Please help me decide....


....between the 5R55S auto or Tremec 5-spd for my soon-to-be-ordered Mustang GT Deluxe...

Background info:

I drove a 5-speed 1993 5.0 LX (bone stock except K&N and shifter) as a daily driver
for two years and loved it. My wife liked it too, but did not drive it.

We needed a truck when we built our house, so I gave up the LX for an F-150 Lightning
The Lightning had a great auto (when it wasn't being rebuilt, twice) and my wife could
drive it occasionally.

I replaced the Lightning with a new 2001 F-150, which also has a great auto transmission.
This transmission will "learn" how I drive...if I am easy-going shifts are soft and slow,
if I drive more aggressively the shifts become sharper and quicker. If accellerating in
a gear it tends to wait on the upshift until I let-up.

The quandary:

I hear and read that the 5R55S Mustang auto will be "smart" as well...can any forum
members who are now happy owners please verify this?

Could I choose gears (down-shift before urban corners etc.) with the selector,
without confusing the computer?

We are going to test-drive the 5R55S auto (in a new Mustang V-6 demo) on Monday...this
won't be like testing in the GT of course, and with my salesman in the back I will
have to behave anyway

I have always wanted the Tremec 5-speed, but may have to get the auto so my wife can
drive it once in a while (teaching her to drive a manual is OOTQ).

I don't want "convincing" to get the Tremec 5-speed, as that is my first choice...I just
need to decide if I can live with the 5R55S auto if I have to.

Thanks for your input!

 

Hi,
Go with the 5-speed! It sounds like that's your first choice, get what you really want and don't settle. In addition, it's a grand cheaper. I guess I fall into the camp that believes if you're gonna get a gt stang' ya gotta have 5-speed. Hope you get your car soon, good luck.

 

Thanks Ralph...plus with the 5-speed I can always smoke the tires

Any auto GT drivers have an opinion?

Can I smoke the tires with the auto?

 

I know the computer kicks down the throttle if you do a burnout with any tranny............So it doesn't matter
Standard
The auto will smoke em, but not as easy or as good

 

Thanks for the input, all of it helps B)

My wife and I went to take a pre-arranged test drive of a new V6 with
the 5R55S auto today. Our salesman just waved goodbye as we went around
the block the long way

The new automatic is very much better than I thought it would be...
clean shifts, even while driving the V6 "easy", and then.....

When we returned to our dealer, he had a new 2004 GT with a 5-speed
idling and ready to go for a test drive B) he's trying to sell it at discount...
Took way more than the long way around the block this time, even bought
our dealer some gas. Driving the manual brings back lots of fun


Edit:
Went for a second test drive of the new auto...it is not a "slushbox" at all...
You can also change gears when you want...with light throttle the shifts are
mild...with more throttle the shifts are firm. I like it and will order it


Thanks for the input, maybe others will benefit as well!

 

I can smoke the tires of my automatic FWD Grand Prix, not as well a RWD Mustang, but it can be done.

 

You guys obviously have not driven the 2005 Mustang GT with an Automatic. It will smoke the tires at least as well as the manual. As near as I can tell, the computer allowes the tires to spin more on the auto that it does on the manual.

Keep in mind that turning off the Tranction control system does NOT completely take the computer out of the throttle control system.

While I agree the stick is more fun to drive. All of the number I have seen ( including my own ) seem to indicate that there is little if any speed difference between the stick and the auto. As a matter of fact, I have out run several 2005 manuals with less experianced drivers. You have to be a true pro racer to out shift the 5 speed auto. It shifts exactly on 6K every time in a split second...

I test drive both and reluctantly admit that my 40 year old reflexes could not out shift ( i.e. Preform ) the auto.

You might want to drive an auto before you make your decsion....

 

I can smoke the tires of my automatic FWD Grand Prix, not as well a RWD Mustang, but it can be done.
[/b][/quote]

yah, just put it in reverse get it rolling backwards and floor it. Same way to do burnout in Ford Fungus, lol

 

I test drove both stick and automatic 06 GT's. I commute 50 miles per day, so I think I'll be happier with the automatic GT I bought. The automatic seems to pull just as hard , and the shifts are firm when needed.

 

I don't own one but why would you even suggest getting a auto over a manuel.

You pay extra money for a auto..the car has more drivtrain loss. you can't have fun ripping through the gears.

Unless you are crippled...then i see no reason to get the auto.

 

If the wife is gonna drive it...get the auto, because if she can't find them, she'll grind 'em :drive:

From everything, I've heard - the 5-spd. auto is quite responsive and can take some power add-on's. I read somewhere, the automatic is the same one used in the T-bird and LS, but the new electronic interface is 10x faster than before.

 

Why? It's called traffic. And there's all too much of it everywhere.

 

I had a 99 GT 5-speed that i drove 100% of the time ... its really not that hard to use left leg... i call that lazy if thats your excuse

 

yah, just put it in reverse get it rolling backwards and floor it. Same way to do burnout in Ford Fungus, lol
[/quote]
I wouldn't underestimate the Grand Prixs, especially the GTP's. They can easily smoke the tires without your reverse method. Mash the gas and wahlah spinning and no traction. To bad burnouts are dangerous in the weak 4speed autos they have :-(. I still have my Grand Prix.