An interesting article but I would take to task Mazda comment about 55% of sales are autos in my opinion the reason for this is that none of the current utes have a true first gear what they have is second gear disguised as first and as such starting off a load involves much slipping of the clutch just to get it moving fast enough to fully engage the clutch hence a short clutch life and repair bills THIS is the major reason autos have become the preferred transmission in modern day utes .
Woody
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When the power of Love becomes greater than the love of power the World will see peace ! 24ft Trailblazer 5th wheeler n 05 Patrol ute and Black Series Dominator camper trailer ( for the rough stuff)
It's what people want these days . There's people out there who have never driven a manual . The way turbo's make power . An auto works better on turbo diesels also . While in first gear with manual the turbo is hardly working so it needs more rpm to get things moving . Plus the Mrs ( getting into trouble here ? ) preference is auto. Iff or when they drive .,
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Monday 22nd of August 2016 09:37:29 AM
Modern veh's of all ilk are better for towing with modern Auto's
Unlike it used to be.
I've been a manual shifter for over 50 yrs (Apart from big dump trucks
and some Preselect buses in the '60's).
The modern units give a wider range. Gear lock up in most gears.
and pull strong from the bottom. No clutch slippage.
Also. as a matter of interest.
the 4 spd is a stronger transm than the higher 5/6/8 etc cogs.
That's why trucks use basic gears and supplement with "splitters".
5 plus 2 way is 10 cogs. 3 way is 15 cogs etc. 6 plus 2 way is etc.
Read up on it.
Smoother changing. Maybe.
But smaller cogs.bands.Shafts etc in similar size box to give the multiplicity of
compared to the old clunker 4 coggers.
Look inside the breakdowns of a 4 spd compared to a say 6.
Then shudder when you see inside the complexity of an 8 cog
or one of these modern progressive ones.
See what I mean.
Yea the torque of the closer ratio isn't as high on gear at shift . In most cases when it come to car trans . The auto is stronger ., An auto has some slip in first depending on converter stall ? But it's not a wear issue as its hydraulic ., it drives as it locks up .. Faster gear changed prevent wear, closer ratio gives smoother gear changes .. Keeps engine in better rpm / torque ..
They do have "wear" parts in there.
The multi disc brakes on Planetary gear housings fo a start.
(The old "bands")
The cluster gears take forever to wear.
but integral parts around them do wear out.
Including the Torque Converters.
All mechanical things have wear. oiled or not.
Just at slower rates.
Speak to Auto transm tech.
They'll all tell you that a 4 spd is stronger with more longevity
than a higher multi speed unit when towing large loads.
4 and 5 spd being the better ones.
