the wife's TC is manual; and my FJ has an auto. So as we have "joint custody" of our toys, we can take turns driving.... which gives one some "time off" from the day to day issues of a stick in traffic. And while a stick may not always be faster ( depending on car and build ), it usually is more fun to drive.

 

stick is always faster..


HEY MAN YOUR YOUNG.. GET A STICK!! AUTO IS FOR 80YR OLDS!!

 

honestly i have an auto and its fun to drive, but i do regret sometimes not getting stick.

 

Get manual trans ***** autos. Even if you never driven stick before. I taught my 14 yr old sister in 2 days. I didnt use my tC but I used the moms car 1990 sentra but stick is a stick. Get a stick you wont regret it .

 

Ok, having owned both the Auto for almost 2 years, and the 5 speed for quite some time now, i think i can give you some pros and cons of each.

Acceleration
The 5 speed is faster, and quite more fun. But its still not fast. Its torquey, but once you hit 4th gear, it feels like you hit a brick wall compared to the first 3 gears. The auto is still quick enough if you aren't racing around town, but certainly not as fast as the stick. For the difference between the 0-60 i would say around 1 second difference.

Daily driving [in NYC]
The stick is a pain in traffic, compared to the auto. If you drive in a lot of traffic, with lots of red lights, then auto is probably for you. I have to drive in traffic everday to and from work and school, and there are many times i regret buying stick.

FUN
stick. no question. the auto is definitely more for cruising, and relaxing while driving. the stick is for driving. there is no better feeling than downshifting into 2 and just blowing the honda next to you away.

GAS MILEAGE
City driving i got around 300 miles to the tank in the auto. No redlining and having the tranny shift around 2.2kRPMs
City driving with the stick i get around 250 miles to the tank, shifting around 2.6kRPMs

considering everything
stick was the right choice

 

I like this quote: "I got a stick because I don't have a purse to hold in my other hand."

 

5 speed fo sho!

 

the best way to teach yourself how to drive a stick, is to buy one.

my first 'fun' car, an 86 daytona was a stick. i had to have my mommy dirve it home for me, so she could teach me. 2 hours of dropping the clutch too early/late and i was ready for the highway.

 

STICK OWNS!!!!!!!!!<--- Auto <----

 

IMHO, this particular manual is easier to drive in traffic than others that I've driven. You can engage the gear by just letting off the clutch around an inch (versus about 3 inches in my GF's civic), and you can start from a near dead stop in second gear. That keeps the jerkiness of first gear to a minimum when you're creeping though traffic.

I've put around 19k on my 5-speed since I bought it in August 06. I live in NJ and am in sales as a profession. About 70% of my time is open highway cruising, the other 30% is punch-me-in-the-face traffic. Sometimes driving stick is better in traffic, like when you need to make a quick lane change at slower speeds. An auto would drop two gears and lag when you hit the pedal, but with stick you can keep it in second and zip right into the space.

My least favorite part of the 5-speed is that 5th gear is very low. It's nice, because you can pass on the highway without downshifting, but you turn 3500rpms at 75mph, and it just goes up from there. I drive slower with this car because it's screaming when I'm going 80 or more. I actually get worse mileage on a long highway trip (25-26mpg) than I do driving around country roads (27-2.

(edit: so when you write "twenty-eight" and close parenthesis, you get a smiley. Who knew!)

 

i didnt really bother to read the other post but the automatic has the same amount of power it just depends on how u drive and if u know how to handle the car when its shifting for u...

 

No it doesn't. Google drivetrain loss and parasitic powerloss thanks to the autotragic before posting silly assumptions.

 

Searched for times, only found manual 0-60:
"Sport Compact Car" = 7.8 seconds w/AEM intake + TRD exhaust (those mods help or hurt?)
"Road & Track" = 7.4 seconds
"Motor Week" = 7.6 seconds

Couldn't find times for stock auto.

1/4 mile or autox is a different story, but the auto has good low end pull and only about 10whp peak less than stick => I would estimate less than 0.5 second difference 0-60.

Either way the tC is no slouch, but it's not a fast car. You may disagree, but the only way you can use "tC" and "fast" in the same sentence is to add one more word - "turbo".

 

I would guess the auto ads about as second or maybe a little more to the 0-60 time. Basically it's about an even race w/ a stock 96-05 Civic EX 5 speed or a 1ZZ 5 speed Corolla. Now who would want that?

 

Someone who doesn't race. Why would you care about bragging rights over a Civic?

Just hope you're confining your racing to the track. And bringing a faster car.

 

if your not going to race or do "sporty" driving then get auto.. if you do all of the above get a manual, i have the auto and it works for ME.. becuase I drive it.. but to each his/her/its own..

 

<-- just did a tranny swap from auto to manual


5spd FTMFW

 

[quote="Mid_Life_tC-risis"]
8.3 seconds for stock i watched a video on road and track a WHILE ago, and i remember that part. It was what they ran, not estimated claims. The 5 speed ran 7.2.

Can't remember elevation or air temps at the time of testing though. Which believe it or not is a HUGE difference

 

But before you just up and decide... Learn to drive a stick elsewhere and you'll know without a doubt! Ask anyone who drives one, it's almost like it's in your blood to drive a stick. I will never own another auto, and i know others that will never own another standard.

Like someone stated before, autos are for luxury cars, and "G" rides.

Not SUVs or "sports" coups, as true SUVs are meant to be able to control their power as well sporty cars. Notice i didn't say sports cars, lol.

 

I'm just fooling around, I dont race on the streets nor do I go to the tracks. Honestly, there are rare periods of time when I want an auto tC.... though I have never driven 1, I can imagine the power low in the rev range would be good enough to get around town plus cruising engine speed on the interstate would help in not having to raise my voice to have a convo.