Auto is it worth it?

[tom1995tsi]

I dunno if i should keep my current car or buy another dsm that is a 5 speed. I already have some mods done to my car the biggest of which is a 16g. People where i live act like automatics will never do anything. I still smoke every civil si i come across and almost every other car except for those dam mustang cobras. What do you guys think? Is it that big of a difference?

 

[Eliminat0r]

autos can go just as fast as manuals. its all a matter of which do you prefer more. me i prefer shifting so im gonna buy a m/t dsm and keep my auto tsi awd as a dd or winter beater

 

[TazzSLC]

Auto holds boost all the way thru the shift

 

[OneFastEclipse]

Auto Launches with lots of boost outa the hole too! Get a 130 shift kit on that thing. You will be pleased!

 

[x628x]

woah for once people arent hating on the autos haha. im very happy with my auto gsx and yea you do get good launches. and you can outshift the manuals

 

[MyEclipse5]

i have an auto and i hate it, i've never had a manual but i know it can only get better.

Do what you want, personally i want the control of my gears, my car can't read my mind, so it doens't know what i want.

And i hate it when i want to speed up, but stay in the gear im in, but it downshifts for like 2 seconds then shifts back up...pointless

 

[ckozlgod]

I like the fun of a mtx. Mt ATX is had soe many problem, I replaced it 3 times already. But that's just me.

Whatever your most comfortable in doing is what you should go for.
MTX is a pain in traffic and in city if you ask me, but I like it.

 

[TSi999]

MY friends have a 96 GSX A/T with shift kit, stronger internals and a nice stall converter.

The moddedauto will be quicker in the 1/4 mile due to 5 speeds losing boost at every shift, the auto doesnt, they also can build up to 20psi at the starting line for leaping launches...


If you drag race then it would win a lot of bracket races also, it will be very consistant..


I want them to sell me their car they wont ..

 

[TSiAWD666]

Wow, a whole lot of bench racers with no real experience with an auto.

Boost off the line? Whoopty doo... you still launch at a very low rpm, and well below the useable power band of a decent turbo. boost or no boost, you're still lagging for a few tenths longer than a decently driven manual.

As for going as fast a manual... to clarify this a bit more I would say not really with the same mods, but this is only based on my minimal anecdotal evidence. On my 95 awd auto with 16g and goodies, I was over 2mph slower in the quarter (and of course 8 tenths in the time) than my later purchased 95 awd manual with the exact same hardware (moved over from the auto to the new car). Same tuning.

Boost between shifts? Oh gees... this is easily eaten up by the relatively slow shifting automatic transmission.

Now, for what it's worth, I am infinitely happier with my manual than my auto. It's generally more fun to drive, and I have much more control over the vehicle. Now this however I feel is because of how I like to drive... see I'm one of those open-track kind of guys who had to worry about weight transfer in turns, being in the right gear for accelerating, etc. Forget rev-matching a downshift, or trusting the auto trans to put you in the right gear for the exit. Oh, I love actually being able to launch the darn thing too, hehehe.

However, despite the negatives above, I did like my automatic for pure cruising. I've found that the manual just is a bit more work to drive, and it's just a bit less enjoyable to tool around in because I have to concentrate a bit more. The auto I loved to just jump in and floor it all over the place, letting the tcu do its thing... the manual not so much. So I think the choice depends on what kind of driving you like to do. If you want all-out drag performance, while it is possible with an auto (just talk to Russ Coxe), it's going to be honestly more work than with a manual, but you can get there. If you want a race-track car, forget the auto. If you want a really good cruiser with so-so returns per modification, get the auto.

 

[TSi999]

yea whatever buddy, Ive got a 5 speed.

Mabye you should brush up on your reading comprehension I said a 96 gs-X with a built, upgraded a4 with shift kit and high stall

 

[clownface]

in case no one said this yet, autos have bigger driveline power loss then a manual :thumbdown

 

[TSiAWD666]

Originally posted by TSi999
yea whatever buddy, Ive got a 5 speed.

Mabye you should brush up on your reading comprehension I said a 96 gs-X with a built, upgraded a4 with shift kit and high stall

Nope, understood you perfectly there big guy. You said your friend's car... So how much driving you do with that car? Got any comparisons with the same "built upgraded a4 with shift kit and high stall"? I'd really love to see them against the same mods on a manual. Please prove my guestimations wrong. I mean really, how much long-term experience you have with that a4? I wanna hear personal experience, not your speculation or what your friend says it's like, unless he could jump on here.

 

[paranoidTSi]

Manuals are more fun Thats all I have to say about this subject. No real experience with a auto-turbocharged DSM, the only thing I know is they have slightly higher torque and a little less horsepower stock.