[OFFICIAL] Manual v. Automatic Thread

[Rasengan]

Originally Posted by scruffydog

I totally know where you're coming from. I've always love the feel of a manual transmission and I am also in the process of buying a 370z, but one thing I am sure of wanting is a Manual, not an auto. One of the most recent car I bought was a Lexus IS and it comes with an Auto with Paddle shifters. I sold my previous manual car for an auto becaues I figure a Lexus isn't really a true sports car so an Auto just seems more suitable as it is an luxuary car. Plus, I needed a car that can be shared between my fiancee and me. Not to mention, I injured my left foot several years back so having a stage 2 clutch was hurting my left foot as it applied too much pressure on me.

Of course I know a Lexus IS is not comparable with the Nissan 370z auto, but to me, it's not too far different to use in this comparison as we're talking about Manual vs Auto and not Auto vs Auto. Don't get me wrong, I love driving an Auto and i see the benefit of having an auto (esp in traffic), but the reason I am getting a 370z is because I miss driving a manual car. I feel that there's more to the driving experience in a Manual. Not to mention, the 370z is the pretty much the only car out there that is still looking for ways to improve manual transmission technology instead of switching over to twin clutch like most car manufacturers.

Times have change, and I know and admit that Auto is faster and better in almost every way. But after driving an Auto (even with the paddle shifter), it's just not the same feeling - half the time when I'm in an auto, I don't even both with the paddle, because it's still computer controlled. Also, not to mention, most of the time when you're putting the Auto transmission in Manual mode, you're probably doing a crappier job than leaving the computer to do the work. Especially for the cars that have Sports mode, vs normal mode where the designers have research when the best possible scenario case is for the car to downshift or upshift for performance or fuel economy. The computer is programmed to do what's the engineers think is best for the car's performance everytime and never make a mistake like humans do. Of course this could be argued between car manufacturers to manufacturers as this all depends how much research and how well of a job the engineers do when they test out these cars.

Personally, I feel more disconnected to the road experience. The more the computer takes over, the less skill it requires me to have to drive the car. To me, I prefer take control over more things myself, but I can see for someone who only cares about getting the fastest lap time in a track, an auto or twin clutch is the way to go.

By the way, Road and Track has a really good article that talks about Manual vs. Twin Clutch (Auto) I think it's 2 issues back...but it's really worthwhile to read it. To sum it up, for driving experience - go with Manual, but for the best time around lap - go with auto.

PS> Sometimes I just love to depress my clutch pedal to Rev my car and you can't really do that with an auto...unless u shift it to Neutral...so for me, this alone makes a manual transmission all worth it =P muhahahaa j/k

scruffydog, i completely agree with you...the AT is nothing like a manual...in my case, i went from driving manuals for 12 years (including a 3000GT, an RX-8, and an '06 350Z) and figured i had enough of sports cars and bought an AT Lexus IS350...i figured the same as you, why shift in a luxury car? and plus, Lexus doesn't even give you the option of getting the IS in MT...but boy did i miss using a clutch and a gearbox, pushing up or down on the stick and/or pedals just isn't the same...so after only 3 years i traded the IS in for a 370Z Roadster, i missed driving an MT sports car that much

of course if you don't care about shifting gears with a clutch then by all means there's no point in getting an MT, you'd be much happier getting AT as it's just as fast if not faster because it takes human error out of the equation...but if you've driving MTs all your life and have loved it, driving an AT sports car just wouldn't be the same much like how some people will oppose the SRM system (in my opinion i don't mind SRM because at least you have the option of turning it off)

Originally Posted by romoore14

I've only had my 370 for a little over a week now and the manual mode is cool as hell! You can get off the gas when shifting in manual mode and then get back in the gas and I'll be damn if it doesn't feel like a real M/T!!!!!!! It's awesome feeling the head and body push and snap back in the seat when going from 1st to 4th!!!!

you don't have to let off the gas when you're "shifting" in an AT...letting off the gas so it feels like an MT actually defeats the purpose of getting the AT in the first place which i'm sure doesn't help with your acceleration

[scruffydog]

Originally Posted by Rasengan

scruffydog, i completely agree with you...the AT is nothing like a manual...in my case, i went from driving manuals for 12 years (including a 3000GT, an RX-8, and an '06 350Z) and figured i had enough of sports cars and bought an AT Lexus IS350...i figured the same as you, why shift in a luxury car? and plus, Lexus doesn't even give you the option of getting the IS in MT...but boy did i miss using a clutch and a gearbox, pushing up or down on the stick and/or pedals just isn't the same...so after only 3 years i traded the IS in for a 370Z Roadster, i missed driving an MT sports car that much

of course if you don't care about shifting gears with a clutch then by all means there's no point in getting an MT, you'd be much happier getting AT as it's just as fast if not faster because it takes human error out of the equation...but if you've driving MTs all your life and have loved it, driving an AT sports car just wouldn't be the same much like how some people will oppose the SRM system (in my opinion i don't mind SRM because at least you have the option of turning it off)



you don't have to let off the gas when you're "shifting" in an AT...letting off the gas so it feels like an MT actually defeats the purpose of getting the AT in the first place which i'm sure doesn't help with your acceleration

HAHA, I can't believe there's someone as crazy as me out there! Yea, the IS350 doesn't come with an AUTO, that was also another reason I went with an Auto. About the whole letting go of the pedal when shifting! I can't agree more with you, it's just NOT the same. The Lexus IS along with many other cars out there already comes with the option of allowing the drive to shift from either the paddle or the Gearbox (+ / -), but whenever I'm driving an Auto in M-mode, I still find myself immitate myself stepping down on the clutch and pushing the level to left/right and then up/down as if I'm still driving a true Manual car during shifts. Flicking a paddle or pushing up or down in a level just isn't as cool as trying to physically putting a shifter into a gear. Knowing that the shift linkage actually has some kind of mechanical attachment rather than some electronic sensors/switches in the end of the shifter just makes the whole driving experience that much more exciting and entertaining. Also, knowing that you're able to everytime shift into a gear without the Gearbox rejecting your gear shift makes you feel much more satisfying than pushing on paddle, aka, electronic switch that tells the computer when you want ti to shift and there's a possiblity of the computer not wanting to upshift for you until it think it's the best time to shift because you desire to shift upward but your computer is telling you that you could push the engine RPM to a little bit more prior to the upshift. That's just ridiculous...you still have some computer telling you when to shift and how to drive.

By the way, luckily I was able to keep my IS because I convinced my fiance that I could use a REAL sports car, that's 2 door, 2 seater, and with a Manual gearbox. Fortunately, she also loves the IS so I don't have to sell it. Instead I traded her Scion tC and sold it and I'm gonna pick up my 370z sometime the end of this month.

[Rasengan]

Originally Posted by scruffydog

HAHA, I can't believe there's someone as crazy as me out there! Yea, the IS350 doesn't come with an AUTO, that was also another reason I went with an Auto. About the whole letting go of the pedal when shifting! I can't agree more with you, it's just NOT the same. The Lexus IS along with many other cars out there already comes with the option of allowing the drive to shift from either the paddle or the Gearbox (+ / -), but whenever I'm driving an Auto in M-mode, I still find myself immitate myself stepping down on the clutch and pushing the level to left/right and then up/down as if I'm still driving a true Manual car during shifts. Flicking a paddle or pushing up or down in a level just isn't as cool as trying to physically putting a shifter into a gear. Knowing that the shift linkage actually has some kind of mechanical attachment rather than some electronic sensors/switches in the end of the shifter just makes the whole driving experience that much more exciting and entertaining. Also, knowing that you're able to everytime shift into a gear without the Gearbox rejecting your gear shift makes you feel much more satisfying than pushing on paddle, aka, electronic switch that tells the computer when you want ti to shift and there's a possiblity of the computer not wanting to upshift for you until it think it's the best time to shift because you desire to shift upward but your computer is telling you that you could push the engine RPM to a little bit more prior to the upshift. That's just ridiculous...you still have some computer telling you when to shift and how to drive.

By the way, luckily I was able to keep my IS because I convinced my fiance that I could use a REAL sports car, that's 2 door, 2 seater, and with a Manual gearbox. Fortunately, she also loves the IS so I don't have to sell it. Instead I traded her Scion tC and sold it and I'm gonna pick up my 370z sometime the end of this month.

don't get me wrong, the IS350 is a great car...when i moved to the city from the burbs i figured i had enough with shifting gears, sports cars, nice rims (potholes), etc. i settled on the IS350 because it's reliable, had 4 doors and 4 seats (my gf and i have FOUR dogs!), has quite a bit of power, AND it had those nifty shift paddles and the +/- on the shift lever...best of both worlds, right? then i realized it just wasn't the same without the clutch...driving then became boring, the car became a vehicle to get from point A to point B...i no longer took the car out for the sheer enjoyment of driving which i always used to do with my sports cars...for a good 3 years my left leg could never find anything to do and so to save weight i cut it off...no just kidding, i didn't do that

literally though for the past year since the 370s came out i've been having dreams of owning a sports car again and driving for the sheer enjoyment of driving...i knew it was the most impractical thing to do in this economy and living in the city...but the dreams started becoming more frequent and i caved in when i saw pictures of the roadster

it's a good thing you don't have to give up the IS, man...when i was leaving the dealership i could see the IS looking back at me as if i was leaving her because she did something wrong...all i could think of saying was that "it's not you...it's me"

[scruffydog]

Originally Posted by Rasengan

don't get me wrong, the IS350 is a great car...when i moved to the city from the burbs i figured i had enough with shifting gears, sports cars, nice rims (potholes), etc. i settled on the IS350 because it's reliable, had 4 doors and 4 seats (my gf and i have FOUR dogs!), has quite a bit of power, AND it had those nifty shift paddles and the +/- on the shift lever...best of both worlds, right? then i realized it just wasn't the same without the clutch...driving then became boring, the car became a vehicle to get from point A to point B...i no longer took the car out for the sheer enjoyment of driving which i always used to do with my sports cars...for a good 3 years my left leg could never find anything to do and so to save weight i cut it off...no just kidding, i didn't do that

literally though for the past year since the 370s came out i've been having dreams of owning a sports car again and driving for the sheer enjoyment of driving...i knew it was the most impractical thing to do in this economy and living in the city...but the dreams started becoming more frequent and i caved in when i saw pictures of the roadster

it's a good thing you don't have to give up the IS, man...when i was leaving the dealership i could see the IS looking back at me as if i was leaving her because she did something wrong...all i could think of saying was that "it's not you...it's me"

I don't think I have ever found anyone that could relate with me as much as you can. The IS is a Great car! I may still think it's still a better choice in terms of value. For a lot of people, it is simply the best of both worlds.

I also have 2 dogs so I know exactly what you mean! The IS is a much better car between the 370z. It looks super sporty, and it handles really nice for a sedan (X-package, can't say for the regular version since I don't own one.), spacious, and last but not least....it's also a status symbol that you've made it and can afford a luxary car class.
Like you, I've grown tired of it and didn't feel the same enjoyment from driving a MT sports car. Ever since the 370z came out, I've been dreaming about wanting it. After test driving it, it only confirms it more that I belong in driving a MT. Sure it may suck in traffic or uphills with a MT, or even with the fact that my injured left foot will never be completely heal from my injury...but after being in an AT, it's just not the same. I'm not saying driving a MT is a must have...which is why I got the IS in the first place....but now that my Fiance is willing to make a choice of buying such an impractical car at an economy like such....I'm gonna take advantage of it and cherish it.

[alonlif]

Hi All,

Anyone put there with an automatic? I've been reading various reviews on the automatic and a few were really bad! A few however were not...

So i would like to hear what do you think? Should I go for auto or stick to manual?

Thanks

A

[djpathfinder]

It's personal choice really. Some prefer not to be bothered with shifting at all, others like using the paddle shifters on the automatic. For a performance vehicle, my preference is manual transmission all the way (automatic is such as waste ;-) )....that's just my opinion though.

[spearfish25]

You're clearly in the market for a Z, and you've now posted at least 4 different threads asking different questions about the Z. There is a forum search function that will help you find many threads that extensively answer these sorts of questions. They've all been asked before. You'll find there is a following for each type of transmission, and both groups are happy. There's the occasional convert who wishes they had the other, but it's not the norm. Per the reviews and user experiences, both transmissions are excellent. Just decide if you want to use your left foot when you're driving.


6MT vs 7AT and the Track/Auto X
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...nual+automatic
Auto 370Z...Is it Good?
Automatic Transmission

[gumpy]

Originally Posted by alonlif

Hi All,

Anyone put there with an automatic? I've been reading various reviews on the automatic and a few were really bad! A few however were not...

So i would like to hear what do you think? Should I go for auto or stick to manual?

Thanks

A

if you do get the 370z or any other rwd drive car you are pondering, get it in manual...

rwd petrol manuals are on the way out with the electrics and environmentalists taking over... get yourself a good rwd manual and hold on to it...

I plan to show my grandkids my car one day, explain to them what internal cumbustion is and what that damn 3rd pedal is for. =)

[Vegitto-kun]

I have the AT

while I prefer MT.

the AT IS a good one. once the transmission oil has warmed up it shifts pretty quick not much slower than I can shift manually

[j.arnaldo]

According to stats, the ATs in Zeds are near-flawless, while MTs are O.K., but a bit clunky. Dunno 'bout the 370, but the 350's ATs are great. Obviously, I own one (2004 Touring Coupe), and have no complaints at all. Greetings.

[frost]

Thank god someone finally started a manual versus automatic thread, because we have never had one of those before.

[spearfish25]

Originally Posted by j.arnaldo

According to stats, the ATs in Zeds are near-flawless, while MTs are O.K., but a bit clunky.

Bogus info

[frost]

Originally Posted by spearfish25

Bogus info

You can't questions the elusive "stats"

[One_Quick_Z]

Auto Its faster

/Thread



DAN

[NewlyIMPORTed]

MT is more fun