Hey guys. First, great site, very helpful, lots of information. I'm going to be picking up a tC very soon, and the only thing I can't decide upon is if I am going to stick with an auto or go for the 5-speed. I do a lot of driving in traffic in the Minneapolis/ St Paul area, which is why I went with an auto in my current car (Grand Am).... but now I'm undecided. And yes, I know how to drive an manual. Not extremely well, but well enough to drive it.
1-I've read that the auto has noticably less power. Is this just how it feels because it's a stick, or is it actually that different?
2- How does the gas milage compare? Seems fairly similar from what I've read.
3- Only mods I plan for it are intake/exhaust/some suspension, so I'm not going to be making it into some full-out tuned car. Is the auto still fun to drive??

Thanks guys.


Matt

 

1) With an auto there is more of a power loss through the transmission
2) All depends on how you drive, and if you are good with a stick and dont shift about 2500 you will get good milage
3) I personally find stick shifts more fun to drive, but its really a choice for as far as which was more fun on the test drive to you. I think the 5sp would be more fun

 

that's a personal call - one that I flip-flopped on a lot. Since I primarily use the car for work, (commuting and sales calls) performance was less of an issue. I considered both for months. I finally chose the stick because it was so much more fun to drive and I haven't regretted it. I don't have to navigate a lot of stop and go traffic however.....so the shifting never wears me out. Mileage wise, I am getting about 26/34.

 

I personally like driving a 5-speed way better. It has nothing to do with gas mileage, power, etc. I just like the feel of having more control over the car. One thing, it's more difficult to multi-task in a 5 speed. i.e. eat, talk on the cel-phone, send a text message. All things we shouldn't be doing while driving anyway!!!

 

I drove a stick before my auto, and really the only time I would feel the difference in power is when I would shift hard. The shock is of course much greater with a manual because auto's slowly clutch into each gear, with a manual you can just dump it. It's definately more fun to drive every once in a while but I couldn't stand to shift back and forth through 1st and second through the traffic i'm in on my way to and from work.

To answer your question shortly, stick is more fun to drive when your really booting, but it becomes almost a chore after awhile especially in traffic situations. Autos lack a bit of the umph when mashing them because theres really no shiftshock but it dosn't make them no fun to drive. They still get up and go when you want them to, and if you're feeling manualish I guess you could go from L to 2nd, to 3rd then drive upshifting and letting go of the gas but i'm not real sure how good that is on the tranny.

 

Stick.

Hands down. Be a man.

 

The gas mileage is really the same, you can beat up on both of be nice to both.

The auto does have less power because it loses more at the tranny. Also, it has less gears than the manual does so it is easier for a manual to stay in the powerband. I find that with an auto, the power is never there when you need it. You hit the gas hard, the car hesitants badly and then it downshifts and takes off. I HATE THAT! I like being in complete control of the car. It is also much better to have a manual in the snow to have better control of the car. I recommend it. So many regret getting an auto and are trying to spend all of this money to swap the tranny or end up trading it in.

 

1. 1 of the MAJOR reasons why the tC performs well in its class is b/c of the 5 speed's gear ratios. The auto gear ratios are probably more "cruiser friendly" while the 5 speed ratio is much more rushed. And that makes a BIG differences.
2. B/c of that nice quick short gear ratio (and some other aspects), 5 speeds dont get the better advantage on gas.
3. There are some folks that test drove both and some actually prefer the auto b/c of the way the 5 speed feels.

 

stick shift is the best

 

I've been recommending the auto to others if they plan to get the tC also.
But ever since i installed my short shifter with shifter base and cable bushings plus synthetic transmission oil the FEEL is dramatically better.
Just wait til I get the Fidanza flywheel
The tC is a budget car that NEEDS mods to make it good.

 

hell yeah

 

5 spd... Take it from an auto guy

 

Don't buy a 2 door coupe car if you want an automatic. Buy a SUV instead.

 

well with a 5-speed, you have much more control of your car in terms of power, handling, etc.....you can access power when you need it by choosing the right hears versus just stomping on the gas pedal.....also, in a 5-speed you can engine brake, rev match, which help you control the power more.....don't worry if this is your first stick, this car is very user friendly....i drive 40 miles freeway daily and plenty of traffic here in CA, and i would NEVER drive an automatic., i mean its not that much work unless you're really that lazy, haha ....and in an automatic, you never get a real sense of acceleration....

 

Get a stick. Autos are for girls and luxory sedan drivers.

As far as manual becoming a "chore", I look at driving my car smoothly as an art form and I get quite a joy from the symbiotic relationship I share with my car. It's never a chore for me.

 

stick all the way. Yeah it sucks in traffic, but the benefits out-way the drawbacks!!!!

 

I've yet to see anyone here say why there's less power, really. Power loss through the tranny is negligable for cars this low in horseys.

here's the thing, with japanese engines, their power peak, for both horse power and torque is at high rpms. it's what makes them such great for mileage, but poorer off the line.

my xB's horsepower peak is at 4200rpm.
my xB's torque peak is at 6000rpm.

if I had an automatic, the car would automatically shift at 2300rpm or so, far far away from either my horsepower peak or torque peak.

So, if you with my measely 100hp/100lbs.torque, if I got an automatic, I'd never reach but 70-80% of my potential power for all those lower gears.

now, for german engines and many american engines it's much different.

my gti's horsepower peak is at 1800rpm and stays at 100% until 5400rpm.
my gti's torque peak is about the same.

this is why getting an auto in this type of car is "fine", and you won't see much difference in power. An automatic for this car, still shifts at say 2300, but it is already in the peak power range.

this is why you'd rather have a 150 horses in a german car than 150 horses in a japanese car, because unless you're always near redlining the japanese car, you're not going to be able to get the 150 horses out of the japanese car easily.

 

^^Agreed. The power difference is seen mostly at peak which is about 5500 RPM on the tC - where the manual has the advantage by less than 10whp.

Auto vs. manual is a personal preference, but as an auto owner (who learned to drive 30 years ago on a stick) here's my 0.02 on the auto tC.

I can tell you that the auto tC is very torquey at the low end, it's no slouch when the light turns green. In fact after getting thrown back in my seat my first day driving it (I was used to driving heavy Volvos) I had to learn to ease up on the pedal. Haven't done this but other auto drivers report that when stomping on it and keeping it down it won't shift until near redline.
I also get a (carefully documented) 28MPG. IMO the auto helps with mileage - it's just too easy to rev high with a manual.
Like Spect2K3 said, stomping on it in a higher gear gives a bad hesitation before downshift. I get around this by manually shifting down a gear, after this there's plenty of power to get up to speed quickly to merge on the highway.

To the OP, if you have to ask if it's fun, well sounds like you've already decided on the manual - "revving" is decidedly more fun than "slushing". And it's cheaper, too, which will come in handy. You don't know it yet but your modding won't get far before you're ordering the short shifter, lightwheel flywheel, and new clutch.

 

x3

 

x3