shift stick drivers

would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?

I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
about you?

RAT

"Rattus The RAT" > wrote
in :

> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?


No way, dude.


>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to
> automatic, how about you?


No way, dude. My left foot would get bored.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Rattus The RAT wrote:
> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
> about you?
>
> RAT
>
>
i was a hard core stick guy until i had a serious left knee injury. so
i had to buy & drive an auto, always with the intention of getting rid
of it when i was healed. but i never did because i suddenly found that
driving in the city was so much more relaxing! seriously, if you're in
stop/go traffic, the stuff where you move forward a few feet then stop,
or have stop signs every block for a mile at a time, automatic is the
only way to go. even on the freeway, if it's an auto with a good shift
pattern, and hondas generally are, they're still plenty of fun. only if
i were hard core looking to red-line it all the time would i drive
stick. i sound like an old fart, but seriously, honda automatics are
really very good. and provided you don't have one of the recent ones
with the reliability problems, these transmissions last forever.

the only thing i would say to qualify that statement is that you've got
to learn to drive a little differently. on a stick, you can just change
gear & go. on the auto, you have to let it know that you want it to
change, and in the absence of tiptronic-type shifters, the only way the
transmission/ecu knows for sure you want to drop gear & accelerate is to
floor it. the ecu detects "w.o.t." [wide open throttle], and signals a
down-shift accordingly. and it has a small delay on that, just in case
of accidental signal blips, but once the ecu registers your intent,
you're off to the races. and it holds that lower gear, [or even
dropping 2 gears] until the red line before shifting, so you can
accelerate hard if you have to. in terms of driveability therefore,
once you get used to the style of giving it more gas than you might
otherwise be used to, auto's are just dandy.

the only downsides are that they weigh a little more and so can be a
little slower, and that the engine always needs to be in good running
order. with a stick, if it's off for some reason, you can compensate
and drive it until you're ready to deal with the problem. with auto's,
you can get bad flat spots in the acceleration if everything's not
perfect, and that can be a pain.

Rattus The RAT wrote:
> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
> about you?
>
> RAT
>
>
i dont drive a whole lot, since i have a couple "bikes". when i do
drive, i like to drive stick.

Driving an automatic is crippling vs. a standard tranny. The standard
provides the kind of control that adds to security, safety and performance
(but only in the hands of a race-ready driver). With the standard, you're
able to fine-tune exactly how much torque you can apply to the road,
control engine rpm to take advantage of road condition and get better fuel
economy from it's simplistic buy highly efficient design.

The newer automatic may return fuel economy that's only 5% less then a
comparable standard tranny. However, the automatic's fuel economy quickly
degrades as road conditions worsen, while a standard tranny can still return
good efficient in poorer conditions (e.g. excessive hills or stop & go
driving).

One of the downside of the Standard tranny is fatigue in the left knee,
which is usually avoided if the left clutch pedal is lighter variation
and/or has a very short travel range.

Pars



"Rattus The RAT" > wrote in
message ...
> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic,
how
> about you?
>
> RAT
>
>

In article >,
"Rattus The RAT" >
wrote:

> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
> about you?
>
> RAT

I have the Accord Hybrid. The transmission is rather annoying. It will
shift from 3rd to 2nd gear or 5th to 4th gear on the slightest gas pedal
nudge. The motion of driving over a bump unlocks the torque converter.
But, getting it from 5th to 3rd or or 2nd to 1st requires WOT for a full
second. Stomp on the gas at 60MPH and it feels like you slow down first.

"Rattus The RAT" ) writes:
> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
> about you?
>
> RAT
>

I have always owned manual transmission cars but occasionally drive an
automatic. I really don't like the way some automatics will downshift with
the slightest push on the gas pedal. I find that I have to have a very
light touch on the gas to avoid hitting peak revs (never a good thing
on a cold engine). OTOH, an instant downshift can be a great thing if
need to get out of the way in a hurry in an unexpected situation.
Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

"Rattus The RAT" wrote

> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic,
how
> about you?

I've always driven manual transmissions, too, and at age 56 got sick and
tired of doing so, having to shift every few blocks of crosstown traffic.
Once I got to test drive an Accord with auto, I realized these things have
come a long way and I would be happy with it. I was, and still am.

Sometimes in tight traffic I need extra control, so I stay in D3 for a
while. Then I have all the quick acceleration I need.

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article >,
> "Rattus The RAT" >
> wrote:
>
>
>>would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
>
> From 98 through 03, that car didn't exist.
>
not even the 4 cylinder?

I too switched from strictly manual to auto recently because of rush
hour stop and go traffic (mostly stop). I can't say I'm disappointed
with my '90 Legend's tranny yet, but time will tell. On the other hand,
it only has 42K on it yet!

dan

Rattus The RAT wrote:

> would you buy a good accord with automatic transmission?
>
> I've always drove manual cars, i'm not sure I could adapt to automatic, how
> about you?
>
> RAT
>
>