Auto vs STICK

Feb 26, 2004 12 Replies

Why are Auto trans. rated to pull heavier trailers than Sticks. I have 96 f-150, If I had the auto It would be rated to haul 7100lb. But since I have a stick it is only rated to haul 3500lb( same engin, rear gear ratio} Why is there such a differance?? do the auto tranys come with differant suspendtion, berings and the like or are thay the same except the trany?? thanks to all who have thoughts and advice!!



Because the automatic has a torque converter.

mike hunt

wycowboy wrote:

f-150, If I had the auto It would be rated to haul 7100lb. But since I have a stick it is only rated to haul 3500lb( same engin, rear gear ratio}

suspendtion, berings and the like or are thay the same except the trany?? thanks to all who have thoughts and advice!!

A gasoline engine is most powerful at higher rpm. You can't get a high rpm start with a stick without burning the clutch. With a torque converter you can get a higher rpm takeoff without damage to anything .

For a diesel, a stick shift is no problem for heavy low-rpm starts.

96 f-150, If I had the auto It would be rated to haul 7100lb. But since I have a stick it is only rated to haul 3500lb( same engin, rear gear ratio}

differant suspendtion, berings and the like or are thay the same except the trany?? thanks to all who have thoughts and advice!!

f-150, If I had the auto It would be rated to haul 7100lb. But since I have a stick it is only rated to haul 3500lb( same engin, rear gear ratio}

suspendtion, berings and the like or are thay the same except the trany?? thanks to all who have thoughts and advice!!

>

It's a shame they don't make big cube big blocks anymore. I'd imagine with a

460 the difference wouldn't be so large as you wouldn't need to ride the clutch nearly as much as with the little 302 or 351 that's probably in that truck.

|It's a shame they don't make big cube big blocks anymore. I'd imagine with a |460 the difference wouldn't be so large as you wouldn't need to ride the |clutch nearly as much as with the little 302 or 351 that's probably in that |truck.

Who could afford the fuel for such a monster? I used to have one like that. It drank 1/4 tank of gas every 10 miles.

Lg

A 428 in a full-size car ought to get 10-12 MPG with typical driving. A 390 in the same car can get 14-15 MPG. That's better than most trucks/SUVs get these days, and the trucks/SUVs have overdrive. Imagine what the old full-size cars would get with an overdrive transmission and a computer controlled fuel injected big block. 10 MPG with a 460 in a truck should be no problem. You don't buy a real truck if you care about mileage.

But why not buy a diesel truck to get both the pulling power _and_ pay less to fuel it?

Yep, diesel here, last time I got gas (last week) was just a couple cents below 93 octane. So sure you'll get more torque and perhaps a couple extra MPG, but you'll also be paying about $.20/gal more than with a gas truck. Of course at times I've seen diesel priced below 87 octane too, so prices _will_ vary greatly over time.

But you'll probably use a lot less of it.

And the difference in the $5,000 to $8,000 extra you pay for the Diesel up front and 3 to 4 times the cost for an oil change will take you longer than most people own a truck to balance out before you can even start gaining with your 2 to 8 MPG better fuel mileage... That doesn't even touch on the Noise (I like to leave my 12 mile per gallon 460 running at drive up windows) and that nasty penetrating lingering diesel fuel smell...

NO THANK YOU I'll keep my gladly gasser...

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