I've got an Auto and I love it. Although I do admit driving a stick would be alot more fun.

 

I love driving a stick. Ive owned many stick Stangs since 1978. They are lots of fun.
I chose an auto for this Stang and it is an awsome auto tranny.
It cant take 500 HP for long without some beefing up but it is a blast to race this auto at the dragstrip!

 

I was in the same boat and went with an auto because mine is a daily driver and I'm in stop & go every day. I was a little disappointed at first -- it was fast but didn't exactly blow me away -- but I added a cold air intake and an 89 octane SCT tune and now it's at least as fast as a stock manual, if not a little faster (I can chirp the tires into second & third gear under WOT -- no kidding).
Plus, it's nice to have a free hand for coffee, phone, maps, kids, whatever. I used to only drive sticks but now I'd never go back.

Do what you want to, though -- you're getting an awesome car no matter what.

 

Hey just get what YOU like and make no excuses because YOU make the payments.. Transmissions don't make the Mustang, with all this talk on manuals are "real" Mustangs or whatever. What a shallow statement to make anyway. Bump all of the reasons why you got an auto. Sounds like too many excuses. Not one person yet has said "I got an auto because; I-don't-feel-like-shifting-a-d***-thing!!" Some days I feel like that, but I'm cool with my choice... Ah yeah, the gift of choice.. If you think Coke taste better than Pepsi, then by all means knock yourself out. It's still Cola. And for you cats that think autos are for wimps, girls or whatever you said, some of the baddest musclecars in history were autos.. Just don't roll up on Don W. talking that smack.. That man (and his wife, for that matter) will be at the end of the track or at the next stoplight to give you back your doors and headlights. Talk about grille delete...

 

Amen brother. A few years ago I used to drag race an 8 second 1/4 mile auto Mustang. 600cid, methanol fueled, 4 gallons per mile, naturally aspirated, AUTO. I guarantee that I would have lost considerable time in the 1/4 mile if it would have been a manual. Shifting takes time, no matter how good you are at it.

 

OK I am a happy PUSS but I can play with GFs leg and drive too. This car is not a sports car! It is a fun car!!

 

Now that is an idea too...but if I'm driving and playing with my GF's leg, I bet my wife gets mad...

 

Well I have driven both.

Manual > Auto for road racing, and the downshifting for sure

Auto> Manual for drag racing. I want to see any of you manual guys cut consistent 1.50-1.52 60' times. Very few of you can. But if you have the power, most anyone can with an auto. If you are into racing, and want to win, its the auto all the way. 3500 stall with a trans brake will have you in the 1.4X 60's---manual guys post up your 60' times--you got nothing.

 

A stick shift will perform better than an automatic for two reasons:
1) It's lighter.
2) It uses a friction based clutch. In an automatic, you lose a little power to the hydraulic coupling in the torque converter. This is why manual transmissions generally give you slightly better mileage than an automatic.

That said, the real reason anyone gets a stickshift doesn't have anything to do with performance or efficiency. It's just to involve the driver a bit more in the operation of the car. (Also, so your wife doesn't drive your car )

For me, personally, I don't even feel like I'm driving when I'm in an automatic, and I'm not really trying to push the car to its limits. I feel more like I'm pointing the car.

You are right though, driving a stickshift in stop & go traffic does kinda suck. But then again, stop & go traffic sucks no matter what you're driving.

My opinion? You live in the city, with sucktastic traffic. If you get a new Mustang, you're going to worry about idiots hitting you, door dings in parking lots, in addition to not being able to enjoying driving.

Spend $4000, get a used Focus with a slushbox, let the city beat the crap out of it. Then get a stickshift Mustang for the weekends when you can get out of the city and actually enjoy driving.

 

Hmmmm... I bought my Mustang to drive every day, and to flog at the track on weekends. I didn't buy it to be a garage queen.

 

LMAO... are you trying to pick a fight?

 

LOL

.. says the guy with the 6 point roll cage!

I'm not saying that's not cool - I'm saying you might have a slightly skewed idea of what you think is streetable on a daily basis

 

i use to cut 1.57 60ft when i was running the nitrous,and my best so far with a busted tranny with the blower is 1.59 on the 17 inch ET streets bias ply.i could cut 1.4 60ft times with 15 inch ET drags no problem but that is when parts break all the time.you are definetly in favor with the auto at the heavy weight of these cars are at.and plus it is very hard to hook up with drag radials with a stick at high rpm's well at least as hard as i like to leave (6800 rpm)i love my 5 speed manual but after all the problems i have had and tranny's replaced 3 i wish i bought an auto.

 

Sorry but if I has 4 grand sitting around do you really think I would blow it on a used up focus? No but rather it would go to that SC I want and cant afford. I guess it's easy for some people to just throw cash around like it grows on trees......

 

Hah! Nice ta meetcha Mike, I'm from Portland too How do you like your FRPP handling pack?

If it was me, I'd definately get a beater car before I seriously modded the Mustang. I still need a car while the Mustang's being worked on/I've screwed it up.

But before you think I throw money around, my car's still stock. I understand the pain of not having enough cash for a supercharger - I recently had to pick between a blower and an engagement ring

 

I haveb een married 8 years I could have helped out with that choice LOL. Nice to meetcha the handling pack is a bit stiff on our wonderfull roads but that can be fixed with d-specs, I do like the ride height, and will be adding to my suspension shortly, 3.73's arrived today

 

I don't "think" it's streetable... I know it's streetable. It's got 14,000 miles in the last year alone.

And FWIW, without the door bars in, you don't even know the rest of the cage is back there.

 

Frankly, I love driving stick shifts (and own three) but haven't been real happy with the manual in this Mustang. I find the drive train (clutch and rear end) rather clunky - especially in slower, stop and go driving.

Even though I've been driving sticks for 40 years, this car makes me feel like I'm not shifting well. I seem to have to concentrate to shift decently. My '87 5.0 was tighter - and I could shift it smoother.

Maybe mine just isn't as tight as some others...in past threads, I know that not everyone feels this way.

When I'm on the freeway, the manual is fine...love that downshift to 4th (or 3rd) when those GTA growl.

But when on surface streets, I find myself wishing I had an auto.

 

buy the stick. you wont be sorry. i have driven sticks all my life and i can still drive and drink soda or whatever.... once you get used to it its fine...

im 5'10" and it drives fine. this is one of the easiest sticks to drive ever.
i would not buy any type auto for a performance car. they are easy, yes, and comfortable, yes, but what about when you want to slam through the gears? or control your RPM?

an auto is useless for rpm control....

cant dump the clutch and burn out in an auto like you can with a stick.

the autos are nice but in my opinion thats all they will ever be, nice.
if you want to really have fun and see what you can do with the car, but still be able to drive it daily (i do) then get the stick. trust me, its easy and you will love it.

once you get used to it, you wont go back.

 

Hey Nate,
Want to race? Burnouts are easy. Ever hear of power braking? P.S. I am also 5"10". Shaker against shaker if you know what I mean.
Scott