Quote:
Originally Posted by retmil46
For my part, I'd advocate that a person should be taught how to drive a manual, regardless of what they normally drive - such that in an extremis situation, if the only vehicle available to them is a manual, they won't end up being stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
I was strictly a manual guy for the next 18 years with an '87 Subaru wagon.
As far as current automatics being uber-reliable - the OEM's can STILL screw them up - my '05 Jeep Liberty CRD came with a POS torque converter that couldn't handle a 2.8 L diesel - DC did a "customer satisfaction recall" -  - where they just flopped in a new version of the same TC and then detuned the engine by 10% to make their cheap-a$$ TC hold together until out of warranty. I said "screw you very much", put in a billet TC from Suncoast Diesel on my own dime, which was able to handle an aftermarket tune from Inmotion, and haven't had a problem since even with 185 HP and 330 ft/lbs at the rear wheels. |
Nah. Let them get stuck a few times and they will pick it up on their own.
If you are talking about smaller engines and cars, the difference will be larger than on a bigger engine. For smaller engines like that, I would say go with a stick. You don't have that much power to lose. 20HP in a 100HP car is more significant than say 22HP in a 300HP car.
I know my friend was breaking a T5 every season and a half on average when he took the Mustang out. Fact is, none of the transmissions out there are meant to be beaten on. Right now, in my Excursion, I have a trans from a builder that literally dares you to break it. When you break it, he fixes it. IF you break it within 2 yrs, he pays for shipping. Outside that, you pay for shipping. I put a 383 into my Firebird. The stock trans on my Firebird lasted 9 months with me babying it. Get it built and it lasted 3.5 years with me beating on it daily. If there wasn't snow, I would hit it WOT.