Yeah... What he said!
15% parasitic loss between engine and ground with a manual, 20% with a typical auto
tranny. There are ways to improve this, but if you use some tricks and lower your losses
to 18%, the same tricks will lower a manual to 13%... Aluminum driveshaft, for example,
makes a big difference.
Anyway, this whole scenario is a double edged sword.
Manuals put more power to the ground, but are harder to launch without wheelspin.
Autos are way more consistent. It's not that the other guy is spending time shifting,
it's the fact that he will never shift exactly the same EVERY time. Consistency wins
races and traction wins races. Manual tranny cars, being subject to human operation,
are at a disadvantage on both counts when running against an auto.
For pure fun, intimidation, and dyno bragging rights, the manual tranny is where it's at.
You will also notice that even though gears tend to make a car faster, lower gears will
register lower dyno numbers. I don't know why myself, but have seen it over and over.
Go from a stock low-3.00 gear to 4.10, no other changes, and you will lose dyno power.
But anyway how much would that be for switching to manual? im guessing like around $3,000?
), and boy,
