Typhoon - Auto Or Manual

[R-SPEC]

Manual is the way to go unless you're hunting 11 or 10 second 1/4 mile times. I don't think there has ever been a fully automatic circuit car? There are sequentials with no clutch, but not autos!

Since I was 16 I've had:

VH worked 202 club spec racer

CA18DET '84 Bluebird

Lightly modded N13 Nissan Pulsar

N15 Pulsar SSS worked SR20DE

BA MKII XR6

Lightly modded '04 Accord Euro R lookalike

and now the R Spec

They all had/have manual boxes, and every other car I buy for the rest of my life will be! It's just not pleasurable driving an auto. You can't feel ANYTHING! Try driving a worked car with no instruments. All you rely on is the feel of the car. That's what driving is all about. Sure, if you're driving to work, city driving or driving the family around, auto's make a lot of sense. However, in every other aspect of driving, autos are for women and lazy people who can't put up with he way a car was meant to drive!

I drove my old man's 350 chev VT Clubsport around for a month a few years ago and I ended up putting it back in his garage and driving my pulsar. It was so boring driving it because it was an AUTOMATIC.

This is only my opinion, please do not take offence!

Edited 06/02/08 12:37 AM by theblueyjr

[NVYDF6]

I don't think there has ever been a fully automatic circuit car? There are sequentials with no clutch, but not autos!

But the ZF is a sequential with no clutch

[R-SPEC]

But the ZF is a sequential with no clutch

Nah it's tiptronic.

www.howstuffworks.com has the right idea:

'A sequential manual transmission is not to be confused with a "tiptronic" sort of automatic transmission. The tiptronic system may duplicate the shift lever motion of a sequential gearbox. However, because a tiptronic transmission is an automatic transmission at its core, it still has the torque converter and usually does not shift as quickly.'

[NVYDF6]

yeah fair enough but it says on the left on the shifter that it is a 6 speed sequential gearbox, weird they would word it wrong

[freewilly]

Sure, if you're driving to work, city driving or driving the family around, auto's make a lot of sense. However, in every other aspect of driving, autos are for women and lazy people who can't put up with he way a car was meant to drive!

[tmac450]

I'm sorry mate but they are not BOTH great boxes. The ZF is a great box, no question. The T56 is very clunky at low revs and in stop/start traffic. The amount of driveline shunt is simply unacceptable in a car worth $60k. The bearing rollover noise needs to be disguised with expensive oil otherwise it is simply embarrassing with friends in the car. The clutch take up point is too high and there is bugger all feel as the clutch engages. When I had my manual F6 I thought it was pretty good despite all the problems I had. It is fun to drive on the limit, and heal/toe braking makes the whole experience more engaging.

I wish I didn't have to drive an auto. I wish the manual was better. The bottom line is that the current auto is soooo much better than the current manual that there really is no choice.

Couldn't agree more.

I'm a manual purist, but in the case of the Falcons, the ZF is a superior box. The manual is too clunky and slow, and to me a poorly shifting manual is much more of a let down than an auto. Try driving a car with a real shift action and you'll see what I mean. The delay between gears in the Falcons just makes them too slow to shift and takes any enjoyment out of spirited manual driving.

I didn't get a BA because both manual and auto were crap in the way they worked. The T56 is better, but still too tractor like. The ZF on the other hand is smooth and sedate when you want to cruise, yet is agressive when you want to have a go, plus (unlike autos of old) shifts when you want it to, and is rarely caught out.

[hypnodoc]

Yeah but how can you drive a car that goes clunk bang bang and has a 2 mile shift from 2nd to 3rd. The 6 speed manual is a pig box better suited to a massey furguson tractor. If they had a decent, tight, and smooth 6 speed in them then fair enough, as Quk Smurf pointed out SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE IN A 60K PLUS CAR.

[hypnodoc]

Manual is the way to go unless you're hunting 11 or 10 second 1/4 mile times. I don't think there has ever been a fully automatic circuit car? There are sequentials with no clutch, but not autos!

Since I was 16 I've had:

VH worked 202 club spec racer

CA18DET '84 Bluebird

Lightly modded N13 Nissan Pulsar

N15 Pulsar SSS worked SR20DE

BA MKII XR6

Lightly modded '04 Accord Euro R lookalike

and now the R Spec

They all had/have manual boxes, and every other car I buy for the rest of my life will be! It's just not pleasurable driving an auto. You can't feel ANYTHING! Try driving a worked car with no instruments. All you rely on is the feel of the car. That's what driving is all about. Sure, if you're driving to work, city driving or driving the family around, auto's make a lot of sense. However, in every other aspect of driving, autos are for women and lazy people who can't put up with he way a car was meant to drive!

I drove my old man's 350 chev VT Clubsport around for a month a few years ago and I ended up putting it back in his garage and driving my pulsar. It was so boring driving it because it was an AUTOMATIC.

This is only my opinion, please do not take offence!

Yeah but how can you drive a car that goes clunk bang bang, has a 2 mile shift from 2nd to 3rd, a horrid rattle under load and call it a performance box. The 6 speed manual is a pig box better suited to a massey furguson tractor. If they had a decent, tight, and smooth box in them then fair enough, as Qik Smurf pointed out SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE IN A 60K PLUS CAR.

And one would hope you would have parked up the Dunnydore slugsport after only a day, not a whole month

Edited 06/02/08 08:57 AM by hypnodoc

[Benstix]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys, I am leaning toward the ZF now.....

Now to get looking for one.

You won't regret it! I have a BFI XR6 Turbo and the shifts occur when I would have done them in a manual. It's a very intuitive gearbox and learns as you drive. It probably performs more than twice the gearshifts you would driving a manual as it constantly monitors driving conditions. One impressive thing I noted was in up and downhill driving - the box will choose a higher gear and rely on torque for uphill driving, instead of giving you that constant downshift that some cars are noted for. Similarly, the box will downshift to maintain speed when heading downhill. Given each shift is so smooth you can hardly feel them, the car becomes a very smooth cruiser, performance car or vehicle about town.

Having said that, I'm swapping for a BFII 6 speed manual next week as I miss driving manuals. No matter how good an auto box is, if you're a manual driver by heart......stick with them.

[R-SPEC]

I didn't have a choice on the Slugsport. Parents were overseas at the time for 6 months and Pulsar was in the shop for a month after some bird stacked up my bot bot on Whitehorse Road. I had no other car to pimp around in.

By the way, forgive my ignorance, but is the 6 speed in my F6 different from the BA/BF XR6 6 speed? Coz it's a close ratio box, and doesn't have a massive throw like my other cars. The clutch travel is a little too much, however it's nice on the foot compared to others like buttons etc. and if you properly warm the car up the clunk is quite minimal.

It's all a part of the driving experience!

P.S. Nice move Benstix!