Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissions?

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Why Do You Love Manual Transmissions?

Performance
0
No votes
Better Fuel Economy/Consumption
2
11%
More Control Over Your Car
5
26%
Frugality
1
5%
Ease of Maintenance
0
No votes
Driving Excitement/Pleasure
7
37%
Tactile Feedback
2
11%
Durability
1
5%
All of the Above
1
5%
 
Total votes: 19

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Shadow
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by Shadow »

tankinbeans wrote:
I tried short-shifting, but I'm never sure what the definition is. I've seen it where you shift short of 2,000 rpm, but that doesn't give you enough torques in the next gear for any meaningful acceleration; 2,250 rpm seems to be a nice balance. I've tried starting in second gear just to shunt the amount of unnecessary torque going to the wheels in first, but this feels unnatural. I've also tried keeping the engine spinning 2,500 rpm because I've read around that higher rpm is better for smaller engines, but the racket got to be a bit much. I've avoided 6th gear if I'm travelling below 55 mph, and I've used 6th gear as soon as 40 mph, just to see if there's a gain/loss. I've tried slow and steady acceleration as well as balls out, 'get up to speed, then cruise,' acceleration.

When people say short-shift, what exactly is meant?
It all depends upon the car. If the engine makes a lot of torque low in the powerband, then shifting at low RPM is rarely ever an issue. If you try driving like that in, say, a Honda S2000, then it would be a miserable driving experience. That's an engine that loves to be wound out and doesn't make very much torque down low. To appreciate that engine, you really have to rev it up high.

But for me, I can't really be bothered with shifting for fuel economy. I can do it once in a while, but I enjoy hearing and feeling the engine wind out along with the sound of the turbo boosting. So no matter what, I eventually find myself burning excess gas just for the fun of it. I just can't help it :D
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by Progressive Shifter »

Really fascinating sentiments, guys!

Also, I couldn't agree with you all any better! It wasn't but last night where I was reading a review done by Car and Driver Magazine about the 2012 Kia Soul+ 2.0 6MT, and the figures were certainly there. The proof is in the pudding; cars like this are better with manuals, as are all cars in general. Additionally, I also observed how manufacturers would attempt to collapse the distinction about automatics and fuel efficiency by using all these contradicting pieces of tech to enhance the automatic transmission's fuel efficiency. Good case in point: Ford's PowerShift transmission, which is a part of some ridiculous SFE package that enables Ford to claim 40 MPG on the highway. It's with that in mind that I would have to call jive on that, for I hear that there were many downsides to driving with such a cumbersome piece of engineering, like jerky starts, and an overall disenchanting driving experience.

Finally, I have updated the poll, taking what you all have said about it in mind; feel free to go for four!
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by theholycow »

With the new options I was able to select exactly 4 that fit me most appropriately...
- Fuel economy (as discussed)
- Control (mostly in the form of being able to use all my throttle without having an unwanted downshift)
- Driving excitement/pleasure (pleasure mostly; I find automatics can be quite exciting when you open it up and the thing quickly slams into 2nd and jumps forward at warp speed)
- and of course tactile feedback :D

Performance, frugality, and ease of maintenance are either a draw or modern slushboxes are better in real-world public road use.
- US-engineered ones that downshift at the drop of a hat, at least, get you there as fast or faster in real world conditions...I have no comment on the Honda and Toyota ones that reports on this forum say refuse to downshift.
- Frugality is a draw; although list price is still usually cheaper, availability is a big problem and that lack of supply means IRL prices are closer than they used to be.
- Ease of maintenance...it's a wash. Slushboxes need fluid replacement therapy more often than row-your-own, but on most it's easier to do because of the dipstick tube. Pumping oil in from underneath is annoying. Then again, slushboxes have a filter that needs occasional replacing. I'm counting clutch replacement as a failure, not maintenance; if you don't then that tips the scales pretty heavily in favor of slushboxes.
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by tankinbeans »

FWIW, my last Honda, a 2.4 Accord, downshifted just fine. Go to half throttle to drop one gear and full throttle for two gears. I think this is more people afraid to use the whole rev-range.
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by theholycow »

tankinbeans wrote:I think this is more people afraid to use the whole rev-range.
...or the whole accelerator pedal range.

Thank you for a report that makes sense to me. I had a hard time believing they could be that bad.
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by tankinbeans »

theholycow wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:I think this is more people afraid to use the whole rev-range.
...or the whole accelerator pedal range.

Thank you for a report that makes sense to me. I had a hard time believing they could be that bad.
It's also a matter of reading the manual. It says right in there how to do a downshift.
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DKaz
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by DKaz »

I just picked driving pleasure. It's been a long long long time since I've owned an automatic so I don't know in the end how much gas I'm saving or how much less I'm paying on maintenance or how much faster my car is, I just know that I love driving manual and would never give that up.

I do rent automatics though and I know I tend to go WOT on them. My excuse is that they're so boring to drive, I just want to get to my destination as quick as possible and since it's a rental with gas included (either 35 cents a minute up to $13.99 an hour through Car2Go or $3 an hour plus 25 cents a km through a car co-op), I don't tend to care how much gas I use lol. With manual, I tend to drive like a granny with 2,000-2,500 RPM upshifts.
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Re: Inquiry/Poll Thread: Why do you love manual transmissio

Post by bk7794 »

DKaz wrote:I just picked driving pleasure. It's been a long long long time since I've owned an automatic so I don't know in the end how much gas I'm saving or how much less I'm paying on maintenance or how much faster my car is, I just know that I love driving manual and would never give that up.

I do rent automatics though and I know I tend to go WOT on them. My excuse is that they're so boring to drive, I just want to get to my destination as quick as possible and since it's a rental with gas included (either 35 cents a minute up to $13.99 an hour through Car2Go or $3 an hour plus 25 cents a km through a car co-op), I don't tend to care how much gas I use lol. With manual, I tend to drive like a granny with 2,000-2,500 RPM upshifts.
I do the same thing. I tend to beat on autos, especially because of them being boring.
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