Stick or Automatic?

[peter_vod69]

Manual is the way to go. If you start on a manual you can drive anything. I started on a manual and that's what I prefer now. I even got a driving job because I knew how to drive a manual.

Can you drive a TRAIN?

 

[maSonn09]

Manual for sure. Been using a manual for 4 years now and I have to say once you get used to it you never forget.

I suppose if all you want to do is cruise around the city/town then an auto will be fine (as mid city traffic can be killer on a clutch).

Going from auto to manual can be tricky and vice versa but I'd recommend manual.

 

[BobbyBRAKEaNek]

Can you drive a TRAIN?

Hellz yeaaaa.... i can drive a stick

 

[C_Raccoon23]

If you need a stick to keep you busy while you drive, you're not a safe driver. There is a LOT to pay attention to while driving an automatic - namely everything going on around you. You don't need any entertainment while you drive.

If you think it's boring, you're doing it wrong. Start paying attention to what you're doing.

So it's bad to want to enjoy driving your car?

And I am a safe driver thank you. I don't text while driving and I refuse to answer my phone while driving either. I don't speed. I'm aware of road signs that a lot of people in my town miss.

I mean, I can keep going.

 

[Azuremen]

And I am a safe driver thank you. I don't text while driving and I refuse to answer my phone while driving either. I don't speed. I'm aware of road signs that a lot of people in my town miss.

None of this actually means you're a safe driver, but go ahead thinking that.

 

[niky]

The idea that learning in an auto makes you a worse driver is false. People are bad drivers simply because they're bad drivers, not because they lack the necessary hand-foot coordination to work a spring-loaded pressure plate that disconnects the engine from the transmission every time they have to switch gears.

-

The only reason, really, to learn on a manual is so that you have the skill later in life when you might possibly need to drive a manual vehicle.

 

[BobbyBRAKEaNek]

What will you do when the Zombie Apocalypse finally happens. The only car you can find is a mint Chevelle 454SS that you stumbled apon while hyding from zombies. You open the door to it and pull down the sunvisor, the keys fall in your lap, the tank is full, you look to your right and it's a stick...
I guess you'll have to pick your bat back up and make a run for it. lol

 

[C_Raccoon23]

None of this actually means you're a safe driver, but go ahead thinking that.

Enlighten me please.

 

[Azuremen]

Enlighten me please.

I know plenty of people that don't text or take calls while driving, who follow the speed limit, and know where the signs in their town are.

They are still horrible drivers.

All you've done is listed you can obey the posted rules, not that you have experience or judgement that makes people good drivers.

Also, in my experience from living in Savannah for several months, going the speed limit could, arguably, be more dangerous than speeding because you'll end up impeding the flow of traffic.

 

[ShobThaBob]

Enlighten me please.

Not doing specific things that are unsafe does not inherently make you safe. It was pretty straightforward.

 

[niky]

So it's bad to want to enjoy driving your car?

And I am a safe driver thank you. I don't text while driving and I refuse to answer my phone while driving either. I don't speed. I'm aware of road signs that a lot of people in my town miss.

I mean, I can keep going.

The fallacy is equating any of this to the transmission of choice.

I know a lot of manual drivers who use their cellphones while driving, who eat while driving and who even dress up and do their nails while driving.

Just because you need to move a clutch and stick while accelerating up to freeway speed doesn't mean you will necessarily be more attentive when you get there. In fact, drive a manual for longer than a year, and you will not even have to stop chatting with your mate or ogling the girl two cars over to shift.

And I pity the fool who can't text and shift at the same time. D'oh. You just have to take both hands off the steering wheel.

What will you do when the Zombie Apocalypse finally happens. The only car you can find is a mint Chevelle 454SS that you stumbled apon while hyding from zombies. You open the door to it and pull down the sunvisor, the keys fall in your lap, the tank is full, you look to your right and it's a stick...
I guess you'll have to pick your bat back up and make a run for it. lol

Shove it in first, crank the starter with your foot down and go.

Driving a clutch in an emergency situation where you don't necessarily have to follow traffic laws or be gentle on the machinery isn't going to be difficult for most novices after the first half-mile of grinding. They know the theory, all they lack is practice.

 

[Crash]

The optimal way to do this (to learn as much as possible with as little risk as possible) would be to learn for about 6 months to a year on an automatic, then switch to a stick for a year or two. Then do whatever you want.

The problem with learning how to drive from the very beginning in a stick is that you're more likely to die. You can learn important things like gauging speed, maintaining speed, passing, checking blind spots, judging traffic, judging parking angles, parallel parking, smooth brake usage, traffic lights, stop signs, roundabouts, merging, proper following distance, etc. without having to also worry about which gear you're in, which gear you should be in, proper clutch usage, how to start on a hill, rev matching, etc.

That first left turn across traffic is going to freak you out enough as it is without worrying whether or not you're going to stall half way into the street.

As I have said in the past, and I will say again, exactly what Danoff said. Learn to be a good driver first, then worry about advanced techniques. Same thing with when learning manuals, learn to shift properly, proper clutch usage, find and be in right gears first, then learn to heel toe.

I find it very funny that somehow, once a person has learned to drive an automatic car, then somehow, that person cannot learn to drive a manual in the future, as many members seem to suggest.

 

[JacoJa]

What he's saying is that in this country if you learn and pass your test in an automatic, you can only drive automatic cars. You have an auto license.

If you learn in a manual, you can drive both. 👍

We have the same rule in Australia. I think it's a good thing, as it'll force more people to learn basic driving skills in a manual. A lot of people buy automatics here, because people have far more important things to do while driving, like updating facebook. Though I think most Australians are just too lazy to change gears.

I prefer a manual... Makes for a safer driver. I've been stuck with two automatic cars after I sold my Celica a couple of years ago, and it's really starting to annoy me.

 

[peter_vod69]

I prefer a manual... Makes for a safer driver.

How?

(PS coming from someone who started in an Auto - and has owned 3 manuals since.)

 

[homeforsummer]

I find it very funny that somehow, once a person has learned to drive an automatic car, then somehow, that person cannot learn to drive a manual in the future, as many members seem to suggest.

When has that actually been suggested though?

My understanding of those similar comments was one of legality, rather than skill. In the UK, if you take your test in an automatic car, then you are legally only allowed to drive an automatic thereafter, unless you subsequently take a manual test.

The law doesn't prohibit you from learning the skills to drive a manual car if you did the auto test first, but if you have an auto-only license you do need to take another test to drive stick.

It's the same in several other territories. It's all about legality and nothing at all to do with inability to learn on a manual afterwards.

 

[JacoJa]

How?

(PS coming from someone who started in an Auto - and has owned 3 manuals since.)

Manuals offer more control over an auto (they just do), and they make the driver more alert, as there is more to think about. The amount of douchebags I see in Perth using telephones while driving is unbelievable. If they’re forced to change gears with their left hand, I’m sure it would force them to reduce phone usage while driving.

I'm not knocking people in this thread for driving auto's... Just the people I have to drive with everyday.

 

[peter_vod69]

Manuals offer more control over an auto (they just do), and they make the driver more alert, as there is more to think about. The amount of douchebags I see in Perth using telephones while driving is unbelievable. If they’re forced to change gears with their left hand, I’m sure it would force them to reduce phone usage while driving.

I'm not knocking people in this thread for driving auto's... Just the people I have to drive with everyday.

So they don't make safer drivers, they just give drivers more to do.

PS - I drive to work every day in a sea of oblivious morons in Hiluxes, Navaras, D-Maxes and so on, so I've got plenty of evidence that your theory doesn't hold water.

 

[daan]

The problem with learning how to drive from the very beginning in a stick is that you're more likely to die. You can learn important things like gauging speed, maintaining speed, passing, checking blind spots, judging traffic, judging parking angles, parallel parking, smooth brake usage, traffic lights, stop signs, roundabouts, merging, proper following distance, etc. without having to also worry about which gear you're in, which gear you should be in, proper clutch usage, how to start on a hill, rev matching, etc.

The first time I drove a car on a public road, was my first driving lesson on my 17th birthday, and it was a hill start. I had had a couple of tries at driving before that on private property, so I knew a bit about biting points and what not, but I could still feel my clutch leg shaking as I let it out. However, I got it moving and went up through the gears with no issues.

Your post makes it sound like you are coming at driving without seeing, or being driven in, a car. While I was growing up, all the time I was in a car, I was watching what my dad was doing and paying attention to what was happening, how the roads worked, and other traffic (that I could see.) All of that gives you an idea about what you are expected to do whilst driving.

I also think that there is a lot of "it's what you're used to." I had never even sat in an automatic car until we went to Le Mans this year, never mind driving one. All the time I was in a car whilst growing up, I was watching someone changing gear whilst driving. I knew that when I got to drive, it would be a manual and I had/have no inclination to get an automatic (with the exception of a car with paddle shift.) Were the cars that you were in whilst growing up manual or auto?

I don't want to turn this into "America vs the rest of the world," but it does seem that the American roads system lends itself to autos. For example, we don't have 4 way stops. When we were in San Franciso, being driven around by Smallhorses, it was constant accelerate, stop, accelerate, stop, repeat ad infinitum it seemed. Obviously, an auto is best for that kind of driving, and when you're caught up in a queue of traffic.

When most of the driving you do is on open roads, and this is most of my commute to work, and I'm not usually in big cities to be caught up in traffic jams, I don't see the advantage of an automatic.

 

[Ridox2JZGTE]

Manual is more involving for the driver compared to an auto, while a good driver makes for a safer driver, and thats it. With time and practice, a manual driver will reap more benefits than an auto driver, for example : better control in emergency and more situational awareness as manual driver tend to anticipate early.

I have been driving manual for years, learned to drive in a beat up manual toyota sedan when I was 15. Now, driving manual is like second nature, changing gears, left foot braking, heel and toe are like an auto operation to me. I don't have to divide my attention just to press the clutch in order to change gear, it's like a habit. Now every time I have to drive someone else auto car, I feel something is missing ... that feel of control and involvement , maybe that's just me.

 

[kikie]

Blix, have you decided yet? Stick or automatic?

Maybe you could practice with a Logitech G27? It's not exactly the same thing as driving a manual in real life but it's a good excersise.

 

[JacoJa]

So they don't make safer drivers, they just give drivers more to do.

They make safer drivers, because the driver needs to be more involved and more alert.

PS - I drive to work every day in a sea of oblivious morons in Hiluxes, Navaras, D-Maxes and so on, so I've got plenty of evidence that your theory doesn't hold water.

Don't quite understand the point you're trying to make here.

 

[MatskiMonk]

They make safer drivers, because the driver needs to be more involved and more alert.

The safer drivers argument is total horse poo.

Shifting is virtually a sub-conscious action when driving a manual, it doesn't make you any more aware at all, you just do it without thinking about it, I fail to see how it makes you more alert.

There is also of course the chance you'll get it wrong, possibly stalling, or causing sudden deceleration, or sudden decrease in acceleration.

You also imply that without a manual gearbox, a drivers attention would wander... this may be true for you, but it is not a general fact, or if as you say it takes more concentration to shift a manual, then maybe this mental effort is better directed towards observation and spatial awareness, than gear selection.

Of the cars I've owned, 6 were MT and 3 were AT.. it made no difference to my ability to concentrate. Number of accidents in 15 years driving = zero. number of speeding offences = 3, all in MT!

 

[Pagey279]

They make safer drivers, because the driver needs to be more involved and more alert.

I've seen drivers, with a lot of experience driving manuals get it wrong. For example I was in one car going around 60mph, the driver went to change up into 6th and got it wrong, she panicked and was fumbling around with the clutch and gear stick. Her attention was completely diverted from the road ahead and what was around her so she was weaving around, as she was desperate to get it into the right gear.
That's just one example, so I wouldn't necessarily agree that manuals make safer drivers.
Take the exact scenario I have just mentioned, and change the car to an automatic, it would never have happened.

Like MatskiMonk said changing gear in a manual is second nature. I don't think about changing gear I just do it. Am I a safer driver that those who drive automatics when I drive a manual? I don't think so, the safety of someone's driving comes down to what sort of driver they are, it doesn't depend on the transmission.

 

[avens]

Blix, have you decided yet? Stick or automatic?

Maybe you could practice with a Logitech G27? It's not exactly the same thing as driving a manual in real life but it's a good excersise.

He decided (correctly) on page 2. And right after that people (more like some americans) started a manual v. auto discussion, in which it was clearly shown all manual detractors here aren't good drivers.

 

[homeforsummer]

The safer drivers argument is total horse poo.

Shifting is virtually a sub-conscious action when driving a manual, it doesn't make you any more aware at all, you just do it without thinking about it, I fail to see how it makes you more alert.

There is also of course the chance you'll get it wrong, possibly stalling, or causing sudden deceleration, or sudden decrease in acceleration.

You also imply that without a manual gearbox, a drivers attention would wander... this may be true for you, but it is not a general fact, or if as you say it takes more concentration to shift a manual, then maybe this mental effort is better directed towards observation and spatial awareness, than gear selection.

Of the cars I've owned, 6 were MT and 3 were AT.. it made no difference to my ability to concentrate. Number of accidents in 15 years driving = zero. number of speeding offences = 3, all in MT!

All of this. Save for the extra potential for occasionally messing up a gearchange or whatnot, manual/auto is absolutely no different in terms of concentration.

Autos are more relaxing I find and I tend to drive in a more relaxed style as a result, but my concentration isn't any different. Not running down pedestrians and keeping my distance from other traffic is all part and parcel of driving itself, irrespective of whether you shift your own gears.

And right after that people (more like some americans) started a manual v. auto discussion, in which it was clearly shown all manual detractors here aren't good drivers.

...eh?

 

[Hun200kmh]

LOL you learn new things everyday in GTPlanet, I had no idea the UK (and Switzerland too) had different driver licenses for "auto" and "manual" cars, I wonder how many other countries in Europe have this distinction (there's no such thing in Portugal ... yet).

In my country the vast majority of cars is fitted with manual tranmsmission, although auto is slowly but surely increasing its quota in new cars, mostly the bigger and more expensive ones.

I hate automatic transmission and if I'm ever given the wheel of a "auto" car I prefer someone else drives it. I can do it, but I0ll be stressed by it. A bit like going to the UK, renting a car and keeping in mind you're supposed to drive on the "other" side of the road. Nothing against it but I do love to drive and the "stress" factor displeases me.

(funny story: the other day a guy insisted on me trying his car - auto - in a short travel between points A and B inside Lisbon. I did my best and things were going fine up to a point when I had to do a more sudden - instinctive braking because the car in front stopped for no apparent reason. And this happened: My right foot moved from the throttle to the brake, and applied the usual pressure for a civilized braking moment. My left foot moved also, looking for the clutch, and pressed the pedal all the way down. Except ... that pedal was ALSO the brake pedal So, my friend found out how important it is, even in short distances, to fasten properly one's seat belt. Even then his head almost colided with the windshield! )

 

[homeforsummer]

That's why the best way to drive an auto is to keep your left foot on the "dead pedal" (/clutch footrest). Once you get out of the habit of thinking your left leg has to do anything it's much easier.

Not that driving an auto is hard anyway. Lord knows how it stresses you out, that defeats the whole purpose of an auto

 

[Blix]

Blix, have you decided yet? Stick or automatic?

Maybe you could practice with a Logitech G27? It's not exactly the same thing as driving a manual in real life but it's a good excersise.

I'm going to drive automatic, just because of where I live and what I have to deal with everyday, but I will not die w/o learning a stick shift. I might just get that g27 thing! Seems like it would really help. Thanks!

 

[Ridox2JZGTE]

I'm going to drive automatic, just because of where I live and what I have to deal with everyday, but I will not die w/o learning a stick shift. I might just get that g27 thing! Seems like it would really help. Thanks!

So you are going to drive auto, good timing, I posted a link for a car that might interest you in your other thread " Best 1st Car ". It's an auto

 

[Azuremen]

They make safer drivers, because the driver needs to be more involved and more alert.

I have this feeling that I've driven longer and more distance than you have, and entirely with manual cars.

It has never made me concentrate more, aside from when I was very first learning to drive stick back when I was 16. Now I can drive with one hand around town with little thought, and gear changes are entirely subconscious. I'll eat fast food while driving around town, or fiddle around with my camera - the shifting isn't really an issue.

Now I also know plenty of drivers that are my age or much older than are just too distracted by the manual, make clunky shifts, and it more or less detracts from their focus on the actual road. You're argument is just a bunch of self-praise.

He decided (correctly) on page 2. And right after that people (more like some americans) started a manual v. auto discussion, in which it was clearly shown all manual detractors here aren't good drivers.

I'm curious how old you are to turn this into an America vs World thing while managing to make a baseless and ignorant statement.

I'm going to drive automatic, just because of where I live and what I have to deal with everyday, but I will not die w/o learning a stick shift. I might just get that g27 thing! Seems like it would really help. Thanks!

Driving in video games is nothing like driving in real life, in my opinion. Especially GT5.