Manual Transmission? Yea or Nay?
Still looking for the first truck in preparation for our first RV sometime next year and I've pretty much narrowed it down to an F2/350 with the V10. Not sure I want to roll the dice with a 6.0 Diese...
Forum Discussion
BenK wrote:
Back to the regular programming...opinions to the OP's question
Bottom line on a choice between auto or manual is mainly personal preferences
Again, here are mine for a manual tranny:
- Added weight of any automatic over manual
- Added cost to buy over manual
- Added cost to maintain an automatic
- Added heating to the whole system by ATF
- Cost to rebuild an auto is more
- Touted controls of both the engine and tranny computers is a negative to me (one back ground is in computing...another is automation & systems controls)
- All computer controlled automatics algorithms are for the fat part of the herd bell curve...I've never been in that herd, so their attributes does NOT fit my driving style
- Engine braking is better with a manual
And just plain prefer a manual to an automatic for my trucks/SUV's
No one can convince me to change, nor do I expect to convince someone
else's preference...unless either I hear something that might make
sense to me, or someone else finds my opinions compelling...
I couldn't agree more!
The biggest issue with high HP, High torque diesels and manual transmissions, is the clutch! Many complain the clutch doesn't hold up, well it is time for the big three to offer a manual with a multiple disk clutch! I currently run a double disk clutch in my 01 Cummins with Power Puck. Zero issues with slippage.
Then there of those who never learned how to drive a manual correctly in the 1st place.
You hear talk of it's hard to hold the clutch pedal down! Well that is one of the 1st things I learned. The only time the pedal is depressed, is starting out, and shifting, any other time the transmission is in neutral and the clutch pedal is up. If driving down the road my foot is on the floor. Same at a stop sign, until there is an opening, neutral and pedal up.
My feeling is with computer controlled transmissions, traction control, ABS brakes, while all great improvement is safety, they can't change the law of Physics!! People feel when they have these features, they can fly down a snow/ice covered road at 60 mph in complete control!! They do it in the commercials!!
If I can't buy one new i guess I will just keep my 01, it only has 258,000 miles should be good for at least another 250K!
