I must state I bought and searched for an AUTO, because my wife cant drive MANUAL.. I would have gotten a 6 speed in my single days, as i always did before. I must say, in a STICK, if you miss a shift, or if you are weekend racer, you will lose many races. I wonder how many people can powershift correctly. ET. times in a 6 speed will vary depending on the skill of the driver. I drove a 2001 AE auto and my 2K2 Auto..... sorry folks, night and day. ! I have never driven a 2001 5 speed.... But i have had a few pull up and try to get me to race... I bit once and it was no contest.... Remember the 2K2 motor is bigger, more HP.. this does mean something....

 

Autos are less efficient, waste power, and get less power to the wheels than manuals so your power advantage is not as great as it would seem.

 

All this discussion of these blazing fast 2k2's is making my car feel inadequate , could ya please stop.

 

Consistent?

Do you mean consistently lulled to sleep?
Consistently bored to tears?
Consistently questioning their decision to get an auto?

My take on the transmission question is simple, "to each his own". A manual transmission is certainly not as consistent in outright acceleration as an auto-equipped car.

BUT...

Manual transmission cars are ALWAYS more fun to drive than their auto-equipped twins - subjectively speaking. I don't use the words "always" and "never" very often because I find they almost "never" apply. But, I've never found an auto that could shift as fast as I think. I always find myself sitting around wondering when the shift is gonna happen. When I want 3rd gear for a pass, I damn well want it now, not .5 second from now. That's why all race cars (don't know of any exceptions) allow the driver complete control of gear selection. It may be through the use of buttons/levers/pedals/whatever, but they are in control. That's why many true sports cars aren't offered with autos. True hard-core sports car enthusiasts wouldn't think of buying the car with an auto. It just isn't done.

So... "to each his own." I'm certain there are legitimate reasons for wanting/needing to purchase an auto Maxima. I just don't personally have any.

Scott Buchanan
2K SE (manual)

 

I second that!!!!

 

To you bud, some guys prefer autos to manuals its all dependent on the guy! I never say one is more fun, because what is fun to you might not be to me and vis versa me personally I have more fun with my 02 auto vs my old 01 5spd!

 

True, but think about this, the 2k2 auto and the 2k2 manual 1/4 mile times have been damn close.. fastest Manual time so far is 14.2, fastest auto time is 14.3... that 1/4mile time will hand 95% of the 2000-2001 there rear end...

 

I'd say more like 99.99%. Since, what 5th gen has broke into the 14's STOCK besides Russ?

He also pretty much smoked his clutch to do it. Some of us plan on keeping our cars for more than 9-12 months, so that's not a fare benchmark when it comes to consistency. I'd say 15.1-15.2 is a GOOD average benchmark for a STOCK 2K-2K1.

One other thing. 2K-2K1 can get a SC. What are the 2K2's gonna do besides NOS?

 

Torque converters have come along ways and in alot of cars their automatic counterpart puts down some numbers very very close to their manual counterparts! They have closed the gap considerably!

 

Just wait, im almost positive the 2k2 will have some kind of aftermarket support from nismo.. The racing skyline (sorry dont know what those kind of cars are called) is going to get a VQ35DETT... so.. you never know, the 2k2 just might get lucky and have a twin turbo to play with. I believe it was Maxman2k that ran a 14.3 in his 2k-2k1 max.

 

It's ironic that you reference what's considered top gear acceleration. In top gear acceleration (30-50mph, 50-70mph), most performance numbers show that auto trannys have better top gear acceleration than their manual counterparts (given identical vehicles with the tranny being the only difference). Example: a 6th gen Honda Accord 4cyl 5speed does 30-50mph and 50-70mph in 12.8 and 13.1 seconds respectively; but the 6G Honda Accord 4 cyl automatic does the same in 5.5 and 7.0 seconds, respectively. I've noticed this to be the trend with most car models over the last 12 years where both an auto and manual tranny are offered.

Just some food for thought.

 

i admit that i have knowledge of any of this but i just want to say that i highly doubt those numbers are true. that difference is enormous. i cant see how that could be possible.

 

I sure hope so.

That would be UNREAL in a 350Z or G35 coupe.

 

I wrote "Manual transmission cars are ALWAYS more fun to drive than their auto-equipped twins - subjectively speaking." The words "subjectively speaking" were included to indicate I was expressing my opinion. I appreciate you explaining that for everyone else though. I'm sure they were all lost without your help. I'll use simpler language in the future...

 

Don't take my word for it, just checkout ANY car mag where both the auto and manual tranny has been tested for the same car, and lookover the 30-50 and 50-70 times.

 

I would fix your car first! That 171 whp dyno will be a cause for defeat!

Didnt you have the same manifold flap problem as GatorMax?

 

So to wrap it up we all agree that the 2K2 Max is a fast @$$ machine???? Yep I agree too!!!!!

Mark

Oh ya by the way we can get slowly pulled by a GS400 if we are behind the GS at triple digit speeds. I race this guy all the time (a friend) and I can keep up till 40mph then bam he is gone, but if I pull behing him he ever so slowly pulls.

Mark

 

No kidding, its called kick down. Cruise at 30, floor the gas and which gear does the auto select, probably 1st. No doubt the time is going to be less than a manual transmission car, lugging at 1500rpm in 5th.

 

Having owned a 6 speed and a 5 speed, ... This is the KEY.. You must know your car well enough to know what GEAR to downshift to if you are on the highway ! This will make a big difference on whether you take off like a bat out of hell, or you sprint, hit the rev limiter and then take off..... YOU MUST KNOW YOUR CAR WELL !!

 

You are absolutley correct. My nature of my response was directed towards the conclusion that autos have faster top gear acceleration as tested by car mags as opposed to manual driven cars. There's no doubt that the fastest way to get to 50 from 30 is in 2nd gear, but then the test wouldn't be called 'top gear acceleartion' would it?

 

You are correct. .. But we MUST know are cars .. those 255 Stock HP are no good if you dont know how to use it !

 

 

Last time at the track, madmax2k ran numerous 14.7s stock 2k 5spd.

I ran just sub15s stock when I first got my car before any mods and before I really knew how to get anything out of it.

Of course, last time I did 2 runs at 15.6s/89mph and quit. I had proof my variable intake was not working!

But, still, it is very difficult for 2k/2k1s with bolt ons only to get sub 14.5.