Forum newbie - looking for advice between MT and AT

[mitchb]

Originally Posted by ImportConvert

Congrats and lucky you for a first car! Just be careful with it. I know 330hp isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, and that's about how I felt about my first sports car, but damned if that car wasn't the fastest thing on the planet the night I lost it. That is what broke me of owning automatics, btw. It downshifted in a corner, snapped the rear-end around, and the rest is history. After that, I was manual only in a sports car. No more suprises.

THANKS for that info ! ive never had or thought about that either .i will be sure to have my auto in manual mode from now on when getting down n around.

[OMGiGOTaZ]

Originally Posted by EgoTrip

I don't have my Z yet, still in the decision phase. I haven't driven one yet, so don't know the "butt feel" difference between MT and AT. I wanted to get some on-line opinions from the experts before I scheduled the test drives.

Obviously the AT isn't a clutchless manual like a DSG tranny. But is there enough of a performance benefit to the MT? I couldn't find any comparo's of 0-60 times between the 2.

I'm wondering if the "Fun Factor" of the MT will wear off over a short time, and I'll find myself wishing I had the Automatic.

This will be my full time daily driver. So I'll need it to handle commutes as well as the fun drives.

I am a car guy, which is why I'd consider a Z in the first place, but I also traded in my last MT car 2 years ago and have been driving an AT since. I guess my ideal car would be a clutchless manual, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing out on the whole "sports car experience" if I got an AT?

Any and all opinions welcome. I've been reading a lot of the posts here, and there's a lot of good info.

I'll post a followup when I finally test drive the 2 models.

Thanks guys.

Looks like your getting plenty of response but i'll chime in... I've seen enough and read enough I can say I've seen Dynos that show the MT puts about 5more hp down to the wheels I have the 7AT

[wilsonp]

The power difference between the MT and AT is made up by the gearing eifferences - it's why the AT is slightly faster, the torque curves are better in gear.

The 7AT is a great auto but it's not a DSG, and it does have wierd delays on downshifts, and when you are manually downshifting and aren't aggressive you can be caught by the automatic downshift at stall revs and end up a gear lower than you wanted, which can be a surprise, especially when DRM revs the engine over 5000

[11Thumper]

If you're not secure with your manhood then get the 6MT.

Ok, all kidding aside. Each has benefits and downsides. You need to make your own choice. I got the 7AT and love it. Do I sometimes wish it was 6MT? Sure, of course. If it was just a pleasure car I would have gotten the 6MT. However, this is a DD for me as I have another car to run gears through.

Don't let fools tell you there's no such thing as an automatic sports car. That's just a lame way to think. That's like saying all hot girls are a pain in the a$% to deal with.

Oh wait...

[Grindkiezer]

Manual, drive the car like a true sports car

[homeryansta]

real men drive stick shift /thread

Why would anyone in their right mind buy an automatic sports car? GTR or not.