I was wondering what everyone thinks is a better transmission. It seems to me that an automatic will get you better times on the quarter mile, but maybe thats just me. I believe a manual is more fun to drive and enables you to get the most out of your car. What's everyones opinion on this?

 

My auto ****es me off. It starts realy realy slow when I floor it from a dead stop after I have been driving for a while or driving hard. Its fast from a roll though.

 

its just you


auto tranny = consistency, not necessarily better times...

IMO on mildly modified street cars with equal drivers, 5spd tranny will come out on top. of course there are exceptions(*waits for Aaron* ), but lets be real its not likely

 

Maunals get better 1/4 times. Usually you'll need a VB upgrade if you want the most out of your auto as well as a tranny cooler and a better stall converter. All that equals up to 700 including parts and labor.
Assume two cars are built exactly the same mods wise but one is a built auto and the other is a built maunal. They have equal base HP and torque.

Manuals are good for off the line stock. But a properly tuned auto can beat it off the line.

Win = Auto

Auto's are better in Nitrous applications because you won't have to worry about shifting. But if you don't have a tranny cooler then your tranny is high stepping its way to a rebuild.

Win = Tie due to stupidity on the Auto driver.

Manuals are better for highway drivers. Autos are better for NYC style driving (I feel sorry for the NYC 5-speed Ricers)

Win = Manuals I want a fun car.

Manuals will give you the most whp due to low friction. But an auto tranny can shift MUCH faster than any person would ever be able to shift off the line and then some more.

Win = Auto just need the fast starts and shifts

IMO I would tune and build my auto tranny then throw in some Nitrous until I can do that turbo this summer. Manuals are fun but so is not worrying about mis-shiftiing.

Win = Me against a fart canned ricer.

Who won out of Auto's and Manuals

Its a tie becuase I like whp and fast shifting but I also like Nitrous but can't afford too many auto trannies because their power handling may decrease after a while.

 

Da-Max is right. Autos are more consistant. So what! Unless you bracket race or have slicks and nitrous, autos should be slower. A 5 speed puts much more power to the wheels than an equally modded automatic. If the 5 speed driver is worth anything, then it should own the automatic in the 1/4 mile fairly easily. Now, will the 5 speed own MY automatic in the 1/4 mile? NO!

turdlett, you said some points I agree with, but there are a few things I can't say i do agree with. You put slicks on an equally modded VE 5spd and it should beat me out of the hole. I have almost the perfect setup for the best all motor 60 foots you can get. So, on average, traction permitting, off the line... 5 speed wins.

Put nitrous and slicks on both cars and that's when the auto will shine. Auto wins!

Equally modded 5speed versus auto on the highway? 5 speed owns ALL!

My automatic might be able to shift faster than any 5spd out there, but that doesn't mean I will pull on the 5 speed in a race. My VB mod only shaved one tenth in the 1/4 mile at the most. So, don't give the VB mod that much credit. It's an awesome mod!!... but won't make you faster really.

So, the only way an auto wins is if it has slicks and nitrous spraying out of the hole... or, it's my car.

 

I spent 2grand last week on a manual, just because a 5-speed maxima rocks. I'll never let it go, NO NEVER! eh ummmhmmm. Just put in an altinater a couple hours ago.

 

me and my friend have this theory and it seems to be true at least with cars over 400whp

biult auto will get a better time
but a stick will trap a few mph higher due to the extra power to the wheels but slightly slower shifts

example

auto 12.00 @ 110
stick 12.30 @ 115

i know which time id rather have because if those 2 cars where to race on the highway from a punch the manual would smoke the auto

 

still drivers and power output alike, in the FWD import world...I don't see ANY competitive automatics until the mid 9 to mid 8 second level, even then fully built autos are still rare

IMO, by far the choice my majority racers as far as power output and fastest times will be made in a 5spd hands down

 

two words... sequential shifter

 

mtcookson loves maxima transmissions

 

a manual with a light flywheel/upgraded clutch is way more fun..ur launch will grab better than an auto..also u can feel the power better

 

I have never driven a 5spd Maxima (I can't find anyone around here who has one), but I think I would get much more out of my VG with it. I learned to drive on stick, and I'd always felt sort of retarded with the automatic. This is a personal opinion though.

I've driven my freind's '90 300zx (non-turbo) 5 spd, and it's amazing. Plus a manual in a Maxima around here would be pretty damn unique. The automatic isn't bad though, when kept in "power" I like the points at which it shifts, and it won't upshift to quickly on turns, nor does it do that annoying in and out of overdrive like many autos do. So at least it's a little bit tweakable.

I have nearly 140,000 on this car with original tranny, and there's no sign of it really giving out....how much more life can I expect out of it? I've never had a problem thus far. Can't remember one back when my aunt owned it either. Lolz. haha.

 

bite your tongue!!!


in my personal dictionary maxima transmissions have a definition that consists of many cuss words. if only i made enough money to dump 18,000 on the quaife america fwd 6 speed sequential shift tranny...

so far mine isn't doing too bad on the rebuild and the turbo engine but i don't know how much power the thing will actually take. i'm hoping ipt can make it stronger but i still haven't been able to get a price quote from them.

 

mtcookson have you thought about making a pipe kit for the vg turbos yet? I am seriously considering turboing my AUTOMATIC

 

Ever since I spent a butt-load of money to replace my auto, I have wanted a 5 sp....I don't trust mine to last long, and it makes me mad that I can't drive it like I want.

 

My first maxima was a white VE auto. After about 9 months, I realized that if you consider the Max a 4DSC, you need to get a 5-speed. A year ago I found a black VE 5-speed for cheap, bought it, turned around and sold my white Max, and haven't looked back since. Even in the city I don't mind driving the 5-speed, it gives you something to do. Only time I really wish I had an auto is in bumper to bumper stop and go, which I try to avoid at all costs anyway. It's also nice to be able to be in any gear, any time. You can't really do that with an auto unless you start using the 2 and 1 settings on the shifter and that isn't a good idea at high speeds. It's also a great car to learn stick on, so that when the day comes down the road that you move on, you won't destroy the clutch of a $20,000 car.

 

now all I need is a 5-speed ve and I'll be a happy guy. Anyone with a nice one wanna sell me it?

 

your right about the import world but my reference was geard tward the damestic rwd since thats 90% of the cars i can compare at our local track

 

Since we are talking maxima automatics:

1) Autos have only 3 forward non-overdriven gears.
2) 5-sps have 4 forward non-overdriven gears. Advantage=manual.

Autos in maximas are a fragile thing indeed. Most 3-gens have well over 100k and now we are talking about beating on it for a 1/4 time. Aaron has a VE auto that's similar to the 4-gen autos. VGs have some other older type auto. Probably not as good as the VE autos (total guess)

I drove a VQ SC'd auto. It sucked. Right when the boost was coming on, it would want to shift into the next gear. The ratios didn't match the boost curve of the SC at all. Pick the wrong turbo and the same will happen.

There is a difference inbetween domestic autos and import autos:
1) domestic autos have MUCH more aftermarket support and can actually be purpose built to hold the abuse.
2) Import autos are pretty much stuck with the final drive (FWD cars). Domestics can easily change out the rear end to fiddle with the final drive.

 

As an example, Nissan used the same VG transmission in the 90-92 Stanza, which is a 2.4 l 4 cylinder, at 138 hp. Don't know the torque comparisons between the 2, but I know that we don't see as many failures over on the Stanza site as there are here. My 92 Stanza's tranny is fine at 130K, and I replaced the Max tranny at 175K. I'd still rather have a 5 sp in either application. I think the auto tranny for the VG is just plain not beefy enough.

 

100% agreed. It wasn't until after I had the Maxima that I learned about the Stanza sharing the VG tranny, and when you get to thinking about it, the tranny seems perfectly ideal for the lesser hp/weight of the Stanza, but sort of weak sometimes for the Max.

Some of the things I've noticed with my transmission are: It will shift smoother around 3,000rpm+ than lower speeds. It will be a little jolty if you engage "comfort" mode. I'm not really to knowledgable on transmissions, so I don't know exactly why it's this way. the VG tranny certainly isn't the worst one out there though. I've heard stories of Kia transmissions going out at 6k. Haha. Pretty pathetic.

 

While we're on the topic of engines. Could I take an SE a/trans. engine and put it in my GXE?

 

Yes you can providing that its the same (VE or VG) and if the engine code id diff you can still do it theres juat alot of other **** ull be replacing too.

I have a 90 VG Turbo Auto and my vote is for the Manual auto are nice for driving threw the mountains and long casual trip or just everyday driving but for any sort of perofmance you need a stick unless ur Aaron and no one else is so....

 

That's right!

 

lol, cocky is good i guess right, as long as every one agrees why not.

 

too bad your so far id let ya take a gander at my VE 5spd. however im in jersey. This summer i might me takin her to florida for a vacation so ill let ya know when maybe we can meet up for a bit. my sig has the mods done so far. and just for argument sake id take the 5spd to the track over the auto. id take the 5spd on the street over the auto. id take the auto over the 5speed in traffic anywhere

 

lol all you people are funny. I would be happy with a rebuilt VG 5 speed so i can swap no use putting the money into buying VE when everyone around here has a honda anyway and my VG does quiet nice. I woudl like to sawp to a amnual at some point in time. Gotta know all my parts. Being young i guess 5 speed is the way to go.

 

well... i started working full time lately with my dad's new business so i don't have much time anymore but as soon as i get my welding equipment in i should be able to mock something up pretty easily.

also, after pondering on the motor mounts (if one wanted to take that route) i was thinking of just mocking one up using an old mount and sending it to some company to make because since these motor mounts are an important part i don't want to liable if it broke somehow. i'll post something up whenever i get everything all worked out.

 

Just fill them! I have pictures on my website.

 

i mean a custom one for the turbo to fit if one wanted to keep the stock location of the Z turbo manifolds.