Back to a manual transmission - wow

Racer1930

Racer1930

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Well I thought it would be like getting back on a bicycle...you have done it and it should be easy.

So anyway, as I mentioned before, I traded in my 2002 Buick Century Custom for a new Honda "Fit". Now the Honda is a pretty small car but it has decent size (around the driver's box) and it has some get-up-and-go (130 HP) with a manual transmission (which I absolutely wanted).

Getting used to the "power zone" (shifting) has been tough for me. 2000 to 2500 rpms is nowhere with this car. You have to jack it to at least 2600 to 3200+ before shifting to get some real performance. But to be fair, when I do occasionally jack it to a high rpm it is like going into the passing gear.

According to the RPM gauge it redlines at 7500+ (if that can be believed)...they say if I wanted to go 130 mph with this car - I could.

Personally, I never go above 100 mph in polite company :)
 
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Soon to be the Ol' manual vs. auto transmission discussion, so what the heck, I'll join in.

Manual is the preference of our household. Each one is different than the next one when it comes to driving, feel, shifting points, etc.... I've owned at least one manual transmission vehicle for my entire lifespan. Every time we replace a vehicle there's a learning curve. Not a big deal though.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't have it any other way. They're more fun to drive IMO. To me, it doesn't matter if it's city or highway. It makes no difference. Shifting becomes 'automatic', for lack of a better word. A non thought. Natural. One time after reading one of the manual vs. auto debates, I decided to count the number of times that I shift on my daily commute to work. My count got over 250 shifts before I gave up counting. And that was just one way! Something that I never think about even once during my drive.

A manual transmission isn't for everyone. Some seem to have problems driving them under city road conditions. Some people call them a PIA. Don't get me started on the ones that can't seem to master the 'hill start'. Those are the ones that need to 'stick' to auto's. The most recent vehicle that we purchased is a 2014 Jeep Rubicon X 2-Dr. 6-speed w/4.10. It is the first 6-speed transmission that we've had. I smile every time I climb behind the wheel of that thing. It's fun to drive as the daily commuter or as a weekend warrior on the trails.

One of the first things that I did was turn off 'hill assist'. I never heard of such a thing before we bought the Jeep. It seems the art of the hill start is slowly being eliminated.

Have fun with that new Honda @Racer1930. You're gonna luv it.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
A manual transmission isn't for everyone. Some seem to have problems driving them under city road conditions. Some people call them a PIA. Don't get me started on the ones that can't seem to master the 'hill start'. Those are the ones that need to 'stick' to auto's......

One of the first things that I did was turn off 'hill assist'. I never heard of such a thing before we bought the Jeep. It seems the art of the hill start is slowly being eliminated.
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I had a 1948 Studebaker 'Commander'' The big Studebaker. Had overdrive, self adjusting brakes and a hill holder. I was in Kansas at the time so the hill holder function rarely got used. Many post wars cars had innovations that other car makers didn't adopt until decades later.
 
I was raised on manual tranny's, but, my work vehicle, family car and JEEP are liquid trannys. We have a John Cooper MINI that is a 6 speed and is like a go cart on steroids, 2005 model with 12,600 miles, yeah we drive it a lot :rolleyes: :sarcasm:.

The only time I can remember trouble with a manual tranny was in San Francisco driving my son in laws Jeep, holy mary and Martha, what a pain in the A on those hills where you stop on a vertical incline for a red light. I made it work but it took a lot of heel toe effort.

DP you are absolutely correct, if you are using a manual tranny all the time, you do not notice at all.
 
I didn't learn to drive stick until I was thirty. My best friend, at the time, talked me into trying. Oh just take me to the end of the driveway., Then it was, oh just take me into town. Then it was oh, you're doing great, just take me through town to the party we're going to. I actually was doing pretty good but.....taking off from a traffic light was interesting. Like I said, I actually did pretty well. My next car was a Subaru Legacy, manual. I loved it.


My current car is automatic, my next vehicle will be another stick.
 
sdj said:
I was raised on manual tranny's, but, my work vehicle, family car and JEEP are liquid trannys. We have a John Cooper MINI that is a 6 speed and is like a go cart on steroids, 2005 model with 12,600 miles, yeah we drive it a lot :rolleyes: :sarcasm:.
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We've got a little 2006 Mini Cooper S that I bought for my daughter. That little thing will haul a$$. I luv driving it. Only hers is an automatic. She wasn't cut out for a manual transmission.
 
I remember my manual transmissions with fondness. I enjoyed shifting but working the clutch during stop'n go traffic in rush hour was a drag (especially on an uphill metered ramp - I didn't have a hill holder). I can manually shift my 6-speed automatic by pressing a button - it isn't the same and I never use that feature.
 
I have a manual trans in my Focus (daily driver.) My 67 Mustang is manual, C6 autos in both trucks.
I have driven a bunch of new cars and absolutely cannot stand a CVT trans. It's a bit of a challenge not to puke when driving one...:bleh:
 
Agreed, CVTs suck.

Every car I've owned has been a manual. I'm in the camp of leaning toward an automatic for my next car. Especially now that there are some pretty slick autos like the ZF8.

On the small car front (Fit etc.), the Fiesta ST is a great drivers car. That thing was fun out of the box turning some laps. Great balance. I probably would buy it if I wa in the market for a small car.
 
BobbyFord said:
I have a manual trans in my Focus (daily driver.) My 67 Mustang is manual, C6 autos in both trucks.
I have driven a bunch of new cars and absolutely cannot stand a CVT trans. It's a bit of a challenge not to puke when driving one...:bleh:
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The last car I got I ruled out the CVT models from the get go. However I haven't had a manual tranny for years. For me it got to be a real pain in the rear driving one in town.
 
BobbyFord said:
I have a manual trans in my Focus (daily driver.) My 67 Mustang is manual, C6 autos in both trucks.
I have driven a bunch of new cars and absolutely cannot stand a CVT trans. It's a bit of a challenge not to puke when driving one...:bleh:
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CVT's are definitely different. My wife has a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport with a CVT, they're not too bad once you're up to speed but getting there is a chore. It's actually pretty good when driving up mountains though, even though it only has 148hp the continuous powerband gets it up steep grades with ease. And it does have the paddles if you get too sick of the CVT drone.

I know some CVT's have had some reliability issues as well, Nissan's in particular. But if you get the fluid flushed every 30k miles or so, they should be fine. Our Mitsu has almost 70k on it and no issues thus far.
 
I daily drive a stick shift and average around 100-175 miles a day since I use it for work. City, highway, rush hour, all that. It doesn't bother me.

Unfortunately, manuals are a dying breed. They are getting much harder to come by nowadays. I'm not sure any manufacturer even offers a manual trans pickup anymore.
 
First car was a 1980 VW rabbit. 4 speed where you push down to get into reverse. Awesome little car. Love a manual. Have a auto now, and when you are trying to wrangle a baby and traffic, it has its merits, but I miss my manual.
 
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2 Sweet said:
I'm not sure any manufacturer even offers a manual trans pickup anymore.
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They still make them, but they're usually only available on the stripped models with hand-crank windows, AM/FM radio w/no CD or Sirius, and Rubbermaid bumpers.
 
Had to think back and I was in my early 30's before I owned a car with an automatic. I did drive my Dad and Mom's cars which were auto's. I got a company car when I was 29 that was an automatic. I'll say most of those cars that I owned were 4 speeds with a sprinkling of 3 speeds in the mix.
Driving a 4 speed today might be fun,,,but just for a while.

btw when I took the test for my license if you used a car with a auto trans your license was stamped with a large red A
 
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