Driving - Manual Vs Automatic

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Well I've been driving a 12 speed auto MAN truck today and it's ok to drive better than the 8 speed Merc I drove earlier in the week
 
GoldDragonAurkarm said:
I'm sure it's not the greatest thing ever, although honestly it's probably not as hard on them as would be a two or three gear jump where a novice operator makes no effort to match revs and just jams the shifter like it's no big thing. I know Subaru transmissions hate that sort of thing, as any 5th to 3rd or 3rd to 5th usually make crunchy metal noises, at least from what I've seen. Like I said, I haven't done it in any of my cars since I've had ones with good transmissions and car payments attached. The Ford MTX-75 transmission was notorious for eating synchros on 3rd (and then usually 4th as the owners would jump 3rd and not bother to let the revs fall to match), and my Mystique had already lost its 3rd by the time I got it (part of why I got an otherwise fine car for the price I did), so I didn't feel too bad learning some tricks on it.
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Actually, I skip gears all of the time. I up-shift the 6-speed 1,2,4,6 for normal acceleration and the 5-speed 1,2,3,5. On downshifts I skip a single gear as well for better braking (double clutching and/or matching the engine speed of course). I know some of you are thinking "what a waste", but keep in mind that I have owned Porsches for more than 70 vehicle-years and stick cars for 103 vehicle-years. One tends to get lazy.
 
Auto driver only here. From Australia. Never had anyone to teach me stick. Though I admit I'd like to try one day!
 
I drive a ten speed standard :D
 
I would like to know since a lot of you drive semis why don't they make the transmissions synchronized? I read that non syncros are stronger than synchronized ones and that they weigh more which = lost payload and lost revenue. I can belive the first but ai find the second idea total crap.
 
Experiment626 said:
I would like to know since a lot of you drive semis why don't they make the transmissions synchronized? I read that non syncros are stronger than synchronized ones and that they weigh more which = lost payload and lost revenue. I can belive the first but ai find the second idea total crap.
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I'm only partially "car literate" but from what I can tell, a synchronized transmission has more moving parts and is weaker in general. Both mean that a truck that travels hundreds of thousands of miles over its life is going to spend more time in the shop with a corresponding loss of revenue (and profit). Also, more parts usually means more cost up front. And yes, the second point is total crap. Rates are only very minimally affected by weight and any weight added by different transmissions would very quickly get buried under the 80,000lbs limit.
From what I can tell, the only advantage to a syncro is that they are smoother and easier to learn (both of which are good for consumers but not really for industry).

Curiously, a quick look at the Wikipedia article hints that a non-synchronized transmission is law in the US while in Europe a synchronized transmission is standard.

Somebody else may be able to explain it better. I work in the office of a trucking company so only see about half of the story.
 
Arcituthis I can tell you that 80,000lbs loaded especially on hills eats fuel mileage and I'm an owner operator so you can imagine what that does. So you factor in a heavier trans with less power with those hills for me it gets costly. Then you start talking about the repair bill which I'd eat for nearly two weeks after. More cost = more short term hurt lol. Arc I hope this helps with your theory :).
 
Experiment626 said:
I would like to know since a lot of you drive semis why don't they make the transmissions synchronized? I read that non syncros are stronger than synchronized ones and that they weigh more which = lost payload and lost revenue. I can belive the first but ai find the second idea total crap.
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there are various reasons, but it comes down to simplicity in use, with there being less to go wrong, and simplicity of manufacture.
the latter refers to the higher levels of engineering, especially in tempering metals, required for syncro boxes.
i remember reading about a particular european car manufacture who, with the push for more diesel engined cars, and turbo-charged at that, experienced instances of gearbox failures due to the metals not being able to cope with the greater slow-speed torque of a diesel engine.

in use, you have consider the weight of the mechanisms to be shifted and the viscosity of the gearbox oil, 'floating' cabs which affect the gear linkages, the [low] engine speeds and the driveshaft speeds [bigger wheels, don't forget]......and under massive amounts of torque.
the slow speeds don't need syncros as much and all the other reasons come together to make that even less need and reason for, but i'd say that torque is probably the biggest factor; you could probably throw laden weight into that.

as for the European wagons and their sycro boxes, the effectiveness of syncros on [fully] manual boxes is debateable, and has been since they first introduced. and having grown up around wagoning, i can tell you that gearboxes have been a source of debate for as long as i can remember.
the wagon i used to drive, an ERF E-series, was supposedly a syncro box, though you wouldn't know it a lot of the time. and when i injured my shoulder [gear changing side], i ended up having to use my other arm to force the stick.
 
I learned to drive on my Dad's International Harvester TravelAll SUV, manual transmission.
Not easy for a person like me with Cerebral Palsy and Autism to learn on.
 
caitianx said:
I learned to drive on my Dad's International Harvester TravelAll SUV, manual transmission.
Not easy for a person like me with Cerebral Palsy and Autism to learn on.
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Those are cool! I always admired them, even more since they are a 'dead' brand.

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arcituthis said:
Curiously, a quick look at the Wikipedia article hints that a non-synchronized transmission is law in the US while in Europe a synchronized transmission is standard.
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Really!? that is crap! and unfair.
 
I've never driven stick, but it doesn't seem like it'd be nearly as complicated as people seem to make it out to be. My car is automatic, as are most cars in the U.S. in my experience. Driving stick is usually something reserved for older drivers (i.e. elitist old people who think auto drivers are lazy [emoji16]) or young teens who get old cars handed down to them/cheap.
 
I can drive a stick, but auto is so much easier.
 
OMG! You peoples are killing me! LOL!
USA here, I learned to drive in an auto (because no one in my family drove stick).
Soon after that I basically had no choice but to learn stick. LOL.
The place I worked at had two cars, an auto and a stick, I drove the auto.
Well one day the stick car was all that was there. So I'm like I can't drive stick.

His reply was real simple: Go Learn, and tossed me the keys. LOL
Oh ya, his other words of wisdom to me. Clutch in, give it gas, clutch out and go. Gee thanks!
I wasn't sure at the time if he thought I could figure it out, or was just being a dick, lol.
So I drove, well bucked, stalled, screeched around the parking lot till I got it. :)

Soon after that my next car was a stick, well it wasn't car it was a JEEP :D Which was really cool because no one but me in my family could drive it! When I bought it home I got You bought a JEEP! yes. ITs a stick. Ya. I don't like you driving a jeep, and when did you learn to drive stick?

JEEPS are great, they are a lot more forgiving then a car trying to teach someone how to drive a stick, lol. I've probably taught like 5 or 6 people to drive stick, with my own cars, lol.

Experiment626 said:
How do you float gears? I tried in my Jeep going up and I couldn't get it into gear and I'm too scared to try going down.
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JEEP transmissions are easy to upshift without the clutch.
Get up to speed where you normally shift, let off the gas, pop it out of gear, then just sorta push it into the next gear, lol. you shouldn't hear anything but sort of a Nnnnn sound as it goes into gear. If its an older one like high miles you may also hear like clunk or thud, lol. But as long as your not hearing the grrrGrrrr grindng sound you're OK. :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE JEEPS!! All of mine were always stick. except for one, but eh, got a great deal on it, did miss shifting though but got used to being "lazy", lol.
Well most JEEPS are stick, the Wrangler (top n doors come off ones) anyways not the SUV ones.

GoldDragonAurkarm said:
Also, some good advice I got when I was learning to drive manual was to treat the shifter like it is made of glass.
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OH HELLS NOOOOOO!!!! LMAO!
Not unless you're driving some 30yr old Porsche or VW where the shifter is more like a soup ladle, lol
Kenn said:
I own 5- and 6-speed Porsches, and I shudder to think of shifting w/o the clutch and what it would do to the syncros.
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Except for the above, lol, they take a little more finesse, Porsches are picky to begin with, lol, but upshifting without the clutch shouldn't cause any problems at all. Never did for me :)

parcelboy2 said:
The best manual challenge is driving a car with a dog leg 1st , like Merc's and reverse is where 1st is (rev bang !)
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BMWs also came with dogleg manuals too. The straight 2-3/4-5 shifts were for track racing. :)

417PlacesToGo said:
Driving stick is usually something reserved for older drivers (i.e. elitist old people who think auto drivers are lazy [emoji16]) or young teens who get old cars handed down to them/cheap.
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LMAO! Hey! I'm not "that" old :D

Ya, if you haven't guessed by now I sorta like cars, and JEEPS, lol. Lots of "car guy" friends growing up.

Don't get me wrong though, I love manuals, but sometimes they can be annoying, like in traffic, lol.
It is nice every now and again to just drive an auto. That's once you stop trying to push the clutch in to start it and stop grabbing the shifter thinking you have to shift, lol.
 
MandyBear said:
JEEP transmissions are easy to upshift without the clutch.
Get up to speed where you normally shift, let off the gas, pop it out of gear, then just sorta push it into the next gear, lol. you shouldn't hear anything but sort of a Nnnnn sound as it goes into gear. If its an older one like high miles you may also hear like clunk or thud, lol. But as long as your not hearing the grrrGrrrr grindng sound you're OK.
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Lately I have been shifting up without the clutch on my jeep and its kinda fun! I have a 97 so mine does make a nice thunk.I have been able to shift down and its very satisfying getting it right but I really do it.
 
Well I can't shift any gears in my car at the moment as the gearbox is off as I'm doing my clutch as it was going and I had a bad drive shaft and wheel bearing
But the gearbox is not playing ball and won't go back in
The car is a Euro spec Ford focus 1.8 diesel 115bhp estate (station wagon) Ghia spec transverse engine 5 speed manual
It's got air con cruise electric windows and heated front screen
 
Experiment626 said:
Lately I have been shifting up without the clutch on my jeep and its kinda fun! I have a 97 so mine does make a nice thunk.I have been able to shift down and its very satisfying getting it right but I really do it.
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:D Glad to hear it! Oh so you have a TJ then.
Mine were either old CJ's or the YJ "Wranglers" with square headlights.
 
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