re manual shift bigots in a previous article eric youngblood says in article apr engr washington edu eliot stalfos engr washington edu eliot writes race car stuff deleted back to the f stuff for a second note that the auto tranny in f still shifts at the driver s command not some preselected schedule the driver still controls the shifting not the transmission now there is no dispute that in production cars automatics are inherently more lossy than manuals that is in theory my point all along is that whatever mechanical advantages a manual has over an automatic can very easily be lost by a driver who isn t skillful or one thing that gives an automatic an advantage at launch is the fact that it has a torque converter vs a clutch i know this sounds strange but a torque converter multiplies the engine output when launching it functions as a sort of limited continuously variable transmission typically you get a torque multiplication of to times depending on the stall speed i have yet to see a torque multiplier installed on a production automobile such systems do exist but none are presently installed in production autos that i am aware of these are commonly called viscous drive cvts or fluidic amplifiers contrasted to a clutch which merely slips when feathered result is no tq mult what the convertor does allow is for the engine to be closer to its torque peak during the launch before a clutched car can fully engage it s driveline chevy proved it many years ago with the camaro ets and terminal mile times were close enough tpo be identical for speed and auto cars note that this is also the major reason that an auto car can get away with fewer gears than a manual the slip in the convertor makes up for the fewer ratios and before everyone starts yelling about the proposed sspeed autos soon to be out note that some manufacturers are using speed manulas now once past lauch however the converter begins coupling and the tq multiplication effect is reduced but by then you should be on the cam correct al bowers dod alfa ducati hobie kottke blad iaido nasa well goodness sakes don t you know that girls can t play guitar mary chapin carpenter
