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Old paradigms.....I dare you to try one!.... Posted by Mike Lynch [Email]  (#81) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Mike Lynch) on Fri, 4 Nov 2005 13:24:28
In Reply to: Re: About the auto..., Martin, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 12:20:51 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
You don't have to go back very far, if at all, to find cars that were utterly ruined by "slushboxes". A good example of that exists in the current Saab lineup, 9-2X Aero. Four speed auto without a sport program and an engine that doesn't begin to pull until 4,500 revs. It just ruins the sporty character of the car.
Older Saabs, 900's with the 3 speed Borg Warners, and even 9000's with the 4 speed ZF are further examples of good cars ruined by slushboxes.
The middle ground appears with the NG900's and their excellent, and durable too which is another shortcoming of the BW and ZF boxes, 4 speed Aisin Warners with a programmable sport function. You may still prefer a stick, but if you're forced to drive one of the newer Aisin Warner boxes, when you put it in sport mode, it revs the engine acceptably high on upshifts, right up to redline at full throttle without straining, and provides excellent part throttle downshifts. Enough so to make a die hard stick driver at least crack a smile.
You have to realize too that a 4 speed auto has the equivalent ratios of a 5 speed manual, first through fourth in the auto corresponding to second through fifth in the manual and first in the auto spans first and second in the manual owing to the torque converter slippage providing the lower first gear ratio out of the hole. And modern four speed autos have essentially the same overdrive top as the manuals and a lock up torque converter so there's virtually no difference in fuel economy.
Now comes the same excellent durable Aisin Warner box with 5 speeds, the equivalent of a six speed manual. Add in 250hp and most importantly, 258 lbs/ft of torque at only 1,800 revs, select sport and walla' a paradigm busting automatic experience.
If it was a smaller sportier car like a Miata with a torque-less high revving motor and a crisp snappy shift linkage, then fine, it wouldn't matter how good the automatic was, the stick would be better suited. But none of that is true with a 9-5 Aero. It's not small, sporty yes, but not small, it's not rev happy, it's smooth to the redline but low end TORQUE is what it's all about, an Aero will rev, but it's doesn't encourage it as in some motors, and the shift linkage is only adequate.
In other words, folks like you can't even imagine that a "slushbox" could be that good, that fun, and that satisfying to a die hard stick lover. A couple of significant TSN folks have owned both a manual and an auto Aero, and these same folks were die hard stick lovers before, and now are lavish with their praise for the suitablility of the automatic in the 9-5 Aero application. Try one and report back, I dare you!
, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 10:35:42, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 12:22:03, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 18:51:11, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 13:55:47, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 10:51:22
, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 12:08:14, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 13:49:34, Fri, 4 Nov 2005 13:24:28 <-- Viewing This Message
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