Manual transmissions-standard shift (vehicles, sell, engine, Civic)

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Challenger R/T

I'll see you that, and raise you "Challenger Hellcat"!



Of course all Corvettes except the 53 and I think 54 models were/are available with a stick.



Most BMW except the X series and 7 series are available with a stick, and a quite good manual transmission it is too.



Most Mazda cars are available with a stick.

[OutdoorLover]

Mazda Miata, Honda Civic Coupe-Sport/Coupe-Si/Sedan Si, VW GTI, Subaru BRZ.

[corolla5speed]

Originally Posted by inquisitive2

I'm looking into new/used cars with manual transmission/standard shift. Wondering if anyone has purchased recently and has any recommendations.

Toyota Corolla, manual transmission it's engineered for the long haul. Plenty of cars have more power or speed. Will they hold together long term? I have a Toyota Corolla that will turn 17 years this November. I have 50 years of shifting manual transmissions powered by both diesel and gas engines. The trick to longevity of a manual transmission is not abusing it with to much applied power.

Take a professional tractor trailer diver for instance, the only time his clutch is used is once when starting out in the lowest gear that is able to get forward motion going. The rest of the time all the shifting you hear going on takes place with out the use of a clutch. Slowly and precisely gears are meshed to increase to speed of the truck in accordance with the engines RPM. A million plus miles is common-place for a big truck transmission with nothing more then oil changes.

Doing the shifting this way and changing the oil at recommended intervals extends the life of the transmission. In my case I own a 2004 Toyota Corolla with a 5 speed manual transmission. Same clutch at 230,000 plus miles with transmission oil changes at 30,000 miles. I drive as if I had an egg between my feet and the pedals it's easy on the clutch, engine and transmission. The object is not to break the egg. I do the recommended maintenance on the car and it is the most dependable car I have owned. Good luck.

[Steve McDonald]

If I drove any car, it would have to have a stick-shift. I only had one automatic in my life and it was a Ford T-Bird, which took most of the fun out of driving it. Once, I had the chance to buy a '54 Corvette at a bargain price. I was very disappointed and passed it up, when I found that it had an automatic.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by corolla5speed

Toyota Corolla, manual transmission it's engineered for the long haul. Plenty of cars have more power or speed. Will they hold together long term? I have a Toyota Corolla that will turn 17 years this November. I have 50 years of shifting manual transmissions powered by both diesel and gas engines. The trick to longevity of a manual transmission is not abusing it with to much applied power.
:
:

Toyota makes great cars, and I agree that beating on a vehicle doesn't improve reliability and longevity. I think a well engineered factory powertrain though, should last a long time, even if it's higher output. That's what professional engineers are supposed to have the knowledge, the tools, and the resources to do when developing a commercial product, say versus a car hot-rodded by an enthusiast or the local "performance" garage.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

I'll see you that, and raise you "Challenger Hellcat"!

But only the "base" Hellcat. The one with 717 hp. The Redeye hellcat or what ever they call it with 757 hp is auto only.

OP:
Miata
M3
Z3
Z4
M5
Fiesta ST
Focus ST
Focus RS (with the HG recall done)
Civic Si
Civic Type-R
CTS-V
Elise

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Robert L Walters

Doesn't that have a particularly heavy clutch?

Compared to a Corolla, but still manageable. As a kid I sometimes drove my father's 1964 Chrysler wagon, with the 360 V8 and 3 speed stick shift. That was a heavy clutch, cable and spring, not hydraulic.

After driving it I swear my left leg was bigger than the right.

[turf3]

Probably any of the big three Japanese makes' small cars with standard transmission will be reliable and shift very nicely:


Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
Nissan Sentra


Mazda models never seem to quite line up with Honda-Toyota-Nissan models, but reports are that they are also very nice with standard transmission.


I have only driven a Miata once (first generation) and I thought it was a fantastic little car. If I had the space for a sports car and frequently drove on roads where it would be enjoyable, I would get one. Not so much fun when it's 110 degrees and you're in stop and go traffic on a freeway with dozens of 18 wheelers all around you.


You have to learn how to drive a standard. I sold my old Mazda with 170,000 miles and the original clutch. Don't ride the clutch, let power off before you shift, and remember that neutral is a gear. In other words, under 99.9% of conditions, you should always go 1 - N - 2 rather than just jamming the lever as hard as you can from 1 to 2. Wait a second in N (slightly pressing the lever against the 2 position) to bring the synchros up to speed, and it'll just fall into place when the synchros are synchronized and the little dogs are aligned. Cram it from one gear to the next, and you'll wear out the synchros.


Heavy cars and trucks with standard transmissions are tedious in the extreme especially if you do a lot of city driving.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by corolla5speed

The trick to longevity of a manual transmission is not abusing it with to much applied power..

The trick to longevity of any mechanical device is not abusing it and changing the level of power or force applied slowly. Don't slam controls against the stops. Don't saw at the controls. Set things down, don't drop them. When driving, slow down over bumps and potholes. And so on.


There is a reason why some people's cars drive almsot like new at 200,000 miles and other people's cars rattle, squeak, and break down constantly at 75,000 miles - and it's not all about product design.

[Rickcin]

Originally Posted by inquisitive2

I'm looking into new/used cars with manual transmission/standard shift. Wondering if anyone has purchased recently and has any recommendations.

WRX with the 6 speed, that is the ultimate ❗️