Death of the manual gearbox.

I'd love a good autobox tbh, provided it made good clean quick changes, didn't hunt around all the time and had a manual override (Wheel or seq stick) i'd have no problems with it.

Main issue for me is reliability and running costs, they need to sort this out first.
 
Once they start to make semi auto boxes that have the fluency of a good manual I would be happy to go in that direction. My issue with them historically is they haven't been very good or have had foibles that annoy me. I think we are now seeing boxes that finally deliver on their promise so I would not be fussed loosing a manual, though I would miss heel toe down changes but not so much that it would ruin the experience.

GT3 RS with a good set of paddles (like the ones they have fitted to the new Turbo not the crappy rubbish they first came up with!) and a PDK box. Yes please!
 
On a different point I remember when Porsche were testing their early PDK transmission in the early 80's in a Porsche 956 Group C car, mainly running it during practice days and tests (which I used to attend back then!) with Hans Stuck being the main test driver for the device. They had big issues with weight back then as the device was 10's of kilos heavier back then but I still recall the difference in engine not these had during a change. I also remember Audi running it in the S2 Quattro Group B rally car back then too, that thing was evil!
 
The PDK and GT-R GR6 boxes are really a bit special and make the DSG boxes seem antiquated and cumbersome. Extremely flexible, faster and suit lazy town work to banzai track action with ease. Depending on the mode, the driver has full control of shift point and as I don't regard changing gear with a clutch and stick as some wonderful arcane art but rather the judgement of the correct gear as a bit more skillful, I'm all for the change in the majority of cars. Granted, heel 'n toe goes out the window but you do get auto blips for aggressive downchanging that sound as sweet and smooth.
 
Quick question about your average automatic gearbox..

If you're in drive, facing upwards on a hill and stationary, does the car just hold itself in position until you accelerate? or do you have to hold the brake too..

I've never driven an auto..

My question is aimed at Ford/BMW and not Ferrari etc..
 
bledd. said:
Quick question about your average automatic gearbox..

If you're in drive, facing upwards on a hill and stationary, does the car just hold itself in position until you accelerate?
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Yeah, they just hold themselves there stationary.
 
The thing that annoys me is manuals will become a premium once the car companies realise its only the petrol-heads that will continue using manuals and that they can charge for it.
 
Yeah downhill, or on a flat, they roll forwards unless they have anti-creep which is fairly rare (and is just an automatic brake).
 
bledd. said:
Quick question about your average automatic gearbox..

If you're in drive, facing upwards on a hill and stationary, does the car just hold itself in position until you accelerate? or do you have to hold the brake too..

I've never driven an auto..

My question is aimed at Ford/BMW and not Ferrari etc..
Click to expand...

Having driven a big 4L + auto in Canada i can tell you that it depends, my old 1.6 auto Focus held itself, this big Ford people carrier didn't and was trying to creep up the hill still, so brake had to be used. Autos will pickup some fair speed downhill usually if no brake is used and most will creep on the flat.
 
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bledd. said:
Quick question about your average automatic gearbox..

If you're in drive, facing upwards on a hill and stationary, does the car just hold itself in position until you accelerate? or do you have to hold the brake too..

I've never driven an auto..

My question is aimed at Ford/BMW and not Ferrari etc..
Click to expand...

A word of warning, many automatic trucks don't do this.

I still recall the first time I drove an auto HGV, I was rolling up to the top of a hill with some traffic lights as I stopped I simply assumed the truck would behave as most automatic cars did.

Next, I wondered why the chap behind me was peeping his horn all of a sudden and then I realised I was rolling backwards.... Opps! :o

Beware the HGV on a hill! ;)
 
bledd. said:
Quick question about your average automatic gearbox..

If you're in drive, facing upwards on a hill and stationary, does the car just hold itself in position until you accelerate? or do you have to hold the brake too..
Click to expand...

Automatics will hold you, DSG won't which is a bit annoying, especially when you're trying to do a 3 point turn on a hill.
 
thanks for the replies guys, sorry, derailed the thread a bit :)

R420LA6X2/4MNA, I'll bear that in mind the next time I take out one for a spin :p
 
I like wobbling my cars center shaft, autos do nothing for me :(

That said, in the SAAB we tend to stop at traffic lights etc and leave it in drive with the brake applied. Should we knock it into neutral or is this fine?
 
eidolon said:
My TT didn't, and neither of the other TTs I drove did either so I guess that that VAG improved it later on.
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If you have a 7-speed DSG box I believe that the hill hold is standard in all cases because they all have ESP. Prior to the ESP system, the hill hold was an optional extra in many VAG models. In reality the hill hold function is nothing to do with the DSG box, it's the ESP system that controls the brakes on a decline. The ESP system just locks the pressure in the break lines for a certain amount of time after you release the break pedal.

So basically, if your car has ESP, it has auto hill hold.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
The heavy truck market is certainly drifting toward automatics rather than manuals.

When I worked for James Irlam Logistics, they were replacing the entire fleet of DAF HGV's with automatics (manual boxes with automatic linkage / clutch rather than a torque converter) due to the rumoured £150k p/a they were spending on burnt out clutches(!) Eddie Stobart (who bought out James Irlam back in 2008) were doing a similar thing but for fuel savings rather than clutch replacement costs.

Apparently, the "Jungle drums" at Stobart say the fleet managers are considering going back to manual spec trucks when the next batch of 500 trucks gets replaced as the fuel economy apparently suffers with automatics albeit not by much. When you consider the huge annual mileage of the fleet however, you soon appreciate how much say a difference of 0.5MPG between manual & automatic has a massive effect on the companys operating costs.....

Personally, I prefer manuals (despite my previous e38 and current e36 being auto!) but do admit the Scania "Opticruise" gearbox is a nice compromise.

It has a clutch pedal which you use to pull away and when you stop but once the trucks moving it changes up & down automatically which is a real bonus with a 14speed 'box I can tell you! :D

The recently revised Scania "R Series" has dispensed with the clutch pedal on the automatics completely which I feel is a backward step from the point of view of an HGV driver, auto's are no where near precise enough for some of the delicate shunting required to get a 53ft long rig in a space designed for a Horse & cart, being able to use the clutch for just the right amount of "bite" makes a big difference imo.

Whilst I love my current 08 plate "Opticruise" equipped Scania, I'm looking forward to a manual if & when Stobart decide to get them....
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Yep, the HGV market is moving away from them rapidly. Pretty much all new Volvos sold in our area have been with I-Shift gearboxes which are Auto/Semi-Auto. Smooth quick gear changes with no fuss. Manual mode is there too if you want to use it. Id buy a car with an Auto box as long as it was as good as what ive used truck wise
 
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