Auto vs. Std transmission life?

[zyewdall]

I feel that the Subaru 4EAT AWD is actually superior to the 5MT AWD, as far as overall traction goes.

 

Huh? I have never driven the newer subaru's in snow, but this statement conflicts with my experience with other auto vs manuals. In deep snow you sometimes have to intentionally spin the wheels to dig your way through, and the manual transmissions seem to handle this alot better -- more control of exactly what speed the wheels are turning since the gear ratio is rigidly locked. In 4wd trucks at least. Now, my subaru GL does much better than my truck already, so I am open to it being different for the auto too. But it still seems to contradict what I'd expect.

[zyewdall]

Why are we saying that a 5sp is harder to sell? I know here in madison that the dealers used lot is full of autos and anytime a manual comes in it is gone just as fast. It seems to me that subaru is a brand that attracts those of us who prefer to shift for ourselves.

 

Yeah, here in Colorado it's very hard to sell an automatic car, unless you get someone who is from Denver and drives in city traffic all the time. Otherwise, most people I know prefer manuals (and not just for subarus). Too many mountains I think.

[Distance Commuter]

Why are we saying that a 5sp is harder to sell?...

 

OK, I'm the one who posted that idea here recently.

 

Guess the demand is different in different places. Around here (Northeast) it seems the dealers are selling mostly auto tranny's regardless of new or used, and the standards turn up in more often in classifieds etc. being sold by the owners - or at the donated-to-charity sales lot that I check out occasionally.

[mtsmiths]

Huh? I have never driven the newer subaru's in snow, but this statement conflicts with my experience with other auto vs manuals. In deep snow you sometimes have to intentionally spin the wheels to dig your way through, and the manual transmissions seem to handle this alot better -- more control of exactly what speed the wheels are turning since the gear ratio is rigidly locked. In 4wd trucks at least. Now, my subaru GL does much better than my truck already, so I am open to it being different for the auto too. But it still seems to contradict what I'd expect.

 

I'm gonna dispute with you here. As you can see (from my above post), I have over 300,000 miles in Subarus, all in snow country. OH, and on my list I forgot the '95 Leg. A/T AWD, but that was only 12,000 miles or so.

 

I will say that hands-down our AWD auto is FAR better in snow than any of the 5-spds. Mind you, the GL-10a with the DR 5spds were GREAT off road, but for daily driving in snow, ice and just generally nasty conditions the auto AWD is far more stable, sure-footed, and less likely to get stuck.

 

I used to tell people how great the Subaru was 'cause if you got bent outta shape you just reached down and snagged into 4WD on the fly and it straightened right out. With the AWD you just stay on track and never get squirrley to start with.

 

I've lived in snow country for much of my life (not ALL mind you), and owned a wide range of 4WD rigs, from a '50 Dodge Power Wagon through a few others ... Jeepster, Toyota FJ-40, Suzuki Sidekick, and several Subarus some sticks, some autos.

 

Most people when they spin their wheels just bury themselves, the average driver will fare much better with an auto, and the Subaru AWD system is great.

 

Mind you, I haven't driven a manual AWD, so I could stand corrected.

[The Dude]

Huh? I have never driven the newer subaru's in snow, but this statement conflicts with my experience with other auto vs manuals. In deep snow you sometimes have to intentionally spin the wheels to dig your way through, and the manual transmissions seem to handle this alot better -- more control of exactly what speed the wheels are turning since the gear ratio is rigidly locked. In 4wd trucks at least. Now, my subaru GL does much better than my truck already, so I am open to it being different for the auto too. But it still seems to contradict what I'd expect.

 

You're close, one thing you can do with a MT that you should NEVER do with an AT is rock the car back and forth to break loose from a rut in the snow or ice. However, one very cool thing that an AT can do that a MT can't is increase torque to the wheels without the wheels having to move.

That's why many people, myself included, feel that, overall, an AT is better on snow and for towing. BTW, rocking back and forth is not recommended even with an MT. If you're not carefull you could break a gear tooth.

[nipper]

Huh? I have never driven the newer subaru's in snow, but this statement conflicts with my experience with other auto vs manuals. In deep snow you sometimes have to intentionally spin the wheels to dig your way through, and the manual transmissions seem to handle this alot better -- more control of exactly what speed the wheels are turning since the gear ratio is rigidly locked. In 4wd trucks at least. Now, my subaru GL does much better than my truck already, so I am open to it being different for the auto too. But it still seems to contradict what I'd expect.

 

Manuals are fixed at 50/50 torque split. Autos range from 10/90 to 50/50 depending on what the puter decides. That is how the car can increase its torque without appling more throttle

 

nipper

[nipper]

Can you flush a Subie auto tranny easily in a driveway?? For our non-Subarus with auto tranny, the procedure is

 

0) Car & engine should be cold, so volume of fluid removed is known.

1) Pull plug at bottom of tranny fluid pan, drain what comes out (1-2 qt.), reinsert plug.

2) Replace the 1-2 qt.

3) Disconnect one fluid cooling line at radiator

4) Idle the motor to remove 2 qt.

5) Add 2 qt. new fluid

Repeat 4 & 5 till you've put in a total of 15 qt. (assuming system capacity of 10 qt).

6) Reconnect the tranny fluid line.

 

Can you do this on a Subie?

 

Way less expensive than a commercial tranny flush, and nearly as fast, if you count the time spent driving and waiting at the shop.

 

NONO NO

 

your close.

tranny fluid should be warm. Drive car on ramps. Drain fluid pan, refill tranny. Drive car around block. Put car back on ramps. repeat till all the fluid is replaced. NEVER use a running car to drain fluid via a coolant line. This is the lazy way to do it, but if you miss calculate or get distracted you just wiped out the front pump. Personally if i ever saw anyone use that method on my car they would meet the tire iron. That can be a 2500.00 mistake, or a 600.00 one with a used tranny. No where would you find any manual for any car condoning this,

 

nipper

[zyewdall]

You're close, one thing you can do with a MT that you should NEVER do with an AT is rock the car back and forth to break loose from a rut in the snow or ice. However, one very cool thing that an AT can do that a MT can't is increase torque to the wheels without the wheels having to move.

That's why many people, myself included, feel that, overall, an AT is better on snow and for towing. BTW, rocking back and forth is not recommended even with an MT. If you're not carefull you could break a gear tooth.

 

Didn't think about the ability to increase torque at a standstill. For towing I can see it as a definite advantage, but, I'm still confused on why that's necessarily better in snow? I remember my dad used to start in 2nd gear in the snow in his old 2wd pickup sometimes, because 1st with the big v-8 engine would just break the tires loose and spin -- too much torque.

 

Also, when I say snow, I usually think of a foot or so of unplowed stuff on a dirt road -- not an inch of icey slushy stuff on a paved road. I suspect that we're not all talking about the same thing when we say "snow"