Auto verses Manual

[sujitroy]

Took my wife out to a friend's house in the manual Stag. She says she hates it. She prefers the auto. She doesn't like me gear changing. I just love it. I cant really compare as the auto needs all new bushes and I've always been dogged by smooth running issues and a whining diff.

Sujit

[Roy_S]

For me the standard Stag 3 speed auto was a bit of a slush box, it was in keeping with the time but I never really got on with any auto of that time frame most of which were Ford.
Roll forward some years and my wife who only drives autos has gone through a few cars over the years of which the 4 speed auto cars were the worst as the gearing was too spaced and made the car reluctant to kick down unless you manually selected, wife always said these cars dragged through the gears. Current car is a 5 speed auto Mokka, she loves it.

My search for a Stag was for a manual with OD, and that's what I got, my everyday car now is a Jaguar, that has an 8 speed box, easy to drive, always finds the right gear, has paddles, I play sometimes.

So with the background covered what would I chose today, probably manual again, but if a 5 speed converted auto Stag came up I'd be tempted, maybe one day will do to mine.

No disrespect to auto owners out there, they are kind of in character for the time, just not the time for me.

[singapore stag]

I still have to drive my manaul Stag yet. Its a new box, but I am not sure how its going to go, have a feeling its going to give me loads of problems...it got new slave, new clutch new everything on it, I have only put it in first and fouth gear to push it about in the garage, found it very notchy and difficult to engage gears.
If I had the choice I would have got a ZF, and bin my top of the range Dents classic driving gloves

[trunt]

My wife’s current car is her first ever to be automatic, I actually had to talk her into it but It is a DSG so not a slush box and she now says she is glad I convinced her.. This does not prevent her from complaining if I mess up a gear change in the Stag or MGB.

I have been driving American company cars for 32 years - all were auto, all were awful, I broke quite a few! My daily car now is DSG as well and I’m happy with it, paddles and all but as far as classics go I’m for manual all the way, with Overdive of course!

[wilf]

I must be weird - I absolutely love the "slushiness" of the 3 speed auto.

[Goldstar]

I must be weird - I absolutely love the "slushiness" of the 3 speed auto.

Too tempting...I’m the opposite. Just got rid of my auto which I bought 3 months ago as I couldn’t enjoy it doing 3200 rpm at 60mph. I’ll be on the lookout for a ZF or MOD

[DJT]

First Stag (1989 to 2008) was a MOD Mk1. Drove that one for 60,000 miles, but had the gearbox out 5 times for various reasons. Finally got it sorted with a nice clutch and managed to crash it .

Second Stag (2008 to date) was a BW35 3-Speed Auto. Drive that one for 20,000 miles and, other than high rpm at speed, thought it suited the Stag. Converted it myself to ZF 4-Speed in 2014 and have driven it for 26,000 miles since and am happy that it is the best compromise. Auto to suit the character of the Stag, coupled with smoother change than the BW35 and low cruising rpm at speed.

[JJF]

Each to their own, for me it's a manual, it's part of the driving experience.

[DJT]

Each to their own, for me it's a manual, it's part of the driving experience.

Indeed, we are all different.

Personally, driving in modern traffic, taking one hand off the wheel whilst juggling feet is an unnecessary distraction. Enjoying the Stag in a relaxed manner is my choice now. It was never meant to be a sports car.
My current modern is a 7-speed auto, the first time I’ve chosen auto for my everyday car and I love it. If I want a bit of excitement I can select Sport and get off the line at quite a pace.

[Jeff]

Too tempting...I’m the opposite. Just got rid of my auto which I bought 3 months ago as I couldn’t enjoy it doing 3200 rpm at 60mph. I’ll be on the lookout for a ZF or MOD

You should have kept the poo brown one, DTD.

[Jeff]

Indeed, we are all different.

Personally, driving in modern traffic, taking one hand off the wheel whilst juggling feet is an unnecessary distraction. Enjoying the Stag in a relaxed manner is my choice now. It was never meant to be a sports car.
My current modern is a 7-speed auto, the first time Iâve chosen auto for my everyday car and I love it. If I want a bit of excitement I can select Sport and get off the line at quite a pace.

Many years ago, I drove to work along a certain road and counted changing from first gear to second gear and back again 34 times, plus a bad back played havoc with the clutch, I changed to auto and have never been tempted back to manual since. Occasional hire car in Spain also a problem so shipped my auto Volvo convertible over there, bliss!

[RobinLegin]

My Stag had the BW65 box. Anything over 60mph was noisy with motorway cruising unbearable at about 3,800 rpm. Hoping to head off to the Alpine passes this summer I invested in the T&L hp 4 speed box. It is really a 5 speed box when after about 47 mph it locks into direct drive rather than working through the torque converter. The spacing of the gears between 1 to 4 is about right, and kick down finds the right gear as needed. It has transformed my Stag and I would not wish to change to a manual. 70 mph is now at a quiet 2,500 rpm which allows me to enjoy hearing the V8 burble rather than the engine revving away. Plus the mpg has improved noticeably.

Management was reluctant to change her daily driver to auto. But she did 2 cars ago and would not consider anything else. Hers has a 7 speed whilst mine is 8 speed. Both are just as quick as any manual. I don’t bother using the paddles either.

[trunt]

It seems that the trend here is that we like modern autos, they have come a long way since the 70’s!

I also rarely use the paddles but will occasionally engage the Audi’s launch control.. whoooshhh!!!

[Mark S]

I converted my Stag from auto to MOD. The previous owner had fitted a tall diff but the high revs was still a PITA at anything above 50mph.

MOD gearbox transformed the performance and driving experience. Best £300 I spent on the car.

I still don't like driving autos, even DSG/STronic/PDK.

[Alacrity]

I LOVE auto's - they pay the mortgage & for the Stag resto!!