Re: Manual vs. Auto (WAS: I4->V8?)

From: Bob Tom (tigers@bserv.com)
Date: Tue Feb 06 2001 - 13:37:14 EST


At 11:30 AM 2/6/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Whenever an auto-phile asks me why I have never owned an automatic
>and never will, I answer, "Because I like to DRIVE the car (or truck), not
>just steer it." <snip> Christopher and Sarah Scott

Gotta put in my CDN .02.

You can DRIVE with an auto. as well. I manual shift the auto. at the track
whenever I'm going for fast ETs. At last year's Nats, I let the
auto. do the shifting for the first 5 test & tune runs (best of 15.5x on a slow
track). I could not take it anymore and, on the next and last run of the day,
I manually shifted and dropped 2/10s. The next day, I got two t&t runs.
With a bit better track conditions and manually shifting, I drop my ETs
another 2/10s.

I manual shift in town as well (downshifting from 3rd to 2nd with overdrive
off)
when approaching a red light or prior to making a turn at a corner, or
upshifting
from 1st at a stop when someone wants to play. For those long stop-and-go
traffic jams, I enjoy the benefits of the auto.

I've gone through the 3-spd, 4-spd, 5-spd column and floor mounted manuals;
2-spd, 3-spd, and 4-spd autos. since '53, and I'll stay with the auto. ...
with a tranny kit to cut down slippage and firm up the shifts, of course :-)

Bob Tom Burlington, Ont., Canada
'97 CC Dakota, 5.2L, 4x2, auto., 3.92SG, 4,265 lb (racing weight)
Dyno: 231.2 rwhp 340.0 lb-ft rwtorque
PB: 14.737 @ 91.75 9.364 @ 72.95



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