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- Jun 2, 2003
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Skill versus no skill.
I can't drive a stick
- Thread starter M1Accord
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Some people will never understand what true driving enthusiasts know.
I can do all of the above while driving a MTX. Steer with your legs
MTX > ATX
I've heard many terms used to describe a manual transmission. Some people call it stick shift, standard, 3 pedals and of course manual. I guess its not considered the "standard" as much anymore. For automatics I've heard it described as slushbox, 2 pedals, and auto.
I've never driven a manual before but could probably drive one. That is on the to do list, I'm sure its a lot of fun. Sometimes I have a habit of shifting to N when coming to a stop, my dad does the same thing, must be genes.
I've never driven a manual before but could probably drive one. That is on the to do list, I'm sure its a lot of fun. Sometimes I have a habit of shifting to N when coming to a stop, my dad does the same thing, must be genes.
In most cases a car with paddle shifters are no different than an automatic with manual mode except that instead of pushing or pulling the shifter you use paddles or buttons. Only difference between these automatics and any other automatic is that the driver has some control over which gear to put the car in, but you still have more power loss than an MT due to torque converter and heavier gearbox. In some cases, the car will not hold the gear and will up or down shift if the ECM believes it's necessary or won't shift at all. In the end, you're still driving a slushie if you have an automatic with manual mode.
Very few cars have SMG which is what F1 and Ferrari paddle shift use. Those are automated manual gearboxes. You tell the computer up or down and the computer takes care of shifting, clutching, and even rev matching in as little as 80ms (BMW E46 M3 SMG II gearbox). Some SMG gearboxes have automatic mode, but they are not as smooth as an automatics. SMG however, allows you to have more gears than a conventional manual gearbox in cars without additional switches or buttons because for cars, note I didn't say trucks, 6 speed is considered to be the maximum gears you can have without creating a complex shift pattern like that truck video above. I think the current BMW M5 now has a 7sp SMG or 6sp manual transmissions.
SMG is out, it's all about DSG!
dual clutch manual with .08 second shift times. No power loss at all.
anyway i still prefer a stick, it's nice to be able control the acceleration and engine speed. Plus it's safer to drive in bad conditions.
dual clutch manual with .08 second shift times. No power loss at all.
anyway i still prefer a stick, it's nice to be able control the acceleration and engine speed. Plus it's safer to drive in bad conditions.
oh yeah i've driven a stick through the whole city of san francisco, big hills and all. Not a problem, it's all in the time you log behind the wheel and the tricks you learn along the way.
You and your dad's genes may be harder on your transmission than just leaving it in gear. It is designed to be just fine sitting in gear. The increased shock of going in and out of gear has more of a chance of being damaging. To be certain, maybe an expert like unDummy will chime in....
Let me see here... hydraulic assisted clutch w/short thro lever for 2 hours? Hmmm... try 2 stick [5X4} Mack with 18 forward speeds [2 of the gears in here are almost the exact same ratio thats why its not 20] and you can't tell by looking at the sticks which gear you're in either, so you better be counting or you have to start off from dead stop as these gears don't MATCH-UP well... oh yeah, I almost forgot... a clutch pedal(used primarirly for being stopped only)that is almost as big as coil springs found on a small car! Now THIS is a pain in traffic day in and day out. If you ever see an old truck at an antique show, hop up in there and just try and depress the clutch with ONE leg... you'll be amazed. We seem to have forgotten how easy we have it now.
If you don't plan on keeping a vehicle then it doesn't matter, but to those of us who do it does. My manual tranny has a few shafts with gears on them, splash lubricated, while the autos in the sedans have lots of solenoids, sensors, wiring harnesses, function based upon a CPU and firmware that is dependant upon the engine and emmissions systems, a maze of small channels for fluids, and a wear components that require a $2k or more rebuild.
All three of the 1 to 3 year old diigtal cameras that we have are broken. My daughter is using my dad's 30 year old Canon F1 in her photography class, and my son is using a screw mount Fujinon SLR with some Pentax SMC lenses that we've found for $20 to $40 each.
Odin, save me from pointless electronic junk.
All three of the 1 to 3 year old diigtal cameras that we have are broken. My daughter is using my dad's 30 year old Canon F1 in her photography class, and my son is using a screw mount Fujinon SLR with some Pentax SMC lenses that we've found for $20 to $40 each.
Odin, save me from pointless electronic junk.
One transmission is really not much better than the other overall except in the eyes of the owner. Each has positives and negatives and the one that appeals to you is the best.
I love manually tranny's and I am thankful my wife does to.
2004 Subaru WRX wagon 5MT(mine)
2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT(spouse)
I love manually tranny's and I am thankful my wife does to.
2004 Subaru WRX wagon 5MT(mine)
2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT(spouse)
Eating fast food while driving is a good way to get either:
1) Fat
2) dead
AH out of the mouth of babes comes proof of a poor driver.
Quote:
Playing with stick is what the girl is for.
In stop and go traffic with a manual tranny, you have to give yourself some space between you and cars in front of you, so when everyone stops ahead, you slow down and coast just about to where you'll need to push the clutch in, then everyone starts moving again, you can ease into the throttle. You save brakes that way as well (I have 80,000 miles on my brakes and they still have about 50% life left). Manuals are the way to go, especially in mountainous regions.
M1Accord,
Have you succesfully learned to chew gum and walk at the same time yet?
Bob
Have you succesfully learned to chew gum and walk at the same time yet?
Bob
I agree with the original poster, riding with someone not that great at a stick shift is painful. My own Dad is a good example of this; every street, every time, he has to make it to 5th gear. Once we were coming up to a stop sign, he put in the clutch, selected 5th, never released the clutch, hit the brake, and took it back out of 5th.
We have a fairly steep hill by my house, and my wife will try to take it in 5th... didn't work for her yesterday, but she'll try again today.
Torque, or a car with a good reactive idle speed control system, will allow one to inch forward in traffic without hitting the accellerator. To be fair to the driver OP was stuck with, I get stressed as a passenger, in traffic or not, with bad drivers, regardless of transmission. I agree with above that accellerating until the moment of required braking without ever coasting is very high on my list of stress-inducing driving.
All my vehicles are sticks, but when I got my truck I was shooting for an automatic. I don't mind a decent automatic and, in the recent "snob" thread, am mox nix one way or the other.
We have a fairly steep hill by my house, and my wife will try to take it in 5th... didn't work for her yesterday, but she'll try again today.
Torque, or a car with a good reactive idle speed control system, will allow one to inch forward in traffic without hitting the accellerator. To be fair to the driver OP was stuck with, I get stressed as a passenger, in traffic or not, with bad drivers, regardless of transmission. I agree with above that accellerating until the moment of required braking without ever coasting is very high on my list of stress-inducing driving.
All my vehicles are sticks, but when I got my truck I was shooting for an automatic. I don't mind a decent automatic and, in the recent "snob" thread, am mox nix one way or the other.
Yeah, Great things to be doing while driving. (and show your kids) No wonder some many people are lousy drivers.
Oh, as far as manuals transmissions go, once you get used to it you do it without even thinking about it. Same goes for the transmission on a motorcycle.
When i sit in automatic cars, I still shift manually... as manually as possible. I can make manual use out of L,2,D, and the overdrive-off button!
I just love the way you can get a nice lurch with a torquey engine when grabbing a gear on the fly.
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