I have an automatic. I have never driven a manual. I want to learn how to drive a manual and get a jeep with one. Just because I dont like being the last one to get up to speed after a stop light.

 

I live in Central Jersey by Rt. 18 and Rt. 9. Traffic's not too terrible till rush hour hit's around 5 PM. I enjoy driving just for the sake of driving, but it seems like there 's almost no point to it here. There's just nothing good to see. The only nice trip I went on was to Browns Mills. It was just wide open country road with nothing but woods. Cruising 75 MPH the whole way there practically. It was fun.

 

had a feeling this would bring some spirited debate. I like manual myself and think it's probably better on a trail.

 

x2 I was looking for a 5 speed Jeep when I first got my license but a 2WD auto Dode Dakota fell into my lap. I drove it for a month, sold it, and bought my 5 speed XJ for $400. I will never buy an automatic again or a 2WD for that matter.

 

exactly.

I love going for a drive and having unobstructed views of mountains out here. 5 speed makes it so much more fun!

until i graduate college and return to new jersey... ugh. hoping to spend as little amount of time as possible back there. haha

 

well i got the habbit from driving my 71 vw bus, its not a typical bus anymore i put 29 inch tires on it and has all the camping gear inside so its hard to stop with just the breaks so using the engine helps alot, being that volkswagens tranny gears are really low.

 

wow thats cool but i think that think needs a lift with some 33's

 

lol i wish cant lift them most u can do it turn the spring in the back and put coil over shocks in front to bost the springs and .. thats what i did. and if u can point me to any tires that are bigger than 30" that fits on a 14 inch rim ? iv been looking all over and 29s are as big as i could find. ( sense im way off topic ima say ... stick FTW and automatic sucks. having a stick u have more control over your jeep speed rpms and shift timing and so on and better on your engine)

 

as for using a stick on trails and so on it has its +/- up side u can keep ur RPMs high with out worrying ur tranny will up shift and lose ur momentum. a down side is hill starts are tough unless ur good with ur clutch and control the slippage, a plus is more rear end torque at the tires due to contact to the fly wheel and not some fan rotation. and its nice to just stay in one gear and cruse wile doing a trail. it really depends on how good u are with a clutch u can do hills fine with a clutch if u can catch it fast enough. when i was first drivin my jeep when i was 14 when i was stoped on a hill at a stop sign and was worried about rolling backwards into the guy behind me, i put it in 4 low and just have to let go of the clutch and itl rol for u and once i gained a lil speed put in clutch and pop it back in 2x4.

yes i no its not good to change the t case wile moving but at the time thats how i would do it. now i dont roll back at all , just gotta be fast with it

 

if im on a hill and dont wanna roll back at all ill just use the e brake or i will let the clutch out a lil till i feel it grab a lil then let off brake and pull off.

 

Manual all the way for a DD or tow rig, and I don't mind them offroad...

but for wheeling i love my auto

 

Im surprised I havent seen this yet, major disadvantage for Auto, the huge soft underbelly known as the pan, one smack with a rock and your out of business

Then you have no idea what I really meant by heel toe, not like race styled downshifting, but by heel on the brake to not roll back and toe on the gas to get some acceleration

 

You have said a few comments on here that are just plain wrong. There is a lot more to engine deceleration then you have given credit. For one, there is a mechanical threshold of leverage directly related to the type/size/capacity of your braking system. When you said that a tire only has a certain amount of traction used for braking/acceleration/ and turning you were correct, but you failed to mention is how well your braking system can utilize this contact friction; the typical factory XJ brake setup does not exemplify the pinnacle of this either.... Have you ever wondered why performance brake kits are so large? Its b/c of the leverage advantage the brakes have by moving the contact surface further from the hub center; not to mention other obvious advantages of size, surface area, etc... The other thing you keep saying about adverse ware to the clutch plate. If you are rev matching, not double clutching, correctly, then you have effectively DECREASED the wear the clutch surface could potentially see. There are COUNTLESS advantages to engine braking, lets list some....

1. Less fuel consumption. During deceleration the injector duty cycle is at zero.

2. less chances for a "lock up" scenario on loose or uneven surfaces. The potential of your braking system is relative the weight distributed over the tires, if there is an upset in traction, due to surface condition, it is likely that the brakes would lock up and only recover once pressure is released. That's why it is so difficult for some people to get out of a slid.

3. increased brake life. If one rev matches correctly or decelerates from within the gear they are operating, you can sometimes come to a halt with little or no hydraulic braking and no "adverse wear" to the clutch surface.

4. long down hill braking. This one is quite obvious, as its seen in transfer trucks; although we don't have J brakes. engine deceleration will allow the braking system to remain cool and effective if a panic stop is needed.

Really the list goes on and on and on. I compete in a pro amateur level of drifting and have a great deal of racing experience. I can tell you that I would never own an automatic vehicle but I do see some advantages in a crawling scenario.

My vote is obviously for the 5 speed. It took me 8 months to find my 5-speed XJ, although I will say, I hate the 3.07 gear.

my $0.02

 

+1

 

I go with manual. The biggest advantage has to be that you can choose what gear you are in when you are wheeling. Granted rocks have the edge with the auto but not tops first gear and 4low for creeping around and over stuff.