[Zaneo190]

What would u prefer and why? Curious to know being new to 4wding and wanting to know the advantages of either for off road use, ie beach driving creeks dunes mud etc..?

[Bugsta]

Manual.

Much more control.
Stronger transfer case
No auto to overheat
More fun. I get bored driving autos
More options for conversion to other Jimny or Sierra manual gearboxes (A fair bit of effort is required to convert from auto to manual as far as I can figure)

Autos would be great for city driving and light duty off-roading. For anything else - manual all the way

[Gwagensteve]

Auto.

Autos are vastly superior to drive in all off road conditions. I have driven and owned both auto and manual cars. I've fitted a jimny auto to a Sierra, and run a vitara auto in my own car.

In fact, in my opinion, everythingi Bugsta has said is 100% the opposite in my experience. Autos allow much more control offroad. A manual car requires twice the gearing reduction and a line lock to approach the drivability of an auto. Manuals are superior for city driving and light duty 4wding, but the more difficult the terrain, the more an auto shows its advantage.

The jimny auto isn't the strongest though, and I would recommend a large cooler and a temp gauge, and you'll ned to make sure the car is properly geared. Greg's car has run like this for about seven years pushing 35's and the auto is fine.

If I was buying a car for 4wding, I would never buy the manual version if an auto variant was available. If I was buying a car for road use or light 4wding, I would buy the manual.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

Auto.

As above.

[shep]

Auto.


My GV3 is allrightish off road simply due to the auto. I am that happy with how autos work offroad that I am sticking a 4 speed auto into my LWB Sierra.

[Bugsta]

100% hey Steve. Thats a big call.

[SierraDan]

Bugsta wrote:

Manual.

Much more control.

This is my 100% opposite experience. Manual sucks the dick when you want control. Manual is good for driving agressively.

Also depending on how your suspension performs, the ability to increase useable grip by driving through the brakes is something that blows my mind.
(Based on rock terrain)

[rick1970]

Not a Suzuki, but when the missus got her Landy Discovery V8 auto, bog stock down to very worn 235/70R16 road tyres, i took it for a spin in a local state forest. Simply amazing where it went, and how easy it got there, mainly due to the control the auto gave. Where a manual would have been spinning wheels, the auto just walked up using very limited throttle, making the most of the limited traction available. The decent articulation of the stock suspension didn't hurt either.

Will be ditching the 5 speed in my Rangie for a auto (have a ZF 4 speed auto waiting in my parts car), ditto for the Sierra when i find a G16 EFI/auto Vitara parts car.

For general driving i would much prefer a manual, but for offroad i like the auto's.

[Zaneo190]

Thanks guys, I'm obviously very new to this so by going auto what mods should I make to make the auto more reliable?

[Gwagensteve]

Bugsta wrote:

100% hey Steve. Thats a big call.

Yep. 100%

[SierraDan]

Zaneo190 wrote:

Thanks guys, I'm obviously very new to this so by going auto what mods should I make to make the auto more reliable?

A quality cooler. Thermo to suit also would be desirable. A temp gauge would also keep you aware of what's happening.

Keep it cool and full of fluid.

[atari4x4]

Bugsta wrote:

100% hey Steve. Thats a big call.

having come from a manual & into an auto running essentially the same car & same mods, i say he's 122% correct.

AUTO FTW

[Zaneo190]

Ok cheers guys sounds good also what size lift and tyres would u suggest? 3inch? And whats involved or needs to be purchased to achieve this?

[SierraDan]

That's a whole new thread. A search will find a specific lift/tyre discussion for the Jimny.

[Dan85]

To flog a dead horse....I just bought a 2012 jimny in auto and have come from manual rodeo and i gotta say the auto is just easy offroad. no more slipping the clutch when you need to go slow over rough stuff, no more building revs to try take off in sticky situations just some nice and gentle control of the throttle and the car goes where you point it. only time i thought oh having a manual would be nice was going down steep hills. then i worked out you could just put it in low range and select "L" and she crawled down like a champ. my rodeo had 32's in an aggressive pattern had a bit of a lift etc and my stock jimny on HT tires goes everywhere and more and the auto just makes it easy to do that. Cant wait to see what she will do with a small lift, good tires and a locker.

[jimmy91]

I test drove a auto thought it didn't have as much go so went with a manual. Jimny's are gutless unless you give it a boot. At 6,000rpm I'm surprised what the 1.3L can do. My bro had a 3.0L td Colorado and I got him off a set of lights. You'll be surprised what they can do. How ever I'm sticking to a manual. Auto would be boring as shit

[Jones]

Discounting the "auto's are better offroad" argument

Autos are the work of the devil and should be eradicated from our roads, or only sold to Nanna's with purple hair. I'd rather walk my chubby ass around than drive an auto. When my wife lived in the UK she was forced by circumstance to drive a manual VW Polo (she had only driven auto's in Aus), and she is now a convert, wont touch an auto with a shitty stick.

[Gwagensteve]

Hmmm, I sort of agree with you Jones, but autos are getting much better and manuals have significant disadvantages in some driving conditions.

My daily commute is 80km each way and is made up of a mix of slow, winding hill roads, open flowing rural roads, freeway, and CBD driving. My last three commute cars have been manual, and I can tell you I was getting sick of inching in traffic with a manual - it just wore me down - epsecially a car with a flakey clutch engagement point like our renaultsport clio. Interestingly on the 24km of slow, winding road I do each day, I was also aware of the disadvantage of a manual - gearchanging is part of the "flow" of driving, and on very slow, winding roads, the act of taking a hand off the wheel, clutching and shifting can actually slow down the pace you can drive a road, because of how many cycles you can fit into a short period of time.

I now commute in a 3.0D X3, with the eight speed ZF auto, and in sport mode it's quite incredible how quickly it will throw shifts in and leave me to steer the car. I don't like it for the hill roads, but that's not the transmissions fault, and apparently the same gearbox in the M135i with gearshift paddles is incredibly good (it also accelerates faster than the manual and uses less fuel)

As I've said, I like the involvement of a manual gearbox, but that's not the same as it being better. I think the ideal solution is DSG/PDK, but these wet-clutch double mainshaft gearboxes aren't suited to off road use.

Steve.

[Jones]

No doubt auto's are getting better, and i will soon (within the next 2 decades) have resign myself to the fact that i'll have to buy an auto, as i think that manuals will pretty much be dead by then.

I also think its a culture thing, in the UK the ratio of manual to auto's sold is something like 70:30, where as here and the US it seems to be the other way round. I think i am just so used to driving a manual, even creeping in heavy traffic in a manual doesn't bother me, could do it for hours, because i am used to doing it every day in the UK's horrendous traffic.

[joeblow]

Jones wrote:

I think i am just so used to driving a manual

That is where this thread comes unstuck.

Why give an opinion when your experiences are limited in regards to autos. Everyone I know who has been sceptical about autos pretty much have autos now as their off road vehicles and would never touch a manual again.

In saying that I'm auto auto auto.

What I will say is when it comes to choosing an auto or manual in a Jimny I would lean towards a manual because its a lucky dip in regards to the Jimny auto box. The Vitara version though is %100 bullet proof and if you have a G series Jimny it can be converted pretty easily.

The Vitara 3 speed auto?.....shit shit shit.

[Jones]

joeblow wrote:

Why give an opinion when your experiences are limited in regards to autos.

I wouldnt say i have limited experience of autos, we had an auto magna for a couple of years, and i've driven an auto Mercedes Sprinter van for over 3 years, 250klm per day for work