drrick89

I was responding to another thread about the S-Tronic and started going way off tangent on a topic which would likely hi-jack the thread. So I decided to start a new thread....S-Tronic vs. manual transmissions.

The S-Tronic tranny is extremely adaptible; able to adjust to a variety of driving conditions with anything from full auto to full automanual mode. With an exclusively manual transmission, you have to row that stick shift and depress that clutch no matter what the driving condition; never able to switch to dynamic or comfort or even full auto mode like you can with a S-Tronic. In this sense, a manual transmisssion in this kind of high performance car seems out-of-place IMO - esp. when you consider all of the high tech goodies available in the S4!

But, before you flaming me, think about it for a second. Quattro and the sports diff make changes what - about a hundred times a second? The S-Tronic shifts 50 times slower; or in about .2 of a second. But, if you're shifting manually - it takes .2 of second just for the nerve impulse to travel from your brain to your hand & arm and back again and you haven't even started to move that arm yet!

That's because of this simple fact: While the human brain is well suited to make all the higher level, executive decisions needed to drive the car; deciding where to go, by what route, at what speed, etc. - in the actual act of driving, itself, with all the technological improvements in today's cars, that smallish bit of protoplasm has actually become the weak link!

So IMO, it makes sense to streamline human inputs while driving - which is basically what the S-Tronic tranny does. It's up to each driver to decide how much driver involvement to allow (with his brain's executive functions again), as long it is understood that greater driver involvement now actually handicaps performance of the car!

DrGP

I prefer to drive my car rather than just steer it. Contol of the car and the overall driving experince is not the same without a clutch and the need to change gears manually.

zerinS4

I didn't read anything that you just said but I will choose a traditional manual transmission 100% of the time over any DCT/S-Tronic/DSG/SMG/whatever box when given the choice. I don't care if its ancient technology or slower than the computer controlled transmissions, there's something to be said about the enjoyment I get out of a traditional manual. This is my opinion alone, and no one is going to convince me that I'm an idiot or slower for buying a traditional manual. I work in IT for a living and I'm surrounded by technology that I love...I just don't want it intruding into my driving experience if it doesn't have to.

Oh, and lets see how much that "handicap" really translates to in the real world.

desmo101

I used to think like that... that manual was the only way to drive, that only lazy people bought dct's, etc...

Truth is the s-tronic is a wonderful piece of engineering. Very fast, very adaptable and very customizable. If you wanna coast along on a sunday listening to music you can. If you wanna let the car drive you in a traffic jam you can. If you wanna let it rip on a back road or at the track... you can.

I never thought i'd say this... But i'll probably never buy a manual car again. IMO technology advances to make things more enjoyable, more practical... better. Would you buy a film camera today even if it makes the process more ''manual'' and ''real'', even though you can shoot digital and never bother again with processing, paper and slides ??? probably not.

Truth is there is a reason why manual cars are becoming instinct. DCT's, dsg's, s-tronics... they're just better, faster, more fuel efficient, and more versatile especially for a daily driver. Manual for me is great for a sunday car I drive a few hours, I'm not going back :-)

NWS4Guy

I sure miss the total involvement and hands on we used to have when all cars started via the hand crank in the front.

Zed 2.0

Can I turn off my power steering and torque vectoring differential? They interfere too much with the pure driving experience.

desmo101

LOL +1

DrGP

I have no problem with someone choosing the 6MT over the S tronic or visa versa. All I can say that if the S4 was not available with the 6MT, I probably would be driving something else. One of the reasons I have paid very little attention to any MB cars is the lack of MT cars.

Un1k

+1

didn't really look at any MB cuz they don't have mt for higher end cars.

and I just chose 6MT cuz It's more fun to drive, that's all.

s-tronic will be faster but i'll have more fun driving a mt car.

udaymann

why pick a typewriter when you can have a computer?