ZerofluxCal

I am sorry if this is a dumb question but I just don't get this...some people with autos have told me when they race they shift 1, 2 then 3...whats the point? doesnt the computer decide when its safest to shift anyways? and if you floor the car off the line doesnt it 1,2 then 3 anyways at the highest possible rpm? (Tuned)

I just dont get this whole shifting auto thing...if I am missing something please fill me in

danGT06

I've always wondered this too. I always though theywere pissed they didn't buy a manual and are trying to look cool.

sawyer

lol
True, no real need to shift if you are tuned properly.
I have a 4r70w AODE with a manual shift body and the only way it works is to ratchet it up
I had a manual before and I think this auto is a hell of alot more fun to drive. The best of both world, no clutch but you get to hammer the gears and the auto hooks 10 times better with a street tire[8D]

zkiller

What is so cool about a manual? Only dorks think that shifting a car makes them cool, no matter what tranny they have.
Automatics have a gear selector so you can select what gear you want. Otherwise you would just get P, D and R.
maybe you should have asked, "What'ts the point in including paddle shifters on the Corvette with an automatic?" It gives you the option to shift gears when you want to.

If you want to downshift for acceleration or deceleration or maybe upshift while accelerating then you would shift it manually. Ford was kind enough to include 1,2,3,D, R and P on this S197 Mustang.
Have you never seen a Hurst dual-gate 1967 GTO or Olds 1970 442? Why did the car makers put in special shifters for automatics if they were supposed to be left in drive?

SirKnightTG

I manual shift in my auto all the time. The reason is the damn thing takes not only too long to realize I'm wanting to accelerate and I need to be in a lower gear, but it also is always in one or two gears too high. So I find myself pulling the shifter down a gear or two so I can accelerate when I need to and not have to wait several seconds for the computer to realize it needs to downshift. That lag between the time I put it to he floor and it starts to accelerate is way too long, it's at least 2 seconds if not 3. I never have this problem with my motorcycle since I control the gears and am always in the proper gear at all times.

I have a tune and it has helped to make the auto less annoying, but it's still not enough. I have grown VERY sick of the auto and I'm surprised so many continue to like it so much and prefer it over the manual. Maybe they just suck at driving a stick? Or lazy? I don't know, all I know is I'm going to try my best to trade this one in on an 08 with manual and never look back to auto again. At least for a street car. I understand the need for a special auto for drag racing. While I'd love to drag race, I never have and I don't see my self doing it any time soon.

DoctorQ

I agree on the acceleration side... automatic will outshift manual tranny all day. But on the decel side, manually shifting an auto gives you engine braking.

Nuke

[sm=wtf.gif]

You've GOT to be kidding! Obviously, you don't have much experience with manual trannys.

stealth_GT

why not?
I do it both to merge (downshift into 2) or passing (using 3rd) and who can forget the best gear?? (1st) for all out low rpm take off and acceleration? lol


I should have gotten a 5 speed and I do miss it but I simply have no self-control rofl
The auto is great for cruising and shifting makes it more fun but I didn't have alot of highway/
traffic time in the future,I would have gotten one instead of the auto...

grampa_stang

I think it's humanly impossible to shift a manual as fast as an auto can do it. Unless of course
you don't use the clutch or let off the gas. But, if you could do that, then you'd really only need
the clutch when starting or stopping.

Picture yourself in drivers seat and gunning it from a 0-60 or whatever. With the auto, your head
stays planted to the headrest the whole time. I bet in a manual your head will come off the headrest
(even if only for a split second) when you shift gears. When you use the clutch or let off the gas
you will lose some momentum. Unless of course you can shift as fast as a computer.

I also manual shift mine now 'n then. Sometimes I want to keep it in 1st or 2nd a little longer
than what the auto wants to do. I mean, we're in 3rd or 4th by 35 mph if driving normal.

smokestang

The stock auto has proven to be fastest from a dig by simply leaving it in "D" and letting it do its thing! you cant tell me anybody shifts this tight-*** factory shifter with any real precision! maybe with a ractchet shifter....but even then my money is on the computer! if it can bark 2nd & 3rd in Drive its shifting itself pretty damn good. I occasionaly manuallydownshift to 3rd for decel purposes, but thats about all.