A Mate has been looking at cars recently, and we found a manual EF Futura. He's not interested, but I might be.

Just wondering how much difference there is speed and power wise between a stock Auto and manual EF? I Would obviously have less luxury, but I wouldn't mind losing the leather etc.

I suggest work it out for your self, go tyre kick an auto ef or el take it for a drive and then smae day take the manual for a drive.

manuals are awesome, but as froudey said, take it for a drive and see if its for you


something to keep in mind though, depending on how mechanically minded you are, you could always try doing a manual conversion to your car. that way you get manual and keep all the luxo stuff

or you could go the other way, if the futura is cheap enough and you can get enough for yours, and build it up to luxo spec.

too many options

You can get to 95 in first gear at redline with a 3.08 diff and auto, and (from memory, its been a while) around 70 with a manual....

With the ratio difference obviously one is heaps quicker off the line. Also torque converters munch power compared to a clutch set up (I think around 30% difference in efficiency).

The EF Ghia I have at the moment has a very fresh Auto, so I'm thinking that will minimise the power the auto takes away.
I'll have to drive a manual and see, at the moment I'm leaning towards a manual conversion to mine.

Cheers guys

ive had my fairmont converted to manual, then back to auto again...... both have their merits. These are my thoughts, and others may or may not agree

Manual...

PROS: it went a f**k harder with the manual due to the nicer gear ratios, it was also nice to pick what gear you wanted to be in rather than being in too high of a gear when coasting short sections of road like an auto tends to do. Car feels alot more alive, and theres less drivetrain loss which equates to more power at the wheels. Even though T5's are weak, behind an n/a falcon they seem to be alright, and replacing the clutch was the only problem i encountered. Gearbox itself is relatively light

CONS: I noticed fuel consumption was worse no matter how "easy" i drove. Firewall and pedalbox re-inforcments are a neccessity, although i was lucky not to have those probs and never got around to doing it. Cant really drive whilst eating macca's. Car will feel more jerky & rougher to drive.

Auto....

PROS: Smooooth to drive and fuel consumption is alot better. Can still get O.K. performance out of it with a higher stall and 4.11 diff gears for example. Can eat maccas while driving.

CONS: All the f**k niggly BTR problems that pop up and cost too much to fix. s**t BTR gearing, which even diff gears cant fix. Gearbox weighs a tonne compared to a T5

Dude - I can eat Maccas just fine driving my T5 manual EF wagon. Depends exactly where you are, I guess... But I can drive right through the middle of the city and up country hills drinking coffee and eating, just put the steering wheel in the lowest position and use ya knee when you have to. Changing gears with right hand isn't that complicated, neither is steering with your left. Whatever.

It is interesting to note that you had a seemingly more hostile response to the CONS for AUTO.

The fuel consumption issue is odd. I have been getting better fuel consumption out of manual than auto... I have been getting far worse tyre wear though. The rear tyres seem to loose their tread quicker with the manual....


Tyres aren't cheap if you go through a rear set every six months...


Anyways...

Once all the bits were sourced I was surprised at how converting an auto to manual goes so smoothly. If you buy a manual EF and want the leather and everything I'd suggest putting the manual into the car with the nicest paint and interior... If the car with the manual has the nicest paint and panel, and a better motor, then I'd start swapping interiors.

Hell, I have a lot of time and no money, so that's what I'd do.

You can always pick and choose all the best bits between the two vehicles if you end up owning them.

If I had money, I'd buy it. If I had money, I'd have no time, and therefore I wouldn't buy it.

Helpful? Nope, not one bit. Sorry.

fiend yes the cons against the auto have p****d me off, but the pros of the auto being so much smoother carried the most weight in the trade off for me personally

at first i focused on making my car a rough 'n loud no-frills falcon that had some big cam, super short gearing etc.

but got over that after awhile and missed how smooth the car drove when i first bought it almost like a new car, so i converted back to an auto, fitted leather interior & nice wheels to make it a cruiser again. Once i get this auto either replaced or fixed, i will be 100% happy keeping it auto

manual EF will go harder than an auto ef, in the same respective condition.

though you have a ghia, and as long as its built from 96 onwards you would have xr motor and diff, meaning improved performance.

manual better for the driving enthusiast, auto better as a daily driver.

Im currently in the process of a manual conversion, and fervently wish i had of payed a profesional to do the job.

one has 5 gears and a clutch one has 4 gears with out a clutch

Yeah. I know the feeling (well, I don't, but the kids do)...

The kids are saying to their Mum "Mum, why does Fiendipoo bother doing all this stuff to this car? It was way smoother before he started Mum... He should have just left everything standard..."

That is taking it too far. STANDARD! Bloody kids. Idiots.

The missus complained about missing a couple of gears. I said "where was your money when I was trying to find a gearbox for all those months and could never afford a whole one so ended up with a pile of s**t?"

She's not complaining about it much now.

I never followed you with the whole low gear ratio thing as I like a little bit of fuel economy and with the 3.23:1 diff it is a little higher geared for those highway cruising speeds.

I did like the top gear in the auto better than the top gear in the manual. Not sure about everyone elses, but my engine just runs along sweet at 1600 rpm. It'll even pull itself up little gradient hills in fourth gear with cruise control on at 50km/h. WHY oh WHY do I now have to do over 2000rpm to do a semi-decent highway cruise? That is the biggest annoyance for me and my manual.

Obviously my vote is for manual. I currently own a manual futura, and an auto mont, both EFs.

Manual uses less fuel, whilst revving higher at 100kmhr. Its also ridiculously quicker - and yeh I'm comparing it to when it was stock.

Having the car in whatever gear I tell it to be in is also a massive plus in my books.
And as for being jerkier, initial takeoff probably is, but other than that if you can change gears smoothly, then its just as smooth as an auto.

As my manual sits now with all the usual NA mods (cam, ext+exh, intake, chip) + a 3.45 diff, it uses even less fuel then it did stock!!

Eating and driving is also piss easy, 3rd gear is awesome - can do like 5kms an hour without stalling, and 60kms and hour without sounding like a tryhard.

Also, I can get from 1st to 5th without touching the accelerator, over about a 50m stretch of road.


I also miss nothing that the Mont has when I get in the Futura, however, a manual Mont would be fair nice too.

I have found that Manuals use less fuel then Automatics, and if you don't spin the wheels and do burnouts on public roads and not be a f**k your tyres will last years.

Hahaha Fiend

I was basically trying to find out how much difference there is stock vs stock. I knew it would be quicker, didn't know how much. I've never driven an auto and manual version of the same car!

I've always had manuals before this car, and I'm pretty smooth in one.

It seems this is a mod worth doing.

If the car gets its next round of mods (a house is coming first), the manual will go ahead.

Thanks guys.

Regardless of condition of the auto torque converters are still inefficient compared to a clutch....newer style autos with more sophisticated set ups however have made this difference negligable (this doesn't include the btr though!).

My car is currently auto, but will be manual soon...I don't eat/smoke in my car so that doesn't bother me, only issue will be traffic annoyance and getting the boat out on slippery ramps.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question; has anyone fitted 0.68 fifth ratios to their box? Trying to find one is proving difficult although I know Mal Wood have them if I want to pay through the a**.

Cheers