manual or auto for off road

[leon6128]

hi , everyone, i am looking a safari/patrol for off road. one of my friend told me auto is suck, go for manual, does he right? anyone can tell me more ? thanks

[T-Boon]

they both have advantages, and disadvantages,

Auto pro's:
Can chop from second to first easy and can gradually hill start

Auto Con's:
No engine breaking downhill, can be complicated.

Manual Pro`s:
Simple, strong, engine braking for downhill

Manual Con's:
Cant chop first when slowing easily without losing traction, have to slip clutch to hillstart without wheelspin.

Feel free to add guys.

I`ve used both and for sheer easynessand minimal driver skill auto is good.

[niblik]

Auto pros; good waterproofing, no clutch to get wet. Instant foot mash correct gear, poor mans crawler gears.

cons; can't push start in the bush, towin could be tricky, can engine brake but not as good as manual.

Manual pros; push start if battery/starter issues, engine braking.

cons; careful of clutch in water, gear selection/delay when needed instantly.

Ultimately, what terrain you drivin in and how do you pedal? So many varying aspects to consider prior. It really has been thrown around far too many times. Have a search and looky and you may find some good reading.

[mudtroll]

Manual - PTO winch

[Dr_PC]

only 2 feet, only 2 pedals

[crazyclark31]

auto by far.
IMHO you must run an external oil cooler though. Bigger is better.Heat destroys these things pretty quick

[Dirtydog]

ive always preffered auto, much simpler to change gears etc, in most cases my auto terrano has gone more places than manual ones just cause ive not needed a clutch.

[datsunsafari]

i have auto in my safari and find it alot better offroad than manual,yep more waterproof,no chance of stalling,better control,auto takes alot of the shock out of the drivetrain and is also lighter.shouldn,t have to worry about push starting or being towed its a safari

[Suza]

Manual - PTO winch

x2

[mayhem1982]

auto because i can make my mrs drive and drink booze

[Crash bandicoot]

Auto, there are more spare transmissions around then gearboxes..and when you lunch a band in a auto trans there's usually 2 or 3 other gears to choose from.

[fullthrottle]

I like the auto, but then again I've learnt to control mine. Some autos maybe a pile of rubbish.

The only bad thing I've found so far is that changing from first to reverse quickly in them can be a pain.
I found out when wedged between tree roots, wanted to rock the truck back and forth (1st to reverse to 1st etc etc) but waiting for the auto to change was a bit slow.

[leon6128]

thanks all, but why people told me the safari/patrol auto gear box quit easy broken than manual. is that true?

does the old land cruiser auto gear box better than safari?

[kbushnz]

thanks all, but why people told me the safari/patrol auto gear box quit easy broken than manual. is that true?

does the old land cruiser auto gear box better than safari?

I also have been told the Safari / Patrol auto's don't like getting hot and when they do they have a tendency to shed the linings which go thru the auto and stuff it. I saw one once on a club trip do just that on a moderate hill....But the owner did say the auto had been playing up lately.

However when extra cooling is provided with an external oil cooler they are no better or worse than most. (Trying to be diplomatic)

Personally I like my Auto but is a Toyota
The only real difference between Toyota and Nissan auto's is you can have a PTO winch in a Toyota auto as the pto is driven off the transfer-case.
The Nissan doesn't drive it off the transfercase and only the manual boxes have a pto output.

[Suza]

thanks all, but why people told me the safari/patrol auto gear box quit easy broken than manual. is that true?

does the old land cruiser auto gear box better than safari?

When I was shopping for mine the advicve I got from 3 different mechinacs was that a auto would be a bad move for me as I do alot iof heavy towing and heavy work and they were concerned that for my use the auto would be a big weak point.

[Crash bandicoot]

thanks all, but why people told me the safari/patrol auto gear box quit easy broken than manual. is that true?

does the old land cruiser auto gear box better than safari?

When I was shopping for mine the advicve I got from 3 different mechinacs was that a auto would be a bad move for me as I do alot iof heavy towing and heavy work and they were concerned that for my use the auto would be a big weak point.

once again. external coolers and holding the auto in a suitable gear when towing will last just as well as any manual.

[crazyclark31]

i Use my auto for towing nearly everyday and its never been an issue. Thats towing a 1 1/2ton digger or loads of gravel/timber.
Just like any gear box keeping it out of top gear(in this case o/d)goes a hell of a long way in keeping it cool. I have bypassed the factory cooling lines and run straight through and external 20 row cooler. The cooler is marginally big enough for what i do and am soon changing to a bigger one but it does keep the oil temp waaayyy down.
Again after having both and using them extensivly off road and for towing
I prfer the auto by far

mike

[hippy_]

I used to have a manual, then bought an 80 series and I'm in love with the auto in that. Low range and in "L" it has really good engine braking.

[leon6128]

anyone drive auto safari/patrol with factory turbo?

[Waddles]

i did but just converted mine to a manual. Drives alot better now with heaps more power. the auto that was in it packed a said still went alright with the auto before it went. i prefer the manual imho.

[XJCrawler]

Went Auto, and will never ever change to manual again for offroad.

You do have plenty of engine braking in an Auto!

Toyota Landcruisers have awesome engine braking in their autos. Safaris aren't too bad, depends on the decent. Pajeros are bad. The only thing you may prefer to do when decending something really steep in an auto is pre-load the TC, i.e. 1.5k revs then start your decent.

You've got much better throttle control and you're never in the wrong gear for what you're approaching offroad.

Only time I would prefer my truck to be manual is on the open road.

I think it really comes down to personally preference. - The debate between Auto and Manual's is endless for offroad purposes.

[XJCrawler]

hi , everyone, i am looking a safari/patrol for off road. one of my friend told me auto is suck, go for manual, does he right? anyone can tell me more ? thanks

Just on that note, the factory auto boxes aren't very strong. If it's rebuilt with heavy duty frictions, well thats a different story it will last just as long as the motor then.

I'd recommend a manual safari if that's what you really want. Or if you can find an auto one that's been rebuilt with heavy duty frictions nab that.

Otherwise if you really want an auto for offroad then a Landcruiser would set you right.

[XJCrawler]

i have auto in my safari and find it alot better offroad than manual,yep more waterproof,no chance of stalling,better control,auto takes alot of the shock out of the drivetrain and is also lighter.shouldn,t have to worry about push starting or being towed its a safari

Forgot about that, that should be considered a huge advantage over a manual.

Anyone know if running Simex's chew through CVs on autoboxes as much as manuals?

[datsunsafari]

^^^^forget about what?i also never mentioned anything about a huge advantage dont forget this was just my opinion,i am aloud one arn't i? i dont run simex's but i do run silverstones and my cv's are still fine(i have bent my front diff recently though )not to sure where your coming from?

[crazyclark31]

^^^^forget about what?i also never mentioned anything about a huge advantage dont forget this was just my opinion,i am aloud one arn't i? i dont run simex's but i do run silverstones and my cv's are still fine(i have bent my front diff recently though )not to sure where your coming from?

He wrote "i forgot about" Not forget about it. He was just wondering not having a go.

[kbushnz]

Anyone know if running Simex's chew through CVs on autoboxes as much as manuals?

I have been running Simex's for over a year now with an auto.
My CV's are still the original ones...And its a 94.....No issues to date...
I think CV's are more likely to fail due to driving style than what gearbox is fitted.

[datsunsafari]

^^^^forget about what?i also never mentioned anything about a huge advantage dont forget this was just my opinion,i am aloud one arn't i? i dont run simex's but i do run silverstones and my cv's are still fine(i have bent my front diff recently though )not to sure where your coming from?

He wrote "i forgot about" Not forget about it. He was just wondering not having a go.

ahh makes sense now,my fault read it wrong, my apologys xj no wonder i couldn't figure out where you were coming from,i must need bloody glasses or something must be turning into an old blind fool .so big sorry to you xj totally miss read your post

[XJCrawler]

^^^^forget about what?i also never mentioned anything about a huge advantage dont forget this was just my opinion,i am aloud one arn't i? i dont run simex's but i do run silverstones and my cv's are still fine(i have bent my front diff recently though )not to sure where your coming from?

He wrote "i forgot about" Not forget about it. He was just wondering not having a go.

ahh makes sense now,my fault read it wrong, my apologys xj no wonder i couldn't figure out where you were coming from,i must need bloody glasses or something must be turning into an old blind fool .so big sorry to you xj totally miss read your post

It's all good, happens on these sensitive topics lol.

Interesting about the tyres. A manual Safari owner in my club runs simex's and is on his 3rd set of front cvs in 12 months. To be fair he is a hooligan occassionally, I think his 2nd set of cvs weren't genuine probs why they didn't last so long. lol