The cars and bikes thread!

[Seriously]

AUTO (well, DCT) FTW

[Raza]

Thinking back, I started to go off manual transmissions when they went from four gears to five. I drove plenty of five-speeders (because autos were significantly more expensive in the UK) - but six? No. Too much stirring the pot. And the Aston that’s been mentioned - seven? I understand driver involvement, but it started to look like masochism with six gears.

I've only owned 6 speeds. I've driven a few 5 speeds, they're fine.

The 911 has had a 7 speed since the 991 generation started, I believe. I haven't driven one yet, but they intrigue me. Can't imagine why you'd ever need more than six, especially with the power and torque these cars have, unless 7th is a dedicated highway gear.

[Raza]

AUTO (well, DCT) FTW

Might as well be taking a cab at that point.

[Raza]

OK, for the record, I neither text while driving nor have a girlfriend.


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Well, not that you'd admit it after I called you out!

[happyscrappyheropup]

I've only owned 6 speeds. I've driven a few 5 speeds, they're fine.

The 911 has had a 7 speed since the 991 generation started, I believe. I haven't driven one yet, but they intrigue me. Can't imagine why you'd ever need more than six, especially with the power and torque these cars have, unless 7th is a dedicated highway gear.

More gears allow a tighter ratio between each gear. Less RPM drop on shifts means the engine stays in the meat of it's curve.

There is usually more than one "overdrive" in modern transmissions.

-- Wayne

[happyscrappyheropup]

Might as well be taking a cab at that point.

You've been on WUS and Twitter too much.

-- Wayne

[Seriously]

More gears allow a tighter ratio between each gear. Less RPM drop on shifts means the engine stays in the meat of it's curve.

This

Very useful on a diesel engine where it runs out of rev range very quickly.

But also useful on a turbo-engined petrol car.

[mlcor]

Well, not that you'd admit it after I called you out!

I would not admit such a thing whether you called me out or not.


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[Raza]

I had my Elise (with an aftermarket supercharger) on the track several times, and that’s what the car was made for. Just amazing. However, at my age (ahem) I eventually decided I needed a touch more practicality, not to mention easier ingress and egress.


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Driving a standard Elise (190hp), I saw no reason for more horsepower. In fact, I remember distinctly that when the Elise S came out (confusingly, the entry model at the time, below the Elise, which had 134 horsepower), Evo magazine gave it either the same rating or half a star more than the standard Elise (5 stars, can't remember if the regular Elise was 5 or 4.5 and usually the higher power ones got only 4 stars). Big numbers are just numbers; they look good on a spec sheet but don't really mean anything in the real world.

[Raza]

You've been on WUS and Twitter too much.

-- Wayne

I've held these beliefs long before I joined WUS or Twitter. Maybe I was being hyperbolic, but I generally do not enjoy driving cars with automatic transmissions very much. My S4 is DSG and while it's a good car and reasonably fun, every time I drive it I think about how much better it would be with a manual.