Hard shifting...
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Hard shifting... From personal experience how do auto transmissions drive? I was only lookin for a 6sp but can't always find one, need some feed back from auto owners?
Are Autos fun to drive? I suppose they serve up more consistant ET times from a dig... etc thanks for the feed back!
Are Autos fun to drive? I suppose they serve up more consistant ET times from a dig... etc thanks for the feed back!
Most people say go with a stick , I am not one of them . I had both over the years and all I can say is I like an auto better , again thats just me , yes you loose a little power with an auto , yes you get better gas milage with a stick plus there are a alot of other things going for a stick or auto . But as with everything there is a trade off, I like my car to shift nice and firm and the same all the time , alittle tweak in hptuners and I'm there . When I'm dead tired at 3am and just want to go home, all you have to do is put the key in and go. I spend 95 % of my driving time on the highway so its nice to just sit back an drive and not have to shift. With all the power you have with these cars it is still fun to drive an auto . But in the end its what you really want,for me its an auto for you it might be a stick . Good luck
From personal experience how do auto transmissions drive?
Are Autos fun to drive?
I had one car, not a camaro, that came with a Manual fourspeed. I changed it out to an automatic with a high stall converter and loved it, then changed it back to a stick, then back to and automatic. I must have changed back and fourth eight times or so.
Then one night at the track the manual broke...now it has a full manual th400 with a 3200 converter.
stalled auto= NO COMPARISON TO equally modded stick car! auto wins every time.
stock vs. stock= stick wins.
if you get an auto, be prepared to do shift kit, converter, and cooler. then you will be HAPPY you bought an auto car (you may need tires though
). if you don't want to stall it up, go for the stick car because it'll FEEL faster and be faster than an unstalled auto car.
no debating though, stalled auto is faster than stick but dyno's lower (so what//
). dynos LIE! track times tell the real story.
stock vs. stock= stick wins.
if you get an auto, be prepared to do shift kit, converter, and cooler. then you will be HAPPY you bought an auto car (you may need tires though
). if you don't want to stall it up, go for the stick car because it'll FEEL faster and be faster than an unstalled auto car.no debating though, stalled auto is faster than stick but dyno's lower (so what//
). dynos LIE! track times tell the real story. 
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
I've had 2 68/69/70 GTOs with autos and three with sticks and I still don't know which I like best, though both autos have had shift kits and "tuning." I had 94 LT1 Formula A4/3.23s and I loved the auto. When I got my LS1, I was looking for a stick, but settled for the auto because it had everything else I wanted. With 2.73s and stock tuning, it was a dog and I hated it. After tuning and gears, I like it. I guess the point is, an auto can almost be as satisfying to drive as a stick, if it is tuned right.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 396
Likes: 0
I've had auto cars for years now including two auto LS1's and I've loved them all. I much prefer an auto but then again I live right outside of Washington, DC where traffic is HELL almost all day long. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to both trannies. The thing you'll hate the most about an A4 car is the horrible "dead spot" around 35-55 where the car will downshift to the "bottom" of second gear and pulls real slow until it gets the revs up. An aftermarket converter will help that. For what it's worth I can't tell you how many times I've taken cars that should have been after then my car during a stoplight run simply because they got excited and spun to hell and all I did was put the pedal to the floor in my automatic and walked them. Consistancy and simplicity in the real world can beat cars that are faster on paper.
