Transmission choice for the daily grind

[NomisR]

I don't mind driving a manual for day to day traffic simply because going gas brake gas brake is just as annoying if not worse than using a clutch. 

For the track though, I'm starting to think I might prefer a SMG simply because I would most likely be able to cut a second or more off of my lap times with it.  Especially with something like the VW/Audi Dual clutch system.

[TBR]

I'm sure it can't be THAT bad.

I certainly didn't enjoy it the one time I drove in Houston rush hour traffic (for those familiar, I was on 59 leaving Rice and headed north at 4:30PM). But, I am sure it would be better once you got used to it.

That said, my choice isn't on there. I really think DSG is the transmission of the future and I honestly think that would be my choice, given the option (provided budget wasn't too much of a concern).

[CJ]

Laz:

Number 6 on that list is SO incredibly true.  DFW traffic is so bad. 

[JYODER240]

I voted manual. For one my commute is fine, there's never stop and go traffic. Even still there's only 2 cars I've driven that had clutches that are too stiff for traffic. One of those was an aftermarket clutch, and the other isn't a daily driver anyhow.

[Colin]

I've only ever owned manual gearbox-ed cars, and trust me, UK traffic is at least as grim as some of the worst parts of the US......... I should know, I work in Los Angeles a lot! Outer London is far worse than Los Angeles, as at least the surface streets allow you to escape the 405 in LA, but in outer London, the only realistic options are the freeways.

My new car - due to be collected on Friday (I'm getting v excited!) is an automatic..... only because there was no choice of transmission. I guess my left foot will have to get used to a life of idleness!

I did recently experience a CVT transmission (Audi's multitronic) in an A6 TDi, and it worked very well there... all previous such transmissions I had encountered were awful, with the gearbox taking too long to catch up with what you did with the throttle pedal!

I've no real experience with DSG, but those who have will tell you that it is not foolproof yet.......

[heelntoe]

i picked automatic because i imagined a commute that involves a lot of stop and go traffic. otherwise, for my daily commute, i'd take a maunal.

hell, my daily commute consists of completely deserted roads with lots of nice curves and bends. nice opportunities to clip apexes and such, so yeah, i'd like to change my vote.

[rohan]

Seattle sucks monkey nuts, too.

So does Detroit and Cleveland and Chicago

I used to think the manual was faster and better for fun driving and the 04 Corvette made me think that was right - and then I got the GTO.  The automatic in that is furious fast.  It's smooth and quiet and faster than it's manual brother- same with the 545 which can be sort of both but it's so silky smooth it just makes you wanna drive it.  I don't think I;ll ever buy a manual again.

[Byteme]

Three of our cars are manuals, 2 5 speeds and 1 4 speed.  We drive all of them in heavy rush hour traffic in Houston.  We have no complaints

BTW according to Forbes the cities with the worst traffic are:

Top 10 Cities With The Worst Traffic:

1.  Washington D.C.
2.  Atlanta, GA
3.  Los Angeles, CA
4.  San Francisco, CA
5.  Houston, TX
6.  New York, NY
7.  Riverside ? San Bernardino, CA
8.  Chicago, IL
9.  Dallas, TX
10. Boston, MA.

See:  http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/04/15/top-10-cities-with-the-worst-traffic/

[ChrisV]

I can't agree with Rohan about never buying a manual again. Over the last 30 years I've had a lot of both, and I know I'll have more of both.

But a long time ago I got over requiring a car to have one or the other. I'm simply not simple minded enough that moving my left foot is the only thing between being bored driving and not.

I enjoyed commuting in the Fiat and the PT with manuals, I enjoyed commuting in the 7 series and Jags with automatics. I enjoyed autocrossing and driving the 911s with manuals and I enjoyed autocrossing and driving the V8 RX7 with an automatic (modded, but still an automatic). I tend to clip apexes with the steering wheel. Never found a clutch pedal to turn the car properly... And in a lot of cars that I've owned, if I had to slow down to go around a corner, requiring a shift, I would have been doing triple+ the speed limit anyhow, and I simply don't do that on the street (anymore). 991.9999% of the time, even on twisty back roads, I simply have to turn the car, even if I'm going briskly. And on the commute, never.

All that being said, I still end up with a sore ankle (the one that got hurt in that car explosion years ago) if I have to work the clutch too much when driving. Hell, that ankle doesn't always work right even when just walking.

[FoMoJo]

I was thinking about this today.  I live in a big city, and traffic here sucks.  The more I drive stick cars, the more I come to the realization that for any sort of daily commute in the city, I would not want to have a manual car for a DD.  Maybe if I drove more highways, I'd take a manual car, but for city driving, it sucks.

So for your daily commute, your regular drive in the traffic you drive in now, what would you pick and why?

Please refrain from turning this into a "autotragic" debate.  That would be asinine.  This is for your commute, not for the race track.

I came to that conclusion in about 1964 when I was driving '59 Austin Healey Sprite downtown to work every day in stop and go traffic...but it didn't have synchro in first.

[nickdrinkwater]

I've only ever owned manual gearbox-ed cars, and trust me, UK traffic is at least as grim as some of the worst parts of the US......... I should know, I work in Los Angeles a lot! Outer London is far worse than Los Angeles, as at least the surface streets allow you to escape the 405 in LA, but in outer London, the only realistic options are the freeways.

My new car - due to be collected on Friday (I'm getting v excited!) is an automatic..... only because there was no choice of transmission. I guess my left foot will have to get used to a life of idleness!

I did recently experience a CVT transmission (Audi's multitronic) in an A6 TDi, and it worked very well there... all previous such transmissions I had encountered were awful, with the gearbox taking too long to catch up with what you did with the throttle pedal!

I've no real experience with DSG, but those who have will tell you that it is not foolproof yet.......

Is it an M3?

[nickdrinkwater]

I voted manual.  It can get tiring in places like London, but a lot of my daily commute is on faster roads (60-70mph limit) so I'd get really bored in an auto.

Having driven both autos and manuals in London though, auto is definitely more comfortable when it takes an hour to do 5 miles.

[TBR]

Is it an M3?

He said it was automatic only, while the M3 is manual only (I think, BMW's DMG hasn't come out yet, has it?).

I am guessing S6 or AMG Benz.

[ChrisV]

I voted manual.  It can get tiring in places like London, but a lot of my daily commute is on faster roads (60-70mph limit) so I'd get really bored in an auto.

You get bored on the expressway when you're not shifting your manual car?

Never figured out how moving your left foot every once in a while is the difference between being bored or not. Never got bored in the 7 series, either doing 80 on the interstate or 50+ on twisty backroads...

Of course, I've driven for 12+ hours straight on the interstate where the only shifting was done slowing on the exit to get fuel. Certainly didn't really qualify as fun, because as Lazerious indicated, you don't really even notice shifting when it's second nature, and something you don't or barely notice doing hardly qualifies as fun, nor would it cure boredom.

Yeah, the boredom angle always intrigues me.

[omicron]

Auto-what? I'm addicted to heel-n-toe now. My synchros have been quite bored.

Yay! You're back! I am rather excited to see you about.

*dance*

[JYODER240]

It's going to depend on the car for me as well. If i'm driving any type of sporty car I'll probably want manual. I doubt I'd want manual in a truck, SUV, large luxury car, etc. 

[nickdrinkwater]

You get bored on the expressway when you're not shifting your manual car?

Never figured out how moving your left foot every once in a while is the difference between being bored or not. Never got bored in the 7 series, either doing 80 on the interstate or 50+ on twisty backroads...

Of course, I've driven for 12+ hours straight on the interstate where the only shifting was done slowing on the exit to get fuel. Certainly didn't really qualify as fun, because as Lazerious indicated, you don't really even notice shifting when it's second nature, and something you don't or barely notice doing hardly qualifies as fun, nor would it cure boredom.

Yeah, the boredom angle always intrigues me.

Your posts bore me.

[ChrisV]

Your posts bore me.

Nick, I'm just trying to have a conversation. I've never understood how the action of moving your left leg occasionally is what makes the difference in being bored or not while driving. I've seen it as a reason a few times and I'd like to know what it is about the rest of driving that bores you. I'm serious.

[Lebowski]

Whether an auto is boring or not, driving a manual in traffic simply isn't the hassle that people who have never done it seem to think it is.

Chris you mentioned your ankle was injured, which is a legimtate complaint, but I'm always astounded by people who don't have any kind of injury say things like "my leg would get tired driving a manual in traffic", which makes me think WTF??  I've read this line a dozen times on corvette forums where this argument pops up all the time.  Maybe in 1958 that was a legitimate complaint, but I don't see how anyone who's driven any manual car produced in the last 10 years can honestly think driving it in traffic tires out your leg (again, unless you have an injury or are 90+ y/o, otherwise you'd have to be the most pathetically anemic person on earth).

[CALL_911]

The best was Trep's excuse saying his arm would get tired.

[Laconian]

It's also so much more therapeutic to drive a MT in anger.

The best was Trep's excuse saying his arm would get tired.

What was his excuse once he became able to drive a stick "perfectly"?

[SVT666]

I don't drive in traffic at all and I love my 6 speed manual for my commute.  I voted manual.  Haivng said that, if I lived where rush hour traffic was a problem, then I would take an auto.  I've driven in rush hour in Calgary and Edmonton for 10 years and an auto is definitely the way to go.  Often times traffic is moving slower then the car will creep in 1st gear, so it's a constant in and out, in and out, and my already bummed knee would be screaming at me by the time I got home.

[Soup DeVille]

Neither of you drive in heavy traffic that often, do you?

I do- an average of 250 miles a week, and I still wantr my stick.

[2o6]

Oh, and "RWD sucks big time in snow" is another one.

It's not as bad as it's potrayed, but compared to a Front-Heavy, FWD car, the FWD car will win every time.


---------------


Also, I prefer a Manual. Ohio Rush Hours and stop-go isn't that bad.....it's crowded, but normally it keeps moving.


If I had to get an auto, it'd be a Manumatic CVT.

[2o6]

Nick, I'm just trying to have a conversation. I've never understood how the action of moving your left leg occasionally is what makes the difference in being bored or not while driving. I've seen it as a reason a few times and I'd like to know what it is about the rest of driving that bores you. I'm serious.

Keeps your mind occupied, as well as active.

[2o6]

So does Detroit and Cleveland and Chicago

I used to think the manual was faster and better for fun driving and the 04 Corvette made me think that was right - and then I got the GTO.  The automatic in that is furious fast.  It's smooth and quiet and faster than it's manual brother- same with the 545 which can be sort of both but it's so silky smooth it just makes you wanna drive it.  I don't think I;ll ever buy a manual again.

Cleveland is not that bad.

[Ron From Regina]

I've never really given it thought until last year when I drove though Denver on I25 from Thorton to Littleton during rushour.

Here, my commute is at most half hour, so its a no issue. In Denver it took almost an hour in such slow moving traffic that at times, I had to ride the clutch. My leg was so sore when I got to my destination, I vowed that next time I make that drive, I'm taking an automatic.

[Cookie Monster]

I will take a manual.

KTHXBYE.

[TBR]

It's also so much more therapeutic to drive a MT in anger.

What was his excuse once he became able to drive a stick "perfectly"?

More Trep BS, I have put in 30,000 miles on MTs in 2 years, I can't drive a stick perfectly and I suspect many of you who have driven far more would say the same.

[JYODER240]

Cleveland is not that bad.

Except for the time I got stuck downtown when a Cavs, Indians, and a concert let out at the same time.