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Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 29th, 2011 10:20 pm
by tdotraptors
What kind of transmission is better for winter driving....auto or manual? or does neither not really make a difference. Just out of curiosity..

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 29th, 2011 10:29 pm
by tsat
Don't really know if one is better than the other... But i drive stick year round without issue.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 29th, 2011 10:38 pm
by dassub
Manual, by far.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 29th, 2011 11:59 pm
by AzNCrAzYcOoLeR
Manual.

With auto, I'm limited to the RPM defined by speed. With manual, I can maintain my RPM. More RPM = more rotations = less traction.

As for braking, I can downshift and use engine braking. With automatic, I can downshift but automatic takes about 2 seconds to adjust. 2 seconds is too long.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 12:27 am
by Mr D J
AzNCrAzYcOoLeR wrote: Manual.

With auto, I'm limited to the RPM defined by speed. With manual, I can maintain my RPM. More RPM = more rotations = less traction.

As for braking, I can downshift and use engine braking. With automatic, I can downshift but automatic takes about 2 seconds to adjust. 2 seconds is too long.

+1 for downshifting

Last year I avoided an accident partially thanks to being able to downshift. Of course the winter tires helped a whole bunch but the downshift saved my behind in the end. The guy in front of me slammed into a TTC bus that has stopped to drop off passengers and I was sliding directly into him (no ABS), so I threw it in first gear and came to a stop within a couple of feet of the guy's bumper. For winter driving, manual beats automatic any day.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 12:34 am
by NEMESIS_2008
Downshifting does wonders for breaking smoothly without losing traction.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 1:28 am
by RSX-S
None. It is based on the operator.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 7:02 am
by defencerulez
RSX-S wrote: None. It is based on the operator.

But auto is an operator in itself, it operate for you and take away some of your controls... Now please don't tell me you drive an auto Acura RSX... What a waste...

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 8:53 am
by zekele
I find manual to be marginally better, but it's not a huge difference. Downshifting is one advantage, as is controlling upshift and initial gear selection (second or third) when accelerating. However you can do this with most automatics too. I find myself depending more on the electronic aids (ABS, traction control) when driving an automatic. Manual has an advantage when you're stuck in snow too, you can more easily rock the car back and forth without breaking the gearbox. :)

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 9:28 am
by Insider
defencerulez wrote: But auto is an operator in itself, it operate for you and take away some of your controls... Now please don't tell me you drive an auto Acura RSX... What a waste...

the RSX-S indicates otherwise.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 1:54 pm
by Maymybonneliveforever
My personal experience would be manual based on the down shifting advantage option in snow conditions.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 2:24 pm
by rdtx2002
You can downshift ona tiptronic.. So it really does not matter. End of the day it is up to the driver

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 9:28 pm
by liorsyncro
I prefer manual but drive an automatic that's as easy to shift as manual.... hahaha! You have more control with manual going up hills and most importantly using the engine to brake when heading downhill in slippery conditions. For an experienced driver it's a huge advantage over automatics. But in the end it really is all up to the driver. Manual drivers can end up in the ditch just as easily as those who drive an automatic.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 10:17 pm
by bembol
rdtx2002 wrote: You can downshift ona tiptronic.. So it really does not matter. End of the day it is up to the driver

+1

I've ranted so much are Winter Tires but realized it makes no difference if they can't drive.


This is may be off topic, I'm scratching my head when I see High-End cars this Winter with Performance Tires. On Boxing Day I parked beside a 335i/Manual and had barely any tread left?!?!

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 10:20 pm
by flyz
How does this include flappy paddles/tiptronic/dsg? You can still hold a gear down a hill and upshift whenever the rpm allows. All that it's missing is your left foot in the whole sequence.

Then when you're tired of all that, you can let the ECU sort everything out and put it into auto......

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 10:44 pm
by RSX-S
defencerulez wrote: But auto is an operator in itself, it operate for you and take away some of your controls... Now please don't tell me you drive an auto Acura RSX... What a waste...
LOL.. you don't even know much about cars.... Type-S is 6-speed stick only.

Plus, that car was long gone, don't make assumptions based on ppl's username. I had it at the time of registering this RFD account, back in 2003. No.. I don't keep the same car for 8 + years..

Back to topic, I have one of each now, a stick shift and an automatic I can drive either one perfectly fine in winter. It makes no difference to me.
Insider wrote: the RSX-S indicates otherwise.
Thanks!

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 30th, 2011 10:49 pm
by Trooob
rdtx2002 wrote: You can downshift ona tiptronic.. So it really does not matter. End of the day it is up to the driver

You can downshift on a non-tiptronic automatic also.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 31st, 2011 12:08 am
by i6s1
Downshifting during panic braking is a bad idea. The brakes have more then enough power to stop the car as quickly as traction allows.

Downshifting can even hurt your braking distance, especially without ABS. Cars come from the factory with a specific front/rear braking balance. From the factory, the front wheels should lock just before the back wheels. (Otherwise, with locked rear wheels, you'll have greater braking force up front, and the car will want to switch ends.) Adding additional braking force to either the front or back will throw that balance off.

With ABS, just stand on the brakes. Without ABS, the fastest way to stop is threshold braking, which is difficult enough in a panic situation even without the extra complexity of downshifting.

A manual transmission is probably better overall in the snow, but only because you can control the shift points. But really, there's minimal difference. The best advantages in snow are the tires and ABS for safety, and AWD over FWD over RWD, and traction control, to avoid getting stuck.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 31st, 2011 5:26 am
by sandikosh
It doesn't matter which transmission you use. It all depends on the driver's ability to modulate the throttle. Just as you can control the shift points in a manual, you can do the same in an automatic. Most automatics today have at least 5 gear ratios, just as much and in some cases more than a manual.

Re: Better for winter driving...Manual or Auto?

Posted: Dec 31st, 2011 9:40 am
by poedua
tsat wrote: Don't really know if one is better than the other... But i drive stick year round without issue.

And in the GTA, given it's mild to moderate winters, any perceived advantage of one over the other is pretty much a non-issue IMO. The roads in the GTA are either clear and bone dry or just plain wet for 50+ weeks of the year out of 52....so an auto is just as fine as a manual.

I mean it's not like someone is going to actually opt for a manual over an auto - primarily for driving in the GTA - simply on the basis of some possible winter advantage that may accrue to the manual for less than 2 weeks out of the year ...that'd be nuts ! :lol: :lol: :lol: