heavy traffic I did the same....leave enough gap so you could save on some shifting...but yeah, folks get ticked!

 

[Huie83]

Correct - and some folks don't. The funny part is the manual folks that drive them, don't like XYZ behavior, and then are lose their minds when DSG people tell them they have to actually interact with it to get the best experience (drive, sport, manual mode, combo, etc.)...ahahahah

Exactly. I've found you have to tell the DSG what to do. Lots of people are on and off the throttle/brakes all the time which the DSG doesn't like, especially slowing for a stop then on the gas right away again before stopping. That produces a lot of the "jerky" or "slipping" sensation drivers complain about. It can be super smooth if you drive it like a manual trans, after all, that's what it is on the inside.

 

[TiGeo]

Exactly. I've found you have to tell the DSG what to do. Lots of people are on and off the throttle/brakes all the time which the DSG doesn't like, especially slowing for a stop then on the gas right away again before stopping. That produces a lot of the "jerky" or "slipping" sensation drivers complain about. It can be super smooth if you drive it like a manual trans, after all, that's what it is on the inside.

Exactly - it's a manual....physically....that just shifts itself!

 

[dareo]

Not “fed up” but was willing to try the DSG in my latest car, the 2019 Alltrack. I am very impressed in how well it engages and shifts for me. I am lazy and this thing does the job so well that i don’t mind being a 2 pedal plebeian driver.

Many autos are so good now and many manuals suffer from rev hang and scarcity.

The Camaro LT1 manual does live rent free in the back of my mind. Perhaps i can get one before they go away. Then i can shift and not shift whenever i please.

 

[TiGeo]

Not “fed up” but was willing to try the DSG in my latest car, the 2019 Alltrack. I am very impressed in how well it engages and shifts for me. I am lazy and this thing does the job so well that i don’t mind being a 2 pedal plebeian driver.

Many autos are so good now and many manuals suffer from rev hang and scarcity.

The Camaro LT1 manual does live rent free in the back of my mind. Perhaps i can get one before they go away. Then i can shift and not shift whenever i please.

Alltracks are great cars. Love my 4Mo DSG Sportwagen.

 

[HowAboutThis]

It’s usually not a preference though

Most autotragic drivers could not drive a manual and refuse to learn or even consider if they might like a stick.

They act like it’s the same as learning differential equations and building a moon rocket

Differential equations are easier than driving a manual in traffic.

 

[97prizm]

Manual transmissions in the VW Jetta and golf were so smooth I didn't mind driving them in traffic. Toyota's were much more notchy and rought.