Why Don't people enjoy driving a manual trans??
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Originally Posted By: Mykl
But I do think it would be pretty sweet to have a sports car with a true sequential box, that would be fun.
The problem is, sadly, that NO mass market manufacturer will ever put one in at the factory (even IF a few consumers were willing to pay the exorbitant premium for it), due to the 'clanging and banging' when they are put into first, and the 120 decibel 'scream' of the straight cut gear sets.
(This is besides how impossible they would be to drive in stop and go traffic, due to excessive wear on the gear clusters.)
But I do think it would be pretty sweet to have a sports car with a true sequential box, that would be fun.
The problem is, sadly, that NO mass market manufacturer will ever put one in at the factory (even IF a few consumers were willing to pay the exorbitant premium for it), due to the 'clanging and banging' when they are put into first, and the 120 decibel 'scream' of the straight cut gear sets.
(This is besides how impossible they would be to drive in stop and go traffic, due to excessive wear on the gear clusters.)
Not sequential but street legal, the Abarth 695 Biposto with dog ring gearbox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyGQhLIks4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyGQhLIks4
Originally Posted By: wtd
I have a bad left knee and using the clutch a lot in stop and go traffic kills it after just a little bit.
Yup, you couldn't pay me to drive a manual for anything other than a long highway drive. Not limping when I get out of the car is a bonus for me.
I have a bad left knee and using the clutch a lot in stop and go traffic kills it after just a little bit.
Yup, you couldn't pay me to drive a manual for anything other than a long highway drive. Not limping when I get out of the car is a bonus for me.
Originally Posted By: Hollow
Originally Posted By: wtd
I have a bad left knee and using the clutch a lot in stop and go traffic kills it after just a little bit.
Yup, you couldn't pay me to drive a manual for anything other than a long highway drive. Not limping when I get out of the car is a bonus for me.
My left knee is my bad one so I hear you. The old Ford F700 is a 5/2 speed and it is painful getting on the clutch. I am helping my brother by using my truck to get his corn out and when empty I just clutch with the right leg sometimes.
Originally Posted By: wtd
I have a bad left knee and using the clutch a lot in stop and go traffic kills it after just a little bit.
Yup, you couldn't pay me to drive a manual for anything other than a long highway drive. Not limping when I get out of the car is a bonus for me.
My left knee is my bad one so I hear you. The old Ford F700 is a 5/2 speed and it is painful getting on the clutch. I am helping my brother by using my truck to get his corn out and when empty I just clutch with the right leg sometimes.
Seems some people here haven't driven a passenger car clutch made in this century...
The Camry's virtually without any friction/pressure...truly butter-smooth...both good...and bad...
...easy on the knee, but not easy to "feel" where it engages...you gotta go by pushed "distance", by muscle memory...
The Camry's virtually without any friction/pressure...truly butter-smooth...both good...and bad...
...easy on the knee, but not easy to "feel" where it engages...you gotta go by pushed "distance", by muscle memory...
unfortunately most of my vehicles are automatics.
i do have a 88 f150 that is a 5 speed and i really enjoy driving that once in awhile, just makes me feel like i have so much more control over the vehicle and i just like shifting.
the first vehicle that was a 5-speed that i drove was an escort gt.....and man that thing moved right along, was a blast to drive.
i do have a 88 f150 that is a 5 speed and i really enjoy driving that once in awhile, just makes me feel like i have so much more control over the vehicle and i just like shifting.
the first vehicle that was a 5-speed that i drove was an escort gt.....and man that thing moved right along, was a blast to drive.
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Seems some people here haven't driven a passenger car clutch made in this century...
The Camry's virtually without any friction/pressure...truly butter-smooth...both good...and bad...
...easy on the knee, but not easy to "feel" where it engages...you gotta go by pushed "distance", by muscle memory...
My GTI is similar with the smooth, light clutch, but when it comes to joint pain sometimes it doesn't take much. I tweaked a tendon in an elbow recently and it was so sensitive I couldn't even lift a glass of water with the joint at certain angles.
If there were any thought that my left knee would give me any issues while driving I certainly wouldn't want to make the huge investment in a car only to find later that I couldn't drive it. When thousands of dollars are on the line, in this instance, I'd play it safe.
Seems some people here haven't driven a passenger car clutch made in this century...
The Camry's virtually without any friction/pressure...truly butter-smooth...both good...and bad...
...easy on the knee, but not easy to "feel" where it engages...you gotta go by pushed "distance", by muscle memory...
My GTI is similar with the smooth, light clutch, but when it comes to joint pain sometimes it doesn't take much. I tweaked a tendon in an elbow recently and it was so sensitive I couldn't even lift a glass of water with the joint at certain angles.
If there were any thought that my left knee would give me any issues while driving I certainly wouldn't want to make the huge investment in a car only to find later that I couldn't drive it. When thousands of dollars are on the line, in this instance, I'd play it safe.
Some of us just plain have no love of shifting anymore than we have to. For over 3 decades, I spend the better part of an average week shifting 18 non synchronized gears in a commercial truck. The thought of having to manually shift my personal vehicles is repulsive. Now I will concede, I love the manual mode on my Silverado 6 speed auto. I get to select the gear, but the trans does the shifting. Now that is living.
In my 35 years of driving I have owned 13 different vehicles all of which were manuals. I've also had the luck never to have replaced a clutch in any of the vehicles, some of which had well over 200k. Rowing the gears keeps me in touch with my vehicle. I hope to go to my grave never having owned an auto trans.
I would like to see how you would enjoy it with a non synchronized trans like in a class 8 truck. No give there. You have to match up gear, road speed, and engine RPM or you don't get the gear. After 2800 miles a week of that, the last thing I want to do is play with gears on my pickup.
After driving vehicles of all descriptions for well over 30 years now.
In a passenger car application, I would rather have a 6 speed manual(T56) with a modern large capacity V8(GM LS2) for all circumstances, whether it be short shifting in traffic and skipping every second gear as required as if it was a 3 speed, to using all the 6 gears on the open road.
The only exceptions would be to bring back the good old Ford C4 auto.
Or go with the ZF Auto that's fitted to the Maserati GTS Automatic and the previous model of Jaguar XKR.
IMO, they are 3 outstanding examples of how an Automatic transmission should function in their respective applications.
Everything else is pretty average in comparison without some form of modification.
In a passenger car application, I would rather have a 6 speed manual(T56) with a modern large capacity V8(GM LS2) for all circumstances, whether it be short shifting in traffic and skipping every second gear as required as if it was a 3 speed, to using all the 6 gears on the open road.
The only exceptions would be to bring back the good old Ford C4 auto.
Or go with the ZF Auto that's fitted to the Maserati GTS Automatic and the previous model of Jaguar XKR.
IMO, they are 3 outstanding examples of how an Automatic transmission should function in their respective applications.
Everything else is pretty average in comparison without some form of modification.
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I would like to see how you would enjoy it with a non synchronized trans like in a class 8 truck. No give there. You have to match up gear, road speed, and engine RPM or you don't get the gear. After 2800 miles a week of that, the last thing I want to do is play with gears on my pickup.
That's a very good point.
But I think the original question posed by the OP mostly refers to passenger vehicles or small pickup trucks?
I would like to see how you would enjoy it with a non synchronized trans like in a class 8 truck. No give there. You have to match up gear, road speed, and engine RPM or you don't get the gear. After 2800 miles a week of that, the last thing I want to do is play with gears on my pickup.
That's a very good point.
But I think the original question posed by the OP mostly refers to passenger vehicles or small pickup trucks?
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Originally Posted By: Kiwi_ME
Not sequential but street legal, the Abarth 695 Biposto with dog ring gearbox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyGQhLIks4
That is cool, but I wonder just how many more lire (now euros) it would have been to make it a sequential dog ring box??
Not sequential but street legal, the Abarth 695 Biposto with dog ring gearbox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyGQhLIks4
That is cool, but I wonder just how many more lire (now euros) it would have been to make it a sequential dog ring box??
When I started commuting to Boston, a 30 mile drive in an hour and a half was a normal commute .Lately it is worse, but I no longer work in town. Rowing a 5 or 6 speed through that stall and crawl just isn't fun after awhile. The BMWs are 4 spd ATs. The Rat has M5OD manual. I mostly use it around town, when I drive it all. A manual shines in slippery stuff, other than that, its a wash,
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For a weekend fun car, stick all the way. For a daily work vehicle give me a put it in D and go auto.
Besides modern auto's are so good these days the only reason it shift manually anymore is for fun. The computers do it better now than a human can.
Besides modern auto's are so good these days the only reason it shift manually anymore is for fun. The computers do it better now than a human can.
Originally Posted By: Ducman
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I would like to see how you would enjoy it with a non synchronized trans like in a class 8 truck. No give there. You have to match up gear, road speed, and engine RPM or you don't get the gear. After 2800 miles a week of that, the last thing I want to do is play with gears on my pickup.
That's a very good point.
But I think the original question posed by the OP mostly refers to passenger vehicles or small pickup trucks?
Agreed! But that was the point. Many folks really have no desire to manually shift their autos and pickups for a broad number of reasons. This was just one example. Another example I could use is checking fence lines on farm ground. Many times I will have the driver door open to see closer to the ground better while still moving, varying speed as I do it, many times turned slightly to the left in the seat to make it easier to turn to look at a lot of things along that fence row, crop terrace, etc. it is much easier to just have an auto trans and only occupy one foot with starting and stopping. Called, taking advantage of technology. It is also easier on the drive train when pulling a grain or fuel wagon thru a crop field or rough terrain with one's pickup if one uses an auto trans compared to a manual. And I would much rather have an auto for the winter snows we have to get thru to get to the highway with our personal vehicles. And I like to sip on a mug of coffee when I drive. An auto trans keeps that hand free.
Autos have their place. It is pretty myopic to wonder why everyone doesn't have a love affair with manual trans like some do.
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I would like to see how you would enjoy it with a non synchronized trans like in a class 8 truck. No give there. You have to match up gear, road speed, and engine RPM or you don't get the gear. After 2800 miles a week of that, the last thing I want to do is play with gears on my pickup.
That's a very good point.
But I think the original question posed by the OP mostly refers to passenger vehicles or small pickup trucks?
Agreed! But that was the point. Many folks really have no desire to manually shift their autos and pickups for a broad number of reasons. This was just one example. Another example I could use is checking fence lines on farm ground. Many times I will have the driver door open to see closer to the ground better while still moving, varying speed as I do it, many times turned slightly to the left in the seat to make it easier to turn to look at a lot of things along that fence row, crop terrace, etc. it is much easier to just have an auto trans and only occupy one foot with starting and stopping. Called, taking advantage of technology. It is also easier on the drive train when pulling a grain or fuel wagon thru a crop field or rough terrain with one's pickup if one uses an auto trans compared to a manual. And I would much rather have an auto for the winter snows we have to get thru to get to the highway with our personal vehicles. And I like to sip on a mug of coffee when I drive. An auto trans keeps that hand free.
Autos have their place. It is pretty myopic to wonder why everyone doesn't have a love affair with manual trans like some do.
The last manual trans cars I had were a '48 Packard and a '59 Edsel. Both had 3-on-the-tree. I do miss those, but no full-size cars have had them in a long time.
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