I rebuild transmissions for GM as a living, and for that reason have driven a manual for many many years. Until I tried out a GTI with a DSG, it's such a crazy feeling to drive what appears to be an automatic, but really does have characteristics of a manual. Best purchase I ever made.
I was in Sales using my own car and almost constantly chasing tender submission deadlines for 14 years of my life. I changed my clutch plates about every 175,000 km. At 300,000km I had it changed because I was doing a total engine strip. The 2 x pistons on the hydraulic clutch actuator wore out at 350,000km, after 11 years. That's it. The added advantage of a manual is it will always be the lightest car. Which translates to having the cheapest running cost. Great when you're a Rep and can claim your mileage.
The first car I drove after passing my test in the UK , was a Renault 8 with a full auto , but not . 3 speed box & an electric clutch ......the clutch , two plates & iron filings ( as it was described to me ) , change gear , clutch demagnetises , gears swap , clutch re magnetise . Fine in theory , other than when gear box oil leaks past an under speck ( it went twice within 15K miles ) seal & the iron files " drag " . The other " drag " the only Renault dealer in the Midlands with the kit to service it 55 miles away from home on the other side of the M'land ( Rugby to Wolverhampton ), driven once in 1st ! Nice when driven kindly , interesting when driven hard , run it , hard , up to change point , back off and listen to a suit case of relays try & decide where you may go next !
most automatics will need to be rebuilt once in there lifetime but I've abused a manual including operating without eough tras fluid and it still works well with 360,000+ miles on it.
i do agree, automatics are more durable because it uses a torque converter which uses viscous coupling to transfer torque thus not needing a clutch plate which wears off sometime. and transmission fluid can be changed longer than any clutch plate, but I like the brawny feel of the manual transmission. in my country we prefer manual because of the extreme traffic problems in here.
In Denmark (and other european countries) the stick shift is by far the most common transmission and unlike USA the only way to take a driver license is with a Manuel transmission.
Even modern CVTs aren't maintenance-free, they just don't need maintenance for a very long time. A properly driven manual can go longer without maintenance.
That may be true, but the torque converter isn't the first thing you need to worry about in a CVT. Stuff like the fluids or the belt need more frequent maintenance.
yasser aboamoud I don't think CVTs (with proper tuning) have much of a lag. Get into a sporty car like a WRX with a CVT and you'll still get that immediate power. However, the average CVT car is designed to be fuel efficient, not powerful or fast, so you might not be getting the power you want when you want it.
Peter Schmidt I agree on your statement regarding a properly maintained manual can go longer without replacing the clutch. But too often people abuse their transmission. My manual went over 200k miles before it needed a clutch replacement.
After few thousand kilometres with manual transmission you don't really pay attention anymore. You just enjoy. And I like the fact that manual transmission is unlikely to break and if it does, the repair does not cost a lot. While if automatic breaks ... dear Lord.
Technically a automatic should last longer than a manual (clutch will get burned over time even from respectful use, and especially under misuse), whereas an automatic is virtually impossible to accidentally break, unless you have the wrong transmission paired with the wrong engine/wrong application (like if you were to connect a 1000hp engine to a stock toyota trans). But of course I will always prefer a good stick shift.
DSG type auto systems still use a friction plate clutch but it's operated by a computer. For stop-start traffic situations a slush box has it's benefits, but I'd only have a manual. Real drivers know how to use a clutch. Computers are a great addition like ABS etc but gear and clutch operation are a fundemental part of driving and I don't want a computer taking over that. Maybe in the future people will be getting in a pod and telling it where to take them and it does the steering and everything else for them. I want to drive a car and I enjoy the mechanical interaction with it, but if you don't then automatic is for you.
I've never had the opportunity to drive with a DCT. Do they feel as great as a manual transmission does? I'm old-school and love the feel of shifting a stick shift and popping the clutch, even on wimpy 4 cylinders.
The automated manuals in DCT are as boring as a standard automatic. Plus the computer is pretty poor at slipping the clutch as it goes from Stop into First...... so it feels jerky andor slow .
That's a great video, but I still think there's the "manu-matic" transmission missing. Two pedals to use, but the same architecture as a manual. It's known as "robotized gearbox". Changes happen through a computer automatically operating the clutch. This is a simple solution, as easy as a manual to fix and not adding weight from the manual it derives from, but it's not smooth and it's very very slow on cheap cars. For instance, it's the transmission used on Smart, where it proves to be super slow, and on hypercars such as Lamborghinis and the new Pagani Huayra, preferring it to a dual clutch because it's more brutal and lighter. Manuals and dual-clutch are the best choice, but the new autos by ZF using 8 or 9 gears are incredibly smooth and help the engine being efficient, despite the gearbox itself being heavy. Btw, I really liked the video: anyone cares about the transmission, but very few know what it really makes the difference from an auto to a dct or a cvt or a manumatic.
Saab pioneered the semi-auto transmission with the Sensonic, which in my mind was a great idea. I believe Scania is incorporating electronic clutches in their trucks.
A manual transmission is only good if the car you drive is good. Pretty much every auto enthusiast would tell you "Manual ftw..." Yes, if you drive a Mk1 GTI, or an old Porsche, or a Subaru WRX, or any interesting car, the manual transmission is great fun indeed. But hop in a cheap city car with a manual? That's not fun. Clutching your way in a traffic jam, going first, second, neutral is not fun even a bit. So a sporty automatic, or a semi-auto seems to be the best choice for most of your driving. I'm a car guy too. I love old manual cars. If I had the money, I'd get a 635 csi and drive it on the weekends, enjoying myself. But for most drives I prefer a sporty automatic. Like the ones you get in premium cars like Audis, Mercs and BMWs. Their transmissions are really clever, direct, fast and enjoyable. Conventional slushboxes like in family cars are terrible! I despise those. The best from both worlds is the dual clutch box, but you'd only get one if the car in question is an expensive overpowered speed demon. You wouldn't get one in a family estate now would 'ya?
megadriver6 As a driver of a cheap crappy city car with a manual I couldn't disagree more. I already have next to no horse power and need to really push it sometimes when pulling out or joining a motorway, a dual carriageway or when overtaking a lorry / tractor. The last thing I need is an automatic transmission leisurely changing up at low RPMs as I get wiped out by fast moving traffic. _I've seen the automatic version of my car.. It could get burned by mobility scooters at the lights!_ Ironic that you first say manual transmissions are only fun in sporty cars then go onto say that you should by a sporty automatic instead :P
+megadriver6 there is a balance, in BEAMNG the 1.5l hatchback and its 5spd manual is awesome to chuck down roads, its amazingly fun bouncing off the revlimiter and such but if you did that in real life then your engine wont be too good
+megadriver6 maybe is just the fact that you are not used to drive in the city with a manual, but not because of it a manual cheap car sucks ass and is not fun, who does not like having total control of your car?
BochaAtomik No mate, I am used to driving manual cars. I've driven my dad's Subaru Forester manual for over a year, before I got my own car and I got another 4 years, driving company cars. Most are manual and I drive one almost every day. But I enjoy the manual transmission in fun cars. Like a BMW 325i we have. Very nice car. But do I enjoy shifting gears in a company Skoda Felicia we also have? No. I'd love to have a manual BMW 635csi, or an old Alfa as a weekend car, to drive from time to time and enjoy classic motoring. But as a daily car, the car that takes me to and from work and takes me and my future family to a vacation spot? I'd get a powerful Mercedes with a sporty automatic. Best option. I have sportiness and control in my daily driver - so it's quick and fun. And I have an old manual car that is unique and fulfills my petrolhead needs XD
I have only ever driven crap cars, like a 10yr-old base model civic, a suzuki swift and a 20-year-old FWD Toyota Camry. And yet I still find the suzuki and camry fun to drive normally just because they had a manual transmission. If anything a manual transmission can make a boring/crap car feel fun! I know Because that's exactly how I feel. Now every time I have to drive an automatic I feel genuinely saddened and bored out of my mind.
I've driven all of them and I must say I find the dual clutch the least appealing. It's jerky and sometimes hunts the wrong gear...like when you accelerate downhill. Crawling in slow traffic is the most painful😟
Nahh. I won't go backing manuals up saying "dur-de-durr, they're better mileage/performance/etc". But when it comes to just pure driving fun, I love my manuals.
New autos need to have fluids changed about every 100k or so. Oil still breaks down over time so don't kid yourself on not changing it. Mannys are king still. Easy as can be to work on, cheap ($1200 less than an auto in Jeep Wrangler) and you're in more control of your vehicle.
i think that the CVT tech should be on most cars, just with say 12 discrete gears, like hondas CVT-7 transmission it can be a CVT or a traditional 7spd automatic
+Mr.Green So at over 100k I don't need a new clutch, so we're paying the same amount, me, 2 DSG fluid changes, and you, a clutch. So you're saving money how? And I don't really give a shit about "quick shifts bro" I don't race my car, I have no interest in it, I drive it to work and around town when I'm off. If I wanted to race I wouldn't be driving a 2013. So basically you assume that everyone who owns one of these wants to rice it out and race, while not understanding the benefits of it. lol you judge everyone on the road based on their choice of auto or manual transmission. What a pathetic life you have.
+Mr.Green All my cars previous to this one were manual lol. See you assume too much. And don't really understand how it's useless in everyday situations, it gets better mpg, way more convenient in city traffic where I live, and I don't race, so who gives a shit about looking cool with a cool guy stick shift haha. Also DSG doesn't have a torque converter lol, I'm sure you will say you knew that already but so far you haven't shown you know much about the DSG, other than it's not a manual.
Did I hear him correctly. Automatics are maintenance free, sealed units?? All transmissions require periodic maintenance like changing the fluid. I guess those little books they put int the glove box are just for paper weights. I bet hes never had a car for more than three years. Keep up the good work and keep your local mechanic busy.
WOW you know nothing about the man (he actually IS a mechanic) and yet you insult him. BTW many modern automatics are sealed with no way to flush the fluid, so he was correct and you were wrong .
1:42, 5 and 6 speeds are coming, with 8 and 9 speed at cutting edge! made me thought this video was made 20 years ago. we are going to have 9 speed later this year, and most bmw, lexus are 8 speed with most other luxury brand offering 7 speed. plus most mainstream manufacture offers at least 6 speed except honda i guess.
I absolutely hate any kind of gear box that isn't manual, it's what I grew up driving. And as for that "occasional clutch replacement" if you know how to drive a manual I have seen people driving with the original clutch assembly at nearly 1 million miles, Most semi trucks up until the middle of the last decade came with large multi range manual gearboxes and they generally only use the clutch while taking off from a dead stop or downshifting through the gears, which when skilled enough is something you can do in your passenger vehilce as well
no, a dsg is an automated manual, not a "slushbox" like that used in the jag. the jag was shown while discussing dual clutch transmissions here, not the other way around.
From a pure numbers standpoint? CVTs, by far. The whole idea is to have the engine produce the most torque while being the most efficient at any speed or load. DCTs and selectable automatics are either a half measure, or (more so for the DCTs) an appeal to "purists" who care more about some vague concept of "guts" than actual performance and efficiency.
Whatever_928 No not at all. look at the problems Hyundai,VW group and Ford has had with there DSG/DCT. My friend has a 2015 Focus Titainum with the DCT and has 30,000 miles in it and has her transmission replaced 4 times. Any transmission when maintained properly(fluid and filter(if it has a filter)) can and likely will go over 200,000 miles. I found a Saturn Ion with a CVT and almost 400,000 miles on it and it's never been replaced (it was drained and refilled with new CVT fluid every 30,000 miles) I also test drive a Nissan Murano for a friend and it has a CVT and it had 350,000 miles and was replaced at 265,000 miles.
My truck was an automatic but someone made it a Manuel and I suck at driving it. It repeatedly release the clutch to fast with too much gas turning the truck into a sports car making rocks fly. I need to learn how to drive it but it is 40 year old truck and likes to fight.
And you forgot about single clutch manual sequential, and single clutch auto sequential, and also static and dynamic hydraulic variable transmissions. Sequential gearboxes are rare on cars, but they exist, hydraulic vario transmissions are not yet i n cars but they exist.
If you know how to use it , clutch can last longer than car ; if clutch needs replacing it costs $200 + cost of work . Gearbox itself is very simple , and only thing that can go wrong are synchonisers , but you have to really want them gone to destoy them . At other hand , automatics have big sets of many small clutches , every automatic is different inside and there are many things to go wrong . Repearing automatic is long process of reasembling and you have to be trained for every different model . At other hand , most manuals look the same inside . Where I live , at least 90% of people have manuals and most of them did not even had their clutch replaced , ever . What kills clutch are angry drivers , traffic jams and hill starts without handbrake .
Mr.Green Each planetary gear set has has its own clutch that is hydraulically actuated. Main 'clutch' has torque converter and oil pump. My friend has automatic gearbox repair shop and he has like an automatic museum at the shop. And they do everything - from VW 3 speed , over mechanical 4x4 LSD to Mercedes S600.
I'm driving a 15 year old truck because no one makes a diesel with manual transmission. I've fried 4 automatic transmissions towing, and one just driving through the mountains. I won't own another Automatic, because they all fail, unless you baby them.
i always see and hear people on youtube saying how common automatic is and how most have never "driven stick" i literally know no one with an automatic car in the uk and have never heard of anyone getting any automatic only license
+Aaron Horst If you make your license on an automatic car in Germany then you are not a allowed to drive a manual shifted car there. Greetings from a retired German trucker
Druckluftbremse I am going to be honest with you compardre, this one time I heard some German girls talking in what I believe to be German and they will laughing and giggling and I just thought that was the sexiest language in the world I now know that only a German girl will be able to make me happy. Any ideas where to look?
Nothing matches the driver experience of a manual. "Haven't changed much since the cold war" There has been some changes here and there. Don't get it wrong. Then again I'm happy they haven't messed with it all that much either. :P
Seemed overly biased towards automatics.. For some unknown reason. Traditional automatic gearboxes don't get better MPG (Unless you keep red-lining your manual), they do need maintenance (regular transmission fluid changes) and cost a fortune *when* they break down. And I say when, often they cost more than the cars worth to fix / replace.
Lol only young guys who don't know how annoying standards can become and people who live in hot climates like them. Try living for 5-10 years in snowy Toronto and you'll be changing your mind quickly. They're fun and they give you much more control/power but they're a lot of work and they become uber annoying. If you're rich, have both. Makes sense. If you're not, get an auto.
Dude, their audience is the US. That's it, and why on earth are you ofended? I'm Mexican, us average Mexicans don't have enough money to be wasting on automatic transmission, SO WHAT?! just watch the damn video!
People, look: you just can not make a video saying "Manual transmissions are rare these days." ! That may be true in the US but here in Europe almost nobody wants a car with _automatic_ transmissions! Only most of the >500 horsepower cars have semi automatic transm. with a flappy paddle gearbox. You get a normal car with true automatic transmission very rarely since nobody over here likes those. Including me ;)
