Manually Shifting An Auto Tranny - Why Bother?

[jyl]

If you have one of those automatic transmission cars that lets you shift gears "manually" in a sequential mode, do you ever bother to do so?

I've driven such cars a few times. At first I try "shifting", thinking it will be neato to shift up and down, F1 style. After five minutes I get tired of it and leave the thing in "D". What's the point?

The latest is this rental car, an Infiniti G37. Now, this is a nice car. All leather, pretty nice looking, 6-speed auto tranny, and fast. 0-60 is something like 5.5 sec per my informal freeway on-ramp testing. But the sequential shifting is just as dumb, to me, as ever. Upshifts are lurchy, downshifts are worse, I can shift a true manual smoother in my sleep. Actually, even in "D" the transmission is rather unsmooth. I think I'd actually like owning this car, except for the transmission.

[Noah930]

I'm also not a fan of how most automakers arrange the transmission: push forward for a higher gear, pull back for a lower gear. Seems counterintuitive, to me. I'd rather have pull back for upshift, push forward for downshift. You know, like how they do it in a real racecar. I think Mini and Mazda might be the only car manufacturers that do it that way.

[RWebb]

the Walter Mitty Effect

[porsche4life]

My mom had a TDi Jetta wagon with a tiptronic. Talk about piss a guy off. That thing lagged bad, I hated it. I rode in a 911 at the track and it didn't have the lag. Still worthless IMHO.

[BRPORSCHE]

I like my Mazda's "Manumatic" tranny. I'll be honest though the only time it's not in auto is on ramps and toll boths.

[Tobra]

I do it when I am pulling a trailer sometimes I guess.

My brother has a Mazda, but I don't think it has a paddle shifter, some sort of stick arrangement, two pedals.

I don't care for automatics much.

[jyl]

I like shifting a manual. Like most of you, it's second nature. I also like lazing around with a torquey automatic. But the manumatics seem like the bother without the blessing.

[jdlowery]

Originally Posted by Noah930

I'm also not a fan of how most automakers arrange the transmission: push forward for a higher gear, pull back for a lower gear. Seems counterintuitive, to me. I'd rather have pull back for upshift, push forward for downshift. You know, like how they do it in a real racecar. I think Mini and Mazda might be the only car manufacturers that do it that way.

Add BMW to that list.

[island911]

why bother? There are situations where one wants it to stay in a gear. (rev's for exit speed) ..or go just one higher or one lower.

Certainly they are not as much interactive fun as a manual. Tho' the tiptronic is pretty damn smart on choosing the right shift point for conditions. ..smart like not upshifting when light on the throttle, but heavy in a corner.

[nostatic]

The DSG on my GTI was pretty damn fun. At the track the manual mode was nice when I knew what gear I wanted to be in preparing to exit a corner, etc. But truth be told, the "sport mode" full auto was probably as good at guessing as I doing manually. In that case the trick is just making sure you're got the turbo spooled up when you need it.

I've always driven manual (except for the GTI which was right after my moto accident). Truth be told if I had some extra cash I'd think long and hard about going back to the DSG though. I've been spending a lot of time commuting to rehearsals and gigs, often in bad traffic. In that case, even though it is second nature, the clutch gets old after an hour of doing 5mph.

[jyl]

Yes, if I lived in California I'd probably get an auto.

[911-32]

Originally Posted by jdlowery

Add BMW to that list.

Err no. Not in Europe anyway. BMW is the exception to the rule as they are push forward to change down and pull back to change up - just like a sequential racecar gearbox. Its useful for engine braking and it lets you start in 2nd when there is snow on the ground. On our X5 diesel it actually does a good job of matching the engine revs for a very smooth change - not perfect but credible. Other than that, I agree its a bit pointless.

[island911]

London? . . well no wonder it's backwards.

[Scuba Steve]

Got one right now in a rental. I got bored of it after a day or so - it just makes me miss my normal car with a 6 speed manual.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by nostatic

The DSG on my GTI was pretty damn fun. At the track the manual mode was nice when I knew what gear I wanted to be in preparing to exit a corner, etc. But truth be told, the "sport mode" full auto was probably as good at guessing as I doing manually. In that case the trick is just making sure you're got the turbo spooled up when you need it.

I've always driven manual (except for the GTI which was right after my moto accident). Truth be told if I had some extra cash I'd think long and hard about going back to the DSG though. I've been spending a lot of time commuting to rehearsals and gigs, often in bad traffic. In that case, even though it is second nature, the clutch gets old after an hour of doing 5mph.

+1. Mrs. Z-man's 2009 EOS has the same DSG transmission as the GTI. This is a dual clutch "manumatic" without the power sucking torque converter. This makes a huge difference when in manual mode.

I've driven a few cars with the manumatic -- VW, Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW to name a few. Seems the best ones I've driven are the newer dual-clutch ones without the torque converter. The DSG is a blast to drive, quite honestly. Up until
I started driving my wife's car, I would typically leave other car's "manumatics" in the full auto mode, since shifting through the gears didn't really amount to any improvement in shifting. But the DSG transmission is the exception - it really does a nice job of quickly shifting gears when you want it to.

Test drive a VW or Audi (DSG) or a BMW (SMG) -- I think you won't be disappointed by their automated manual transmissions.

Before I am required to turn in my man card: don't get me wrong - I still prefer the conventional 5-speed manual, especially for a car that is driven on the track.

-Z-man.

[gprsh924]

The torque converter systems are fairly pointless (though it was helpful in the snow on Sunday). However the DSG and SMG systems with actual clutches are much more engaging and can be a lot of fun. Plus there is always the auto mode when traffic is bad

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by RWebb

the Walter Mitty Effect

That's the most accurate, concise answer.

Although I'd add that it is mostly limited to those who don't know how to drive a stick shift.

It's a way for them to pretend they are driving a stick and/or are a "race driver."

It's really a goofy thing, that has been around since really the beginning of the automatic transmission. For decades, they could be "shifted manually" - they had PRND321 (or PRND21) and the driver could move the lever to whatever gear.

The difference is, in the "old days" (60s/70s/80s) no automatic driver would have really driven around shifting it "manually" because, well, it's goofy.

It's done now solely as a product of the marketing departments, not the engineering departments. F1 cars are shift-by-button (of course, they aren't slushbox automatics), so now salesmen can sell automatics by saying they have "F1 transmissions." First it was pushbuttons, now the stylists have moved to "paddle shifter style" like the current F1 cars.

(Of course, SMG, DSG, etc. are a completely different mechanical story).

[fastfredracing]

I used to shift my auto trans manually all the time. Of course this was always in well set up auto tranny's in muscle cars. I even built a couple with full manual valve bodies. Now days though , virtually pointless. The only time I do it now is if I am pulling a heavy load, and I want to hold lower gears a little longer

[rcooled]

It's certainly not as engaging or as much fun as a manual, but my Audi's Tiptronic 6-speed w/paddles can be quite entertaining. I drive twisty mountain roads quite a bit and use manual mode a lot. Shifts are crisp and the ratios are well-spaced. Being able to choose & hold your gear and pick your shift points gives an added measure of control in spirited driving. It's handy for passing as well because you can quickly drop 2 gears using the paddles while in "D" mode before pulling out. It'll then remain in manual mode for about 15 seconds before returning to full auto. Always nice to just pop it in "D" when slogging along in traffic, too.

[DARISC]

The Volvo wagon I just bought a few days ago has it; calls it "Geartronic".

I fiddled around with it the first day I had it and thought to myself, Why bother? Haven't used it since.