What’s the Deal with Automatic Sports Cars?
29 Nov 2007
Meaghan asked:
I have a 2000 5 speed Mustang. It’s only a V6, but I can’t tell you how many boys asses I’ve kicked in cars that technically are “faster” than mine because they had automatic transmission. I don’t understand why people buy sports cars that are not manual, isn’t that what a sports car is all about? If someone cannot comprehend clutch, shift, gas, they should find a nice 4 cylinder and drive that. What do other people think about automatic sports cars? Doesn’t matter what make or model it is, just the general category of “sports cars.”
cdog, keep dreaming. You don’t know what I have under my hood, it’s not stock sweetie. Now go and play “Fast and the Furious.”
Question listed courtesy of: Unique Articles
8 Responses
2007 Dec 01
It’s for lazy people (or those who can’t handle a high powered manual) who want to go fast.
But with paddle shifters becoming more common on these “luxury sports” cars, it makes me wonder if paddle shifting will replace MT on true sports cars.
2007 Dec 02
i have a 4 cylinder that will kick your ass. And it’s manual. paddles are much faster, they will be an option on most sports cars, hopefully soon.
2007 Dec 03
All sports cars have manual transmissions. It’s a requirement (as stated by the Sacrement of the Holy Order of the Sports Car)
People who drive automatics “sports cars” are just stupid and lazy.
Paddle shifts aren’t manual, they’re just fancy automatics. And they’re gay.
2007 Dec 04
I got some shocking news for yall… Auto transmissions are FASTER in a drag type race.
Go to your local drag strip on sat and sun when the real race cars are running.. I bet you 85% of the cars will be auto tranny cars (and mostly chevy th-350, th-400, and powerglide transmissions)
I use to run a M22 4 speed man. trans in my drag car.. Went to a 3 speed auto and never looked back.. Times are much faster with the auto, and I was skilled at speed shifting (never lifting off the throttle when shifting gears with the stick). My ET’s improved by over .4 of a second with the auto trans. (.4 seconds means ALOT in a race where .001 second can mean win and go to next round, or pack your stuff up and head home)
Here’s the reasons why an auto will be faster in a drag type race.
1) torque converter adds more torque going into the trans.. Factor on must race converters are around 1.75 to 2.0 X the torque.
2) Launch style, rpm, and shock on the tires will always be the same
3) shifts are made under full power (stick shift most people shifts them the same way.. Lets off throttle, pushs in clutch, moves shifter, lets out clutch, pushs the throttle) Well that whole time your off the throttle the car is pretty much just coasting, not making power, just rolling.
4) time to make shift.. Autos will shift gear to gear in less than .05 seconds.. Stick shift with most drivers the shift takes .18 seconds, and speed shifting about .08 to .10 seconds.
5) Hitting your shift points at the same RPM time after time, after time..
After all of that comes strenght… Clutch cars breaks driveline parts fast.. There’s VERY FEW stick shift transmissions out there than can handle alot of power and hard racing weekend after weekend.
The T5′s and T56′s in later camaros, mustangs, etc are junk over about 500 HP (T5′s won’t even handle 300 HP with traction)
Then what about clutchs.. To get a clutch that can handle 3,000+ rpm launchs, side steping the clutch, speed shifting, etc you have to spend out $400 or so just on the clutch kit.. And then you better have one h*ll of a left leg when you go driving it around town.. The pressure plate will be heavy (stiff)
Th-350 autos in stock form will handle around 375-425 HP, Th-400′s about 450-475 in stock form. $500-540 rebuild on them and 800 HP is no prob for both of those trannys.
If I tried to run a stick shift like a T5 in my camaro it would be a joke.. I wouldn’t get 10 feet down the track before it broke. Mine aint all that powerfull eaither.. Just run’s mid 11′s @ 118 in the 1/4, lifting the front wheels about 4″ off the track when I launch.
2007 Dec 06
Automatic trans… .. .. . for people who dont know how to drive but still want a sports car
Paddles… .. . .. . for people who have never driven a manual and just assume that paddles are better when all they really are is a auto that you control with paddles.
Manual trans.. .. . for real racers who really know how to drive.
Dog box… .. . a manual transmission that is slammed into gear without the use of a clutch. For hardcore racers nothing is faster than a dogbox.
2007 Dec 08
Auto gearboxes might be great at the drag strip but they do not yet anticipate corners and road conditions and thats why a manual is best if you want to go quickly.
2007 Dec 09
Auto’s are much more consistant than a 5 speed. Considering you own a mustang, you more than likely are into drags than road course. I have 2 mustangs, one a 5 speed and one an auto. I prefer to run the auto since I can concentrate more on nailing the light and running straight than having to worry about raking through the gears. I like the 5 speed for driving around town, but bashing auto’s is just wrong. Sure they eat more power, but they shift quicker and much more precise. Take the S197 mustangs. The auto’s (5 speed) are quicker than the manuals off the showroom floor.
2007 Dec 10
Chevyraceman, its nice to find someone that I can tell actually goes to the track and races and doesnt just read about it and pretend. I agree with what you said 99.8%. The only difference is that for the most part we are talking about a factory auto vrs a factory manual. Yes, with a powerglide or custom auto or auto with trans brake, the auto will be faster 100% of the time. With a car with a factory auto without a trans brake or a factory manual, the manual has the advantage of being able to launch and downshift when cruising at freeway speeds. I believe in these cases it is an advantage to have a manual tranny. Now if you are runnin over 250rwhp you cant launch on the street without way too much wheelspin but at the track you and I know a factory stock manual will beat a factoy stock autos 60ft time. (to those that dont go to the track, a 1/4 mile track surface is much stickier then the street so wheelspin is much less of a problem) Let me know if you agree or if you think i am off somewhere. Later bro
P.S. I agree with you that the T5′s are junk but before I upgraded I had a T56 and with 500rwhp and the time it did awsome for me, I never had a problem with it. I have level 4 halfshafts and was running 315 DR’s at the time (didnt upgrade to slicks yet) and was launching at 4000rpm as well as powershifting with everything stock. Have you seen some T56′s fail or had an experiance with them being really crappy?? I am just curious because I have told people that are running 450-500rwhp that they shouldnt have a problem and I dont want to give out bad info. It sounds like you have a lot more track experiance then I do.