Vitara auto trans - good or crap?

[bang-thud-thump]

I tried a search for this so sorry if I missed something obvious.

Im still shopping.

Are the early model 1600 autos any good? As per I figure they will use a bit more gas than a manual.

It will be mostly on road usage.

Manuals worth looking at are real thin on the ground it seems.

Cheers.

[Zooky]

I think you'll find that like any auto vehicle with a 1600 engine, it will feel quite underpowered and lethargic, especially if you are used to something a little gruntier.

Offroad, the auto is not a bad option but I would not want one personally for on-road driving.

Best option would be to take one of each for a drive and see what you think, it will most likely just be a preference thing.

[kernels]

FWIW I've never heard anyone complain about problems with the auto boxes, the manuals are well known to get quite noisy with age.

[bang-thud-thump]

Cheers, I was more meaning from the reliability angle than driving performance.

[lincooln]

Autos are reliable as. they use the same boxes in some of the bigger GM products in the USA too, ones with V6's and the like bolted to them. A mate of mine who loves his zook autos has said they are near to bulletproof

[bang-thud-thump]

Cheers, good info

[Heath]

Autos are reliable as. they use the same boxes in some of the bigger GM products in the USA too, ones with V6's and the like bolted to them. A mate of mine who loves his zook autos has said they are near to bulletproof

I had heard the same. Supposed to be trimatic based (3 speeds only), not sure what the 4 speeds are though.

[Big-AL]

i find the the 3 speed autos rev very high at 100kms (its been a while since i had one, 3500rpm? +) i find my 4 speed is really good at 100km.

[crzyfl]

Got a spare manual box if you are still interested in one.

[strx7]

manuals rev alot more at 100k's than the autos do. from memory the manuals pull around 3600rpm at 100kph and the autos (overdrive type) pull 3000.
the overdrive type auto found in the 16v's are pretty good, the non overdrive type trans's aren't as good.

[crzyfl]

Three speed autos (without overdrive) pull 3600 at 100kms. That is with standard size wheels. Going to 31s dropped my revs to 3050 revs. Fuel efficiency was better with the high revs.

[lneil]

If anyone's still interested in this topic, a good mate who is an auto transmission specialist confirms that the old 3-speed is basically a small-scale tri-matic and pretty basic & indestructible. I run both a 3-speed auto and a 5-speed manual, with both having pros and cons.

Biggest piece of advice, if you use a 3-speed auto for off-roading, get the torque converter modified to a more high-stall configuration to let it pull higher revs and access more (of the very limited) power at low speeds. The apalling fuel consumption on big tyres will get even worse, but hey, we don't build these for commuting do we?

[crzyfl]

If anyone's still interested in this topic, a good mate who is an auto transmission specialist confirms that the old 3-speed is basically a small-scale tri-matic and pretty basic & indestructible. I run both a 3-speed auto and a 5-speed manual, with both having pros and cons.

Biggest piece of advice, if you use a 3-speed auto for off-roading, get the torque converter modified to a more high-stall configuration to let it pull higher revs and access more (of the very limited) power at low speeds. The apalling fuel consumption on big tyres will get even worse, but hey, we don't build these for commuting do we?

Give some details on the modification. You have my interest.

[lneil]

Super simple. Get your friendly auto-trans guy to do it for you if you're not equipped or confident to do it, but basically it's just cutting back on the torque converter vanes to make it less efficient at locking up. That means it pulls more revs to spin the output at a given speed, hence less efficiency but better access to the power band.

Its commonly done by anyone who has the need for more power at lower speeds.

[crzyfl]

Super simple. Get your friendly auto-trans guy to do it for you if you're not equipped or confident to do it, but basically it's just cutting back on the torque converter vanes to make it less efficient at locking up. That means it pulls more revs to spin the output at a given speed, hence less efficiency but better access to the power band.

Its commonly done by anyone who has the need for more power at lower speeds.

Great thanks. Sounds simple much appreciated