Manual Gearbox: "fundamentally unsafe"?

  • Thread starter Famine
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danoff
:) I guess that is safer. No I wasn't serious.
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I didn't think so. But better safe then mad. :dopey:

I think it's funny that the people that are against a manual don't even drive them. So how can they have a frame of reference.
 
I will drive an automatic only when my arms and legs are amputated. Even then, I may design a system to allow me to shift with my teeth, or if those are missing as well, my eyelids.
 
While I disagree with the original post attacking manual transmissions, serious or not, I also fail to understand the deep hatred some people seem to feel for automatic transmissions. They're just not that bad, folks, and they have a constructive place in automotive society.

Some people have the same irrational hatred of 4-door cars. I've never figured that out, either.
 
I don’t hate auto transmissions. But I find manulas much more fun.

And EvO, if you are having trouble making an auto downshift quickly, try putting your foot flat, the quickly taking it off the accelorator then putting it back flat. That little blip of the accelorator, I have found, will make an auto downshift quickly.
 
Duke
While I disagree with the original post attacking manual transmissions, serious or not, I also fail to understand the deep hatred some people seem to feel for automatic transmissions. They're just not that bad, folks, and they have a constructive place in automotive society.
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The most sane post in this thread, though the only time I would think I'd consider an auto box would be luxuy cars like a big Merc, I would imagine people that live right in the middle of a busy city and spend the first half hour of every car journey in stop, go traffic would prefer and auto in their daily runabout.
 
live4speed
No it's got a seven speed semi-auto, thats all that will be offered in the M5, you can select gears as and when you want, or you can set it as an auto.
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Actually BMW is going to release a 6 speed manual M5 for NA only.
For once we get something better than the Europeans. :P
 
Really, oh well I stand corrected then. I would consider the 7 speed box it has at the moment as better though, you can still operate the gears manually. Then again I'd better wait till I actually know something about the 6 speed box they're going to use before I jump to conclusions :lol:.
 
Yeah, I don't necessarily have a problem with automatics, I just prefer manual.

Manual tranny cars also get better gas mileage. You can see that at any dealership.. just compare the mileage between two cars of the same make and model, one with auto, one with stick. The stick will be at least an extra three or four MPG.
 
I'd rather not drive at all, if I have to drive an automatic.

The only (semi)automatic transmissions I would take are the ones that have buttons or levers at the steering wheel, so I can chose when to shift, and not have the car do it for me.

Driving an automatic takes 99% of the fun out of the driving experience...

Say No to Automatic Transmissions! 👎 :D

The Wizard.
 
Of my collection of cars in the drive, 2 have manuals, and 5 are autos.
My little truck is a manual, and I love driving it.
But I don't object to driving the Excursion because it has an auto.

As it has been said, a manual allows the driver to choose when to shift.
I have a tendency to short shift a lot of the time, and it does net me better gas mileage.
But in the hands of a skilled operator, most passengers could be blindfolded, and not be able to tell when the vehicle is shifted.
My autos can be felt shifting just about every shift. My truck can be shifted smoothly enough that most of the times you cannot feel the shift.

I did lose cool points with one of my kids the other night with a manual though.
I somehow failed to get my timing right and actually stalled.:eek: :embarrassed:h the shame:
He actually commented on it too.:how dare he:
 
TheWizard
Driving an automatic takes 99% of the fun out of the driving experience...
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Case in point: I was coming home from work tonight, about to get on the highway. Got stuck behind a slow car, which would have prevented my otherwise quick entrance onto the highway. I was in third, just chugging along behind him, at about 30mph. Then I realize that he's not getting on the freeway, he's just continuing down the feeder road. At which point I put my foot down.. take the car up to about 70mph, then slap it into fourth right as I get on the freeway, taking it up to about 90mph before I settle down and send it into fifth for the cruise home.

Yeah, you can "drive fast" in an automatic, but it's just not the same. For one, I seriously doubt an automatic could accelerate as fast (since I've got no problems redlining.. that's where all the power is). Second, there's the sound.. yeah, it's only a 2-liter I4, but it sounds pretty damn sweet once you get above 4500 RPM or so.. which an automatic won't really let you do if it can help it. Third, I've got five gears to play with.. The automatic has only four, and you don't even get to tell the car when to change gears.

Oh, and the automatic also adds about a thousand bucks to the price of the car. Can't forget that little tidbit, now... :)

I don't think I've ever met a single person who's driven a manual, but prefers an automatic. Well, among people that like driving, anyway. Anybody who enjoys driving, and who enjoys cars in general will always prefer a manual. It's just... better.
 
Duke
While I disagree with the original post attacking manual transmissions, serious or not, I also fail to understand the deep hatred some people seem to feel for automatic transmissions. They're just not that bad, folks, and they have a constructive place in automotive society.

Some people have the same irrational hatred of 4-door cars. I've never figured that out, either.
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Here's my main rationale for despising the transmission that thinks it's smarter than me: it isn't. I just don't trust auto-trannies. I'm sure they're better in high-end cars, but in the ones I've driven, the transmission is so inconsistent it makes me sick. They don't really upshift or downshift at the right time, and don't always do it at the same RPM. Engine braking is also unpredictable. I pride myself on being a smooth driver, but under braking, an auto-tranny downshifts at such awkward times, it makes the braking jerky and inconsistent, which unsettles me, as well as any passengers. I much prefer the vehicle control afforded to me by a strictly-mechanical clutch and gearbox. And I sure as hell am not going to pay extra for an auto-box and have that taken away.
 
Oh, and i've NEVER stalled a manual transmission before. Considering how bad i drive, it must mean that manuals are quite easy to drive, eh? My parents wanted to give me their '98 Accord V6. I said no thanks, i want a manual, not a POS auto. Besides, I've convinced my dad that 200 hp is too much for a teenager. :D
 
Ya know what I think is unsafe? Automatics! Ya ever go from driving standard for the past 10 years either in your car, or on the farm in a tractor, then get into an automatic? I nearly crashed the thing when I braked with my left thinkin I was hittin the clutch, and smashed the gas with my right thinkin it was the brake at the end of my drive way about to enter the highway. Not to mention, they're lethal in the winter. I say, save the extra money when you buy a car and keep the manual!
 
SRV2LOW4ME
Ya know what I think is unsafe? Automatics! Ya ever go from driving standard for the past 10 years either in your car, or on the farm in a tractor, then get into an automatic? I nearly crashed the thing when I braked with my left thinkin I was hittin the clutch, and smashed the gas with my right thinkin it was the brake at the end of my drive way about to enter the highway. Not to mention, they're lethal in the winter. I say, save the extra money when you buy a car and keep the manual!
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Errr...Why does your inability to hit the correct pedal, mean all autos are unsafe? It works on the flip side too. I know someone who had driven Autos all of her life then got into a manual and crashed it within 20 seconds. I suppose that means all manuals are unsafe then.

Also, all this stuff about driving in winter...What is all this about?! If you're driving on snow/ice, I assume (I am from Australia, we don't get rain, nevermind snow...), that the main cause of accidents is speed. It doesn't matter if you're in an auto or a manual, if you're going to fast, they're both lethal. Anyway, it's not like if you're going serious mountian climbing in your Auto wagon you can't just put it in low gear anyway. Those Letters/Numbers that are below the letter D arn't just used for show 'ya know'.
 
It's a lot easier (that's a relative term, mind you) to drive on snow/ice in a manual, because of the ability to control the power being put to the ground, and the ability to use engine braking to slow down. Automatics on ice is like writing with your feet.
 
Ditto on that. A lot of ATs have that press... wait... nothing... press more... wait... nothing... press much more... .... ..... .....WHOA.

Granted, modern ATs shift better, but they still deliver power inconsistently.

The only time where I've felt an AT to be safer is with a CVT, as acceleration and deceleration are constant and well controlled, thanks to the fact that a CVT can hold the engine at constant revs. But equating modern traditional ATs with safety is pretty strange, as traditional ATs compromise braking... higher weight, inertia and poorer engine braking lead to poor braking and shorter brake life.

Again: traditional AT < MT < CVT... but so far, only Nissan has a mass-market CVT that can take a lot of power.
 
Casio
Also, all this stuff about driving in winter...What is all this about?! If you're driving on snow/ice, I assume (I am from Australia, we don't get rain, nevermind snow...)
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Your from Melbourne and you say you dont get rain :lol:.

I hate the fact with automatics some of them if you decide to change the gears manually (1,2,3,D) often they dont shift right away when you select the next gear. One bad case once was my friends Commodore SS (LS1) he put his foot down and he shifted into second about the right time but the trans held first so long the engine hit rev limter, so a quick let off the throttle was required (this happened at full throttle only). The car was only a year on and we checked autotrans fluid levels and they were fine.

I do like automatics for when I feel like going on relaxing drives in a nice roomy car.
 
MdnIte
Automatics for stop go traffic.

Manual for everything else.
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The funny part is that city style traffic is much harder on an automatic then a manual transmission. But most people don't know or don't care.

Raghavan
Oh, and i've NEVER stalled a manual transmission before. Considering how bad i drive, it must mean that manuals are quite easy to drive, eh? My parents wanted to give me their '98 Accord V6. I said no thanks, i want a manual, not a POS auto. Besides, I've convinced my dad that 200 hp is too much for a teenager. :D
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1. Sorry, I don't beleive you've never stalled. Stalling is part of the learning process of driving a stick. Unless of course your reving to 3K every time you start from a stop. :D

2. Congrats on being smart enough NOT to take a car that's beyond your current driving abilities. Most young people don't have the maturity to do that. 👍
 
I'd have loved my mum and dad to have given my an 98 Accord V6, evenif it was an Auto, all I got towards my car was a a paid for test. Although at the time of passing my test a 98 Accord V6 would not have been a good idea, but if my parents offered my a nice small car, auto or not, I'd have taken it as a first car.

As for stalling, I've not stalled in a long while but I did stall when I was learning and even once or twice after that.
 
I've known how to drive a manual for years and I stalled at a drive through the other day... just wasn't paying attention and oops.
 
It's not a hard thing to do, like you said, just not paying attention is enough to do it. It doesnt mean you suck at driving. Like Swift said, saying you've never stalled implys you over rev the car ALL the time rather than you beeing a good driver.
 
I don't believe that Raghavan has not stalled, either. I didn't stall the car the first time I ever let out a clutch, but I did quite a few times during the learning process. Now I probably stall once a year or so, a lot of times because I think I'm in 2nd when I'm actually in 4th. The car doesn't like the clutch being engaged at 15 mph in 4th :)
 
Raghavan
Oh, and i've NEVER stalled a manual transmission before. Considering how bad i drive, it must mean that manuals are quite easy to drive, eh? . :D
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or your clutch is being slipped to hell. i refuse to believe that anyone who has afull licence has never stalled a manual, its how you teach yourself safe biting points.
 
kylehnat
Now I probably stall once a year or so, a lot of times because I think I'm in 2nd when I'm actually in 4th. The car doesn't like the clutch being engaged at 15 mph in 4th :)
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I know that's right.

Anyway, we're getting somewhat off topic.

As far as a safety issue for manual vs Auto, I'm willing to bet that people that drive auto are much more likely to do "other things" while driving. Eating, smoking, drinking(non alcohol), cell phones(another thread) reach into another seat, etc. Driving stick in traffic keeps your hands on the wheel and the stick(generally).

I'd be interested in seeing some actual number on that.
 
I've been thinking that it may make your response time slower since you usually feel the need to hit the clutch when braking (hard). If a car swerves ahead of you and you lose a fraction of a second in hitting the break because you wanted to be sure you didn't stall - it could be less safe.

I think it's possible that the manual is worse for quick response.
 

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