Automatic vs. Manual
Pros of Auto:
- easy to drive
- torque converter multiplies crawl ratio at low rpm's
- cant kill the engine
- can ride the brakes and gas at the same time to do some tricky maneuvering
- much easier on drive-train components - thus helps prevent breakage
- much easier to drive in bumper to bumper traffic
- better in sand etc. when need to keep RPMs up high
- towing
- no clutch to burn out
Pros of Manual:
- a more positive feel, more in control
- gas mileage/performance generally better
- easier and cheaper to rebuild/maintain
- select the gear for the conditions
- bump start
- use of starter when stalled on obstacle
Cons of Auto:
- use the brakes a LOT more
- need a tranny cooler
- engine braking sucks
- tend to run away from you (down hill)
- creates more parasitic drag than a manual (read: less power)
important consideration with the 4banger
Cons of Manual:
- learn to use clutch
- shifting gears
- deep mud - mud can get sucked in and clog the clutch
More comments
It boils down to what you ultimately want. I've watched these discussions with interest when they pop up and there are pros and cons to both essentially balancing them out. So get what you think you will want to drive. I've driven a stick all my life and got a stick. I dont regret that decision - yet.
Some of the advantages of the manual: bump starting, use of starter to crawl down a hill when you stall going up, or to crawl up the last few feet instead of an uncontrolled roll backwards back down the hill. Manuals are also more fun to drive - until you get stuck in traffic! But on the open road, or around, they are fun. Fun equates to work too, so shifting can get to be tiresome.
-Scott
Auto: good up hill, Manual: good down hill
Crawling: Auto good, Manual good if gears are set right (not usually the way
they come stock, though)
Rebuildability: Manual definitely has the edge
Reliability: Nowadays, the auto's are usually more reliable than the manuals,
esp. if you include the clutch.
I've had both and while some descents in the auto have been a little faster than they might have been with a stick, a little prior planning and judicious brake usage makes that direction much more comfortable. Given that most trail riding is stop and start by nature, the Auto is definitely easier on the driver and the vehicle.
This is definitely a "religous" topic (along the lines of Unix Vs. Windows, Beta vs. VHS, etc.) The auto trannys of today are very well suited to off-roading. When I traded my Jeep (5-spd Manual) in for the Discovery with an Auto engine braking and overall off-road utility were a concern. But after a short test-drive, I was sold. The ease of starting off smoothly and not spinning tires with an autobox makes off-road driving almost a no-brainer. Starting off up a hill no longer requires 3 Feet. Engine braking with the auto isn't as good going down a hill, but I would hardly call it bad by any measure. On the Land Rover having the e-brake on the drive shaft helps offset any shortcomings in auto-tranny engine braking.
If I had it to do over, I'd still get the auto. By the same token, I wouldn't turn my nose up at manual tranny either.
some "auto" notes:
- make sure you have plenty of tranny cooling (e.g. get the RV Trailer towing cooler installed, either by the factory or as an aftermarket option). If anything will kill a slush box it's heat and you can get a lot of heat buildup doing lots of low-speed crawling. Using low-range can make life easier on the tranny as well.
- consider an R&P ratio change: Autos tend to have a higher low gear than manual trannys so going to a taller (i.e. bigger numbers) axle ratio can help offset that and make down-hills even less sweat
- Keep the fluid fresh. If you're wheeling, change the fluid twice as often as recommended to keep any burnt fluid out of the system (e.g. a drain & fill every 15K and a flush, filter and fill every 30K)
- be ready from the derisive comments from the "purists" (you know the guys who think any rig that's not a jeep and/or was built after 1954 isn't a real 4x4) they believe that real men drive manual transmissions. Just be sure to comment on how outdoorsy that clutch odor smell is as you pass them on the trail :-)
-Bob
I grew up learning to drive a stick and have an auto now.
- A couple of things I've noticed about the auto is you can't rock back and forth if you are stuck, at least not without the risk of damage because you threw the lever too far.
- You use your brakes a LOT more both in traffic and off road because you need to apply them to slow down rather than using engine compression
- Gas mileage is typically lower.
- Getting stuck on a hill and having to back down can be an adventure because you can't ride reverse without gaining speed
On the plus side
- You will never kill the engine (unless its too steep for the fuel/oil system to handle)
- You can ride the brakes and gas at the same time to do some tricky maneuvering
- Takes little effort, your left leg won't get worn out driving I-405
- I actually like my automatic, the Jeep I had previous had a stick and a more positive feel, but the auto is more comfortable
- I also have a tranny cooler that is almost as big as my radiator.
- And its easy,easy,easy. Just put it in gear and step on the gas (or brake as the case may be 50% of the time)
-Jesse
In my world, a stick is the only way to go. You have much better control.
- If you tow anything a stick will be much better, especially if it’s a large.
- Auto tend to run away from you (down hill)
- Sticks get better gas mileage.
- Sticks are easier to maintain and a lot cheaper. (I do all my trans. Work)
- You can select the gear that you want for the condition that you are in.
- Autos are better in that they never miss a shift. People have been known to get stuck due to a missed shift.
-Keith
IMHO -- the biggest advantage to a stick is the ability to anticipate what gear will be necessary before I get to a given obstacle, and the
knowledge that the gear ration will not change. I've ridden in jeeps
with autos, and sometimes, though rarely, they shift at the most
inopportune times. One time, going up a steep shale trail, the
driver, Pete, applied a little gas, this caused his auto to downshift, and the wheels to spin. After the dust cleared, it took 2 hours to
free the jeep from the ditch. Granted, he applied too much gas, but *hit happens.
