stick shift vs. paddle shifters

I loved my stick shift when I bought my brand new Z24 (yep, I'm older) and loved it. But, with age also came a bad left knee and no more stick shifts.
 
ahaha, i used to be on staff at a forum that would ban people temporarily for bumping a four year old thread without seeking info...but it's not a bad thing. it keeps traffic up for the forum and it's better than starting a new thread on the same subject imo, even if Visitor didn't want to start a new thread on this lol.

i wonder if i responded in the first iteration of this thread? i know i was unsubscribing from threads for a while...oh well, if i'm bored later i'll read through it all.

my take would be somewhat different now anyway. i've had even more experience with not only various generations of F1/PDK/DCT etc. transmissions (real performance automated manuals) but i have all automatics now. gone are the manuals that i had when this thread was active prior.

i find a true automated manual to be superior in every single way other than maybe nostalgia. i relent to the computers and while it's hard, i will admit that the computers can, if they are the right ones, do a much better job of shifting than i can. it's hard to admit, but the tech is so crazy now. the only thing it can't do, maybe, is provide that lost nostalgia but i'm ok with that.

my AMG has a 7 speed slushbox with paddles. i use the paddles often because they are way better than the automatic shifting when driving even somewhat aggressively, even in S mode. and you can downshift, which sounds ridiculously awesome in this car. in fact i'd put that sound up against almost any car out there. that M156 engine has a world class exhaust note! the biggest reason i have this in automatic is because that is the only option available. for the price i paid for this, i could have gotten a newer CPO with the later MCT, but this car had 1200 miles on it and was in a condition that could not be matched by any '12s (which is the first year with their take on an automated manual).

my Audi has an 8 speed tiptronic with paddles. they are never used. the automatic programming is pretty damn good and adaptive in every mode. i would be less happy, for sure, if this were a true manual.

on the Audi, it's totally fine. it's a pretty high performance little SUV, but it's still an SUV. what it has works perfectly. would the S-Tronic be better? maybe, but it's not an option and that's good, because it's really not remotely necessary.

however, on the AMG, i have been bummed since day one that it's not an automated manual. the car deserves it. that much power and a pretty capable chassis. people who say it doesn't have the dynamics of the M3 are partially right - the trans brings it down, but the chassis and everything is really great, it's just undertired from the factory and overpowered PARTIALLY because you don't have precise control over all of that power at the exact time you need such control...because of the slow paddles.

the IS-F is a car i looked at a while back which is very similar in terms of the trans limiting what it could really be. it too has a paddle shifted slushbox.

like i said earlier, AMG came out with a quasi automated manual later in the C 63, by 2012 they were using the MCT transmission, but even that isn't nearly as good as BMWs DCT. it's better that the 7G i have, that's for sure.

imo Porsche's latest generation of PDK is above and beyond what anyone's wildest dreams would be in an automated manual.

automated manuals don't have to be in crazy cars to be exceedingly good and enjoyed. VW's DSG and the trans Mitsu was putting in the latest gen Evo...that trans is realllllly nice too imo. but man that new PDK is just out of this world.
 
In my Bonneville Im happy with an Auto. In my Formula...that I wish they had put the T56 in instead of only Auto available for the 350 in 1989.

Muscle Car = Stick NO DOUBT
Luxury = Auto
Econo Box = Stick
 
Manual.

Nuff said :dblthumb2:

I transitioned to manuals a few cars ago... haven't looked back. I'll drive a manual until I can't anymore.
 
Nowadays automatics are faster and more efficient than manuals. I don't know why people love them so much.
 
cartman1 said:
Nowadays automatics are faster and more efficient than manuals. I don't know why people love them so much.
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me neither. i think a lot of people (not all) just need exposure to real automated manuals to know what it's like. i drove a caged manual Honda for almost 10 years, about as manual as you can get - linkage actuated trans, manual windows, no cruise control, etc. - and swore up and down i'd never have an auto as my fun car and here i am years later on the other side of the fence lol.
 
I hear ya. I swore I would never have an iPhone because I saw little kids playing games with it and I thought it was a child's you, not a professional phone. Here I am replying to you on an iPhone.

Regarding manuals, it's just that progress makes almost everything better.
 
VISITOR said:
which do you like better and why? discuss...
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From a "pure" driving experience nothing stirs the soul like a good manual gear box. Something about rowing through the gears gives a visceral connection to the car and road.

But from a performance stand point, paddle shifters or a SMG cannot be beat by an automatic or manual gear box.

A great example of this is the R35 GT-R, it's heavier and makes less HP than the Viper, Z06, GT500 etc but EASILY beats them. If you watch the stock vs stock comparisons that R&T did for example with every shift by the manual cars they fell further and further back.
 
Mach1USMC said:
A great example of this is the R35 GT-R, it's heavier and makes less HP than the Viper, Z06, GT500 etc but EASILY beats them. If you watch the stock vs stock comparisons that R&T did for example with every shift by the manual cars they fell further and further back.
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huge wildcard with that though is that the GT-R is awd. it can put more power down (like, actually down meaning with traction) at any given time than any of those cars listed...particularly at the start. but yeah, the point is still there.

latest gen Carrera S is ~7/10 of a second and ~3 mph faster in 1/4 mile with PDK vs. manual.
 
I had sticks in all my cars until I broke my left ankle and have a plate and 7 screws in it. I'm in my mid 60's and I have paddle shifters in my car. For me, it's a pleasure not having to keep depressing the clutch in traffic. Didn't know if I would like the paddles but it's not too bad driving my Porsche.
 
8-speed automatic here. My ECU tune doesn't allow the trans to shift unless it reaches redline. So if i put it in first, it stays in first unless i shift up. I'd say that's control
 
builthatch said:
me neither. i think a lot of people (not all) just need exposure to real automated manuals to know what it's like. i drove a caged manual Honda for almost 10 years, about as manual as you can get - linkage actuated trans, manual windows, no cruise control, etc. - and swore up and down i'd never have an auto as my fun car and here i am years later on the other side of the fence lol.
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also, my dad's last two cars have been automatic and they have been well over 200k miles and still run with no problems even though they are tired. some have said manual trans will last longer than auto but I don't believe it to be the case anymore...
 
builthatch said:
huge wildcard with that though is that the GT-R is awd. it can put more power down (like, actually down meaning with traction) at any given time than any of those cars listed...particularly at the start. but yeah, the point is still there.

latest gen Carrera S is ~7/10 of a second and ~3 mph faster in 1/4 mile with PDK vs. manual.
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Great points :xyxthumbs:..... and I was comparing the GT-R with those cars because it was true "stock vs stock" - that being said, when you put similarly powered EVOs/STIs against the GT-R they almost always lose even though they are lighter. Gearing also helps a lot in the GT-R. It's just an amazingly engineered vehicle. If I had the $ I'd get one for sure!
 
But part of "stirring the soul" is how a car appeals to your senses, and one of those senses is sight. I honestly don't care how fast or potent the GT-R is, aesthetically it doesn't stir my soul. The F-Type R or 458 Spyder may be slower than the Nissan, but who cares? Schwing!
 
SameGuy said:
But part of "stirring the soul" is how a car appeals to your senses, and one of those senses is sight. I honestly don't care how fast or potent the GT-R is, aesthetically it doesn't stir my soul. The F-Type R or 458 Spyder may be slower than the Nissan, but who cares? Schwing!
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Right!! I was talking strictly from a performance stand point. There are other cars that are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye for sure. Then again the most expensive GTR (factory) is still $50k less than a 458. Bang for the buck at the $125-$175k price point it's hard to beat the GTR. 458's start at $225k

if we are talking 458 type $ I'd get a Porsche GT3 instead. To me Ferrari's are too much of a "hey look at me!!" car - very loud. I like my cars more "subdued."
 
Paddle shifters? ... :eek: ... Goodness Gracious!!

"Nothing flappy...will ever be Manly"!!


Bob​
 
Foe me, stick shift. But on a daily driver, auto. Don't care about paddle shifters, didn't like them. One half hour traffic jam on a daily driver manual transmission and you'll wish you had an automatic. Or having to drive in rush hour traffic everyday with all the stopping and starting. That gets pretty old.
 
It depends on the car and how it will be used. That said, the newer trannies and paddles are faster shifting and more performance oriented that a manual.

I think the manual with be extinct in the next decade.
 
DCTs are already replacing planetary automatics on many "mundane" vehicles now, as well. I don't mind, I honestly don't miss using my left leg to help a machine do its job. That said, I've been shifting my automated manual manually for almost eight years; the car's automatic program is dreadful so I only use it when I have one hand occupied. But I've driven better automated manuals and they leave absolutely nothing to be desired, allowing the driver full control while responding quicker and more accurately than any human can. Take a Cayman GTS with PDK or CLA45 with AMG-Speedtronic for a spin and experience the future of driving.
 
In my Acura TL it had an Auto and you shifted to the side to enter manual and moved the stick up and down. Loved it. Now in my TSX I have the paddle shifters and like it but not as much. The Cayman S is better in a manual, but the new Turbos I've driven are fantastic with paddles. Depends on the car for me.
 
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