5-speed vs Auto gains
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this might help you:
Manual tranny = less power loss
Auto tranny = more power loss.
Dezod's awesome Stage I Turbo for example,
Quote:
5 Speed vehicles can expect an additional 15-25% more power.
(from his website)
Meaning the auto tranny is losing power between the 15-25% range.
Let's assume the average is about 20% power loss for automatic cars.
Automatic 2001 Accord ~ 150 bhp - (20% power loss compared to 5spd. = 48) = 102 bhp
Manual 2002 civic dx ~ 117 bhp
And if you WOT on 1st and 2nd gear til redline you will have more "kick" in your civic.
Auto tranny = more power loss.
Dezod's awesome Stage I Turbo for example,
Quote:
5 Speed vehicles can expect an additional 15-25% more power.
(from his website)
Meaning the auto tranny is losing power between the 15-25% range.
Let's assume the average is about 20% power loss for automatic cars.
Automatic 2001 Accord ~ 150 bhp - (20% power loss compared to 5spd. = 48) = 102 bhp
Manual 2002 civic dx ~ 117 bhp
And if you WOT on 1st and 2nd gear til redline you will have more "kick" in your civic.
Drunken Master-7thgen Ninja
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its called drivetrain loss. automatics have more of a drivetrain to put the power of the motor from the crank to the wheels. manual trannys do not have as many parts.
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um everybody is forgetting the more important factor is gearing, and a secondary reason is because of honda stock torque converters
auto are 4 gears with overdrive, but gears are engaged with a torque converter. honda civic stock converters suck ***** no matter which way you look at it, so your shift time just plain blows. you can throw in lockers, converters, coolers, and custom gears, but the overdrive design will ultimately prevent you from puttin the power to the ground in the very top end (assuming that's the goal). if you want to shred tires around down an aftermarket-upped auto civic tranny will keep the tires way warm
the aim is to keep the engine in the rpms with most power during as much of the race as possible and keeping a close-ratio tranny at a gearing where you just barely top out at the fastest point on the track. manual is 5 gears and you can slam into gear with a clutch at lightning speed (assuming you got the aftermarket gear to support slammin shifts), all while keeping that engine blastin. and if you know how to shift well, like at race speed, then you'll be poundin the pavement over an auto any day.
keep in mind tho, that a 5 speed civic ain't no indy car, no matter what u do. get a sportbike if you want true speed.
auto are 4 gears with overdrive, but gears are engaged with a torque converter. honda civic stock converters suck ***** no matter which way you look at it, so your shift time just plain blows. you can throw in lockers, converters, coolers, and custom gears, but the overdrive design will ultimately prevent you from puttin the power to the ground in the very top end (assuming that's the goal). if you want to shred tires around down an aftermarket-upped auto civic tranny will keep the tires way warm
the aim is to keep the engine in the rpms with most power during as much of the race as possible and keeping a close-ratio tranny at a gearing where you just barely top out at the fastest point on the track. manual is 5 gears and you can slam into gear with a clutch at lightning speed (assuming you got the aftermarket gear to support slammin shifts), all while keeping that engine blastin. and if you know how to shift well, like at race speed, then you'll be poundin the pavement over an auto any day.
keep in mind tho, that a 5 speed civic ain't no indy car, no matter what u do. get a sportbike if you want true speed.
Nothing works better than a Chris except a Honda.
Joined: May 2002
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From: Baltimore, MD
Rep Power: 346 Yeah, basically a combination of everything they said.
An automatic transmission is fairly complex and has more moving parts than a simple manual transmission. A mechanical job is being done instead o manual one. It causes more energy to be used which means more friction and more heat. Since the engines are the same, the energy that is supposed to go into the transmission actually gets lost as heat along the way. Couple that with the different gearing ratios, the auto's top end is a lot shorter than the top end of a manual and you notice the difference in the two after modding.
That is partly the reason that auto manufacturers are trying to creat alternatives to auto tranny's becusae of their design, they want more efficiency and better gearing.
An automatic transmission is fairly complex and has more moving parts than a simple manual transmission. A mechanical job is being done instead o manual one. It causes more energy to be used which means more friction and more heat. Since the engines are the same, the energy that is supposed to go into the transmission actually gets lost as heat along the way. Couple that with the different gearing ratios, the auto's top end is a lot shorter than the top end of a manual and you notice the difference in the two after modding.
That is partly the reason that auto manufacturers are trying to creat alternatives to auto tranny's becusae of their design, they want more efficiency and better gearing.
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