Quote:
Originally Posted by RobbyMack
Being 6MT old dudes in Camry's take me off the line all the time. Those same guys go home, tell the wife how they smashed a M3 today during rush hour and probably find a way to get a little action later. I think of it as my civic duty. So yes a 330 around town probably feels a bit peppier to me as a result, hell my wife's MDX feels downright giddy when I mash the gas off the line, but I also know doing the same in the M likely excites lots of wheel spin and curses from my neighbors (it's a frickin orange M3 after all) so I take things a bit slower about town and save the hooliganism for the track.
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I doubt if those old guys generally even know what an M car is, so no bragging. The thing is, an M driver rowing a 6-speed will tend to be slower than any number of automatics (including granny in the Buick), because the M driver will value smoothness, especially with passengers aboard. If your passengers tend to nod with each shift, then you're doing it wrong. If those passengers are your friends, they will then ride you without mercy at every botched shift, which is what friends are for.
What you do with the six-speed car is take off at whatever level of acceleration that is normal for the situation, but you will begin tapering off the gas just before the shift, make the shift, and then taper back up with the gas until you're back at your desired acceleration, resulting in around a two-second gap in "normal" acceleration, or even a little more. Result? Grandpa/granny in the Camry/Buick kicks your ass, because they don't have to taper off the gas for two seconds around each lazy shift. The torque converter and cone clutches take car of smoothness.
It used to be that stick drivers could console themselves with the fact that, given a little skill, they were consistently faster in a race/on track than their automatic brethren.
No more. The manufacturers/developers of traditional torque converter/sun-and-planetary-geared boxes have struck back with nine and ten-speed offerings that are fast as hell. Everywhere. Often better mileage, as well.
Sigh.
It's an ugly world when you are clearly disadvantaged if you insist on rowing your own.
Bruce