Why do you love (or hate) your manual trans.

[LittleCaesar]

I'd love to have a 5 spd. Couldn't find one here in VA or SC that worked for my price range.
I am envious though of all who do have them. It offers more control of the car than an auto.

I even dislike paddleshifters in nice exotics.

 

[HiLife]

The manual crowd doesn't have to worry about cooking the trans fluid.

 

[hockeyman]

I love my auto. I am 41 years young, living in Los Angeles (traffic land) and have a manual sports car to drive on the weekend when I feel the need.

I don't mind the wife driving my truck, it simply adds to her overall hotness. Hot blonde in a 4x....always looks good.

The auto gets right around 17/18 mpg so the mileage thing is a non-issue to me.

I like the idea of not stalling while wheeling which, yeah yeah, you are likely all better than me at it and don't stall......I bow to your greatness.

I don't have to ever worry about someone smoking my clutch.

For better or worse.......those are my opinions.

:fencing:

 

[99ToyoRunner]

The only thing I hate about the manual transmissions is that it's being phased out and becoming harder to find on cars....The 3.4 isn't fast but the manual trans exploits the power the engine has to offer, when people realize my truck is a manual they tell me they didn't know that Toyota offered these trucks in stick, honestly makes the driving experience a lot more enjoyable than a stupid automatic, plus manual transmissions are more reliable and mechanical than automatic transmissions....Plus I am a lead foot when I leave work and just shifting through gears manually sounds cooler :thumb3:

 

[Drcoffee]

You havent had fun until you throw your back out of whack and then try to drive a manual tranny. LOL

Stick shift is fun while you are young but once the low back gives out, you quickly find the value in an auto trans daily driver.

Lest I mention trying to eat and drink while driving a manual transmission.

 

[99ToyoRunner]

Driving a manual helps me be more focused on the road, so I save any fast food I have until I get home or if I stop at a rest stop I'll wait until I have set the cruise control before I start eating.....Like I said I hate automatic transmissions, but they do serve their purpose..I just wish manuals weren't being phased out as much as they are

 

[Swimmerboy2112]

I'd love to have a 5 spd. Couldn't find one here in VA or SC that worked for my price range.
I am envious though of all who do have them. It offers more control of the car than an auto.

I even dislike paddleshifters in nice exotics.

Me either so i converted mine :jump:

 

[LittleCaesar]

If I can get the time and the R150, it may just happen. My slowly failing torque converter is leading me to do such in the next year.

 

[Super-G]

I taught myself to drive a stick by watching my dad. Then when he and my mom went out one night I tried to be cool and take his 72 Beetle out for a ride. It wasn't pretty but I got around the block. As a 13 year old kid driving a 4 speed Beetle I was hooked.

When I got my first car (68 Firebird) I immediately converted it to a 4 speed and I never looked back. Then in 1994 when I was on active duty in the Marines, I bought a brand new Jeep Wrangler with a 5 speed. I daily drove that Jeep from 1994 to 2012 when I bought my 4 Runner.

When I bought my 4 Runner I got an automatic. I daily drove a stick shift car for many years and frankly I was happy to be in an automatic. Honestly, I don't off road my truck. It's my daily driver that I use every day to get to work and off roading just isn't my thing. My wife cannot drive a stick. I tried teaching her one day on the Jeep and she got all weirded out so I said F it and never tried again.

When I bought my 4 Runner I didn't sell my Jeep. I still have it to this day. In my opinion, there are certain cars that MUST be a stick. A Jeep is one, and a Musclecar/sports car is another. My Jeep is a stick and my Musclecar (72 Z/28) is also a stick car so I'm not worried that my 4 Runner is an automatic.

 

[AZ4Running]

I learned to drive on a 5 speed and love them. Most of my cars my have been 5 speed. My Ls vtec civc (for sale) is a 5 speed and i love the control over the engine a manual gives you. You can granny drive it or smoke the tires and redline the motor in every gear and just hall some @$$. My 3rd gen runner is an auto and it is the only vehicle i would prefer to be an auto. Its just easier on slow rocky terrain and up steep hill climbs. Plus for me driving an auto get me better mpg most of the time, just the way i tend to drive 5 speeds lol.

 

[Scramble]

I love the way it lets me drive my T4R like a Porsche. I've read so many posts here over the years about how slow 4runners are & I've never felt that way. Could I use more HP? Sure could! I've taken many sports cars off the line (probably with an A/T) but after 3rd gear I'm done LOL.
I have to go up & down this twisty mountain road every day & I fly through it at 60mph. It handles well for a truck too.

When I'm loaded with camping gear going up a steep hill I can just drop it into 4th. I'd hate to be in an A/T & have it floored & watch the mph's drop.

Every car I owned before this truck was an 8cyl auto. I'm sure I could live with a 4th or 5th gen with an 8cyl but driving a stick is too much fun.

 

[Panda96]

The 5 speed is rare which I like.
Compared to driving a 3.4 auto the manual never makes me feel like the 3.4 is lacking in power.
No pink milkshake worries.
Resale value is always there.
I'd never consider selling it.
It's FUN.

Bottom line is I drove a lot of 4R before I bought my manual. When I drove the manual I was blown away. I couldn't believe the difference in power. Feels like a true off-road vehicle.

 

[pluton]

I love it because it will last longer than an automatic. If I were buying new and planned to sell the vehicle by 150K miles or so, I'd be fine with an auto.

 

[Rsamani]

I love mine because I learned to drive in a little 4 popper 5 speed pickup, most of the cars I have owned have been manual trans, it's just better. I'm in control.

One of the biggest things that piss me off about new cars is how much smarter thy figure they are than you, for example my wife's Silverado. The torque management makes me friggin crazy. When I step on the loud pedal I want my truck to move cuz I told it to, dammit, not say "no I'd rather not, you might break me, and I'm too smart for that". If I wanna break it, then it better get good and broke! Or my stupid a$$ I-phone that changes what I type because I "did it wrong".

But I digress. Manual transmissions all the way, cuz I'm a smart feller, and because better, that is all.

Dude take a deep breath, relax

 

[giovannie23]

You havent had fun until you throw your back out of whack and then try to drive a manual tranny. LOL

Stick shift is fun while you are young but once the low back gives out, you quickly find the value in an auto trans daily driver.

Lest I mention trying to eat and drink while driving a manual transmission.

Yup just like hurting your left foot and having to drive all the way home

 

[MyHigh]

You havent had fun until you throw your back out of whack and then try to drive a manual tranny. LOL

Stick shift is fun while you are young but once the low back gives out, you quickly find the value in an auto trans daily driver.

Lest I mention trying to eat and drink while driving a manual transmission.

Two back surgeries and counting, still would rather drive my manual then a auto. But then again every dr an nurse I met says when it comes to pain I'm stubborn dumb!?! . . . Whatever that means......:frusty:

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

This is my own personal reason why I love the manual trans. By complete coincidence, every personal car that I own was once an automatic.

The A340 transmission came in each one of them. I hate this transmission with a fiery passion, to me it was always a grandma-shifting vulnerability. Automatic transmissions have their general faults, but this one is dreadful. The amount of drivetrain loss makes me want to :frusty: Every one I owned gradually failed.

My 99 4Runner has had two A340's in it, before swapping to an R150F 5-speed at 194k. This vehicle is my daily driver and is a blast to drive compared. I prefer shifting the vehicle myself, rather than letting grandma A340 handle it.

Toyota decided all 86-88 4Runner turbos would have automatics. I drove my 87 with the auto for a few thousand miles. It was slipping between shifts and out it came. It has a W56 5 speed today, swapped out of a truck that had been sitting for 10 years, no more than an oil change.

My current A340 is in my 89 Supra Turbo project car. This one isn't getting on the road with that trans in it. Sitting next to the car is an R154 5-speed and associated swap parts.

 

[white_n_slow]

You havent had fun until you throw your back out of whack and then try to drive a manual tranny. LOL

Stick shift is fun while you are young but once the low back gives out, you quickly find the value in an auto trans daily driver.

Lest I mention trying to eat and drink while driving a manual transmission.

I blew out my lower back this spring hauling tile and now have some moderate sciatica in my left ass cheek. I sold my 5-speed 4runner earlier this year and replaced it with an automatic land cruiser (which has now been replaced by yet another automatic land cruiser--this decision was unrelated to my injury). I was always a diehard manual transmission person and never met an auto I liked, but I'm coming around. My whole left leg hurts if I get caught in a traffic jam. My DD is still a manual 6-speed TL, and I have even thought about replacing that, even though I love the car, because I find myself hopping in the Land Cruiser or the wife's Lexus whenever I'm driving any time near rush hour. :/

Old farts, unite!

 

[Hesk11dog]

I love the feel of a perfect down shift passing some loser car. The first vehicle i had was a 93 yota pickup, MANUAL and the only thing better is my 97 runner. Driving a standard gives you more control of your vehicle in all aspects of travel. Plus, i think it makes you look better

 

[JimG]

After reading about the pink milkshake while researching 4runners I decided I wanted a manual. I've spent more hours driving a standard than an slush bucket, I use my 'runner for hauling a small camper trailer, and I just like the solidness I perceive from a standard.

But, due to sloppy/poor maintenance by the PO I have spent more on fixing my clutch, than I would have on a new rad/tranny cooler. And even now sometimes when in stop and go traffic my clutch still shudders when I'm hauling my camper.

One thing I never thought of, that a cousin of mine who likes a standard for urban driving and taught his kids to drive standards pointed out, is that in winter conditions he has a better feel for the road.