Stick It - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dynalow · #16 03-03-2010, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

I learned how to do it on a 1974 MGB with the funky British pattern - no come to think of it I learned on a 'three on the tree' 1960 Falcon!

I learned on a 59 MGA.

I tried to do it in it one night. Gave up and went inside. Summer of '68.

aklim · #17 03-03-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippy

The only situation in which I think an automatic is superior is in drag racing, where every run is as close as possible to the same. In anything involving changing driving conditions, the stick is better.

I've also noticed that all the cases in which an old person has rammed a building or a group of people because they couldn't tell the gas from the brake, they were driving an automatic. Maybe we should require stick shift for all 60+ drivers. (I suppose an exemption for amputees and paraplegics would be in order.)

Not in city driving though. That is a PITA when I had to drive it in the city. Interstate was fine. Shift it to the last gear and leave it alone for a long while. In the start-stop world, I absolutely hated it which was why I sold it. Kid loved it because it was an 91 Camaro with a 350 engine and a stick.

Maybe old people shouldn't be allowed to drive without a test being done every so often. My buddy literally wrapped his Camaro around a fence post. If you had sat in the back seat at the passenger side, because of the way the fence post went into the car, we could have dropped a soda can thru your head sideways.

Skippy · #18 03-03-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Not in city driving though. That is a PITA when I had to drive it in the city.

My perception of that differs. I hate driving an automatic in heavy traffic. I always get an upshift the instant I want to start slowing down.

Quote:

Maybe old people shouldn't be allowed to drive without a test being done every so often.

Annual testing for those over a certain age sounds good to me. A written and driving test every few (3-5) years for all drivers also sounds good. The way the current system is, I haven't taken a driving test outside of the military since I was 16.

PaulC · #19 03-03-2010, 05:36 PM

Bah - manual transmissions are overrated.

My first experience with a manual transmission was around 1966, when I tried to start the engine of a 1964 Ford Galaxie convertible that had three-on-the-tree. The car was in first gear and, as per the norm back then, was not equipped with a clutch/starter interlock. I cranked the key, the car lurched forward towards the back wall of the garage and a pair of its headlights were taken out by a vise. I think that I was sent to bed - sans dinner.

JEBalles · #20 03-03-2010, 05:42 PM

I don't think sticks in stop and go are that bad, unless you're intent on staying on the guy's bumper in front of you. Otherwise, you gotta be patient. Let some space open up in front of you and slowly creep up. If it's moving fast enough, you might not even have to stop. I never keep it in gear, either, I always shift into neutral. Plus, the 240's clutch is pretty soft, sport car clutches are much stiffer. If I were always stuck in stop and go, I'd find a back-road way around it, if I could.

I just don't think it's worth the loss in control, reliability, power/efficiency and extra weight, expense, maintenance, complexity, etc. for a marginally easier driving experience.

aklim · #21 03-03-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JEBalles

I just don't think it's worth the loss in control, reliability, power/efficiency and extra weight, expense, maintenance, complexity, etc. for a marginally easier driving experience.

OK. So you got the control. What do you do with it that makes any difference? Like I said, in autocross, there is a need for it especially if the turns are tight. However short of that, what is the use for that control unless it is something you want to have just to have? As to reliability, I think they have come a long way from when they first came out. Of course, you can toast any transmission like my friend did with harsh driving. In fact, he went thru quite a few clutches and had to have rebuilds every 2-3 years. In the smaller cars like the lunchboxes on wheels, I see a huge difference between stick and auto but I am not sold on that when the engine power is higher. 10 extra HP in a beercan is huge but 10 extra on a 200 HP car is less effective. Maintenance wise, I am not sure what you have to do but regular fluid changes are part of the equation. I would think that driving in the city, the difference is marginal. Out in the open, not so much.

Hatterasguy · #22 03-03-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

It was when the autos first came out and were weak. I think that today, they have made them stronger and can be made to hold more power. I know that for drag racing, autos are hard to beat when you want consistent shifting.

Auto's are pretty good, and the flappy padal box's they put in a lot of the high end cars are way faster than the manuals.

But a stick is still more fun.

Think of it this way: An auto is about as fun as a really hot girl who is a virgin. The manual is an OK looking girl who is a nut in bed.

aklim · #23 03-03-2010, 09:08 PM

[QUOTE=Hatterasguy;2418111But a stick is still more fun.

Think of it this way: An auto is about as fun as a really hot girl who is a virgin. The manual is an OK looking girl who is a nut in bed.

[/QUOTE]

If you say so. I learned how to drive stick and found it a Royal PITA. So much so that I almost took a bath when I went to sell it. Maybe it is because I am doing a lot of city driving. Also, maybe it it is because most of my transmissions are performance built ones and shift the way I like it.

You got it wrong. The auto is like a OK looking girl who is a slut in bed and knows what to do and when to do it. The manual is like the hot virgin and you have to lead her into everything.

10fords · #24 03-03-2010, 11:52 PM

I will take a stick over an auto in any vehicle any day. In my neck of the woods autos just dont last- kill the brakes on the way down the hill and toast the tranny on the way up. I would love to have a 300sd with a 5 speed, that would be the ultimate for me. Even my 10 year old can drive a stick- it's not hard if that is all you learn on. I have told my daughter that if any of her suitors can't drive a stick that they are not real men!!!

300SD81 · #25 03-04-2010, 01:15 AM

I love driving stick, its fun, but if I had to do it in a daily driver, I can definitely see how it would get annoying, especially here with hills and stop-go traffic all the time. I say a semi-automatic is the way to go if you only have one car...

Angel · #26 03-04-2010, 07:05 AM

Traditionally, I think that its easier to build a stronger AT than an MT for a given transmission case- planetary gears and band-clutches generally take more torque longer than the dual shaft and single-plate dry clutch that most stick's have.
IIRC, my brothers' 2003 Ford Ranger - with an AT the towing capacity is 5000lbs, with a Stick it is lowered to 3600 lbs(?). Now maybe this has something to do with the 'shock loading' inherent in a std trans that can be designed out of an AT, but I'm betting on the more robust gearset.
from that standpoint, I'd want an automatic. But Automatics come with electronic control boxes, and car manuf's have it to a science where that box will last as long as they design it to (or less, in Toyota's case =) - Now, all of a sudden, the mechanically robust AT will not go as far as the std trans because it will require a new computer...as opposed to shift linkages, which are less proprietary and more repairable by myself. So in the end, the stick wins.

Ideally, I'd find a 4 or 5 spd planetary gearbox with a shift lever instead of a computer =)

I am losing my Jetta for an AT '01 Subaru Wagon. I'm gonna miss shifting.
I would also like to have a "toy car" with a stick, later on in life, but I cannot justify its expense right now.

-John

Rob Pruijt · #27 03-04-2010, 07:21 AM

In Europe 80% of the cars have a manual transmission, automatics are still considered a luxury. Nearly everybody learns to drive with a manual, if you do your driving test with a automatic you get a special license and are not allowed to drive with a manual transmission. In practice only disabled or technically very challenged people do this.

Rob

75Sv1 · #28 03-04-2010, 07:42 AM

One area of driving I like a stick better than an auto is in the snow. I like to keep the revs up in the snow, and then I can back off or slow down without hitting the breaks.
Tom

Ara T. · #29 03-04-2010, 08:04 AM

I think on a boring everyday kind of sedan, automatic is the way to go. On a sports car or one you really love to drive and as long as you dont do stop and go traffic all the time, manual transmissions are a joy. Sure, autos probably go faster 0-60 but they're not as fun.

dannym · #30 03-04-2010, 08:07 AM

I learned to drive a stick in a Ford Pinto I bought for $150 back in 1984 I think. That was my first car which I paid for myself.
Thankfully I didn't have it for long and upgraded to a Malibu Classic!

My wife's car is a stick and of course the motrorcycle is manual. Personally I prefer the auto.

Danny