Typhoon - Auto Or Manual

[Ralph Wiggum]

Each have there good points each have there bad points. Test drive both, decide which one YOU prefer and buy that.

[aiboart]

If you just want a car to ride around in, get the auto.

If you want to DRIVE the car, get the manual.

My name is Aiboart and I am a recovering manual driver….

At one stage my fascination with manuals was such that I even taught my cute blonde girlfriend to heel and toe a perfect flash down change on a set of shot 2nd gear synchros in a front engine rear transaxle car.. now I understand that the manual box has gone the way of the manual starting crank, the manual ignition advance, the manual windscreen wiper and even manual window winders.

Clearly, it takes more driver knowledge and technique to fully exploit the capabilities of a high powered computer system coupled to a variable ratio fluid transmission and a planatary gear set than it takes to juggle cogs on a stick.

It is of course possible to ride around in an auto whilst it changes gears whenever it deems appropriate; the smarter the box the more it is likely to be in the right gear. However, it is altogether a different matter for the driver to ensure that the auto does exactly what you want, when you want it, and in the manner that you want; without cooking the system, too much.

Why people who love interacting with their manual cars get into an auto car, do nothing, and then complain that there is nothing to do and that the box does’nt somehow read their minds without any driver input is always a source of deep facination for me. The auto is a system, figue it out, perfect your interaction skills and exploit, drive, it to its full potential. It really is a wildly complex logical and mechanical system.

Regards,

aa

Edited 01/11/07 07:19 AM by aiboart

[ExAreSix]

Clearly, it takes more driver knowledge and technique to fully exploit the capabilities of a high powered computer system coupled to a variable ratio fluid transmission and a planatary gear set than it takes to juggle cogs on a stick.

Haha.

Wait... You're being serious... ??

[aiboart]

believe, yep,

serious, no, this is a user forum, about a car hobby

Regards,

aa

[tab]

Your last paragraph is the best argument I've ever seen on this topic

[stevegt]

you are being tricked old chap, youre losing boost between gear changes and it *feels* like youre getting youre accelerating. You are....coz youve lost momentum at the gear change.

ZF!

rrrrrrrrrrrrr but remember that you have extra weight to carry and the auto is full of HP robbing planetry gear sets and the old tq converter as well to spool up, the manual is lighter and dose not cost as mush HP to run, as for boost loss which is minium within normal driving and even less when push hard due the engine already being at high revs and right within its tq curve plus ford has match the right gear sets to the manual box. Im not saying that the auto is a dog at all its just not as hard core as the manual and makes driving it softer. Its only my view you may or not agree.

cheers steve

[BTA Motorsport]

Both are a great box,really all comes down too personal preference,but I must agree with 72,could put it in better words.Good luck mate I hope you come too right decsion,remeber the BIG BOSS must be happy lol.

[senna_T]

what everryone needs the opportunity to do is drive a ZF equipped Typhoon with the box at "200" points, the most aggressive mode, and one at the "10" points mode, the most fuel economic.

The reason I say this is because I totally agree with Aiboart, the ZF gearbox is rediculously advanced in the way it learns how you drive. At one end of the scale it can feel like a silky marshmallow slipery dip, and at the other end it can feel like an outback unsealed road the gearshifts are that fast in manual mode that it chirps through to 3rd gear (this is quite hard to achieve, mostly found in demos that don't do many kays). In manual mode you can actually blip the throttle yourself, as its not quite that advanced on down shift, but this is more to do with the falcon programming (or lack-thereof) it truly is an amazing bit of engineering, and the only single part of the current falcon that has transformed the entire vehicle.

I only comment on this from experience as a sales person, and in particular an FPV specialist, I'm not blowing my own horn, I have just had my but in that many of these cars I can safely say that I have seen them react to good and bad drivers, and as long as the driver has some sort of nouce about him, he'll be ok (within normal speeds)

Pat

[Flukey]

Well, I drove a Force6 tonight with the ZF and its a ripper. I have no interest in the manual now.

[senna_T]

hey flukey, how'd you go with that dealer?