[OFFICIAL] Manual v. Automatic Thread

[LenZToy]

Originally Posted by shumby

wow 7 pages and we all kept it clean sort of. For me I like the ^MT and 7AT but the 7AT won out as the wife drives it from to time. She drives a stick infact it was all she drove until 4 years ago. But she said a luxuary sport car (G37S) should be AT so that6 is what we got. She controls the fun hole so she wins.

Great observation! Kinda tired of keeping up with this subject...You get what you like. Doesn't mean anything about you but personal preference IMO.

[tru_Asiatik]

my celica was a paddle shift auto......it was fun but i got bored

i told myself my next car is going to be mt for sure
and thats what i got
6MT-----i love it!!

[3SeventyZ]

Theres no other way to go but 6MT.

[Forumite]

I always get a kick out of the die hard M/T guys acting like it's a totally different car. I've had sports cars in both A/T and M/T and neither were that different unless I put them on a track.

How many people here are putting theirs on a track regularly? I'm gunna say less than 5%.

[msl82]

Originally Posted by Forumite

I always get a kick out of the die hard M/T guys acting like it's a totally different car. I've had sports cars in both A/T and M/T and neither were that different unless I put them on a track.

How many people here are putting theirs on a track regularly? I'm gunna say less than 5%.

It is totally differenct car in regards to car's driving experience, control of the car, and once again, driving the car in any distance and purpose. Even driving the car for less than one mile, it is totally different from Manual vs Automotic. You dont have to take your car to the track to feel the difference.

Having drove one of my friend's automotic/paddle shift 370z only further confirmed my belief that it was so much boring, no excitement due to less control of the car. It was just smash the gas and let the car go, like my grandma's Buick..

And when I drove my Z, it was much more fun and exciting, shifting and downshifting using SynroRev having full control of the car, it just felt right! The way sports car should feel like...

The only reason I understood my friend's purchase of automatic 370z is that, that particular individual was a she......

[Forumite]

Originally Posted by msl82

It is totally differenct car in regards to car's driving experience, control of the car, and once again, driving the car in any distance and purpose. Even driving the car for less than one mile, it is totally different from Manual vs Automotic. You dont have to take your car to the track to feel the difference.

Having drove one of my friend's automotic/paddle shift 370z only further confirmed my belief that it was so much boring, no excitement due to less control of the car. It was just smash the gas and let the car go, like my grandma's Buick..

And when I drove my Z, it was much more fun and exciting, shifting and downshifting using SynroRev having full control of the car, it just felt right! The way sports car should feel like...

The only reason I understood my friend purchase of automatic 370z is that, that particular individual was a she......

Some people have different views on performance. As long as the power is there I really dont care if it comes from cramping my shins or with my elbow on the door.

I drove both, the power was still there with the A/T and it felt worlds smoother than the M/T. I like my sports cars to be smooth, I like my muscle cars to be jerky.

[msl82]

Originally Posted by Forumite

I drove both, the power was still there with the A/T and it felt worlds smoother than the M/T. I like my sports cars to be smooth, I like my muscle cars to be jerky.

I don't know about you but my 370z is butter smooth just like an automatic. But then again, I think that totally depends on the individual's competency to drive manual.

[MarcusMIA]

Originally Posted by msl82

But then again, I think that totally depends on the individual's competency to drive manual.

Oh no he didn't...

[Musashi]

1 thought I have and I'm not bashing anyone, because I don't give a damn if you drive auto or manual. It's what ever you prefer and are use to.

Obviously it takes more skill to drive the manual, but not much more since the synchro rev matching makes it a good amount easier for people to live with as a daily. The clutch in the Z is so soft its unbelievable. Whatever.... Threads like this can go on forever. Im out...

[jayhawk]

If you get an auto tranny, how will you hold your head high at the gatherings of the true sports car fans? The manual on the 370Z, with the syncro, is the talk of the sport car world.


If you get an auto, you might as well get an infiniti G37 coupe with 4 seats! (the horror!)

just my 2 cents worth....

The Z is a "pure" sports car. Don't mess with that!


--jayhawk
Original owner, 1973 Datsun 240Z
(and second owner of a 1993 300ZX - both are in my garage right now. and both with manual transmissions.)

[Forumite]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

If you get an auto tranny, how will you hold your head high at the gatherings of the true sports car fans? The manual on the 370Z, with the syncro, is the talk of the sport car world.


If you get an auto, you might as well get an infiniti G37 coupe with 4 seats! (the horror!)

just my 2 cents worth....

The Z is a "pure" sports car. Don't mess with that!


--jayhawk
Original owner, 1973 Datsun 240Z
(and second owner of a 1993 300ZX - both are in my garage right now. and both with manual transmissions.)

LOL since when does the tranny make a car a sports car?

[wstar]

I'm a good manual driver, and I went with Auto on my 370Z. It's been great. I still flip back and forth all the time (my older Trans-Am is a 6 speed, and I still drive it too (mostly to pick up missing tools or parts while the Z is up on jack stands getting some work done)). Sure with the 6 speed I have more direct control, but the Z's auto is really well done. It's really nice if you're busy, on the phone, stuck in crawling traffic, etc, to just be able to put the car in D and not worry about it.

As for any real driving (high-speed cornering, etc) in the power-band of the engine, the auto is a pretty fast shifter, and makes smoother engagements than I ever could in a manual. One less thing for my brain to focus on means I can spend more time watching my speed, my line, the curb, other drivers, etc.

[CBRich]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

If you get an auto tranny, how will you hold your head high at the gatherings of the true sports car fans? The manual on the 370Z, with the syncro, is the talk of the sport car world.

And if you buy the sport and use SRM how can you hold your head high knowing you should have learned heel-toe already?

[jgabriel66]

the guy who started the thread answered his own question when he started the thread.

What I mean by that is if you have to talk yourself into an MT, you'll and up with the auto.

There are exceptions like a few posted on this thread, but if you enjoy driving stick, especially on a sports car, you'll do it in traffic, on hills, in bad weather, whatever.

I drove manual transmissions for 15 years, then got marred, turned 35 and got a Lexus Gs 300. Great car with a lot of goodies. I wanted to shoot myself.

I traded it in 1 year later for a mini cooper S.mt Didn't have half the bells and whistles of the Lexus but I couldn't wait to drive it every day.

That's when I fully realized I was a MT guy.

If you have to convince yourself, get an auto because you'll probably regret getting a manual in the long run.

To enjoy driving a manual is not just an extension of the car, it's an extension of ones personality. Like many of you, I get bored driving an automatic. It turns a drive into a chore. My 6MT Z makes going to the dry cleaners a fun driving experience.

[Crash]

Well, although I'll never buy an auto, I do disagree with that statement. What is a Ferrari F430 or Lamborghini LP-670? Not a "pure" sports car? They don't have manuals, and yet they're pretty damn fast and sporty to me.

Paddle shifters are a pretty good setup (if the line pressure is raised) for track use and therefore I don't see automatics as a non-sports car.

Also, there are those that either don't like to drive manuals for one reason or another (my friend has a blown-out knee, for example) and would still like to drive a sporty car. And then of course there are those that don't know how to drive a manual. I don't see anything wrong with getting an auto and I don't look down on those that have autos. A car enthusiast is a car enthusiast.