Actually....there hasn't been any hard evidence that manumatic is faster than the automatic mode at accelaration, you might think it is....but there hasn't been any proof just yet. I haven't seen anyone do back to back runs on a track with both modes. Sure it seems like you are doing a better job at shifting, but are you really doing any better than the computer? Not likely.

Since you want highest performance at accelaration, that means the automatic tranny will never downshift when you don't want it to, and thats the biggest complaint people have about auto trannys. At full throttle all the tranny has to do is shift up, and if you think you are better at that than a computer, then more power to you.

But if you have proof that the manumatic mode is somehow more supperior, I know me and a lot of other people would like to see this proven.


CB 5AT - SAC, CA

 

i dunno if this fits into this category but... here it goes...
my friend has cl-s auto which has manumatic mode too... he went to track and his car is bone stock and he ran constantly 15 flat on 1/4 mile without manuamtic mode... but when he runs with manumatic he constantly runs 14.8-9 range... it's not due to manumatic got more performance but it's due to he can control rpm like manual... he told me that if he puts on auto and floor it tranny is likely shift about 3-500 before redline but with manumatic, he can even go over redline little bit than shift up... i never droven manumatic around so that's what i heard so don't flame me at this issue... i'm just let u know what i heard...

EDIT: I called him to verify that i wrote correctly and he told me 14.8 when he go over redline little bit like 300-500 and 14.9 when he shift right at redline...
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by uheenada on 07/06/03 09:53 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

I drive in manunatic about 80% of the time. I definatelly feel the car being more responsive in that mode. For one you know when you want to downshift to get some speed and are prepared, the computer has no clue, and will take a lot longer in auto mode. Thats one advantage and a big one at that. Imagine seeing a somewhat small opening in a faster moving lane. In manumatic you can downshift lets say from 4th to 3rd and wait for the empty spot to catch up to you and then punch it. At that point you are close to the 4k range and have all the power waiting right there. In auto it will trake a second or so to downshift and then accelerate, not even a comparison. I love the manumatic mode. I have done fast starts in both modes, and in auto it is very good, but i think it might be a bit faster in manumatic, because you can take it closer to the limit, but then it could also just be my imagination. There is no way to get the same feeling of driving in 3rd or 4th or any gear for that matter at around 3k rpm and having that push when you hit the gas in auto. Sometimes I regreat not getting the 6 speed but then those 20% of the time I am so glad I didnt. If this car didnt have the manumatic I probably would at this point be trading it in for stick, or never gotten the auto to begin with.

 

Several folks have addressed it, but perhaps not specifically highlighted the most important element (imho) of control exercised in the manumatic mode. Control retains balance, and more important than anything else, when approaching your or the car's limit, is balance. This is especially evident in CORNERING.
My best example, for those not getting out into the back roads enough (cities need more "back roads,"- city planners suck ;o) ), is really cracking an offramp. Not as big a deal on the on-ramp since entry speed is not usually as great. Offramp approaching: Quick look down, entry speed 110 mph (yellow sign says 35-40 would be a good idea, the gentleman in the black and white would agree with the sign, just double it for starters). You figure 90 should fit the bill with apex around 75, but there's a decreasing radius you want to dial out by getting from the inside line at the apex over to the runoff, a foot over the white on the other side, just prior to exit. As much as this might sound fabricated, I can think of a hundred such ramps here in southern ontario and throughout Canada, at the very least. The decrease is there for a reason- to slow you down (traffic calming is the technical term; I like them because they make for fun frying the brains of car salesmen when they come along for a test drive ) )
Getting on the initial stab or the trailing brake, then pushing on some gradual throttle followed by a pause with maybe a touch on the brake and then a hard throttle punch on departure. All these can massively confuse an AT in auto mode. In manumatic, the whole exercise can be a snick to fourth down the straight part of the entry with a drop to 3rd prior to turn-in, and the next time you change gears is at redline on exit. The back end doesn't twitch with an unexpected downshift or two, and the car accelerates with balance in cornering, rather than suddenly grabbing a gear (sudden downshift on entry, or worse, 5th to 3rd or 4th to 2nd and the ensuing tail wag on exit.)
It's great that the car doesn't make decisions for you the way the German tiptronics do, (BMW, VW, Merc...) where they shift at redline. Again, more control to the driver in the G.

To finish off, my buddy has driven every G competitor plus a whole bunch more in his quest for a new set of wheels. For him, money is not an object. He and I have raced motorcycles for more than 20 years. He knows the importance a tranny plays in not only the performance of a car, but also the confidence it brings the driver in the car. In his opinion, the G35 5AT is the high watermark in manumatics. Just one guy's opinion, but one I value a lot.

DB