Sorry if I offended anyone, I forgot that most kids today never learned how to drive a stick! And I wasn't talking about what might or might not be faster, just that a stick is more fun.
No offense taken, I'm no kid that's for sure.
I agree with you, overall the stick has the bigger fun value.
well i'll tell you what, when i first got my car (its and AOD) i wanted to convert it to a t-5 so bad, but now that i'm getting into drag racing and practically go out there every thursday night, i'm glad i have an auto. My times are so much more consistant than some of the sticks out there... i've seen so many cars with times that varry by up to a second just because they couldn't launch right, or they missed a shift, or they have to baby the clutch cuz its going out on them, or thier shift times are too long... i dunno, i still want to get another 5-speed 5.0, but make that a road race car, and keep my auto as a drag car.... as far as consistancy goes lets just say that last time i went out to the track i raced a total of 6 times and all of my times were within .07 seconds of each other... and thats prolly just from temperatures going down...
bottom line is......If you can't drive a stick the auto is the right 1 for you.Just because you can drive a stick car doesn't mean you can race.I know a guy with a stock 01' cobra who spent most of his time talkin crap about his car being so fast, he took it to the track and ran 16 something 1/4!!! In the streets....this guy would put a scare on you rolling from 2nd or 3rd gear.....especially on me, I was driving a 95' Gt AOD.Automatics are good when you have an 8 or 9 sec car that makes lots of horsepower, less mistakes.But i believe stick is a lot better, more fun and besides you are actually driving the car,not steering.
i dont remember where i got this from, but i think it sums up why i drive a stick.
THE POLITICS OF SHIFTING
Clutch in.
Throttle blip, then slip the clutch on the rev drop to get the car rollin. Tip in the throttle as the car starts to move - throttle in, clutch out.
First gear...
There's never been a second thought in the House of Speed and Chrome when it comes to transmissions...they're almost always manual. First thing to check when a new car comes out - does it come with a stick?
Revs are up, engine's burbling; time for second.
clutch stab
pull back on the shifter
slip the clutch out so's to match revs on the drop. do it right, and the passenger doesn't even notice the gearchange.
Yah - automatics are faster; easier to drive, and these days, there's no mileage penalty, either. So...Why is it soo damned important to change gears manually?
Motor's back at the shift point again
clutch
push
slip on the rev drop
we're off in third
With a manual, there is a direct metalliic contact all the way from the alloy shift ball, thru the linkage, the gears, the input shaft, to the crank. When I change gears - I'm close-coupled to the heart of the beast. No wires, no PCM, no hydraulics making decisions for my benefit. Right or wrong - I'm making the decision, doing the work.
We're well under way now
Clutch
Pull
Slip
And we're in fourth.
it's an anachronism, shifting. F1 drivers use little paddles in the steering wheel, and instruct the computer what they'd like to gear to be. No clutch, no linkage, just bits and bytes. Seems alien to this gearhead...Nope. Gotta feel the gears...
Short gears mean the motor's busy when in fourth, so another ratio has to be selected to keep the revs down:
Clutch
Push - this time away towards the passenger side to engage 1st overdrive
Slip
We're now in fifth.
Some folks think it's too much work to shift. Some folks feel shifting limits their ability to do other things in the car, like jabber on the cell phone, drink coffee, eat...everything EXCEPT what they're supposed to be doing - driving.
I'm a do-it-yourself kinda guy. Automatic transmissions are cheating, IMHO. We're suppsed to DRIVE the car, dammit - not plop ourselves in leather climate-controlled cocoons and engage in non-driving-related activities...Passengers with steering wheels in their laps, methinks.
Traffic's stopped just ahead. I'll hafta downshift all the way to first and repeat the process all over again.
Hot damn. Another chance to row thru the gears To actually control the car to drive.
i dont remember where i got this from, but i think it sums up why i drive a stick.
THE POLITICS OF SHIFTING
Clutch in.
Throttle blip, then slip the clutch on the rev drop to get the car rollin. Tip in the throttle as the car starts to move - throttle in, clutch out.
First gear...
There's never been a second thought in the House of Speed and Chrome when it comes to transmissions...they're almost always manual. First thing to check when a new car comes out - does it come with a stick?
Revs are up, engine's burbling; time for second.
clutch stab
pull back on the shifter
slip the clutch out so's to match revs on the drop. do it right, and the passenger doesn't even notice the gearchange.
Yah - automatics are faster; easier to drive, and these days, there's no mileage penalty, either. So...Why is it soo damned important to change gears manually?
Motor's back at the shift point again
clutch
push
slip on the rev drop
we're off in third
With a manual, there is a direct metalliic contact all the way from the alloy shift ball, thru the linkage, the gears, the input shaft, to the crank. When I change gears - I'm close-coupled to the heart of the beast. No wires, no PCM, no hydraulics making decisions for my benefit. Right or wrong - I'm making the decision, doing the work.
We're well under way now
Clutch
Pull
Slip
And we're in fourth.
it's an anachronism, shifting. F1 drivers use little paddles in the steering wheel, and instruct the computer what they'd like to gear to be. No clutch, no linkage, just bits and bytes. Seems alien to this gearhead...Nope. Gotta feel the gears...
Short gears mean the motor's busy when in fourth, so another ratio has to be selected to keep the revs down:
Clutch
Push - this time away towards the passenger side to engage 1st overdrive
Slip
We're now in fifth.
Some folks think it's too much work to shift. Some folks feel shifting limits their ability to do other things in the car, like jabber on the cell phone, drink coffee, eat...everything EXCEPT what they're supposed to be doing - driving.
I'm a do-it-yourself kinda guy. Automatic transmissions are cheating, IMHO. We're suppsed to DRIVE the car, dammit - not plop ourselves in leather climate-controlled cocoons and engage in non-driving-related activities...Passengers with steering wheels in their laps, methinks.
Traffic's stopped just ahead. I'll hafta downshift all the way to first and repeat the process all over again.
Hot damn. Another chance to row thru the gears To actually control the car to drive.
That would be all good and fine if they had any bracket classes limited to manual trannies. But . . they don't. At least not around here.
I bracket raced with a 5 speed first season . . and for street driving . . manuals are the way to go. But, when you get into a really fast drag car . . and you need to be consistent . . you need an auto with a transbrake.
Now . . . the "electronics" classes (with their delay boxes and crosstalk and crap) are an entirely different thing. I have zero interest in going to that extreme.
I know i just need a more "manly" rebuild kit for the aod!! then it wouldnt break every 6 months from stock rebuilds a nice torque converter some 10.5' Dr's. If i could fix the 6 month breakage intervals id be a happy camper. and might not be so eager to do the bench pressed in the driveway tremec swap. opinions opinions!!!?? lol guys lets hear some more hmm wonder if i could sell the wifes car! to make room for an auto and a 5 speed stang in the driveway!! umm hunny... i dont know how i would ever finish that sentence with her though p.s. hunny are you takin the 5 speed or the auto today? I can do this guys!!! lol like they said before boobs come an go!!! lmao more stangs to love and more hunny lovin lol i could keep all 3. how would you guys work out this scenario lol???
Lets clear one thing up here, regardless of which transmission you like, "DRIVING" is the same in both. You dont "DRIVE" any better (but you may drive worse depending on the person) just because you operate a manual transmission. The transmission may allow you to control "THE MOTOR" and some of the power going to the wheels and such, which may allow for some slight advantage's under the right situations, but that aside you dont "DRIVE" ie. steer, control the cars movements any better.
i dont remember where i got this from, but i think it sums up why i drive a stick.
I'm a do-it-yourself kinda guy. Automatic transmissions are cheating, IMHO. We're suppsed to DRIVE the car, dammit - not plop ourselves in leather climate-controlled cocoons and engage in non-driving-related activities...Passengers with steering wheels in their laps, methinks.
Traffic's stopped just ahead. I'll hafta downshift all the way to first and repeat the process all over again.
Hot damn. Another chance to row thru the gears To actually control the car to drive.
Cheating huh?
Hell, while were at it lets get rid of those pesky ABS brakes, traction control, power steering, power brakes, and IRS and reeeaally drive the car!
You can have my traction Control and ABS... I like my Power Assisted Brakes and Steering... I would take a power assisted shifter to as long as it could be as fast as me moving through the gears.
then again, I have both. My convertible is an AOD... used for cruising and relaxing trips. Where the 06 with the stick is my fun driving car... for the twisties when I want to feel more in tuned with the car.
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2006 Mustang GT in Torch Red
C&L Intake, Evolution Performance Tune, Borla Axle Backs, Hurst Shifter, 4.10's, JBA Long Tubes, Prothane Engine Mounts, Steeda UDPs, FRPP Charge Motion Delete Plates
Manual all the way, to me its just part of the driving experience and is way more fun. Plus it helps with turning down test drives, alot of people have never driven stick.
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88GT 5 spd Cobra intake, 24 lb injectors, MAC longtube headers, off-road H pipe, 2 chamber cat back, Mass air conversion w/cobra computer, 65mm throttle body, B&M Pro-Ripper, Black Magic Elec. fan, underdrive pulleys, BFG drag radials, subframes, and 4.10's. Not gonna be satisfied until I need wheelie bars.
Manual all the way, to me its just part of the driving experience and is way more fun. Plus it helps with turning down test drives, alot of people have never driven stick.
I have an even better way of turning down test drives.
You have to have an NHRA 9 second license to drive my car!
And . . . its an "auto". Of course, it's a ratchet shifted reverse pattern full manual C4 with a pro tree transbrake a 2 step and a 4500 stall . . .
I'll bet ya a dollar you can't figure out how to get it in reverse . . lol
I'll bet ya another dollar that launching off the transbrake is "way more fun" than a manual.
And I wasn't talking about what might or might not be faster, just that a stick is more fun.
.
hmm wonder if i could sell the wifes car! to make room for an auto and a 5 speed stang in the driveway!! umm hunny... i dont know how i would ever finish that sentence with her though
p.s. hunny are you takin the 5 speed or the auto today? I can do this guys!!! lol like they said before boobs come an go!!! lmao 
