Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 00:22:23 -0400
Reply-To: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject: Re: Manual or AT?
In-Reply-To: <BB8672C5.A42%cmathis@houston.rr.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
When the snow gets to be more than a couple of inches deep, you may
find it difficult to get moving (especially uphill). A manual
transmission is easy to switch between 1st and reverse...and do it in
time with the natural rocking of the vehicle. All automatics I've
driven there is just enough of a delay to make this extremely difficult.
In an automatic you are at the mercy of the transmission as to what
gear you are in (while you can specify a LOWER gear, you can NOT
specify and get a HIGHER gear). At slow speeds that means you are in 1.
In a manual transmission I can start the vehicle in 2nd. That is
important so that you keep the wheels moving but NOT spinning. Spinning
tire(s)==no control. This is especially true on ice.
Front wheel drive vehicles have an advantage in snow, over rear drive
vehicles, in that the drive wheels are also the directional wheels. In
deep snow the front wheels (of rear drive vehicles) become rudders.
Nowadays you can get 4 wheel drive in an automatic. These vehicles will
probably perform better...but if you get stuck, the manual transmission
can allow you to rock the vehicle out of the deep stuff and get going
again. The automatics I've seen, just can't do that (I have seen folks
spinning front and rear wheels, though I wasn't in a position to see if
it was all 4 wheels or only the 2 on the side I was on.)
Regardless, my Syncros are among the best snow vehicles I've seen.
Weight (to punch through the snow), clearance (to get over the snow and
not bog down in it) and, of course, the all wheel drive (and locking
differentials if it gets really nasty).
When it snows in the mid-Atlantic, my automatics go in to hibernation
and my Syncros get a lot of travel time.
On Thursday, September 11, 2003, at 07:43 PM, Chuck Mathis wrote:
> Please explain.
>
> My '85 automatic was excellent in the snow and ice in Ohio (haven't
> had much
> experience with that since moving to Texas). The smooth power
> transfer and
> forced gradual starts seems to me to be an ideal snow and ice
> combination
> much like the diesel Rabbit I drove in Alaska.
