Is a automatic worth it?

Is it worth putting the money into a automatic? I would hate to spent my money on a automatic car and it end up less powerful than a standard.

 

Do you already have a car with a manual tranny? If so keep the Manual.... maybe upgrade from the factory 3 speed to a 4 or 5 speed..

Trust me I have had Manual in a V8, Auto in a V8, and auto in a 6 cyl all in a Maverick and also had a pickup with a manual 3 on the tree with the 240 6 cyl...

I would take that 6 cyl three ont he tree over any automatic..


Don't get me wrong.. My V8 with the auto C4 had a shift kit and had the gears in the rear changed and had a Hurst dual gate shifter and it was fast, not two ways about it. But it wasn't as fast as the V8 that I have now with the 4 speed manual, The 3 speed auto C4 also got terrible gas mileage (around 10- 12mpg) as where the 4 speed is getting 18mpg..

Now as far as a slow Sunday afternoon cruise or a long drive in heavy traffic I still love my little yellow 72 with the 200 and C4 but it has no power and the get up and go has got up and left....

 

I'm currently looking for a car and I found a automatic. It's awful tempting to get the automatic but I guess I'll keep looking.

 

I'd go with an Automatic.

 

A lot depends on what you want to do with it. A stick is more efficient on getting the power to the ground. However you need to get traction or you'll be spinning the tires. If you plan on doing any bracket racing or running at the drag strip you'll find that an automatic is more consistent.

 

I've got both also. If you just wanna drive around like Grandma go with the automatic. If you wanna have FUN...gotta go stick! I just drive my automatic cars when I feelin lazy

 

What Don said is true, I'll never be consistent at the track with my 4 speed and I will put it on the track occasionally but I didn't build this car for the track. I built it to have fun in on the streets.

 

some of the fastest cars use autos , thinking your going to be faster with a stick is a myth

stick cars are fun though

 

Well...this is going to be my first car. I think I should go with a auto because of the ease of use. Decisions, decisions...

 

Automatics are nice for cruising and Great for strip use due to their consistency.Automatics do steal horse power from the engine to make them work.with a stick its loss due to friction and clutch slippage.Its usually less than an auto by a long shot though.If you want your cake and want to eat it too.A stick cant be beat but, an automatic does shift faster than you can manually.Personally I preferr stick to slush box.Just plain flat out more fun and more visceral.Ronny Sox was consistent with a stick back in the day.Consistency can be had with a stick.It takes practice,a good set up on the car(hooks well)and a purpose built standard tranny helps too.Just my two pennies.Have fun!!

 

i wouldnt let the transmission stop me from buying an otherwise nice car. tho i wouldnt mint having a stick

you could always get a floor shifter and manual valve body and pretend lol

 

With some mods, an automatic can be plenty fast. I have a 2200 rpm stall convertor in mine and a shift kit. The higher stall allows the car to launch harder because the motor is at a higher torque output. You don't want to go much looser than that if you do any highway driving because it builds heat and reduces your mileage.

All that being said ... my daily driver is a stick...

 

The C4 is as strong as any manual transmission you can get. It can be made to handle over 1000 HP. It doubles the torque of your engine at stall so you can out accelerate a three or four speed if you have the right converter. The C4 will last 20 years before you have to replace the clutches and that is better than I ever got with any standard transmission. They are fun to drive because you can manually shift them if you want to (at any speed with a minor modification) and if you live where there are hills like around here then you know that an automatic is a lot more fun than a stick when you have to stop in traffic half way up that steep hill.
All things even the auto is a much better buy as far as I am concerned.
That doesn't mean I don't have a standard tranny. I have one - out of four cars - that has a manual tranny in it. I don't drive it any place that I have to stop on hills, and I do have to replace the clutch about every 20000 miles. It is getting close to that time again. Everytime I have to start thinking about it I am glad I have automatics in my other cars.

 

Or you could just switch it to a 5-Speed like I did. O.D. is wonderful.

 

exactly! stick cars always "feel" faster...

get a manual valve body