jgsmuzzy

Here we have to pass a test in a manual. as for the emergency brake trick......we call it the handbrake, if you try to start on a hill without using it, you fail your driving test, no cruising for you!.
must say though, after driving my lhd auto mustang, my wife has a rhd auto neon, I had to drive a rhd manual, I had almost forgotten how to do it!

jvmv

I've driven both automatics and manuals. I agree that if your into road handling than a stick is the way to go. I personally like the idea of keeping my foot to the floor and accelerating as fast as possible. I think that when you get into these high powered engines if you want to drag race somebody off the line you have to be pretty darn good with a stick. My brother had a 87 Grand National. Let me tell you that was one impressive machine with an automatic. It would chirp the tires going into second gear.

Dan

...while at the same time understanding that it can be frustrating at the beginning. I know some people wouldn't have went the manual route if they make the decision after their first few times out.

The new mustang will be much more friendly for its manual drivers as there will be a hydraulically assisted clutch (making it lighter) and the shifter placement is supposed to be perfect.

If you love to drive and aren't in TONS of traffic, I'd say go manual. You can learn/get used to it later. Even I don't care about the traffic. There is no situation that would make me get an auto.

The problem is many people don't think this through enough, get an auto and all of a sudden realized how much fun manual is to drive.

IMO, it is worse to pick auto and change your mind (you're stuck with it) than to choose manual and complain occassionally about traffic.

os121

Dan, I agree with your advice as it is exactly what happened to me. In my last car, I had a fancy automatic that could be manually shifted by slapping the stick. I did not care for it at all, and normally stayed in automatic mode. After driving that car for 3+ years I longed to get back into a stick shift with a real clutch (there is no substitute). Although I bet that the new Mustang will be really nice with the automatic, I can't wait to drive it with the 5 speed manual.

kevinb120

I am waiting one them to roll so I can decide between the two. Ive owned over 100 gears over time, this may have enough butt in it to be enjoyable.

ManEHawke

...while at the same time understanding that it can be frustrating at the beginning. I know some people wouldn't have went the manual route if they make the decision after their first few times out.

The new mustang will be much more friendly for its manual drivers as there will be a hydraulically assisted clutch (making it lighter) and the shifter placement is supposed to be perfect.

If you love to drive and aren't in TONS of traffic, I'd say go manual. You can learn/get used to it later. Even I don't care about the traffic. There is no situation that would make me get an auto.

The problem is many people don't think this through enough, get an auto and all of a sudden realized how much fun manual is to drive.

IMO, it is worse to pick auto and change your mind (you're stuck with it) than to choose manual and complain occassionally about traffic. [/b][/quote]
Well said dan, I feel the same way. There is one exeption to a daily driver manual.
On my job my boss rented a Freightleiner FL-50, and the clutch was heavier than anything. It was literally a workout. So after driving it for about 4 hours a day, I was glad normal cars have a LIGHT feel. This thing was at least 5-10 pounds of effort. I like heavy clutches but not that heavy lol. It's funny that now he just got an auto one, and i miss the manual one. :bang:

friedmaster

The Reason Why An Automatic has less RWHP then a Stick (I think)

With Manual Cars the rotating crankshaft feeds into the clutch, then to the transmission.. When the clutch is fully pressed, it transfers no rotation from the engine to the transmission. When the clutch is not pressed, it transfers all the power to the transmission, and to the wheels, and if the wheels cannot move, the rotation of the engine is stopped. Pressing the clutch for shifting allows the gear from the engine to rotate at the same speed as the gear to the wheels, so that they will mesh.

An automatic is similar however a computer controls the shift times, and it uses something called a Torque convertor. A torque convertor is filled with fluid, and the fluid is spun in one direction, and that is picked up by the tranny side of the torque convertor, and spun.


What a torque convertor looks like.

Because there is no physical connection, when there is a fluctuation in the speed of either the engine crankshaft or the connection from the torque convertor to the tranny, it allows "slippage" which is why you can be stopped at a red light, and the engine doesnt stall. So when shifting the input from the torque convertor can be slowed down to mesh with a higher gear.

SMGs are basically automatic transmissions, however you can select when to shift, the performance will be the just about the same as an automatic unless you really push it to the redline, however you will still have the power loss.

The lack of physical connectionis what causes the auto to lose power, and this is why they dyno lower, because the dyno puts stress on the wheels.

Might be a little confusing.

jungleman

an automatic will give you more torque at the rear wheels than a stick will.
Just check your owners manual for the towing specs. That what the torque converter does.

Eric B

Over here in Europe everybody learns to drive a stick from the get go in driving school. Over 90% of all cars are stick. I guess it's all a matter of culture. Americans are used to driving automatics and pass that on to every new generation, over here it's the exact opposite. The funny thing is that over 98% of all cars here are small and slow 4 bangers, so it doesn't really make sense. In the US European cars are often considered premium, but the truth is BMW, Mercedes and Volvo are premium vehicles over here as well, and very expensive too. The vast majority of Europeans drive around in small Fords, Opels, VW's, Renaults, Peugeots and a variety of Japanese and Korean brands. Imagine most of them poking their 1.4 and 1.6 4 banger stick shifts around day in day out. Doesn't make sense. And the funny thing is ask any Joe Average on the street why he drives a stick shift and 90% will say they never thought about it, they just do it because that's what they're used too.

Must_stang

I think that most of those cars get better gas mileage with sticks. And when you pay 3 times what the US pays for gas, every little bit helps.

Boomer

SMGs are not an automatic.
Sequential MANUAL Gearing

SMGs are actually full blown manual transmissions with computerized clutch etc. No Torque Converter.

There are 'tiptronic' 'clickshift' 'whatever givin company calls it this week'
manual selection auto trannies that work the same...but are actually automatic transmissions with torque converters and all...which allow you to select gears manually.

They work the same way.
With paddles on the side of the stearing wheel, or having the 'gear shift' into tiptronic mode.

SMGs have the same performance as a manual with the same transmission, the only thing thats different is the computer is changing the gear for you, instead of you manually. So no peformance is lost that way.
Infact, while they may seem slower, its actually faster than most regular drivers, and MUCH MUCH quicker. I think when ford tested the SMG from the Aston, someone quoted as saying the SMG car (even with its heavier computer) bested the manual.
Computer won't miss a shift, and can change gears in some sick under a half a second number.

Tiptronic, looses the same ammount of power that an auto does....as thats what it is underneath, an auto transmission with manually controlled shifts.

Must_stang

Does the SMG "double clutch" on the downshifts? :P

Avalanche

Haven't owned a Mustang since 95, a manual. The manual was fun till I got transfered to FT. Hood. The stop and go traffic stinked. I traded it for a 95 Z28 convertible, with an auto tranny. I'll never go back to a manual. The gas mileage thing might be better with the manual, unless your racing people of the line. I ordered mine 2 weeks ago, with an auto on D plan. I'll use my other hand to bye-bye, instead of slapping gears.

friedmaster

well, at least I had some of it right. Just thought that SMG and Triptronic were the same thing.

kevinb120

Here we have to pass a test in a manual. as for the emergency brake trick......we call it the handbrake, if you try to start on a hill without using it, you fail your driving test, no cruising for you!.
must say though, after driving my lhd auto mustang, my wife has a rhd auto neon, I had to drive a rhd manual, I had almost forgotten how to do it! [/b][/quote]
why do you have to start on a hill with a handbrake?




Learn to opperate the vehicle at very low rpms by practicing in a parking lot using NO gas pedal to get to 3rd gear. Creeping around like that teaches you clutch modulation and how slow the car can smoothly move in gear. It makes you much more confident in parking lots and at lights. YOU drive the car. If your worried about stalling, go in a lot and stall it out 20 times, you're not going to hurt anything.

Drive around a lot, pull in and out of parking spaces(yes reverse too) without ever touching the gas pedal. It will take the gas pedal out of it and put you more in tune with how the clutch functions. Train your left leg

Stadifer

I don't suppose the suits at Ford decided that the 5-Speed Auto would employ the "clickshift" concept did they?

I love the idea of the SMG, removing the clutch and just having to shift makes life a lot easier and in this case I would most certainly opt for the SMG. I am however guessing the SMG is reserved for the top of the line auto's at this time?

I'm far from a gearhead, hence why I don't post a whole lot

Boomer

No worries...they are the same but different...

Look the same, somewhat work the same....but underneath are different.
and no, unfortunately the Mustang Auto's do not have the 'selectshift'.

The computer in the SMG is made to be smart.
It won't let you do something stupid like gear down into a gear that would trash your tranny. And if you do gear down...it blips the throttle for you, to match the RPMs.

When I read about it years ago, I remember thinking, that would be SO awsome! I'd get it!
But alas it was either too expensive/heavy, or is saved for future projects.

Cool stuff though

FinlayZJ

Not all care make enough power to pull themselves at that low RPM. My first car, a beater honda, wouldn't pull itself at idle. No torque

kevinb120

Not all care make enough power to pull themselves at that low RPM. My first car, a beater honda, wouldn't pull itself at idle. No torque [/b][/quote]
heh

I still have not driven a car yet that couldn't

distortion

Towing specs are higher because of strength. Manual trans are rated lower due to clutch.