Manual transmissions

Moneywaster said:
My Kuga also have a manual mode. But it does not work as I would like it to. For example when you drive at 60km/h even if you want to put it into top gear manually, it refuses. So now I never use the manual mode anymore, as what is the point if it does not listen to you.
But on the highway, I like to use manual mode. The car has power to spare so to overtake in top gear. But if you want it not to shift down manual mode is the way to go with this car on the high way.
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I got the same car and it can be a little frustrating, all the running gear is actually Volvo and originally developed in 2002 so it is old tech but works well for it's age.
Due to it being a 5 speed box 4th & 5th gears are longer than normal to reduce consumption & noise at highway speeds. 5th gear can be utilized from 65kph or just change into natural if coasting down hill, I mainly use manual mode to engine brake and save the disc's and pads.
 
Spoke101 said:
I got the same car and it can be a little frustrating, all the running gear is actually Volvo and originally developed in 2002 so it is old tech but works well for it's age.
Due to it being a 5 speed box 4th & 5th gears are longer than normal to reduce consumption & noise at highway speeds. 5th gear can be utilized from 65kph or just change into natural if coasting down hill, I mainly use manual mode to engine brake and save the disc's and pads.
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Strange, that box sounds tricky. i never feel the need to manually shift to engine brake coming down hospital bend or kloof nek.
 
nazmo said:
Strange, that box sounds tricky. i never feel the need to manually shift to engine brake coming down hospital bend or kloof nek.
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Same here, my gearbox downshifts by itself when going downhill and I take my foot off the accelerator.
 
Moneywaster said:
Just a question. If you drive a auto car in manual mode most of the time, is there any accelerated wear?
I am asking this as when I drive my Kuga in manual mode, the downshifts are so much more jerky than just leaving the car does its own thing in auto mode.
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It has a Aisin Warner 55-51SN gearbox same as the 55-50sn but the AWD variant.
Each gear technically has it's own clutch so it has 7, this thing is very complicated but a real wonder considering it is 18 year old tech.
To answer your question in short, yes it is putting more ware and tear on the gearbox as well as the rest of the drive line. Try not to down shift to quickly from high rev's and break gently when doing so and you should be fine.
https://www.autogear.fi/vaihteistokauppa/aw_55-50.pdf
https://www.myvolvolibrary.info/Tech_files2_ficheiros/AW55-50 SN.pdf
 
As mentioned it's an old box. If left in auto and without brake or accelerator input it will just keep accelerating till friction eventually counters gravity. In auto it only downshifts when the rev's drop below 1500 mark.
 
DiamondEagle said:
Because... it gives me complete control of the car... :unsure:
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tumblr_m4lipxuLor1r3zat8.gif~c200
 
Spoke101 said:
It has a Aisin Warner 55-51SN gearbox same as the 55-50sn but the AWD variant.
Each gear technically has it's own clutch so it has 7, this thing is very complicated but a real wonder considering it is 18 year old tech.
To answer your question in short, yes it is putting more ware and tear on the gearbox as well as the rest of the drive line. Try not to down shift to quickly from high rev's and break gently when doing so and you should be fine.
https://www.autogear.fi/vaihteistokauppa/aw_55-50.pdf
https://www.myvolvolibrary.info/Tech_files2_ficheiros/AW55-50 SN.pdf
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7 clutches?? I think this gearbox will then bancrupt me if it can give problems.
Thanks for putting me at ease:ROFL:
 
Auto all the way, until it packs up and you see the quote to repair it. That for me is the only drawback on modern automatics otherwise why the hell not, I'd rather enjoy the drive than need to be fiddling with the clutch and shifter.
 
rietrot said:
I'm also old school. I get bored in an automatic car especially if it also has cruise control. Just sitting there doing nothing....
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A good chance that I am older than you. 'Four on the floor' was all the rage in the late 50's, when I started. That replaced column gear changes - thankfully! An automatic Ford Zodiac had two forward gears, so that when going up a steep hill it started well, but changed up, and nearly died. I was being passed by so and so Morris Minors of less than a litre capacity in the 3 litre Ford!
I now prefer autos, particularly on the Discoveries, which are exceptional. I've never had a clutch replacement........... But a manual Citroen did!
Some autos are crap, such as a Honda Civic Auto of 30 years or so ago. Some modern ones are bad too, but all mine are fine. (A Jag Xtype, a Merc SLK, and two Discos Mk II.) But my Porsche 944, a manual, was fabulous.
I would not want a manual around town, as my feet are painful. Even on longish 4-500 mile runs they help a lot with the use of cruise control: you do not need an (aching) foot on the accelerator.
But some VW auto boxes are to be avoided due to breakdowns with time. I have only once had a repair to an auto box, and have run some up to 200,000 MILES (not kms). The duff one was a ZF on A Citroen CX estate with 9 seats.
The number of ratios availableon some auto boxes can be a bit high, no doubt due to lousy engine characteristics required by emissions legislation. Some of those can be pretty rough to ride with all the changes.

As to being bored, if you use the manual override properly, you can have just as much fun.
 
rietrot said:
That's a automatic. One one drive gear.
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I liked that bicycle.. that seat was so comfortable. Oops, showing my age here. And no it was not only a one drive gear.

The bike featured a choice of a single-speed coaster hub, or a 3-speed or 5-speed Sturmey Archer gear hub
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Chopper

The Mk 2 ("Mark 2") Chopper was an improved version sold from 1972. It had the rarely-purchased option of five-speed derailleur gears, and the gear lever shifter changed from a knob to a T-bar-style shifter.
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rietrot said:
Just another case where someone doesn't know how to drive.
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Well, thanks for the assumptions there. I've been driving for 32 years, and I'm pretty sure I know how not to ride the clutch. I'd be interested in tips you have for not using the clutch in stop-start traffic, 60-90 minutes for 20km, twice a day, 25000km per year.

FWIW, the cars I've changed clutches often on were Ford Mondeos, but that was due to driving conditions, not the car make; on previous cars (Astra, Cressida, Golf, Sapphire), I rarely changed clutches, but roads were much emptier then, or I worked in places with decent traffic.
 
I think its quite important to be specific in terms of what is "automatic" in relation to this thread. Most posts refer to the more traditional (and slower) auto boxes. You also get Dual Clutch (which is electronically controlled manual boxes) and the modern super fast auto boxes (like ZF boxes). They all vary drastically in terms of involvement, economy, feedback. Personally I wont have a car with the more traditional box, has to be either a 100ms auto box or Dual Clutch transmission if its a daily/commute/weekend car.
 
Modern slushboxes improved a lot. I was blown away at how quick the 8speed auto in the Amarok V6 shifts, so much so that I initially thought it was a DCT box. Thankfully VW wants the Amarok to actually last so no DSG there :p

Have a look at how many cars used the trusty Aisin 6-speed auto : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWTF-80_SC
That is rather impressive.
 
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