Hmmm. For me the car seems to lag a whole lot in manual mode. I just stick to the auto mode for comfortability and clean shifts.

 

Seems much more responsive to me in MM mode. Dunno if thats from the transgo shift kit or not though.

 

My best ET/MPHs (14.3s@98-100mph) were done with both auto and manual. I let the car shift the 1-2 itself, then I'd shift the 2-3, and hold 3rd to the finish. I was slower in full auto because the car upshifts out of 3rd way too early (14.6s). In full manual I was slower because the torque management deadens the 1-2 shift too much (14.7s). For whatever reason, torque management isn't engaged when letting the tranny shift the 1-2 itself. The 04.5+ car don't seem to have such a hyperactive TM on the 1-2 shift. All other gears I don't feel TM.

Now that I've got the 3.5 gears, 3rd is only good to 93mph or so. Next time at the strip, I'll let the car shift itself through 3rd and then manually shift into 4th.

On the auto-x, MM is mandatory.

 

Guys, I'm not talking about a huge night and day difference in response between MM and auto, but to me it's noticeable. In my car as well as my friend's base 03 5AT sedan, throttle response in MM (auto shifting) during part-throttle driving feels slightly deadened and automatic shifts in MM (auto shifting, talking 03/04 sedans here) feel slightly less direct. During full throttle and full throttle shifts, both modes feel basically the same. To me, around town driving feels a bit more responsive in auto except for the fact that the TCM seeks 5th fairly quickly. When driving around town in MM, I usually leave it in 4th for more response. The improved part-throttle response in auto has me leaving stop lights much quicker than in MM (auto shifting).

 

if your throttle is not responsive enough in mm you are in the wrong gear then

 

I'm not talking about gears. I'm talking about the responsiveness of the pedal itself. It's more linear like a cable throttle when in auto. In MM, there's a slightly dead spot right at tip-in when starting out in 1st in MM. The pedal response at part-throttle, overall, feel slower in MM than in auto, gear to gear. There's definitely some tuning differences between pedal response in auto and MM, at least in my car. At full throttle above 3800rpms, there's no difference in the pedal response between the two modes. Both will snap my neck in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd if I mash it from a roll.

 

Oh I thought you were talking about shifts... sorry I totally read wrong. The throttle response on my MM seems faster to me. Car feels much more torquey.

 

...thats the point, the car downshifts in auto for you and you dont even notice it, just barely touching the throttle in auto and my car is in 3rd if im on the freeway, and if i just put it in 3rd in manual it feels identical to me, might be because my car is 04.5