Are you tired of shifting gears?

[BrettT]

Learned on a manual and basically have had a manual in the stable up until 2013. 6 years only had an Auto and DCT, and probably only drove a manual maby twice in that period.. I forgot how engaging they are. Now I have the Bullitt, I'm back....and honestly, it is the most engaging way to drive when you want to really enjoy the drive...and some people will flame me for this but the addition of rev-matching elevates the experience to a whole new level.....

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[Norm Peterson]

Wow, you guys love to shift gears! Very cool.

Been manually shifting gears since 1963, as has my wife since about 1972. We've only owned stick-shift cars since our first new car (a 1972 model year Ford), meaning that all of the "family sedans" along the way have been MT.

Talk about a timely thread . . . with our ages bracketing the number 70 (for a few more months, anyway) we replaced her Legacy this past Thursday. The 2019 WRX (6M) makes it eight for eight with three pedals. She's still just as insistent on having a MT as I am, and I might have a reputation around here for being a MT holdout.

So I guess neither of us is tired of shifting yet.


Norm

 

[Condor1970]

I really wish the A10 was more like a 6-8spd. That would make using the paddle shifters much more enjoyable. There's just too many gears, and it constantly shifts all over the place. It's actually kind of annoying to me.

That's why I decided to get the Manual. I don't drag race, but I really want a daily driver that was more engaging, and fun to drive. Mission accomplished!

 

[Ratfink53]

Been manually shifting gears since 1963, as has my wife since about 1972. We've only owned stick-shift cars since our first new car (a 1972 model year Ford), meaning that all of the "family sedans" along the way have been MT.

Talk about a timely thread . . . with our ages bracketing the number 70 (for a few more months, anyway) we replaced her Legacy this past Thursday. The 2019 WRX (6M) makes it eight for eight with three pedals. She's still just as insistent on having a MT as I am, and I might have a reputation around here for being a MT holdout.

So I guess neither of us is tired of shifting yet.


Norm

You must be in my age bracket.... my first shifting was in a 67 Firebird with a 3 speed on the floor.

 

[Norm Peterson]

You must be in my age bracket....

A little older if the '53' in your username is any hint.


Norm

 

[chipset35]

NEVER! No feeling in the world better than stick shift manual with a V8.
Plus, manual transmission really brings out the mustangs awesome exhaust note

 

[Ratfink53]

A little older if the '53' in your username is any hint.


Norm

Yep, born in 53.

 

[POJ 1]

Love my manual. Would not have it any other way.

Amen

 

[Ratfink53]

Amen

I can’t imagine what it’s like to drive a car in New Zealand sir!

 

[Dave TBG]

Come to think of it, my previous car was available with a 6M or 6DSG, no auto. I had to try 3 dealers before I found one with a manual in stock, I didn't have any interest in even test driving a DSG. Similar situation with the Mustang, there wasn't an Ecoboost with a manual within 100 miles. I ordered the manual trans without having driven one.

 

[chipset35]

My 2014 Camaro 2SS 1LE was manual and the feel of driving it with the manual was awesome.
My 2015 Challenger SRT with an automatic was blazing fast because of the fast auto shifts and also the fun factor of using the paddles.
However, my 2019 Mustang GT exceeds them both in fun and feeling factors with its manual transmission combined with even the stock exhaust sound and of course (drum roll) the self "blipping" manual transmission!
Had to trade the Camaro because the AC never worked for 3 summers and no one even Chevy could fix it.
Traded the Challenger because it was too expensive after I had an unexpected job change, but moreover the transmission would downshift on its own 2 GEARS when I least expected it, when I used the paddle shifters - from 4th to 2nd or 3rd to 1st.

 

[SVTSNAKE355]

I never get tired of my 6 speed in my 2014 GT500

 

[Johnnybee]

Driving a manual makes you a more attentive driver, even the way you sit, you are truly driving and in control, in an auto you are just cruising along

The flipside to this would be that without the need to shift gears, more attention can be given to driving the car. They didn't take manual transmissions out of F1 cars to make them easier to drive.

 

[BmacIL]

The flipside to this would be that without the need to shift gears, more attention can be given to driving the car. They didn't take manual transmissions out of F1 cars to make them easier to drive.

They went to AMT then DCT for speed.

You're right that more attention can be paid to the road/rest of car if you don't have to think about, but in practice this isn't what happens. The need to be more attentive because you have to predict what you need to do, and actually do it with both hands and both feet, prevents driver distraction. I'd wager a bet that if we had 80%+ manual cars like Europe, there'd be a ton less distracted driving, because the average person would be using most of their capability to just drive.

To answer the OP: no, never. 3 pedals for life.

 

[Norm Peterson]

The flipside to this would be that without the need to shift gears, more attention can be given to driving the car.

Good in theory, perhaps.

But I think in reality what you get is less attention because there isn't quite as much that demands attention (even a minimal requirement for attention is more/better than none at all). Keeps a mind that wants to wander away from the business of driving just a little closer to the driving part. Heh . . . if people really did pay more attention to driving when they didn't have to shift gears, there wouldn't be so many people rolling through STOP signs at 15 or more mph. Care to guess what transmission type is in the really blatant stop-sign-runners cars?

They didn't take manual transmissions out of F1 cars to make them easier to drive.

Kind of a straw man because that's totally irrelevant to street driving, but anything that makes the driving easier at 150 mph has to show up in lap time and finishing position benefits over the course of a race.


Norm

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