can never take the "fun factor"out of the manual.

 

That is true. A manual is much more fun to drive, and the control of the car is an added benefit even in DD. Automatics, you have to either get a tune to adjust the shift points, or you have to step on the gas to force a downshift.

 

Why cant you manually down**** an auto? Is there something preventing you from pulling the auto into a lower gear???

 

You can, by taking hold of the shift lever and moving it out of OD to one of the lower gears. But to make the shift crisp and much more instantaneous, you have to have a tune to do that, I believe. Otherwise, there might be a slight lag.

 

I don't know of any reason that you couldn't. But you'll get a big lurch forward from engine compression braking if you don't kick the revs up as you go between the two "gears". This is probably the biggest reason why most people who try this at all don't try it more than once or twice.


I've done this many times, learned to do it when I've had no choice but to drive an AT vehicle for one reason or another. Let's just say that you'll know when your timing was "off".


Norm

 

The handwriting was already on the wall by the late 1960's that the automatics would eventually reign at the dragstrip, and back then automatics only had 3 speeds.

At the top of the drag racing heap on the stick-shift side was Ronnie Sox. And then there was everybody else. You'd still be looking for that one-in-a-million individual.


You'll think I'm kidding, but just wait until somebody shows up with a properly toughened and sorted CVT and an engine optimized around it.


Norm

 

yes, that was my first thought when I read the first post. With all the shifting issues you read about here with the stick lately I would bet on an auto over an equally powered 6 speed stick in a drag race.

But yes, for downshifts the automatic stinks. There's a lot of fun shifting up through the gears while driving on a canyon road but when it's time for that important downshift (like from 3rd to 2nd) there's a very long delay before it kicks down after you (carefully) move the shifter.
No paddle shifters should ever be put in a Mustang, IMO! I prefer the ones that you shift by pushing the stick forward (or backward) a little.

 

I thought this explains the tech part of it:

The name says it all. Manual transmissions are the ones that you shift from one gear to the next. Automatics shift themselves, based on a series of engine load and vehicle speed signals. All you do is put them in drive.

The transmission is a series of gears, meshed to provide a patch for the power to travel. By moving the shifter, the slider locks one of the gear sets to the output shaft, providing a specific path for power flow. Each gear set provides a different gear ratio, so by shifting through the gears, you can choose which gear range suits the driving conditions.

Automatic transmissions also provide different gearing, but they use oil pressure to apply individual clutch packs or bands inside the transmission to create the various gear ranges. By applying a clutch pack or bans, the clutches grab onto one of the gear train components, which either holds or turns that component. The combination of holding and turning enables the gear set to create different gear ratios within the transmission.

What really makes the automatic transmission different is that it shifts automatically. By measuring engine load and road speed electronically, a computer system controls transmission operation. The computer decides when the transmission should shift and then delivers an electrical signal to create the shift. The transmission still uses oil pressure to control the clutches, but now the computer regulates which clutches apply and when.

Another difference between automatic and manual transmission is how they transfer power from the engine. Manual transmissions use a clutch; automatics use a fluid coupling called a torque converter.

A torque converter is an oil-filled device that uses oil flow to transfer power. An impeller mounted to the crankshaft sling the oil into a turbine, which connected to the transmission input shaft. This oil movement transfers the motion from the crankshaft to the input shaft without the two being connected mechanically. That’s why you can come to a complete stop in a car with an automatic transmission, without having to press a clutch pedal. There’s no mechanical connection that has to separate.

Once the oil gets through the turbine, it’s redirected through another set of fins called a stator. The stator prevents the “used” oil from dragging against the torque converter, so it increases the torque converters’ efficiency.

While very efficient, there is some power loss through the torque con*verter. What's more, during normal operation, torque converters create a lot of heat. To eliminate that heat and pick up a little extra efficiency, most manufacturers now add a torque converter clutch to the converter. This clutch applies once the car is cruising down the road to create a direct mechanical connection between the engine and transmission, eliminating the slip and reducing operating temperatures.

While most cars use one of these types of transmissions, there are a few less-common types. Some early vehicles used semi-automatic transmis*sions, which still required manual shifting but didn't have a clutch pedal. Some of these transmissions were based on a manual transmission, using vacuum and electric controls to operate the clutch. Others were closer to automatics, but without the governor to force the shift automatically.

The CVT, or continuously variable transmission, uses a special belt that runs between two pulleys to transmit power between the engine and the wheels. As the power and speed requirements change, the pulleys change in width, which alters how deeply the belt rides in them. This changes the effective radius of the pulley, which varies the "gear ratio."

Finally, whether you buy a car with a manual or automatic transmission is really a matter of preference – there’s no good choice or bad choice. It won’t be long before we won’t have to worry about transmissions at all. Some of the new electric or hybrid gas/electric cars don't use any transmission at all. The primary motor on these cars is electric, and it operates under a much wider range of speeds, so a transmission isn't necessary!

http://www.cheap-auto-car-insurance-...al_vs_auto.htm

 

Oh, I don't doubt it! Ever since I was a child, even too young to understand mechanics, I was always wondering why they did not make a continuously variable or even infinitely variable transmissionto eliminate the jerks during shifts.

On Auto trannies, yes, you have a stall converter that is infinitely variable form 0:1 and 1:1 ratio by hydrodynamic means, but once the gear kicks in, if you are stepping on the gas even at only have way, you will feel the jerk as the gear engages and the stall converter is already pressed to is "dampening" even before the gear can engage.

On manual trannies, there is no such thing as a stall converter to give you that silky smooth shift (unless you have like a really rare manual with them installed). The stall converter for a manual is you left foot; you have to ride the clutch out and let it slip a little to prevent the jerk! Or as said above, you have to match the engine RPM to the clutch RPM very well for a smooth seamless engagement.

The CVT eliminates all this crap, the CVT does that, absolutely no gear shifts whatsoever, a continuously variable gear ratio from what ever the lowest possible ratio is to 1:1, and even higher than 1:1, Overdrive!
As a child, I actually dreamt up the idea, but my idea of executing it was not as efficient as they are designed today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VYPsrOyIdw

I also toyed with the idea of staking multiple stall converters in series so as to get as low as a 4:1 gear ratio all the way up to 1:1 once locked. My only concern was the fluid viscosity being enough to handle massive amounts of torque and also the massive amounts of heat generated from the viscosity.

 

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a transmission that can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios. The flexibility of a CVT allows the driving shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities. This can provide better fuel economy than other transmissions by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds. Alternatively it can be used to maximize the performance of a vehicle by allowing the engine to turn at the RPM at which it produces peak power. This is typically higher than the RPM that achieves peak efficiency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...e_transmission

I don't trust CVT tech yet....especially with the belt driven CVT transmissions.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...4/ai_n6261218/