Auto or Manual? which is faster

[94turboidi]

I like my old zf5 but hands down an auto is going to shift quicker, if someone is shifting their manual trans as fast as an auto or faster stuff isn't going to last too long. I take it nice and easy with mine especially when towing. I had an e40d and sometimes I miss it for the ease of driving just hop in and go. Looking back I think all my e40d problems were the shop that I had rebuild it. I pulled the trans and bought all the parts and paid to have it rebuilt. I picked it up reinstalled with a new tc, flushed out the cooler and immediately had problems. Took it back he said it was the wiring and I drove a few hundred miles at the most and it was going out. I had to pay to have it towed to him again. He blamed it on the tc I used so I was out all that money and paid him to remove, rebuild, and use his trusted tc. I drove less than 500 miles and it went out again. This time he paid for the rebuild but I had to pay to tow it again. It shifted really hard, I think he put some kind of shift kit in and it slammed hard when shifting but drove it about 1000 miles and decided to sell the trans and went to a manual.

I really think auto/manual both have their downsides and it comes down to preference and whichever one you choose just figure out the weak links and deal with them. I think if I wanted a fast shifting transmission and that was all I would go auto.

 

[Brianedwardss]

My C6 trucks will kick the pants off my ZF5 truck ANY day. Even if I was to slam the ZF5 truck through the gears, the C6 has a seamless shift and doesn't drop any rpm's. Yes both of my C6's are fresh rebuilds, and have crisp shifts. This is a DIESEL comparison.

Gas engines are a totally different animal when it comes to racing, we're not relying on boost so heavily in the gasser world, along with having three or more times the rpm spread. The higher the rpm spread, the more a manual has an advantage. Short RPM range with a big need for boost (aka diesel..) equals Auto.

I purchases a 2007 Nissan 350Z brand new, and it had a very short-throw 6 speed manual tranny. Guess what, it would kick the auto Z's butt, and I proved it atleast once. RPM governor was 7500. But climb in one of my IDI's, the C6 trucks will beat my ZF5.

If we're talking new diesel trucks, has any one driven a 6.0L ford diesel with the 5-speed auto? Talk about FAST, no ZF6 thrower is gonna touch the speed of the Tourqshift behind a 6.0L. Once again, this is a diesel comparison.

 

[DragRag]

Doesn't matter if it a C6 or E40D Vs any stick shift in there trucks the auto wins, unless the auto is just shot and slipping. No matter how good you shift, the throw and distance are just to far to be as speedy as an auto shifts, plus the spooling factor of the turbo. Once you back out with a manual to hit the shift, the spooling is lost. These are all facts, no manual tranny wins in a race in one of these trucks with similar powered engines. I like a manual for towing, gives great control and marginally better mpg's for sure. But if you think a manual wins in a quarter mile you are just plane misinformed. I would take that race any day for cash.

 

[Sw1tchfoot]

We have a 6.9L N/A with a C6 and a shift kit. It feels like the truck is literally being thrown forward when it shifts, there is a huge acceleration spike. Even a stock C6 will shift much faster than a manual.

 

[rjjp]

Well first, what transmissions are we talking about?

Auto: C6 or E4OD

Manual: T-19 or ZF5

If you want to go 5 speed against 5 speed, then a ZF5 will beat a E4OD all day, there is a reason the E4OD is called the "slushbox"

T-19 against a C6 would be a close call, but then again, you could clutchless shift a T-19 no problem and lose no boost.

Judging by the way you talk of the E4OD you've never had the experience of riding in or driving a truck with a good E4OD in it, when they work correctly you're not going to come close to the shift speed with any manual, about 20,000 miles ago I would have invited you to come over and go for a ride in mine, it was N/A and would chirp the tires on any and every full throttle shift.

 

[Diesel_brad]

I know (and many others) that a manual works better for racing and I'm sticking up for it, I really don't care if you believe it or not because it's all in how good you can drive.

:

Yeah. thats why 98% of the drag racers out there use automatics, because they shift slower

 

[Brianedwardss]

^ I read the post you quoted and I about fell outta my chair in laughter this morning

 

[mabc926]

Well.... Ok.... Might want to show some facts to go along with your spoken word here... I'm interested in how you came to your conclusion that an auto is not a fast as a standard trans when it comes to shifting... Surely you must have something that didn't get printed here... Plenty-o-people want to know what you got that tells you this about the auto vs the standard.... Put your ******* match aside... I'm just wondering what you know... I can still learn a thing or two... My experiance tells me the auto is faster than the standard.... Of course if your refering to a well worn auto that can't shift to get out of its own way then yes... A standard is faster but thats not what we are referancing here. The question was best trans for fastest shift to maintain boost.... Standard or auto... Not standard against a slushbox.... Thats not a fair example... As others have posted on this question... The long throw of the ZF is no way going to beat an auto.... I guess if you cut down the shaft and bent way over you could "speed up" the shift some but... Is a ZF designed for such a "fast shift"..... I'm not thinking so..... Hang around till towcat chimes in here... He is known for being well informed about any standard trans especially the ZF... Now if you were to intraduce a Muncy M22.... Yes... Those are very fast shifting manual 4 speed trans but they were designed for just that.....

OK, lets cut out the E4OD C6 T-19 and ZF5 all together.

So "The question was best trans for fastest shift to maintain boost"

We know there are fast shifting transmissions out there, so shifting fast isn't even a problem.

What is the other problem? Boost loss, what I want to know is, does a fast shifting manual transmission gain enough power to makeup for that boost loss, my guess would be yes, if you have a 4 speed you'll only press the clutch 3 times, how much boost do you think could really be lost? And you can control how fast you build boost back just by how you mod the turbo.

I don't think anyone has taken the time to make a manual performance diesel transmission for drag racing, so how is it fair to have all these built up drag racing auto's clouding the drag strips and not one drag racing manual?

If someone has made a drag racing manual for a diesel I'd like to see it.


And as for calling the E4OD a slushbox, yeah I'm sure they are a good transmission for the times they work right, and you could probably use one to race with, but I don't know if it would last more then a few times.

 

[mabc926]

Yeah. thats why 98% of the drag racers out there use automatics, because they shift slower

Go swap in your powerjoke

 

[joe f350]

mabc u got lots to learn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QThR3q53SKM&feature=related

 

[OLDBULL8]

An E4OD will shift faster and pull more load than a Manual. Period..... Now dispute that.

 

[troutwest66]

But when it comes right down to it, do we really care which one is faster? Smith & Wesson Model 25 or 1911? Whatever trips your trigger!

 

[Diesel_brad]

OK, lets cut out the E4OD C6 T-19 and ZF5 all together.

So "The question was best trans for fastest shift to maintain boost"

We know there are fast shifting transmissions out there, so shifting fast isn't even a problem.

What is the other problem? Boost loss, what I want to know is, does a fast shifting manual transmission gain enough power to makeup for that boost loss, my guess would be yes, if you have a 4 speed you'll only press the clutch 3 times, how much boost do you think could really be lost? And you can control how fast you build boost back just by how you mod the turbo.

I don't think anyone has taken the time to make a manual performance diesel transmission for drag racing, so how is it fair to have all these built up drag racing auto's clouding the drag strips and not one drag racing manual?



If someone has made a drag racing manual for a diesel I'd like to see it.


And as for calling the E4OD a slushbox, yeah I'm sure they are a good transmission for the times they work right, and you could probably use one to race with, but I don't know if it would last more then a few times.

The reason you dont see manuals is because they are SLOWER. Now mind you, All of my trucks have sticks in them other than my lightning(and i want to put a TKO6 in it) But none of them shift in a split second like a correctly built auto will do.

Another nice thing about the auto for drag racing is you can spool the turbo at the line, just try that w a stick.

Fast shifting is where the auto excells, there not even an argument to be made about it

 

[f-two-fiddy]

Who say's You loose boost with a manual??? Just RPM Match the up shift, and all is well.

IF I shift out of 3rd to 4th on a hill @ 3K RPM's, I jsut let the tach come down to 2500 or so. It slides right into 4th, prolly wouldn't even need the clutch, but the boost stays right around 10 PSI.

 

[Dave7.3]

Who say's You loose boost with a manual??? Just RPM Match the up shift, and all is well.

IF I shift out of 3rd to 4th on a hill @ 3K RPM's, I jsut let the tach come down to 2500 or so. It slides right into 4th, prolly wouldn't even need the clutch, but the boost stays right around 10 PSI.

That has always been my experience as well shifting my manual....

I will admit though, an auto is MUCH faster at the shifting. But at the same time, I didn't pick an IDI for speed. Like the IDI itself...I went with the manual for simplicity, reliability, and control. On a more personal note, I always felt that if an auto didn't belong in a big rig, it didn't belong in my diesel pickup either. Not a fan of white knuckle hill descents...

For a perfect example of auto shifting, refer to this link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dc-HFF3C0g

I just grabbed any old thing off youtube, but watch the RPMs...NEVER drops below ~3k. Only a slight flutter when the transmission shifts. Videos like those make it obvious how well an auto does with the newer trucks. Although an E4OD will deliver similar power behind an IDI...that doesn't go without investing a small fortune from what I have seen.

My opinion, stick with whatever floats your boat. As far as drag races, you can have the best car/truck in the world...but you will never place first if you have the worst driver in the world behind the wheel. A good driver is just as important (if not more-so) as what is under the hood.