Manual VS Automatic

**RapidoBandido** · 01-03-2006, 10:06 PM

Is it really worth it to swap my auto trans to a manual? I mean will it benefit me all that much? Of course a manual is more manly but in order to take full advantage of a manual you need to know how to "perfect shift" every time.

Automatics also have the shift programmers available which increase the performance what do you guys think?

**5.0THIS** · 01-03-2006, 10:44 PM

Get a manual if you enjoy driving one more. Unless you're at the track every weekend and you want that extra 5 hundreths that an auto offers

**RapidoBandido** · 01-03-2006, 11:38 PM

chip really better?

**Hende** · 01-04-2006, 04:48 AM

Thats really a matter of personal preference. An Auto with a high stall and gears will spank a 6spd at the quarter mile assuming both cars and drivers are equal. However driving a stick is just so much more fun on a daily basis for me!

**grandkodiak** · 01-05-2006, 06:15 PM

Manual and auto are day and night. the difference between a wrestling and a fencing match. Autos are for people who like driving fast cars... manuals are for people that actually have a passion for driving fast cars. it takes time, skill and concentration to drive a stick. cruising the the power band, rolling through gears, coasting down hills, downshifting and never touching your breaks, dropping the clutch for burnouts and hard take offs... its so exhilerating. i'd take a 4 banger with a 5 speed over a v8 auto any day... just because its jsut all that more fun to drive!

i dont mean to bash the autos out there... alot of people just never had the opportunity to learn to drive one, or got to frustrated while learning to really get into it. i learned on a stick, took an auto for the state road test to get my lisence because i was honstly afraid of failing because i wasnt comfortable in a stick. there are certain situations where i certainly wished i had an auto... stop signs at the top of hills, parallel parking on hills and stop and go traffic can be a pain in the ass, literally... but its all worth it in the end.

**Hende** · 01-05-2006, 07:13 PM

The fisrt paragraph........perfect!

**Red on Red WS6** · 01-06-2006, 07:53 PM

Put a converter and shift kit in your auto and you will love auto's

**Warbird** · 01-06-2006, 08:53 PM

Auto's are nice to have if you do a lot of city/stop-go driving. But manuals are more fun on those back country roads.

**RapidoBandido** · 01-12-2006, 10:13 PM

Well, manuals dyno higher, so assuming the drivers are equal, which one wins, the auto with a shift kit (stock) or a manual? I realize that the shift kit adds horsepower to the auto but which one really wins from the light? The auto will probably take off faster but until when does the manual take over, if at all?

**koolaid_kid** · 01-13-2006, 04:48 AM

Manuals dyno higher because there is more power loss through the automatic.
The shift kit does not add power; it makes the transmission shift more precisely (and perhaps at a different point).
The auto is easier to drive (especially to launch), and shifts at exactly the correct points.
The manual is more difficult to shift correctly because those decisions are left to the driver. The launch is a little more difficult because many (not all) drivers tend to launch too hard.
Given equal cars, equal drivers, the manual should win overall, due to the higher rear wheel horsepower (due to the loss in the auto, generally 10-15%).
But the auto is more consistent, because all the shifting is done by the computer, not the driver.
Overall, manuals are more fun to drive, autos are easier to drive.

**RapidoBandido** · 01-16-2006, 10:45 PM

But you can't just floor an auto because you end up burning out, with a manual you can release the clutch to your choosing, say around 3000(just a random #) Rpm and a auto you can't and why do the chip companies advertise "add 20 horsepower" with this chip and all that crap?

**SeVeReDiStOrTiOn** · 01-16-2006, 11:11 PM

Originally Posted by RapidoBandido

But you can't just floor an auto because you end up burning out, with a manual you can release the clutch to your choosing, say around 3000(just a random #) Rpm and a auto you can't and why do the chip companies advertise "add 20 horsepower" with this chip and all that crap?

Depending on the stall speed...you brake torque an auto. Stock stall you can brake it to around 1500rpms and then ease into the throttle and floor it. If you dump the clutch at 3000rpms you will do a burn out...but I see what you're saying.

As far as the chip or programmer...pretty much just adds timing ,that's why you have to use 91+ octane to prevent detonation. LS1's are flash memory based....so they don't use chips. Pretty sure LT1's are also...but don't quote me on that

**Red on Red WS6** · 01-17-2006, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by SeVeReDiStOrTiOn

Depending on the stall speed...you brake torque an auto. Stock stall you can brake it to around 1500rpms and then ease into the throttle and floor it. If you dump the clutch at 3000rpms you will do a burn out...but I see what you're saying.

As far as the chip or programmer...pretty much just adds timing ,that's why you have to use 91+ octane to prevent detonation. LS1's are flash memory based....so they don't use chips. Pretty sure LT1's are also...but don't quote me on that

94+ LT1's use flash memory

**koolaid_kid** · 01-17-2006, 02:49 AM

Chip companies are out to make money. Period.
Claims of more horsepower = more potential revenue.
Perhaps there is some perfect engine out there that their product can produce this 20+ hp increase. But notice, the ad will say "up to" xx horsepower. 1 hp is on its way to 20 hp.
If you think about it, the only parameters that they can toy with are ignition timing and fuel delivery.
I have a HPP programmer, which allows me to install their "performance tune". I saw no significant difference with the tune installed. It was quite useful, on the other hand, for changing shift points and shift firmness.