TruckD

Can you guys list the pros/cons between the two for me?

muddeprived

Oh this is gonna be good!

TrueBlueXJ

WEEELLLLL....

Manual = better mpg, more RPM control, and a hell of a lot more fun to drive. But also = surging offroad, burnt clutches, and somewhat of a PITA. BUT - the key is throttle control. Learn it, and you'll be fine.

Auto = worse mpg, less RPM control, more complex transmission, and not as fun to drive. But also = ease of crawling offroad, no funny smells, and plenty reliable.

Just depends. I went stick cuz my Jeep sees 90% pavement, and I'd rather drive a stick than an auto any day. Offroad, there have been times I wished I had an auto, but the other 6 days of the week, I wouldn't trade the stick for nothin'!

jeep98b

I like my auto for the traffic I sit in. I would have huge calf muscles if i had a stick with the amount of traffic i sit in on a daily basis. But I think it depends on personal prefrence myself.

jekyllrider

ditto on the auto in traffic. also ive heard that if you put a transfer case loweing kit on a jeep with a stick you may have to trim some sheet metal around the opening to fully engage a couple gears-dont know that for a fact cause I have an auto, but its something I read.

Bouncy

I've always went auto.

I can two foot it when climbing. No need for my third leg to do any work.

drakan1908

My last 5 vehicles were stick. Decided Jeep was going to be auto because I've just grown lazy.HAHa

BlueXJ

Autos give much better control off road in many conditions are way superior to a stick. That said they are complicated and expensive to rebuild and also require more frequent maintenance. They need more cooling and extra cooling if used for off road or any towing.
As mentioned above the stick is pretty good on gas if you drive it carefully. Can be more fun to drive on a daily basis. Sticks are pretty much free of fluid changes in the frequency of autos. Maybe change fluids every 50,000 miles will allow a stick to last as long as the Jeep. Clutches can last a good long time if the jeep is not used off road but more frequent clutch changes are in order when used off road. When changing the clutch the flywheel also needs resurfacing at the same time or uneven clutch wear will result.
So as you can see there are upkeep issues with sticks just like with autos and can be as reliable but limit your use in many off road conditions unless you are an octopus with a hand/arm to shift several things at once so I guess my prejudice is starting to show so I better quit.

the gimp

i never messed with a manual tranny offroad but id think it be a major pain,

but like said above its all your preference like with me i prefer an auto most of the time, ive got alot of grief for this. cause id prefer to take the driver error ou of the equation when dragging or auto x-ing...hell even driftin but it can and does play a toll on your tranny. ive spent thousands upon thousands on tranny rebuilds and tranny upgrades

i can still drive a stick thanks to hand controls, but i like being the oddball and getting bashed for sticking with an auto and i like passing the same people with my auto down the road or track....its always a joy to pass someones parents money. even better when mommy and daddy has to come pick up there kid and his car they bought him cause he blew it up..

sorry for the rant but ive had this discussion a good hundred times fact is i just got in it the other day.

BlueXJ

How about some pics of how your hand controls are hooked up in your XJ. That would be interesting.

the gimp

i dont have any hooked up on the jeep fact is i dont have to thank god i just have to use em on a stick and all it really consists of is a hydrolic unit hooked to the clutch and a lever put up on the shifter
i was suposed to use hand controls even to drive an auto but after testing they said i didnt because my reflexes and manuvaralbility wasnt affected. so i drive with my left foot.
soon as i can fine some pics of the hand controls so i can drive a stick ill post

the ****ty thing was the hand control effected my driving for the worst so im glad i dont have to use em

the gimp

blue here is a link to the place
www.rediautosport.com

a bit pricey so with what engineering experiance i had and with the help of a fellow amputee designed a step-up for my camaro. honestly it was fun being able to drive a stick again but i didnt i really wasnt missing anything

BlueXJ

Thanks for the link Gimp. That short vid clip in the Jaguar was easy to follow. I thought it was going to be a real complicated system. It looks like it would be easy to rig up. Didn't see one for a stick though although I explored the site for a few minutes looking.
I wonder if they get any requests for Jeeps?

aircruiser

i prefer having a manual since my jeep sees 90% pavement too. and the offroading i do is mainly mud so that doesnt require much clutching. i hate rocks.

the gimp

i dont know if they do get jeep request i do know when i first started wanting info on the set-up i met a a guy with a bmw with a tt set up damm that thing was fast, i got to get a test run with the set up from rediauto for a few hours the guy was real nice then after that his only request to drive my sc'ed prelude......we ran em against each other him in my lude me in his bmw, yup his bmw raped my lude crossed lol

this link will get to the section with the manuel controls
http://www.rediautosport.com/conpro/redisytm.html