What's the difference between an automatic and manual car?

Question

And by that I mean the difference in time (acceleration i.e. the time it takes to reach 90 kmh from start etc.)

Or if a professional driver is driving a manual car and is racing another pro driver driving an automatic one, does the driver with the manual achieve a better time? And does the race track matter as well?

Answer 1

Everybody's trying to make this complicated. If the driver is experienced like everybody says, assuming the cars are equal performance levels, the manual transmission equipped car will accelerate faster. Why? A couple of reasons. Manual transmissions are lighter than automatic transmissions. Also, there are less moving parts in a manual transmission than there are an automatic, which means less work for the engine and more power out the output shaft. I'm not saying there is anything wrong at all with automatic transmissions, as the others said, there are simply applications where a manual transmission is not practical.

Answer 2

>>  And by that I mean the difference in time (acceleration i.e. the time it takes to reach 90 kmh from start etc.)

A good driver can accelerate FASTER using a manual. BUT ONLY if the driver is good / experienced.  If the driver is not, then it is MUCH better to accelerated using auto.

Good Luck...

Answer 3

Well, there was a time when a professional driver could achieve better acceleration with a manual transmission than with an automatic but these days it very much depends on the car.

If you are talking about a little Toyota Corolla, Honde Civic, or something along those lines, where the engine is quite underpowered, and the automatic transmission is not very sophisticated, a pro can probably coax a little better acceleration out of the manual.  The automatic suffers a little from having a fluid coupling that is inherently inefficient and less expensive cars do not tend to have sophisticated computer controls that change shift points to optimize performance.

However, if you are talking about something more powerful, often the manufacturer will build in performance modes into the transmission's programming that will allow you do do things like wind the engine out a bit further or otherwise stay on the peak torque during acceleration.  In these cars, the fact is that the computer can simply outshift even the fastest of pros.  Also, using the trick of standing on the brake while revving the engine up at a dead stop, the car with the automatic can build up pressure in the transmission and release it with explosive force once his foot comes off the brake, whereas the fellow dumping the clutch is going to get some clutch slippage before it seats.  Accordingly, if I recall correctly, the current Vettes with automatic transmissions can slightly out accelerate the manual trans cars.  Indeed, a good many high performance cars only come in automatic these days for that reason.  The supercharged Jaguar XKR being one of them.

Answer 4

automatic car use automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually.

Manual transmissions often feature a driver-operated clutch and a movable gear selector. Most automobile manual transmissions allow the driver to select any forward gear at any time.

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Answer 5

I build race cars for a living and they are all automatic because the driver does not have time to let out a clutch. Also they are afraid to drop it. Some are semi automatic they have the clutch but no gear lever. Now racers like rally racers and such are usually manual but the nhra guys all have auto. Nos does enough for them

Answer 6

stickshift is more complicated but saves gas. auto is easier but dosent save as much.

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