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Old Technology That is Still Better Than It's Modern Day Tech Replacement
- Thread starter FingerDub
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- modern old replacement tech
Since when do automatic trans get better milage than manual?
It is funny how diverse opinions can be. I had a F.injected motorcycle and I was so disappointed with the EFI overall performance that I had to either sell the bike or convert it to carb. I did the conversion and now I know for sure that EFI is not my thing.
Since the last few years; it's not exactly breaking news.
Americans don't want manual transmissions, by and large (how will we have hands free for our tablets and phones?), and car manufacturers have upped their AT game considerably. It's no longer grandpa's three-in-the-tree or four-on-the-floor. Modern ATs have up to nine or ten speeds (wider overall ratio available than with MT), smarter computer control, and various other trickerations that do increase efficiency. Throw in the DCT and that's another item. And if you count a CVT as an 'automatic transmission,' they're efficient too.
If a car is offered with both a MT and an AT (which might be a CVT), it is now more common for the AT/CVT to get better fuel economy than the MT. Add to this the idea that you'll never have to replace a clutch disc (hopefully), add to this the convenience factor (esp if you have a high-traffic commute), add to this that on some cars the MT is the more expensive option... ATs are becoming the way to go for a lot of people.
Although I consider myself a die-hard MT fan, I try not to be stupid about it. Bought a Subaru and drove both versions; bought the AT for resale and was glad I made that choice. Bought a Volvo *because* it had the AT; the MT/clutch were horrid. My current car has the MT and I like it, and it's a good thing: shifting a LOT is required. FWIW, fuel economy rating was the same either way.
This brings up a point of stock-to-stock or stock-to-aftermarket. In the same way that carb'd bikes came lean from the factory, so do EFI bikes. The bummer is that with carb'd bikes it's a cheap fix and with EFI it's an expensive one, and I'm not happy about having to spend that kind of money. My first EFI bike had a flat spot at 3500rpm and I was annoyed but got used to it. My last EFI bike was totally transformed by the Termi pipes and ECU. Not only was it (a bit) more hp and torque, the rideability was improved dramatically.
That said - a computer swap is something I can do myself at home. I have neither the skills nor the tools to balance a rack of carburetors.
DE razors and wet shaving in general. My 1960's Gillette Super Speed combined with a proper shave brush and soap gives a superior shave to any modern razor/ canned cream. It is also far less expensive.
Most hand tools. Most modern hand tools ( and many power tools) are inferior to vintage equivalents.
The same can be said for firearms.
Most hand tools. Most modern hand tools ( and many power tools) are inferior to vintage equivalents.
The same can be said for firearms.
Maps.
Nothing against GPS and the Nav apps on smart phones, but I just dig maps.
Nothing against GPS and the Nav apps on smart phones, but I just dig maps.
That's part of the beauty of it! With a great vintage analog synth, THAT sound doesn't refer to any exact tone. It's the overall sound and feel of the synth that, IMO, can't be captured by trying to imitate the natural, beautifully imperfect oscillation, detuning, etc., that's comes naturally with analog synths.The problem with analog synths being that you can never get that sound twice.
You might not get that exact sound twice, but you'll always have the overall tone that only comes from authentic vintage analog.
My five speed Plymouth Colt was hands down the easiest stick car I've ever driven, and being a mechanic for the last 34 years you can imagine I've driven a bunch of stick cars. Otoh, the Muncie with a Ram ceramic clutch in my 68 SS396 ElCamino was about the worst I've driven.
Since light weight internals and lockup converters became commonplace.
My old 454 powered 79 Chevy K20 with a Quadrajet was a towing machine and got 10 mpg. My neighbor's 2016 F350 with the 6.2 gas engine struggles to tow what my Chevy could and even with EFI and a six speed automatic trans it gets the same mileage the 79 Chevy did.
I never got to fool with anything that exotic. The guy I learned fuel systems from had an old E type Jag with a straight six and three webbers. It looked a lot like this.
Yes, and I'll take a good, old analog mixer over these new fangled digital ones any day of the week. And while we're at it, give me back my 16 track tape recorder over these new fangled computer/DAW thingies.
