I prefer to select my own gears, what do you guys prefer.

On the other boards most of the folks are 80% Auto, 20% Standard. I'd like to hear from you, the Ivy league of Off-roading.

Side note: I really dig chicks driving trucks with standards.

Can you say SM420:D

NO!But I can say T-18:flipoff2:

i wheeled my jeep as a standard for 4 years and just converted it to auto last summer. i have a few things to tidy up to get it trail ready then ill let you know how much better the auto is.

i voted auto since thats whats goin in, but stock it was a 5 speed. every car i have ever owned has been a 5 speed. almost every car that my family has owned was a 5 speed. i got the auto for the extra crawl and because for my use it seemed like the best choice. i'm still kinda nervous about it tho, and i know i'm gonna miss 3 footin the brake clutch and gas while using the e-brake to keep from slidin off a rock.

Dallas

I have 4 vehicles - all manuals, by choice!

I like driving a stick on the street, but give me an auto climbing rocks any day.

:D NP-435 all the way!!!!

Auto's are nice but a stick is the only way to go.


Eric

I like the reliability of my manuals. My manual doesn't give up on verticle climbs because it isn't getting fluid. My manual will run all day long when it's full of water. My manual doesn't need a cooler, my manual doesn't care if I tow in OD, my manual doesn't care if the starter goes out - I can roll start the vehicle, my manual will live 100x's longer than an auto, <b><i>I</b></i> can rebuild my manual, etc....

It comes down to personal preference. Either one will do the job just fine.

i have had about 20 stick cars and trucks, i much prefere the stick. but the rig i crawl now has a auto, it was to cheap to pass up. so i built it. the auto just works, stuff that used to be tough is a cake walk now. great for crawling when you need to be real smooth and it just kicks ass. i do miss the stick when playing around but the auto if i am getting serious.

the only time I'll buy an auto is when I lose my right arm and left leg, and no one can fab me a shifter for it.

autos are probably technically superior and will do better on the trail, but i make it my motto to not run anything in my rig i don't understand or can't fix, and autos are like japanese to me.

Manuals are simple and reliable. They provide a more positive conection between the engine and the wheels and I can go down the mountain without touching the brake.

I like autos, build 'em right and they last. Put a shift kit in one to keep temps down a bit. Regear a bit if you can.

And uh Folks you CAN select gears on an auto :rolleyes::beer:

Pic tells the story.:D
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/piranha4x/no-auto.jpg

But...I also like manuals :p Usually better gearing. I really liked my SM465/205 set-up until my clutch linkage gave up the ghost (ball joint *thingy* @ the engine broke off leaving the threaded section IN the engine)

It was just easier to swap to an Auto. I've NEVER had a problem with autos, but then most of my experience has been street racing.:beer:

Originally posted by 85TrailToy
Pic tells the story.:D
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/piranha4x/no-auto.jpg

That's funny :cool: :beer:

Stick of course, for the rock truck. The tow rig is an auto, that's the way it came.

I love them both...for different reasons.

Like having 2 different girlfriends....

My Jeep has an auto - love the instant momentum and unstallability. Hate the vulnerability of the cooler lines and electronic control (and if you haven;t overheated your auto...you haven't worked it hard enough...and I have two coolers! :eek: )

The F250 plow truck, soon to be re-born as a rock buggy has a T-18..LOVE the bull low and just the rrr rr rrr of low unsynchro gears ...that "positive" drivetrain feel others have refered to.

I love a manual tranny off road. I like having total control of the drivetrain, if I have to hit something really hard, I just hit it and slip the clutch before I land, saving lots of stress on everything.
If I'm crawling down a steep slippery spot it is nice not to have to use the brakes and give up the steering control.
I had a auto, I switched to a 1969 SM465 and drove it for 10 years without doing a thing to it, last year I broke down and put in new bushings and a clutch cost about $200 total. :)

only experience with an auto was in my ramcharger, and it worked good. i didn't like the way it wound up like a rubber band and as soon as a tire slipped it was wheel spin city. thats why i put a 435 in my heep. i feel like i have more control.:usa:

The choices look like a party line poll - designed to get the results you want. Too busy to pick a gear? That's not the reason for the auto.

I have an Auto in a Suburban and my '00 Quad Cab Ram 4x4, and love it in those rigs. Great for those times you have to idle through LA, SF or a snowy day in the Sierras and your clutch leg would wear out. Also nice to ease them through the rough spots w/o body damage.

After many years of manuals, I drove a bud's CJ7 auto-loader through the con and man was that nice. Towing a trailer, too. It was sweet to ease up to a bump, stop or close to it, and just power on until it rolled over. This was a stock CJ7 w/ ARB & 4.11 gears as the only mod and it was the smoothest trip I ever made.

So, my answer is: I want both. Autos make me nervous for all of the reasons stated in this thread - if it craps on the trail, mo bad fo you. But I'd rather drive one as long as it is working.

Makes shopping for parts kind of though, though.

Manual all the way for everything. I like the feedback, I don't feel that with an auto. I have never owned or driven an auto other than my parents cars and trucks. I don't ever plan on having one either...

most of you, i see, like the stick.

but, addmit it, you do'nt really like that clutch, especially in steep climbs, dunes and rockcrawling.

well, i have a suggestion to make - i also like to set the right gear when and where i want it, but the autos are much more comfortable and convenient, right?

so just put inside an auto tranny a manual shift kit and you have the best of two worlds!

my TransGo kit is manual ONLY and it costs only 77$.

oh, and you do'nt have to pull out your gearbox to install it.

just think about it:)

frog:roxy:

Stick on the daily driver, I'm putting an auto in my trail beast.

Originally posted by desertCJ
NO!But I can say T-18:flipoff2:

Me too T-18 :flipoff2:

my crawler has a sm420 and i like manuals in the rocks. more control

my buddys scorpian has a build auto with all the tricks done to it and it still sucks in the rocks. feels like there is a giabt rubber band in the drive train. i am sure for some kind of wheeling autos are better but i like the manual in the rocks.


add to lances list...manuals stiff function correctly after you roll them upside down.

Come on Camo,
how can a manual ever have more control on anything but downhills.

You crawl up on a rock ever so smoothly, working the gas and the brake, maybey stop for a smoke break at the top of said rock.
Meanwhile never haveing to quickly move all three of your feet to hold you from rolling back to thr bottom.


This point may have come up in the thread, I'm to lazy to read the whole thing.

You can avoid roll-overs all day long with an auto.

Auto trannys are smarter than we are.

ericfilar@fatcity

I've got autos in my tow rig and off road rig, but I want a stick in my tow rig. I used to drive sticks only til I found out how darn nice an auto really is. Simple precautions keep your auto working on the trail. Oh yeah, gear slack sucks when you forget to stomp on the clutch after a hit or are getting slammed around the cab so that you can't stomp on the clutch to halt forward (or backward) movement. I like 'em both and we can argue til the cows have come and gone but I'll take an auto.

Easy

I've never owned an auto. I have to agree with Lance... if my junk won't start..just give me a good push or a hill and I'll be alright! As far as offroad I have to say I've considered the fact that an auto would be much easier, but first I think I'll ditch the carb and see how that goes! :roxy:

I hate automatics :barf:..... "That's all I have to say about that" *In best Forrest Gump voice*

Originally posted by Welby
I hate automatics :barf:..... "That's all I have to say about that" *In best Forrest Gump voice*


Well, you have some good points there, but I'm not 100% convinced yet:flipoff2:
:D
eircfilar@fatcity

Originally posted by yurtle
The choices look like a party line poll - designed to get the results you want.
Nobody else had problem voicing there unbiased opinion. :D
:flipoff2: :D

Originally posted by FatCity
You crawl up on a rock ever so smoothly, working the gas and the brake, maybey stop for a smoke break at the top of said rock.
Meanwhile never haveing to quickly move all three of your feet to hold you from rolling back to thr bottom.

It's called a hand throttle. Five tasks, four limbs.
Stear, throttle, clutch, brake, shift. I can be done. and it's fun too. :flipoff2: :D :flipoff2: :smokin:

Originally posted by Scott Mac.


It's called a hand throttle. Five tasks, four limbs.
Stear, throttle, clutch, brake, shift.


I assume you're brew levitates, or maybey one of those beer helmets:beer:

eric@fatcity:smokin:

fatcity. the main thing with autos i dislike is how when you put a tire on a big rock face you have to rev up the motor to get the tire to climb. the tranny builds up energy and when you finally get enuff rpm and the tire does start to turn you have why to much rpm and go shooting off like a sling shot just launched you. maybe you can learn to control it better with more seat time, but i like my clutch and stick. :D

Driving a stick is one of those things that becomes second nature if you do it long enough, having low-end power makes it easier, and a good soft clutch lining really helps. I think too many people get stuck with a ceramic clutch disc and never get to "feel" what they are doing.
Another thing a manual can do that a auto can't, is to feed out power at high rpm, in mud it can be a huge advantage, I love to leave the line at 5500-6000 in 3rd without spining a tire, while the other guy, with a automatic and hi-stall converter is digging a hole, I'm going 30 mph and hooking up fine. ...hell, I got so much of a lead, I just might try for another gear.
:)

Originally posted by FatCity



I assume you're brew levitates, or maybey one of those beer helmets:beer:

eric@fatcity:smokin:

A Cammel Back straped behind the seat and a blader bag under the seat.:flipoff2:

(now that I think about it, that would trully suck if/when I roll.)

Originally posted by withamc
I like driving a stick on the street, but give me an auto climbing rocks any day.

I totally agree. I don't know which way to vote cuz my trail rig is an auto by choice and my tow rig/daily driver is stick by choice. I find shifting makes street driving a little more interesting, whereas I already have plenty to think about on the trail.

-Steve

A truely LOW geared auto (90:1+) is THE WAY!!

Idle up anything, and if you need, instant wheel speed.

I think most of the downsides can be addressed with carefull planning and regular maintenence. It will never be as BulletProof as a manual, but the advantages are worth it.

I have both. An auto in my F150, and a SM420 in the Jeep. Manual is the way to go for me. A clutch allows you to adjust the "stall" for the situation. Autos allow you to be smoother, but a stick allows you more control over your vehicle. Driving down a nice paved road is smoother than driving over a pile of rocks any day, that isn't my goal!

Soon as I can pull the 400M/C-6 combo and replace it w/ a 460 and a stick I will. Until then I will have to suffer.

If autos are that good why does NASCAR run manuals?

I know different sport!:flipoff2:

I'm just the opposite...If I'm driving on the street, I'm just going somewhere, and I don't give a rats rump, I don't care what gear I'm in,, but, if I'm wheeling, I am only there to drive my rig, the clutch and shifting gears is a part of the fun.

Edit...I type so fuggn slow...I was reffering to 0ffroadr35's post.