Hot take of the day

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
10/03/2018 at 20:28 • Filed to: None

I’m mostly a manual transmission die-hard, but I will admit that automatics have gotten to the point where I could probably live with one now that power and efficiency are equal to or better than manuals. However, the best transmission of all is....

No transmission at all.

DISCUSSION (17)

way2blu does a rev update > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 20:40

I’ll agree conditionally:

Kinja'd!!!

1-speed internal combustion engines are peak car.

404 - User No Longer Available > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 20:41

Volt has a transaxle, no?

For me it never was about the efficiency or anything on a manual, but driving engagement. Having the clutch pedal is an extra control to me.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 20:43

I love a manual. But my next daily driver car will most likely be automatic. Why? Because I want a diesel wagon 3 series and they never sold a manual one in the US. I love my 328, I don’t think I can go back to a FWD economy car as a daily, but a wagon would suit my life better, and a diesel would be cheaper to run, as I drive st least 30 miles a day.

I could get a diesel Golfsport wagon but I don’t WANT one.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > 404 - User No Longer Available
10/03/2018 at 20:43

+1 from me. I love the engagement and feeling of being a PART of the car when driving a transmission. I don’t care that I drive a 2009 Accent that is slow as molasses. Even if I am commuting the work, I enjoy the mechanical feel of shifting and being a part of that experience, no matter what car I am driving.
:)

The Dummy Gummy > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/03/2018 at 20:44

How’s the reliability on the 3's diesels? Are they punching well above their epa’s like the vw’s?

nj959 > 404 - User No Longer Available
10/03/2018 at 20:46

I think the first gen was driven exclusively by the electric motors, with the engine just acting as a generator. The new one is more of a plug in hybrid though.

Alternatively , I could be totally wrong about all of that.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > 404 - User No Longer Available
10/03/2018 at 20:46

Yeah, it’s got something in there that occasionally couples the gasoline motor to the wheels in limited circumstances, but I wouldn’t call it a transmission in the normal sense since it really isn’t using various ratios to make up for the limited torque spread of an internal combustion engine.

I daily a manual in my Mazda5 and I do enjoy it immensely, but there was something intangible about driving the Volt whereby the powertrain just has whatever you need whenever you need it; all the torque you could ask for without a transmission getting in the way and being in the wrong gear. I first discovered this playing Forza 4, zipping around in a highly- tuned Volt. It quickly became one of my favorites, and I just wish I could have tuned it more for some of the higher classes.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > The Dummy Gummy
10/03/2018 at 20:54

From what I’ve seen the actual mpgs are 30city low 40s Highway. Motortrend got 35 observed on their test car , a bit better than EPA but not much.

80% of my driving is highway so I could see me getting 37-40. Compared to the 27 I get on a good day with my 328i. Plus diesel is about 40 cents cheaper than premium

TheRealBicycleBuck > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 20:58

I have been pleasantly surprised by the CVT in the Maxima. It does have “virtual” gears which make hard acceleration a lot more interesting than having the engine jump to and hold at peak horsepower when I stomp on the gas. It’s also really useful for dealing with traffic. Put it manual mode, pick the gear you want, and control the speed with the gas pedal. If you leave it in auto, it coasts way too far when you lift the gas.

Anyway, this CVT is better than any automatic transmission than I’ve driven. I still prefer the manual in my WRX, but this isn’t so bad.

The Dummy Gummy > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/03/2018 at 21:02

Yea, my current car epa is 27mpg, but I get 30 going 70 on the highway. If I could get 45mpg that’d be worth it to me for some comfort. I love the 3 wagon’s look. My other fear is maintenance cost on these bad boys.

edit: it does have active cruis e

aquila121 > way2blu does a rev update
10/03/2018 at 21:53

Pretty.

dogisbadob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 21:59

CVT’s can be good as long as they don’t have fake shit points you can’t disable. A regular CVT that doesn’t have to fake shift will have a 0-ms shift time and will always be at the right rpm. In fact, they were banned from racing.

Regular torque converter automatics are cool too. They shift smooth and give you no problems for easy driving for everyday use. Except for Chrysler and Honda minivans. Fuck them.

What I REALLY hate is the DCT PowerShit. They behave like Donald Trump trying to drive a stick. OK for performance sports cars where you play with the paddles, but totally unacceptable for daily driving in D.

Honda makes a DCT wiuth a torque converter that is better than other DCT’s on the market. But it’s still not as good as a real automatic transmission.

ZF 8-speed > CVT > regular torque converter auto >>>>> Honda/Chrysler minivans >>>>>>> >>>> DCT

aquila121 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/03/2018 at 22:04

My friend tuned up a Nissan Leaf that I very rarely (if ever) managed to defeat in B-class in Forza 4. Same with his Tesla Roadster, as long as its limited top speed didn’t come into play.

Personally, I’m still firmly in the “no stick/no care” camp, irrational though it may be. If there ever comes a time where you’re selling the minivan, a part of me would want to snatch it up; if only for three-pedal unicorn factor and cargo van + Miata dreams.

What I'm trying to say is: thank you for choosing the interesting/engaging/fun transmission in a vehicle that is otherwise seen as slow and gutless. It makes me smile.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > The Dummy Gummy
10/03/2018 at 22:04

Active cruise wouldn’t be a big consternation for me. Idk how the maintenance is, if/when I get one it’ll be a 28 not a 35 so 4 cylinders not 6 and single turbo not twin. (Actuall idk what the F30 has for Diesel engines) my limited experience won’t my E90 has me gunho to buy another BMW in the future. Hopefully that doesn’t change.

Also I believe the F30 Auto is a ZF8 Which in my experience is the best Auto you can buy, however I haven’t driven a VW DTC.

M.T. Blake > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/04/2018 at 01:50

I’d have voted for a chauffeur. No rowing at all necessary! Make the man servant do it all!

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/04/2018 at 02:34

That’s one of things that really struck me after we bought the L eaf. Once you’ve spent a little time in an EV, any multi gear transmission, no matter how good, feels like crap.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/04/2018 at 05:42

an auto can be more efficient etc, but i will still buy a manual