The real reason to save the manuals

"Spasoje" (Spasoje) 02/21/2014 at 18:20 • Filed to: SAVE THE MANUALS

1

24

Before one even gets to the driving enjoyment stuff, a manual simply makes one a better driver. I found this text (on Autoblog) that argues that nicely, so I'll share it with you guys: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Spasoje 02/21/2014 at 18:28

1

After these last two months I spent driving my parents' automatic cars, one of the things I found out really bothers me is not even about enjoyment or control, but about having an integral part of driving being handled by a system that doesn't think r act like you would.

I don't know if this would be any different had I learned to drive in automatic cars before picking up a manual one, but what I found this month is that shifting is a big part of my driving style, and letting the car handle it is like letting someone, with an entirely different driving style, shift gears for me. It just doesn't work. There's just no attunement and the jutting and shaking from the constant gear shifting, which happens at the smallest of throttle input modulations, just grinds my gears (pardon the pun)

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 18:32

2

I'm even more freaked out by steer by wire steering.

Turning the steering wheel should directly result in the front wheels turning.

Spasoje > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 18:34

0

Agreed. A related pet peeve of mine: jerky shifts are something you can't control in an automatic! With a manual, driver finesse eliminates jerky shifting. With an automatic? Warranty work.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 18:34

1

I totally agree. When I have to drive my brother's car, I'm bugged by the way it drives and handles itself. even using the gear holder, or nocking it down to 3 or 2 or L just doesn't get the job done for me!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 02/21/2014 at 18:37

1

Oh yeah, that's another complaint I have about my parents' cars... Put the stick in manual mode and what do they do? They shift themselves! And I'm dead serious, I don't even know why there's a manual mode in those cars, not to mention the Onix's manual is so bad it deserves a write up all for itself.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 18:39

1

Agreed, though, to be honest, I'd extend the same logic to any sort of intrusive system that interferes with driving. ABS, for example, works because the feedback you get from the car is constant decceleration, even if it modulates braking input without driver input, but automatics will execute a totally different function whether you want it or not.

I think the best way to put it is that, as long as cars have transmissions, manual shifting will always feel "more right" than automatic shifting, at least for me. The day cars no longer have transmissions or no longer have to shift gears, is the day an automatic transmission will work well.

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 18:47

1

Modern slushboxes are better than they were before but it can still be disconcerting when they shift when you didn't expect them to shift. At least with a robotized manual you can shift with the paddles and control the shift points.

The slushboxes will override you and shift when the feel they need to even when in manual mode.

My order of best transmissions for feel is:

Stick

Robotized single clutch 6 speed

Robotized DCT

Sporty slushbox

Standard slushbox

CVT

I despise CVTs. I'd rather not drive than drive a CVT.

Spasoje > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 18:50

1

Not all will override! My XC90 lets you bounce off the rev limiter all day if you so please.

Though it will downshift at almost a full stop if you've forgotten to, but that I can forgive.

Manuél Ferrari > Spasoje 02/21/2014 at 18:53

0

That's pretty cool!

I would rate that as a super sporty slushbox then. Much cooler than a CVT or crappy slushbox.

I once leased a Merc with a nice AT. It would override unlike your AT. But other than that it was very good at timing shifts and being smooth about it. And it was somewhat fun to shift manually.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 18:56

1

The funny thng is that I started to realize that not because of the transmission itself, but because the car where it was installed didn't have much power. At 99 horsepower and not much more torque to go about, Chevrolet installed a 6 speed automatic on their Onix so it wouldn't feel underpowered, but that only works in straight line acceleration.

In all other situations, the transmission will be utterly unable to pick a gear and go with it whenever you modulate the throttle.

Lets Just Drive > Spasoje 02/21/2014 at 19:19

0

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 20:10

1

Wow a 6 speed AT definitely seems like overkill for 99 HP! That would be bad if the AT picks the wrong gears at the wrong time and leaves you with no power.

The good old 4 speed ATs that the Japanese car companies used for years with low-power cars (some models might still have them today) made sense. The 5MTs were better, but at least the 4ATs matched the power.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 20:35

1

It's sad really, but that 1.4 engine used to have 115 hp with standard and 130 hp with VHC heads, but they decided to "downsize" by cutting power. All manufacturers are into that in Brazil, and are being met with widespread approval because, to the media, less power = safer cars.

In 10 years, I predict Brazilian cars will be making 20 hp and weighing over 2 tons...

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 20:45

1

That is sad!

Once cars hit 20 HP and are over 2 tons you'll be better off just riding a horse!

Spasoje > Lets Just Drive 02/21/2014 at 21:01

0

I was waiting for someone to say that.

I drive a car that many consider to be quite slow. The owner forums are awash with people complaining about how the engine is "a dog" , how you should never consider it (despite bulletproof reliability), and how passing is "downright dangerous" . It's the bigger engine option or nothing for them.

The funny thing is, after five years with the car, not once have I felt any of that. Why? Because unlike them, I know the right moment to pop it's automatic into manual mode and drop a gear.

I never would have known that had I not learned to drive on a manual transmission. I'd just be another uninformed whiner who only knows how to put his foot down.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 21:08

1

Well, that would be safer, wouldn't it? And less pollutant too, so it's a double whammy of the two biggest media scares in Brazil nowadays.

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 21:11

1

I didn't know there are safety and pollution scares in Brazil right now.

What city do you live in?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 21:21

0

Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul. It's the southernmost state in the country, close to Argentina. But yeah, there are a few, maybe not the biggest scares, but among the biggest for sure. Traffic fatalities are, at least, twice as high as in the US, for example, and show no signs of improvement. No one, whether it's the public, the media or the authorities seem to know why so many people die in accidents, so all they can do is make everyone go reeeeally slow. And I mean slow. Like 60 kph slow on some highway stretches.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manuél Ferrari 02/21/2014 at 21:22

1

Also, misinterpreting stuff. We do that all the time. When the current trend in downsizing began by increasing power and reducing engine size, Brazil immediately started reducing power and maintaining engine sizes. Go figure.

Manuél Ferrari > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/21/2014 at 21:32

1

Wow 60 K on a highway! That's terrible! There are factors other than speed that impact accidents. What a bummer how the gov is reacting to the issues.

My uncle moved to Argentina. I want to go visit him one day.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Spasoje 02/21/2014 at 23:49

0

Dat Shifter...
Audi?

Biodegradable Wiring Harness > Spasoje 02/22/2014 at 00:26

0

Most people want automatics because they just want to feel safe and comfortable all the time, but that's entirely the wrong state of mind for driving. When driving is too easy you become disengaged, then bored, then you quickly find something to fill the boredom. Now you're a distracted driver. If you're not texting or eating or doing your makeup, you're daydreaming or people-watching or picking your nose. It's just unavoidable human nature. People simply do not concentrate unless concentration is absolutely necessary.

Spasoje > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 02/22/2014 at 19:30

0

Not sure!

Spasoje > Biodegradable Wiring Harness 02/22/2014 at 19:31

0

Bingo! By nature, we humans will never do more work/put in more effort than we feel necessary.