Battle of the Transmissions: M/T vs. A/T

[4agze]

i have both have manual and automatic car, since i was 16yrs old ive been driving manual transmission cars. now in my 30's im not as high active as i use to, works takes a toll on me, now after work the only thing i want is go home and rest thats how the comfort of the automatic transmission comes in. i still drive my manual transmission car but strickly recreation.

[woohoo]

I've been driving for 38 years and I drive fast and hard so it will always be M/T for me. The only time I had an A/T was when I had an Accord and it really drove me crazy at times.

I frequently do long trips to remote places so I can't risk an A/T. You are so dependent on your battery and a lot of unexpected things can happen that can drain your battery. Once your battery goes dead and you have an A/T, you're kaput. With an M/T, just push it and ergo, you're on the road again.

In offroading, unless you have traction control, then it's better to use an M/T. Try going down a steep slippery road in A/T and you'll understand what I mean. Step on the brakes just with a little more force than necessary and you'll slide all the way down without any control. Your ABS won't help at all. With an M/T, just put it in 4L-1st gear and you can have a well-controlled descent all the way down without stepping on the brakes. Just taking off your foot from the accelerator will already result to a very, very low crawl that it's almost like stopping without any of the dangers associated with it.

When we went down from Mt. Samat, our M/T vehicles kept accelerating (MC, L-200, etc...) with no pedals pressed.

[FWC]

When we went down from Mt. Samat, our M/T vehicles kept accelerating (MC, L-200, etc...) with no pedals pressed.

What I was referring to was a descent down a slippery road using 4-Low. Which means you have to engage 4 wheel drive.

If you do this going down Mt. Samat. which has a paved road, you'll wreck your differentials and transfer case (unless you have a center differential like the newer Land Cruiser or some other sophisticated 4x4s have).

[SaberRider]

M/T for me:
1)more driver oriented
2)total control over the gears, A/t's have a nasty habit of switching to a higher gear only when it's revved up pero pag experienced driver ka na naka manual, you know when your vehicle is already good to switch gears. A/t's masyadong play safe kaya nagpapa very high rpm muna bago mag switch which makes it more of a guzzler than a manual.
3)usually mas fuel efficient ang manual as stated by #2 reason.
4)less maintenance
5)has a higher top speed than an A/t of the same vehicle and same number of gears.(most of the time)
6)less hp and torque is wasted sa drivetrain
7)M/t, most of the time, is lighter in curb weight provided they have the same engine.
8)no lag on the green light(control ng paa mo lang sa clutch ang nagpapa bagal sa m/t)
9)mas masarap at mas madali i modify ang m/t.
10)nakaka exercise sa left leg pag traffic. Hirap na kung puro right leg lang ang may exercise diba?

[woohoo]

What I was referring to was a descent down a slippery road using 4-Low. Which means you have to engage 4 wheel drive.

If you do this going down Mt. Samat. which has a paved road, you'll wreck your differentials and transfer case (unless you have a center differential like the newer Land Cruiser or some other sophisticated 4x4s have).

Right. Thanks for the enlightenment... I've never driven a 4WD myself, so there... :smiley:

[FWC]

Another thing, if you want engine durability, go for the A/T. But as SaberRider pointed out, if you want more control and responsiveness, go for the M/T.

Most of the ECUs actually controls the power surge of the engine to prevent damage to the automatic tranny. So no matter how hard you push the pedal, the rate of rpm increase is slightly modulated. If effect, this also prolongs the engine life.

The ECU of the M/T, on the other hand, is unregulated. Since the engine has a direct link to the engine wheels, it is the weight of the car that controls the rise in rpm. That is why if you have a powerful engine and you really push hard, you either make the tires cry or burn your clutch.

[oj88]

Been driving a M/T for 20 years. That's why I chose an A/T this time... got tired of clutching/shifting while traffic is becoming worse every year. Now, I like my driving to be a little laid back.

[woohoo]

Been driving a M/T for 20 years. That's why I chose an A/T this time... got tired of clutching/shifting while traffic is becoming worse every year. Now, I like my driving to be a little laid back.

Apir!!! I'm in the same boat. I'll just find some other way to "exercise" my left leg para pantay...

[alwayz_yummy]

mas madaling mag-left-foot braking sa AT than sa MT...

pero MT if you really want control and reliabily if you do mods...

but for everything else.. AT parin..CVT nga infact..

*darn bakit kasi di ilabas ang delica D:5 dito--- an outlander 2.4L 4b12 cvt-4wd in a mini-van body...

[lazyfoot]

I still like driving M/T during late nights and non traffic hours, it is fun and keeps me awake. during daytime driving i love the A/T, saves me from all the effort.

I would go for the A/T on this one coz of the benefits, plus with the new 5 speed A/T in the market now i almost get the same milage anyway.
We still keep our old M/T though, for coding days

[xfreemanx]

How about maintainance and repair cost of MT vs AT? Di ba super mahal pag nasiraan ka ng A/T?

[alwayz_yummy]

maintenance - mura ang AT(atf flushing lang yan every year or 2).. mag-mumura ka sa MT (clutch disc,pressure plate,release bearing, clutch primary&secondary master repair kit, hoses, labor pa pagbaba..damay mo na din ang crakshaft oil seal sa checking...)

repair cost - mag-mumura ka sa AT(either palit ka ng un-certain-used AT, or spend 100t minimum on overhaul, na di din sigurado ang gawa)...mura MT (pag nag-slide, un ang maintenance, pag pinabayaan mo, chances are machineshop mo ang housing/flywheel)

ganun lang yun..so pag AT ka, better ang maintenance..problema lang if you bought the car "used"

[hpon]

for me M/T kasi i'm located in a province and the road here are 2 lanes only bihira ka lang makakita nang 4 lanes kung malapit ka na lang sa city and its really hard to overtake pag A/T gamit ko kasi ang tagal bago mag accelerate need to rev high pa unlike sa M/T control ko yung power nang sasakyan at acceleration nya..pero if sa city driving na mas prefer ko A/T's...

[alwayz_yummy]

most at are high-geared.. ang mt naman ay low-geared..

but siyempre, take into consideration pa yung huge losses ng AT because Fluid is the main medium..torque converter...

e ang MT directed halos sa shaft/flywheel..kaya mas lesser ang powerloss.

and maybe your AT car is not built for speed or di kaya may issues kaya di ganun ang acceleration.. e bakit yung kia pride ng mom ko, during its prime, its so easy to overtake, despite the 1.3L and 3-speed AT.. its in the technique na din.

[hpon]

sir AY dito kasi sa province in terms of overtaking not only mid size ang ini overtake mo consider po yung mga prime movers na nagka ka sunod sunod need power and fast acceleration talaga..ok lng po sana kung yung mga latest tranny cars na kasi easy na lang mag pick up nang speed..

[willvill]

overtaking sa AT? madali naman sa Honda City '03 IDSI. Iset mo lang sa S mode and shifter ayun para kang naka turbo! lakas lang sa gaso....

[OldSchoolHack]

Ganun ba yun? overtake ako ng overtake sa Honda City 1.5 VTEC nasa D lang naman. yun nga lang pag ganito gawain ko lagi sayang sa gas. sa CVT gearless kaya wala low gear hi gear issue. Unless shift mo sa manual mode para meron ka 1 to 7 gears (di ko din ginagawa).

[emarqz]

sticky thread na pala to... It's been 3 years na since i posted this. Ngbibida kasi ung kasama ko noon na maganda ang A/T kesa sa M/T, samantalang kakastart pa lang nyang magdrive at matutong umapak sa gas. hehe. Nice to know dami ngshashare ng ideas dito, that's the spirit mga repa! i had my car traded in to a new one. i stuck to M/T pa rin. hehe. i'm open to ideas having A/T though.

Very informative... keep it coming mga repa!

[oj88]

A few more things I can say.

The automatic transmission has come a long way in terms of reliability and efficiency. Modern A/T's are more intelligent, more fuel-efficient, and sometimes integrates a lot of features previously only available to luxury cars.

It used to be that the only compelling reason to buy an A/T car is convenience, and that the price you pay is bad fuel economy. Now, fuel-efficiency on A/T's has become at par or to some extent, even better than M/T under certain situations. It'll be unfair to compare the modern A/T to the those models from the 70's-80's or even the 90's. So if the last time you drove an A/T was way back in 1989, you can't use your judgment back then and apply it to modern A/T's. If you need to decide, you should always test drive both M/T and A/T models of the car your'e interested in.

[scharnhorst]

Pag naging mainstream na ang Dual-clutch systems, lalong lalamang ang mga AT