Has anyone ever grown to like an auto?
Poll: Has anyone ever grown to like an auto?
Total Members Polled: 241
Discussion
bmwmike said:
Afaik and it seems to work, the *rate* at which you push the accelerator down affects the gear the box selects. So if you push you foot slowly vs. quickly it'll change to a different gear. Or use kickdown which is very quick to drop a few cogs.
Another way is to use the manual mode and preselect the gear you need.
As for speed of actually swapping the cogs I doubt a manual box can do it in 200ms or whatever the latest zf8 can do it in. Not with any degree of mechanical sympathy anyway?
It does 7 in the few times that I have driven them recently I had realised that, however I do believe that acceptance of an auto will almost wholly depend on car/road/style of driving & unfortunately I rarely drive in town or on a motorway, so when an overtaking opportunity arises I want to be able to instinctively do exactly what I want exactly when I want & the quickest way of doing that is in a manual for me.Another way is to use the manual mode and preselect the gear you need.
As for speed of actually swapping the cogs I doubt a manual box can do it in 200ms or whatever the latest zf8 can do it in. Not with any degree of mechanical sympathy anyway?
No changing mode, then changing down etc, dip clutch, in the right gear before I need it & away I go, every auto I have driven does not do this anything like as/when I want.
I also get that they can be used in manual mode but isn't that rather confirming my view, that the auto only does what you want when you take it out of auto and use it as a manual?
Edited by E-bmw on Saturday 20th July 13:50
Court_S said:
Billy_Whizzzz said:
That’s exactly how it is in my E61 530d. Which is why I don’t use it for fun.
Isn’t that the old six speed though? They’re not the smartest boxes out there and feel pretty dated by modern standards. To use that argument in defence of autos in general is like saying the iPhone is better than a Samsung because the iPhone 10 is better than a 1980's Samsung.
Jasey_ said:
Pica-Pica said:
E-bmw said:
Court_S said:
It does it’s thing much faster than I can.
You see I hear this argument all the time about an auto changing gear faster than a manual & I personally don't think the argument holds any water at all.I drive around in my manual & when I see an overtake coming up (because I am looking & thinking ahead) I manually put my manual gearbox in the right gear to successfully and safely achieve the overtake beforehand, accelerate & then put the car back into the new correct gear for the scenario after the overtake & everything is good.
Now let's try that in an auto, accelerate, little happens, then kickdown occurs and the car revs it's nuts off, then as you back off it changes back up & kicks you in the back because the engine is over-revving for the new gear it has changed into.
Well I am sorry but being in the right gear beforehand is much quicker than waiting for an ECU to satisfy it's algorithm for a gearchange & then achieve the gear change & wait for the turbo to spool back up again.
AFAIK there is no auto box in the world that will put you in the right gear before you need it rather than 2 seconds afterwards, by which time the "safe" part of the above window is rapidly dwindling.
No they don't do it quicker.
. Things have moved on from the Ford granada 
Auto every time for me. In fact we're running a few cars at the moment and every one is an auto. Even a couple of fun cars we have are autos. Can't imagine going back to a manual. Current ones are so good compared to the old stuff. My first auto was a 4-speed VW Golf when I was a kid. Drove manuals for a long time after that! Then ended up by chance with an auto 6 cly BMW in my late 20's. Never looked back. Last manual I had was a '95 TVR Chimaera around about 1998. It was fun but times have changed. You can't change manually as quick as a decent box will. Plus both hands are on the steering wheel.
What gets me is they stick paddles on everything now. We have a Disco plus a LWB 7 series both with paddles. Who the hell drives these in anything other than full auto!
What gets me is they stick paddles on everything now. We have a Disco plus a LWB 7 series both with paddles. Who the hell drives these in anything other than full auto!
Lannister902 said:
Who would have thought the majority of people on here prefer auto to manual.
Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
I'm heading towards 50 and I've always preferred a three pedal manual...and I still personally struggle to find much enjoyment from a car with just two pedals. Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
I think what doesn't help now is that most manufacturers only offer an auto gearbox in their performance cars(the new Supra/Alpine A110 as examples/Porsche got obsessed with the PDK too). So there are less and less performance cars with three pedal manuals...so most are driving autos now I reckon.
Stuff like the M2/M3/M4/M140i/M240i sell by the bucket load as auto/DCT as oppose to the manual version(I can understand in many ways because a BMW manual isn't that great to use sadly).
cerb4.5lee said:
Lannister902 said:
Who would have thought the majority of people on here prefer auto to manual.
Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
I'm heading towards 50 and I've always preferred a three pedal manual...and I still personally struggle to find much enjoyment from a car with just two pedals. Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
I think what doesn't help now is that most manufacturers only offer an auto gearbox in their performance cars(the new Supra/Alpine A110 as examples/Porsche got obsessed with the PDK too). So there are less and less performance cars with three pedal manuals...so most are driving autos now I reckon.
Stuff like the M2/M3/M4/M140i/M240i sell by the bucket load as auto/DCT as oppose to the manual version(I can understand in many ways because a BMW manual isn't that great to use sadly).
The 6 speed in my Caterham, with a very short lever straight into the box, is a throwback to days when there were good manuals around but manuals rarely suit modern cars and offer nothing that is missed with a good, well set up auto with paddles.
I can’t help thinking that those advocating manuals are just being contrary for the sake of it.
REALIST123 said:
I can’t help thinking that those advocating manuals are just being contrary for the sake of it.
I can't comment for others obviously but I will say I have a Mini Cooper S which I have as a fun/track day car which has a nice positive (fairly) short selection & take delight in "cog swapping" as required up & down with enjoyment.Whereas every auto I have driven has been completely loathfull to drive, seemingly always doing exactly the opposite of what I want it to do.
Can’t think i’ve ever - in nearly 40 years of driving manuals I’ve ever thought:
I wish that change had been a bit quicker
or (in traffic) - this is hard work
or - I wish this was a little less involving.
Have to confess that every time I have driven an auto I’ve thought:
- the delay from reverse to 1st is insanely annoying
- the binary nature of either in or out isn’t subtle enough
- It’s often in the wrong gear
- it holds on to gears too long
Etc
I wish that change had been a bit quicker
or (in traffic) - this is hard work
or - I wish this was a little less involving.
Have to confess that every time I have driven an auto I’ve thought:
- the delay from reverse to 1st is insanely annoying
- the binary nature of either in or out isn’t subtle enough
- It’s often in the wrong gear
- it holds on to gears too long
Etc
You’re both wrong.
I’m intrigued by the delay going into reverse in particular as even the old school 4 speeder in my wife’s Jap. Import doesn’t have that.
It sometimes gets caught out in a way my old ZF8 doesn’t, even the ZF5 behaves itself when you learn how to drive it.
Which is often the issue. If you go in with the attitude that it’ll be rubbish, you’ll never learn how to drive it properly.
I’d like to see your reactions if plonked in a car with a CVT or Toyota hybrid box. Your heads would explode.
I’m intrigued by the delay going into reverse in particular as even the old school 4 speeder in my wife’s Jap. Import doesn’t have that.
It sometimes gets caught out in a way my old ZF8 doesn’t, even the ZF5 behaves itself when you learn how to drive it.
Which is often the issue. If you go in with the attitude that it’ll be rubbish, you’ll never learn how to drive it properly.
I’d like to see your reactions if plonked in a car with a CVT or Toyota hybrid box. Your heads would explode.
Love my 30d with the zf8 box with one exception. In comfort mode when you're dawdling at 5mph and you suddenly need some acceleration to get you out of trouble and you floor the throttle, there's a slight delay while the gearbox decides how many gears to drop down before it gives you a 'launch control' experience whereas what I needed is 'some' acceleration immediately followed by kickdown or whatever later on. That moment is crucial when you want to swap lanes in traffic. Agreed you should be making more time for yourself before such manoeuvres but sometimes the hole had been dug and you need to get out! I don't spend my life in sport mode.
Lannister902 said:
Who would have thought the majority of people on here prefer auto to manual.
Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
Most people just would say "oh a manual is much better" but then given the option of speccing their company car, pick an auto!Those that prefer auto would've been hung a few years ago.
People on here are either getting old, or becoming mature.
I have zf8 in my car and it's great , on road , and on track - don't miss a manual in ANY way.
(I still have a manual in my daily car and it's neither here nor there - just annoying in traffic).
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