Automatics changing my view.

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by RedAccord02

Its a Si . The honda civic si is the only car that still strictly manual. i had a 8th gen model still missing it

One more reason I love this car!

[8$PG]

I've always liked automatic better. All of my cars have been automatic with one exception for about a month. The reason is that I like controlling what the car should be doing rather than how the mechanics inside should do it. Where I live manual is alot more common because of tradition mostly but the new modern automatics are increasing in numbers.

The mileage I get with my Honda Accord -03 is about 30MPG driving 90% at 66MPH GPS-speed and 10% city traffic. Keeping it always below 60 on country roads my record is 42MPG or 5.6L/100km on a single trip of 360km. Almost no braking or rev-ing above 2500rpm.

I have just ordered scangaugee to play with since my car isn't equipped with a trip computer. Done some testing with an OBD2-cable but coudn't find a nice enough program to use, and I was curious about the open-loop/closed loop parameter incorporated in a mpg-calculation.

What I find most interesting about my car is how the transmission shifts when letting the foot off the gas. It goes from 5-4-3 with lockup still engaged and fuel system in open-loop mode engine braking and then on 3:rd gear at about 15mph it disengages at 1000rpm and then it starts to coast with the torque-converter slightly pulling in second and 1:st until you have to use the brakes to come to a complete stop. So you could in effect use the car with no gas consumed from highway speed to 15mph with a slight engine braking at fairly low revs. I wanted to se how this affects the mpg calculation while driving and how to use that in the most efficient way to save fuel.

If it would be to alternate between enginebrake and some more gas when going downhill on a highway i.e. and so on.

This is almost the opposite from how my previous car (an old Lexus LS) worked letting of the gas it would almost continue at the same speed as before when driving 30mph or less. It had an older 4-speed with lock-up only when in overdrive.

[litesong]

An old thread: anyone still interested? Wanted a manual in an Elantra, but couldn't find one, easily. Finally, got an excellent deal with extras, even a 6sp. auto tranny, because of the Elantra mpg reduction to 38mpg. Like the auto. It has given me 38+mpg, overall, in its first year, while Elantra average has been 30mpg. Have less city driving than the average, but Elantra has the widest rear-seat shoulder room of any non-turbo, non-hybrid gasoline vehicle.

[Draigflag]

Driving should be a pleasant fun experience, I just don't get why people want such little input when behind the wheel. Auto's are very boring.

[Charon]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

Driving should be a pleasant fun experience, I just don't get why people want such little input when behind the wheel. Auto's are very boring.

I have seen this argument before. If you really want input, get a car without any electronics. You need a manual choke, a manual mixture control, manual spark advance, and no ABS or electronic traction control. You need a manually operated wireless with a manual tuning knob and no presets. Don't forget - no power assisted braking or steering. Enjoy.

[theholycow]

Yeah, a modern synchronized manual transmission with hydraulic clutch and drive-by-wire throttle is neither the only option nor the pinnacle for driver engagement. At least get a dog box with a rod-actuated clutch. IMO you can't really stay on your high-horse if your car isn't even RWD.

The reality is that driver engagement is a subjective thing measured on a wide spectrum, not an objective binary thing.

Tangent: I wish my carburetor had a manual choke. The automatic choke is much more irritating than the automatic transmission that originally came in my car.

[Charon]

I had an '86 Ford F150 which had an automatic choke. In a former life someone had butchered some of its emission control equipment. I ended up fitting a manual choke. That made things easier for me, but gave any "modern" borrowers grief.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Your Buick should have an electric choke. Should be simple enough to unplug the wire and run it to a dash switch for you to manually control the operation.

[Draigflag]

Guys my previous car was rear engined, RWD, fully manual in every respect, even the choke, no assistance in anything, brakes, steering etc. You must respect I do know what im talking about somtimes. I just have strong opinions against autos, try not to take offense.

This is the average road where I live, I just imagine an auto would destroy any means of fun on these kinds of roads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEN-JgTj0s&sns=em

[Jay2TheRescue]

I think for that road I'd rather have a motorcycle. When I bought my K1500 I tried to get one with a 5 speed. Very rare option, and there were none to be had anywhere near me. The FEH is only available with a CVT automatic. I needed a 4wd that got great mileage in an urban environment, so I bought it. My motorcycle is a 6 speed, and is a lot of fun. If I'm looking for tearing up corners, the motorcycle is my vehicle of choice.

That all being said, my dad has a Ford Focus with a 5 speed. That car is a lot of fun on the back roads. My sister has a Focus with an automatic, and I hate driving that car.