Anyone row your own?

[Skanky Vamp]

Spanky must be mental be he's been thinking about trading his MG for a white Chrysler Lebaron... er, no wait. Seriously. Been thinking about going to three pedals. Anyone out there on the Boufay Board row your own gears? "All" of the cars I am wanting are all manual transmission. And not to besmirch my manhood or nothing, but I question whether I have the stones to drive stick 24/7/365. Anyone else do it?

 

[Ethan Reigns]

We have had two cars for quite a while now and we had a Celica and a VW Rabbit with a manual transmission and later a Subaru Impreza with the 5-speed. I still have a 2001 MX-5 Miata with the 5-speed. If you want a manual transmission, get it while it lasts - most manufacturers are going away from them as they need separate emissions certification and only a single-digit percentage of people order them.

All I can say is you get used to it. Traffic can be a case of rowing through the gears a lot but if you are on the open road, nothing beats a manual. And automatics can always be put in a situation where it gets out of the gear it's in any you have to wait for it to get into the next gear when time is against you.

Given the choice, I would definitely go manual.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

most manufacturers are going away from them ... only a single-digit percentage of people order them.

I used to think that but I wonder if they are making a comeback. You still have a handful that only offer a manual and a real drivers car in anything less than a manual is generally hampered by the automatic. It just seems like over the last few years I've seen more and more being offered. Not sure people are actually buying them, but it's nice to know that with the whole electronic and automated driving that there are alternatives.

But even when I'm on the interstate it's all stop and go traffic for 30 miles. I think after a week I would be sick of it. But I love the idea and get anxious excited thinking about getting one. Really like the new GR Corolla though it's not much different than what I have now, save for the manual. Maybe a second car as a manual would be the best option.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

The long term prospect of manual gearboxes do not look good unless you get a gear change system that allows you to change gear without a clutch, like many automatic gear boxes. As far as I'm aware the majority of electric cars will have forward and reverse gears only, similar to something which DAF cars had in the early seventies

 

[November]

My current car is my first automatic, and man is it so much easier than my manuals were! There are no traffic lights here, only roundabouts, and I thank my lucky stars its an automatic for them. If I had known how simple an automatic was to drive, I probably never would have got a manual license haha. Another thing to consider is the wear on your hip or leg depending on the clutch. Many of my 60+ year old neighbours have moved to an automatic after manuals their whole lives, just because of the wear and tear on the joints.

That said, manuals are way more fun! When I used to drive in stop start freeway traffic, I preferred the manual because it kept me "actively" driving. I didnt zone out as much playing bumper cars on the crawl, cos it was first gear, second gear oooh yay third gear annnd now were at a standstill.

I like manuals for towing as using the gear box to help slow a heavy load was handy but I doubt you're about to be pulling a horse float in your new car. I doubt I would go back to a manual unless it was a ute or 4wd for horses again.

And automatics can always be put in a situation where it gets out of the gear it's in any you have to wait for it to get into the next gear when time is against you

My automatic has that tiptronic thing, so if I need to overtake on the highway, I can kick it back a gear. No clutch to deal with either. I rarely use it though. I got used to cruise control and am in no rush these days.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

When I used to drive in stop start freeway traffic, I preferred the manual because it kept me "actively" driving. I didnt zone out as much playing bumper cars on the crawl, cos it was first gear, second gear oooh yay third gear annnd now were at a standstill.

That's an interesting viewpoint. I just thought dicking around with the clutch all the time would be a pain. And yeah, the joint wear is a concern but some of them now are so smoothing shifting not sure it would really make a difference.

As a fun aside, I think I may have used cruise control once in the last decade or so. I just cant give up the control.

And automatics can always be put in a situation where it gets out of the gear it's in any you have to wait for it to get into the next gear when time is against you.

That's why DCTs are gaining popularity. After driving one for the past three years you notice a huge difference between them and a standard automatic.

 

[Stake fodder]

I've always owned manuals. I like having control over the power; my cars have always been sub-compacts, so not very powerful, and being able to downshift gives you that extra oomph. However, the kind of cars you're talking about wouldn't have that problem.

Another consideration: manuals get better gas mileage. Not only because downshifting gives you more power, instead of having to push down the accelerator on hills, but the automatic transmission engine weighs more. Something to think about if your gas prices are drifting north of $6/gal, like they are here.

As far as stop and go traffic, you get used to it. I don't even think about it. My biggest annoyance is having to start on hills, because manuals don't have an automatic pull forward.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

There are two skills you need in order to master a manual transmission:

You can learn to heel-and-toe for getting going on hills where your right heel is on the accelerator and the right ball of the foot is one the brakes. Use your heel to get the engine revs up then release the brakes as you get going. In a lot of cases, you can use the parking brake to do the same thing - raise the revs and release the brake. You can learn to do it smoothly.

To down shift, you should double-clutch (or as the English say it, double-declutch). To do this, for, say, a shift from fifth to fourth, push the clutch and get out of fifth then rev the engine in neutral to where the revs would be in fourth then push the clutch again and go into fourth. This relieves the load on the synchronizers and enables faster shifting with less synchronizer wear. In old British sports cars with no synchro on first, it was the only way to downshift from second to first. We don't have many traffic circles / roundabouts here but there is nothing as satisfying as approaching a roundabout, double-clutching and going down a gear then accelerating out of the roundabout in the lower gear.

 

[The Bronze]

Manual is the default in the UK and I've driven one for years. Changing gears just becomes part of your general driving mindset like checking mirrors and reading road signs etc.

 

[TriBel]

70% of UK drivers (including me) "drive stick" and most of our driving is urban. You get used to it. I've never driven an automatic. I don't like the dashboard telling me to change gear. I'd hate it if the car did it for me.

My biggest annoyance is having to start on hills

I quite like the challenge. It's kinda satisfying - like defying gravity.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I don't like the dashboard telling me to change gear. I'd hate it if the car did it for me.

But you'd be able to eat your MacDonalds, put on your makeup and stare at your phone.

 

[November]

Cruise control is great when there is a big mac in one hand 👌

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Spanky thinks this is Octavia

 

[Plasma]

Spanky thinks this is Octavia

Meanwhile the outside of the car looks like this