[dearot]

Which one is better for offroad, Auto or Manual Vitara?

[BlueSuzy]

Softcore or Hardcore?

[sp1086]

Depends on which model of Vitara your talking about.. If ist just a standard 1.6Vit I'd stay with a manual. If your talking GV V6 I'd go a auto for sure.

[dearot]

I'd say mediumcore.

Yes std 95 1.6l Vit. Why manual is better?

[magnat]

Manual gives you better control, easier to rock when stuck in Mud and generally easier to decend down mountains...

Manuals also boogey a little better...

Its also Easier on the transmission when doing Snatch Recoveries

[dearot]

ok. but if only for softcore or maybe mediumcore, do you think auto is alrite?

[magnat]

It will do the job but you will notice a lack of Zip
The 3 Speed in the Vitara's is a little primative but does the job...

[joeblow]

ok...lets talk autos and manuals. if it is a carby 3 speed auto than stick with the manual. if its the efi 1.6 than don't waste your time with the manual, go the auto. the suzuki 4 speed auto is fantastic, and so is its gearing. years ago i had the same assumption that manuals were better, ohhh how i was wrong. the auto gives you waaaay more control, is eaier on the drivline, and you don't have a weak link called a clutch. i'm not knocking the vitara manual, have done plenty of these conversions and they are bullet-proof, but the clutch lets em down. in my rig i have the vitara efi and 4 speed auto with dual transfers and 33's. 99% of the time down hills i only use the standard low-range. and when i'm going up hills i have the abillaty to stop, have alook, and keep going. all my zooks [ xl-7, 2.0 ltre v6 estate, 4 cyl estate and the sierra ] have the 4 speed auto in them, and i will only use a manual when i finnish the lj rod, becuase thats gonna be the performance car. i'm sure the guys from the melb trip wiil tell you how well the auto went and how much controlabilaty you will have.

[Trojan]

magnat wrote:

Manual gives you better control

I would happily debate this one till i am blue in the face. Can't wait till i get around to throwing the manual in my Sierra in the bin and replacing it with an Auto.

You may get a little more control over which gear you are in, but as far as vehicle control goes an auto has it all over a manual.

[cj_zuki]

Manual for softcore and if you want to "think" you have more control otherwise go auto.

[Damo]

joeblow wrote:

ok...lets talk autos and manuals. if it is a carby 3 speed auto than stick with the manual. if its the efi 1.6 than don't waste your time with the manual, go the auto. the suzuki 4 speed auto is fantastic, and so is its gearing. years ago i had the same assumption that manuals were better, ohhh how i was wrong. the auto gives you waaaay more control, is eaier on the drivline, and you don't have a weak link called a clutch. i'm not knocking the vitara manual, have done plenty of these conversions and they are bullet-proof, but the clutch lets em down. in my rig i have the vitara efi and 4 speed auto with dual transfers and 33's. 99% of the time down hills i only use the standard low-range. and when i'm going up hills i have the abillaty to stop, have alook, and keep going. all my zooks [ xl-7, 2.0 ltre v6 estate, 4 cyl estate and the sierra ] have the 4 speed auto in them, and i will only use a manual when i finnish the lj rod, becuase thats gonna be the performance car. i'm sure the guys from the melb trip wiil tell you how well the auto went and how much controlabilaty you will have.

The only thing that I worry about with autos is how much power they take to drive. Even 1.6 zooks aren't rocketships, how much difference does the auto make in that regard?

[royce]

how do you get around the heat issues with pushing an auto hard?

and there is no doubt manuals give much better control downhill

I dont think you can really say one is better than the other, you just need to pick the one that has more pros than cons for what you are doing

[Trojan]

royce wrote:

how do you get around the heat issues with pushing an auto hard?

Fit a temperature gauge firstly, no point guessing what temperature it is, easier to stop and let an auto cool then it is to deal with a clutch that just got fried. Obviously other things can be done like bigger oil coolers and such.

royce wrote:

and there is no doubt manuals give much better control downhill

That's debatable. You can crawl an auto down a hill slower then a manual. A Manuals biggest hurdle is the locked drive between the engine and gearbox. You can only go down hill in a manual as slow as the engine will allow, otherwise it will stall. An Auto has the advantage of being able to slip between the engine and gearbox, so you can go that little bit slower without fear of the engine stalling. Just have to use the right technique which is not the same as a manual. Overcoming the fact you need to accelerate downhill to go slower (whilst left foot braking) just takes a bit of practice.

royce wrote:

I dont think you can really say one is better than the other

I can.

[magnat]

There the Advantage of a manual right there.... the ability TOO stall in an emergency EG Brake Failure... I am not sure about you but I dont think the Auto trans would take to lightly being wacked into park whist moving...

[joeblow]

Damo wrote:

joeblow wrote:

ok...lets talk autos and manuals. if it is a carby 3 speed auto than stick with the manual. if its the efi 1.6 than don't waste your time with the manual, go the auto. the suzuki 4 speed auto is fantastic, and so is its gearing. years ago i had the same assumption that manuals were better, ohhh how i was wrong. the auto gives you waaaay more control, is eaier on the drivline, and you don't have a weak link called a clutch. i'm not knocking the vitara manual, have done plenty of these conversions and they are bullet-proof, but the clutch lets em down. in my rig i have the vitara efi and 4 speed auto with dual transfers and 33's. 99% of the time down hills i only use the standard low-range. and when i'm going up hills i have the abillaty to stop, have alook, and keep going. all my zooks [ xl-7, 2.0 ltre v6 estate, 4 cyl estate and the sierra ] have the 4 speed auto in them, and i will only use a manual when i finnish the lj rod, becuase thats gonna be the performance car. i'm sure the guys from the melb trip wiil tell you how well the auto went and how much controlabilaty you will have.

The only thing that I worry about with autos is how much power they take to drive. Even 1.6 zooks aren't rocketships, how much difference does the auto make in that regard?

if your car is geared mathamatically correct for the tyres you run than the power required is not much of an issue. the only thing the boys who have autos have got over me is the abillaty to overtake faster. plus the 4 speed auto has lovely things inside it like tcc...torque converter clutch. i have mine hooked up to a factory auto engaging fan. heat is not a problem as i have wheeled in 40+ degrees....the only thing to breakdown was the driver! and yes you cant stall it out, or put it in park, but you shouldn,t have to. BUT..you can select reverse with minimal consequences. i only state these points because i have done buckets of k's in manuals...and buckets in autos, and the auto has so few drawbacks to the manual. pretty much every one of the manual dual trannie case conversions i have done have booked in for an auto swap! this years tassie trip will see every truck with a 4 speed auto.

[FUNNBOY]

i was looking at a swb vit today it had a 3speed auto dont know what year it was but it was a good price for what it was now what i want to know is how the 3speed will go with 31" tyre's on it what other work will it need (from what i could see its all stock)
thank's

[joeblow]

3 speed is shiiiite! its a holden trimatic.

[FUNNBOY]

why is it shiiiiiiiiit will it spin 31"tyre's without to much going wrong