Another potential "advantage" of knowing how to drive a stick shift?
02-01-13, 12:46 AM
#16
That's one thing I love about my Lexus and my truck, most idiot thieves are foiled by them having 3 pedals. Really a stick shift in traffic is non-issue for me as long as the clutch pressure is reasonable.
I had a 1998 Z28 Camaro rag top, LS1 V8, lots of engine mods, aftermarket clutch, that thing was like doing a leg press at the gym. It wasn't so bad that it was miserable to drive, but damn it got annoying if you got stuck in stop-go traffic on the freeway for more than 5 minutes or so. Plus that clutch had a fair bit "chatter" if you didn't release it just the right way, overall it was a PITA in heavy traffic. I much preferred the 1999 Camaro I had, once again LS1 v8 but with the automatic, with a higher stall torque converter. That thing was just as fast and a lot easier to drive.
I had a 1998 Z28 Camaro rag top, LS1 V8, lots of engine mods, aftermarket clutch, that thing was like doing a leg press at the gym. It wasn't so bad that it was miserable to drive, but damn it got annoying if you got stuck in stop-go traffic on the freeway for more than 5 minutes or so. Plus that clutch had a fair bit "chatter" if you didn't release it just the right way, overall it was a PITA in heavy traffic. I much preferred the 1999 Camaro I had, once again LS1 v8 but with the automatic, with a higher stall torque converter. That thing was just as fast and a lot easier to drive.
02-02-13, 07:27 AM
#17
Out of Warranty
Once upon a time a manual transmission offered superior performance and greater economy, but particularly in the past few years, automatics have gotten a lot smarter. They actually approach the efficiency of a manual now, both in terms of fuel economy and gear selection. This has allowed the old three-speed auto to be replaced by five, six, seven, or even eight-speed auto transmissions that select the proper gear without a great deal of "hunting" for the proper ratio for the speed and throttle position. Computers have revolutionized the process of getting horsepower to pavement in a wide variety of conditions.
Throw your mind back not too many years and visualize the old shift quadrants that read PRND21, indicating a manual selection was available IF you could bump the shift lever only one increment at a time. But shifts were so sloppy that even this level of manual control was usually a good deal slower than letting the slush-box find its own cogs. In the past twenty years or so, automatics have gotten so good that most can pull off smooth shifts and some are not easily confused by a sudden application of right foot at inopportune speeds. Some, not all . . .
I've usually had manual transmissions in my "fun" cars, but opted for automatics for big haulers and DD's for specific reasons. As others have said, following a bumper to work is considerably eased by an automatic. No matter how you slice it, commuting can't be considered "sporty" driving - so why bother? You're not going to perfect your heel-and-toe technique in the tollbooth line, nor are you going to downshift for traffic lights. Fun is fun only under the right conditions, and those don't seem to be found often when your only entertainment is a decreasing-radius off-ramp.
A manual transmission can be a theft deterrent, but I've had to come to the rescue of my "weekend" cars more than once when some valet or car wash attendant was attempting to learn to drive a stick with my car as the training tool. Everyone seems to view driving a manual transmission as some mythical rite of manhood today - better they buy their own 5-speed beater and learn at their own expense than reduce my transmission to steel chips. That probably explains why I won't be buying something with a dual-clutch arrangement anytime soon. One clutch seems to mystify most of the teenaged mouth-breathers down at the parking garage.
Throw your mind back not too many years and visualize the old shift quadrants that read PRND21, indicating a manual selection was available IF you could bump the shift lever only one increment at a time. But shifts were so sloppy that even this level of manual control was usually a good deal slower than letting the slush-box find its own cogs. In the past twenty years or so, automatics have gotten so good that most can pull off smooth shifts and some are not easily confused by a sudden application of right foot at inopportune speeds. Some, not all . . .
I've usually had manual transmissions in my "fun" cars, but opted for automatics for big haulers and DD's for specific reasons. As others have said, following a bumper to work is considerably eased by an automatic. No matter how you slice it, commuting can't be considered "sporty" driving - so why bother? You're not going to perfect your heel-and-toe technique in the tollbooth line, nor are you going to downshift for traffic lights. Fun is fun only under the right conditions, and those don't seem to be found often when your only entertainment is a decreasing-radius off-ramp.
A manual transmission can be a theft deterrent, but I've had to come to the rescue of my "weekend" cars more than once when some valet or car wash attendant was attempting to learn to drive a stick with my car as the training tool. Everyone seems to view driving a manual transmission as some mythical rite of manhood today - better they buy their own 5-speed beater and learn at their own expense than reduce my transmission to steel chips. That probably explains why I won't be buying something with a dual-clutch arrangement anytime soon. One clutch seems to mystify most of the teenaged mouth-breathers down at the parking garage.
Last edited by Lil4X; 02-02-13 at 07:36 AM.
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