How auto gearboxes went from zero to hero

[SauRoNZA]

Unless you're a WRC driver

In which case it’s technically not full auto.

 

[konfab]

I like manuals for the reason that they are mechanically simple. This allows them to be cheaper, more reliable, more efficient and cheaper to fix if something goes wrong. So for someone who doesn't like spending money on cars, they are the thing to go for.

 

[Geoff.D]

I like manuals for the reason that they are mechanically simple. This allows them to be cheaper, more reliable, more efficient and cheaper to fix if something goes wrong. So for someone who doesn't like spending money on cars, they are the thing to go for.

Exactly and therefore much more suited for use in SA at the moment for a very large portion of the population.
Good post!

 

[Baise]

I like manuals for the reason that they are mechanically simple. This allows them to be cheaper, more reliable, more efficient and cheaper to fix if something goes wrong. So for someone who doesn't like spending money on cars, they are the thing to go for.

In a manual you can burn a clutch out in two minutes with an inexperienced or cowboy driver. New generation auto's are almost impossible to break.
Most new commercial vehicles from 4 tonners all trhe way up to 6 x 4 truck tractors are now auto. They are driven by the toughest "SABS"testers on the planet and survive. Reliability is not an issue, neither is efficiency.

 

[cfcjim]

Hydrogen is used (with Oxygen) to make electricity to power an electric motor.

Not direct power from combustion.

 

[Ockie]

I still enjoy driving a manual. Driving a automatic is nice and relaxing, but manual is fun

 

[faniebraai]

My first auto was the Polo 1.4 GTi DSG, and wow, did that set a standard.

Currently have the Ranger XLT 3.2 6speed AUTO.

Even my bike is a automatic - Honda NC750X DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission)


auto is definitely the future

 

[FiestaST]

I still enjoy driving a manual. Driving a automatic is nice and relaxing, but manual is fun

Soooo..you like stick (shift) then...

/runs

 

[Rouxenator]

I like manuals for the reason that they are mechanically simple. This allows them to be cheaper....

As someone that forked out R9k for a clutch replacement this year I'm gonna have to stop you there.

If the car was auto it would not have that issue since it saw a lot of traffic from Somerset West to Cape Town on a daily basis and at 130,000km the clutch was well worn. My auto car, albeit a basic 4 speed, shifts to neutral when you stop for more than 3 seconds. Not that you need that in an automatic but it goes to show why they are better suited for daily driving.

 

[Craig_]

I've never driven an automatic. How do the modern boxes do when you're parking for example? You need to ride the clutch a bit too control your speed and I'd imagine that's hard in an auto or a semi auto.

As per the below post, it works not much different, it's actually easier as it crawls forward slowly when you release the brake.

Automatics crawl forward when you release the brake, so it's actually a lot easier than in a manual.

Much like you would ride the clutch you just release the brake, but it's even simpler for only having to use one foot and one pedal at any given time.

The "clutch" (depending on configuration) is completely automatic too.

CVT is good and dual clutch too, as long as it's not from VAG or Ford.

However modern slushboxes with electronic controllers are the best. Any car with some like the Aisin AWTF-80 ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWTF-80_SC ) or better will do.

My current DSG is good, my first proper auto car. I don't know the ford boxes I wouldn't advise against DSG, it really is good.

Actually considering going auto for my next car. Question for those who've made the change: how long was it before you stopped looking for the clutch, or forgot that your left foot was near the brake and not the clutch and pressed it accidentally? Asking because a co-worker almost went through his windshield the first day.

I alternate between my auto and my wife's manual car constantly, and I only once when somebody drove out in front of me unexpectedly put my left foot almost through the floor.

An automatic license is technically an endorsed (aka restricted) license.

Much like one that requires you to wear glasses etc.

Would still recommend people do a full manual license just so you understand the deeper workings of a car but also so you don’t need to do it over again one day when you buy something special.

Or for that matter an emergency of some kind where you need to drive someone else’s car.

Or a company car, those tend to almost always be manual. I've got one colleague that can't drive manual and can never drive when we go anywhere with a company car.

 

[qscwbt]

ha ha I must be the only one living in the stone ages. I suppose gearbox type is a very personal choice and no right or wrong, just like everyone kiss there GF differently.

Personally I hate auto / dsg etc as I feel it is very boring and takes the drive out a driver car. Manual is involving fun and quick.

manual all the way.

 

[faniebraai]

ha ha I must be the only one living in the stone ages. I suppose gearbox type is a very personal choice and no right or wrong, just like everyone kiss there GF differently.

Personally I hate auto / dsg etc as I feel it is very boring and takes the drive out a driver car. Manual is involving fun and quick.

manual all the way.

quick? then you obviously haven't driven a car with a DSG gearbox

 

[Nithan15]

I've never driven an automatic. How do the modern boxes do when you're parking for example? You need to ride the clutch a bit too control your speed and I'd imagine that's hard in an auto or a semi auto.

Parking is easy with an auto box - the worse experience is reversing on an incline you have to use your handbrake there. or Left foot on the brake and give it a few revs - but apart from that almost 10 years with Auto boxes from the BMW Steptronic to the VW DSG to the Ford Powershift. Autos have really evolved.

 

[konfab]

As someone that forked out R9k for a clutch replacement this year I'm gonna have to stop you there .

That was R9k. How much do you think your auto gearbox would cost to fix if it decided to give up the ghost. My father-in-law's A class's auto box decided to give up just after the warranty expired. That ended up costing him about R30-R40k to fix.
Call me paranoid but I would rather take R9k risk more often than a less likely R40k.

In a manual you can burn a clutch out in two minutes with an inexperienced or cowboy driver.

Since I am neither, it doesn't apply to me. And I would bet if you drove an automatic like a cowboy and f__ked around with the semi-auto it would break just as quickly.

 

[dlk001]

I drive a manual and an automated-manual (i.e. Double- Clutch-Transmission). I find the DCT equally engaging as the manual with the advantage of being an automatic when traffic requires so.

I'm replacing the manual car with an auto.

 

[catman37]

Is a dual clutch really worth it? I drive a manual.

If you look at Ignitions review of the Lexus LC500 they say its its single clutch is just as fast as a dual clutch.

 

[FiestaST]

Depends on the gearbox & its individual application. There are instances where certain dual clutch gearboxes are more superior than other torque converter automatic transactions & other examples where the opposite applies.

What has changed is the latest torque converter automatic transactions fitted to more premium vehicles have caught right up to their dual clutch counterparts & at times perform better than the dual clutch variety.

 

[SauRoNZA]

My current DSG is good, my first proper auto car. I don't know the ford boxes I wouldn't advise against DSG, it really is good.



.

Technically DSG isn’t automatic.

Not in the conventional sense of the word anyway.

But operationally and in the context of the traffic department with it only having two pedals it would be.

 

[SauRoNZA]

ha ha I must be the only one living in the stone ages. I suppose gearbox type is a very personal choice and no right or wrong, just like everyone kiss there GF differently.

Personally I hate auto / dsg etc as I feel it is very boring and takes the drive out a driver car. Manual is involving fun and quick.

manual all the way.

Someone hasn’t driven a modern dual clutch auto...

Please don’t throw conventional auto into the same context as dual clutch setups like that. They aren’t remotely the same.

That was R9k. How much do you think your auto gearbox would cost to fix if it decided to give up the ghost. My father-in-law's A class's auto box decided to give up just after the warranty expired. That ended up costing him about R30-R40k to fix.
Call me paranoid but I would rather take R9k risk more often than a less likely R40k.

Dealership eh? Someone could then argue your old man was crazy for paying the extortion fees to replace the entire thing.

Odds are it could have been done much cheaper.

Same odds are that the same situation would have cost the same or very similar money at the dealership as well.

Ergo, dealership pricing shouldn’t be used when debating these things as they aren’t representative.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Who in this day and age still drives a manual ?

Me. Not everyone wants a common German car that comes at a premium ironically...