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[Webby the Bear]

g'day folks. as the title suggests i think ive sorted this ongoing debate.

because im a complete geek (and ive bin sick of people giving me stick about my auto.... 'its not fun' 'its not fast' etc etc) i have been doing some research and my findings have been quite interesting......

ok when the manual men talk about the performance of manual vs auto it is true that 'the stick' wins. buuuut this is only normal everyday cars (which is why the manual equivalent of my 2.5 v6 cd does 0-60 half a second to a second faster than my auto).

however we all know the fastest cars in the world (supercars) have the semi auto box with the paddle shift. but i have contacted ferrari, aston, jaguar and porsche (told u i was a geek) and they have all confirmed that you get exactly the same performance either using the 'schumacher looking' flappy paddles or the car in auto with the race/sport mode activated.

so there we have it. everyday cars the stick wins. fastest cars in the world its got to be an auto.

can of worms?? hahahahahaha 

[feeutfo]

if there was never any traffic, manual all day long, but seeing as there is nothing but traffic no matter what you do these days, auto, simples. Mr Schumaker can stick his flappy padels frankly. Its a matter of personal choice. Tuff if so and so doesn't like it...

[Andy B]

....
however we all know the fastest cars in the world (supercars) have the semi auto box with the paddle shift.  .....

that must also depends what the flappy paddles are operating, some semi-autos are manual boxes underneath with auto clutches ie VW's DSG, others are torque converter automatics with manual control.

You've also to bear in mind that manula 0 - 60's are generally achieved by dumping the clutch with fairly high revs on ..... not something you'd be wanting to do in your own car very often. 

[Webby the Bear]

i personally prefer autos anyway. the bugatti veyron has the semi auto

[Andy B]

i personally prefer autos anyway .....

is there another kind of gearbox? 

[lee4206]

i personally prefer autos anyway .....

is there another kind of gearbox? 

Yes a proper one

[Webby the Bear]

lmao i knew this was a COW (can of worms) lol

[aaronjb]

Worth remembering that the flappy paddle boxes that offer a 'fully automatic' mode are usually manual gearbox gearsets with hydraulic actuators and clutch(es).. just a manual gearbox with a computer waggling the stick for you.

The automatic gearbox in most 'automatics' is a totally different beast made up of planetary gearsets and brake bands..

Very different technology, very different result when it comes to gearchanges

[Webby the Bear]

lol thanks aaron. im confused though (as im no mechanic).

so basically what youre saying is that even though they are still autos the auto supercar and normal auto is totally different although no difference in physically driving one? lol sorry 4 being thick

[Andy B]

Worth remembering that the flappy paddle boxes that offer a 'fully automatic' mode are usually manual gearbox gearsets with hydraulic actuators and clutch(es).. just a manual gearbox with a computer waggling the stick for you.

The automatic gearbox in most 'automatics' is a totally different beast made up of planetary gearsets and brake bands..

Very different technology, very different result when it comes to gearchanges

isn't that what I said?  :-?   

[Andy B]

lol thanks aaron. im confused though (as im no mechanic).

so basically what youre saying is that even though they are still autos the auto supercar and normal auto is totally different although no difference in physically driving one? lol sorry 4 being thick

Don't have to be a super car though. SWMBO's Smart has an 'automatic' gearbox but as Aaron & I have already described, it's a manual gearbox underneath with auto controls to do the clutch. VW's DSG has two clutches one for 1 3 & 5 and the other for 2 4 & 6 gears, when it's in one gear, the next gear is ready & waiting to change on the other clutch.
Don't you remember Clarkson in an Aston(?) where he was critising its flappy paddle gearbox?

[Webby the Bear]

arr ok but you as a driver still dont do anything other than steer and accelerate/breal like in a normal auto?

[aaronjb]

Worth remembering that the flappy paddle boxes that offer a 'fully automatic' mode are usually manual gearbox gearsets with hydraulic actuators and clutch(es).. just a manual gearbox with a computer waggling the stick for you.

The automatic gearbox in most 'automatics' is a totally different beast made up of planetary gearsets and brake bands..

Very different technology, very different result when it comes to gearchanges

isn't that what I said?  :-?   

Oops, so you did   

[unclelicklug]

Older design autos were handicapped by
- inefficient torque converter coupling which was needed in place of a more or less 100% efficient clutch
- lack of gear ratios meant gear selection was more often compromised vs a 5 or 6 speed manual
- top gear in a manual is typically direct drive through the box, so quite efficient power transmission is achieved for cruising
- less effective controls compared to modern integrated electronics

Modern autos have multiple gears, potentially don't need a torque converter or incorporate direct drive and have sophisticated controls...so can't be long before we're all driving them.

I'll miss my gear stick.

[Webby the Bear]

its all fine mate. who needs a gear stick?

did u watch the top gear episode when the electric car raced the lotus elise. the elise was manual and the electric 'milkfloat' was standard auto.

the electric auto car aaaaaaaaaabsolutely p*ssed on the elise (good cos i gate them cars anyway) lol