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This topic comprises 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Author
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Topic: Buying a new truck
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 02-26-2013 09:38 PM
On a personal note: why I like clutch cars is that I have full control of the motion of the car and the car itself.
I let off the gas, the car begins to slow down due to the compression braking of the motor (and it saves on brakes a great deal-I can make a set of brakes last twice as long than with an automatic car due to the aid of compression braking) since there is 100% power connection from motor to the wheels, whereas the automatic you don't have that full connection due to the fluid inbetween the driving and driven vanes of the torque converter and the complicated devices that shifts the clutches per each gear.
Driving an automatic is like a car that actually drives itself which really bugs me since I can't have that control as I do with a clutch car...and never smoked a clutch in my lifetime.
The advantage with the automatic is that the power is 100% from transmission to the wheels during shifting since with dropping the clutch, one loses connection (and momentum) inbetween the gears-why 4x4 trucks in 4 by mode works great with an automatic due to the continual power connection between shifts.
I also like the engine to tire control during the winter, esp on questionable roads, so I can use the motor to help me have the tire to ground control by the motor's compression braking. With the automatic, you let off the gas, the car is actually just coasting since there is no direct contact from drive train to the motor for compression braking.
Thus, one has to nurse the brake pedal to substitute that control that the motor can't produce..and more prone to sliding and losing tire control can be the result.
I grew up on a farm, learned how to operate a clutch vehicle (our Farmall Tractor) at 8yrs old and literally had to stand on the clutch pedal to put the thing in gear and learned how to release it at the correct time. Then, got behind the wheel of the hay trucks with those heavy clutches where by the time I took Driver's Ed in high school (in which we drove automatic vehicles), I passed with flying colors and my parents gave me my first car - a 1962 Rambler American with the "3 on the Tree" and away I went with it .. and never looked back.
Now, granted, stop and go town driving with an automatic is bliss since dumping the cluch all the time can get to a body, but still love my clutch for highway driving and the power and control that I have.
This is what I drive as my highway car (this is a photo of the same vehicle that I own, but not the vehicle of what I own..)
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 02-26-2013 10:48 PM
One thing I don't like about automatics is the gear ratios. Many cars with automatics only have three gears. That creates problems when passing or climbing hills.
On a recent trip from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, we drove my wife's car which has a 3-speed automatic. The terrain on our journey went through the mountains of West Virginia. I frequently felt the car bog down when climbing a hill. I had to step on the gas to kick the transmission down to a lower gear. That meant I had to go faster in order to climb the hill. This presents a problem in that area because the police in the small towns in those areas like to set up speed traps to catch out of state drivers. I was faced with the problem of either being sluggish going uphill or risk getting stopped. Going down the hill, the car tended to go into a higher gear, again, increasing my downhill speed, forcing me to use my breaks too much.
Driving my car with a 5-speed, I had the choice of downshifting to climb a hill or using engine breaking to regulate speed downhill. My car with its manual transmission is more responsive when conditions change.
If I'm driving on slippery roads, I have the option of downshifting to use engine breaking or shifting up a little early in order to keep the wheels from spinning out. In a car with an automatic transmission, you have only the brakes unless you want to shift into "low."
If you want to regulate speed around a curve, you can downshift with a manual transmission where you couldn't with an automatic. Generally speaking, I can maintain an average speed that is five or ten miles per hour slower than people driving automatics but, because I have more control of the car, I can often pass people driving automatics.
The number one reason why I advocate learning to drive a manual transmission is because it teaches you to plan ahead. You can't simply step on the gas pedal to jackrabbit between stop lights. You have to look one or two cars ahead to see what traffic is doing in front of you.
If you're coming up to a "stale" green light (one where you don't know how soon it's going to turn yellow) and there are a few slow pokes ahead, you can let up a little so as to prevent having to make a quick stop at the intersection. If the way is clear, you can go a little faster without too much risk. If traffic is "stop and go" you can put your transmission in one gear then, by watching traffic two cars ahead, judge when to use the clutch to maintain a consistent, safe speed while still having the option of using your breaks if you need them.
If you have two or three people in close proximity who drive manual transmission and maintain consistent speeds, traffic flows better and EVERYBODY goes faster.
Even if a person prefers to drive an automatic, as long as they know how to drive a standard, they almost always drive at a naturally consistent pace.
It is not simply speed which causes accidents. It is inconsistent, unpredictable speed. If you have just one timid, unpredictable driver in a line of traffic, that person increases the chances of accidents for everybody around him.
Driving a manual transmission gives you more control, allows you to drive more consistently and makes traffic go smoother. I say it's also a little bit safer. Plus, I still think a well-driven manual transmission is more fuel efficient.
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