I do not want to start a fight but: the pleasure of an AT NSX.
- Thread starter grybrd
- Start date
This is why I mentioned "in other thread" since OP's title was about. If you read older posts, anytime a member mentions "auto", you got all these other guys with their eyes rolling
:biggrin:I would say the 95+ auto is a lot funner due to the sports shifter.
Not true they come with manuals that are actuated automatically, big difference.
i know ,,just havin fun,,,auto,manual,both looks good to me!
Wait a mintue, this is the interweb I am looking for a debate.
Rabble, rabble, rabble...
The other half of the fun goes away quickly when you realize that you're in a Silverstone.
Now that I have driven an AT NSX, that would be the best daily driving for the DC area. I currently own 3 NSX, 2 MT and 1 AT for daily driver and it's still pretty fast on the off ramps. I also had the plesure of driving grybrd's NSX, that has 1/2 the mileage of my AT NSX, it drove like a brand new car.
Bryan
Bryan
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Did you get kicked off the Porsche forums? what are you doing here...
FWIW, I am not too big a fan of serious creature comforts in a car. Imagine driving the most quiet luxury car with zero road noise, and suspension that rides like a cloud, shifting you never feel, supple leather seats you can catch a coma in, while playing your favorite chill music and BAM! you just fell asleep behind the wheel. HAHA. I like the idea of the brain always needing to pay attention to every aspect of driving. Manual transmissions help with that. It keeps you from being too lazy behind the wheel. I think a lot of people need to be able to use both hands to drive the car and keep the legs and feet moving. It conditions the brain and body to be more alert and aware that you are driving a machine that needs attention. Too many people are pampered behind the wheel nowadays. But that's just my opinion. Autos aren't the worst thing in the world. If they didn't rob us of power, economy, and weight, and were always as quick to shift like the Ferrari F1 sequential, then hey I'd be swinging more to the other side. I'm used to heavy multi-plate clutches that chatter to high hell that you can't slip (sintered iron material in the new ACTs) in heavy traffic. I just adapt to drive it like everything else I've ever driven. Although an auto NSX is quite the opposite of what you'd expect in a boring AT vehicle, I am still a fan of the MT. I won't dog another NSX owner for their choice of driveline, but rather congratulate them for their choice of car 
I do believe that the NSX autos are greatly underrated and I don't look down on them at all. Also I'm very surprised that NSX ATs don't sell faster than they do because they are rare and there are some incredible deals that can make it a little easier to get into NSX ownership. But for me (I'm old and old school) a sports car should have a manual tranny. There is some skill and satisfaction in making a smooth gear change at just the right time. It feels so mechanical. And I realize that the dual clutch auto is the future as well as hybrid technology. But I think that future sports car drivers are going to be missing something and sadly they won't realize it unless someone lets them drive an MT 91 NSX, MT Porsche 911 or even an S2000.
Thanks for answering my question, guys. Before I bought my NSXs I had a chance to go for a drive with a local F-matic owner, but in the end our diairies didn't match up and he had a new timing belt and wanted to take it easy for a few miles. So I never got the chance to try it, and I went ahead and looked at manual cars (only).
My 2000 Accord had Honda's sequential auto, my old Civic just the standard type of auto you get everywhere (and I've had auto Nissans, Mercedes, etc). The Accord's auto box, if left to its own devices was just like the others in that you'd brake on the approach to a corner, meanwhile the auto box stays in the higher gear, then you get to the corner, start steering around it and just when you come to accelerate, the auto decides now would be a great time to change down. So you get a moment of power off, a lurch as the box shifts down to more torque, and the car is naturally unsettled.
I've never driven a full-auto sports car, so I'd want to know that it didn't do that. It's the exact opposite of the manual's involvement and the feeling you get when you get it super-smooth.
FWIW, LJK Setright (a big fan of the NSX) wanted both auto and manual NSXs in his fantasy garage - in the article he wrote when the McLaren F1 was launched.
My 2000 Accord had Honda's sequential auto, my old Civic just the standard type of auto you get everywhere (and I've had auto Nissans, Mercedes, etc). The Accord's auto box, if left to its own devices was just like the others in that you'd brake on the approach to a corner, meanwhile the auto box stays in the higher gear, then you get to the corner, start steering around it and just when you come to accelerate, the auto decides now would be a great time to change down. So you get a moment of power off, a lurch as the box shifts down to more torque, and the car is naturally unsettled.
I've never driven a full-auto sports car, so I'd want to know that it didn't do that. It's the exact opposite of the manual's involvement and the feeling you get when you get it super-smooth.
FWIW, LJK Setright (a big fan of the NSX) wanted both auto and manual NSXs in his fantasy garage - in the article he wrote when the McLaren F1 was launched.
is your nsx AT?
x2! Couldn't agree more on all points stated.
just wanted to say i love my Auto NSX. that is all.
I've driven an AT NSX, and it just feels like yet another automatic car. It is as fast as my MT granted I won't lip and burn the clutch. The only thing that bugs me is the 4 speed tranny, sounds and feels dated. Now, if someone can retrofit a dual clutch transverse tranny, now that would have MT owners switching...
The majority of Corvettes I've seen through the years have been AT.
I prefer the AT in the vette over the one in the NSX. For the NSX it just seems like an afterthought that was a random Honda AT used in other cars. It takes the Special outta the Special.
I have a 91 AT NSX, showed up in front of me for the right price. That said it is definately different than any other auto I've driven, after looking it up in the service manual it is different with hydraulic actuated clutch packs for each gear. It is more impressive than I expected and love driving it especially in traffic (car show weekend) and long highway driving. On the track it is fun but that is where the clutch is missing but the Integra Type R turbo mt will handle that.
Another reason to buy an A/T equipped NSX: Lower initial cost. And as much as I love the direct feel of my manual steering, there are situations where I would love power assist and a faster ratio.
To the poster who thought Honda might be holding out on the larger, more powerful engine in AP2 NSX automatics, I suspect the issue is actually limitations in the torque converter.
My 98 V6 Accord automatic was one of the best slush boxes I have ever driven. Shifts were smooth yet fairly quick and firm. Gear selection could be easily managed with very precise throttle adjustments. I quickly learned how to summon up a one gear or a two gear downshift using the skinny pedal, and it always gave me the ratio I was after. The transmission programming also held gears well before upshifting based on throttle position. Now the 97 V6 I test-drove was awful. Not surprising that this generation was the only one to never make Car & Driver's 10 Best list.
To the poster who thought Honda might be holding out on the larger, more powerful engine in AP2 NSX automatics, I suspect the issue is actually limitations in the torque converter.
My 98 V6 Accord automatic was one of the best slush boxes I have ever driven. Shifts were smooth yet fairly quick and firm. Gear selection could be easily managed with very precise throttle adjustments. I quickly learned how to summon up a one gear or a two gear downshift using the skinny pedal, and it always gave me the ratio I was after. The transmission programming also held gears well before upshifting based on throttle position. Now the 97 V6 I test-drove was awful. Not surprising that this generation was the only one to never make Car & Driver's 10 Best list.
What's an F-matic?
If you're referring to Honda's Sportshift automatic transmission with the paddles behind the steering wheel for shifting, that was introduced for the 1995 model year NSX, not 1994.
I know this is an old thread, but I rode from Source One near Cincinnati back to Columbus last year during NSXPO 2014 with a gentleman from Virginia in his AT NSX (I'm assuming it was you, grybrd, with the funny license plate!). I got into the car wondering what the transmission would feel like, and although I didn't drive it, the car felt every inch the equal of my 5-speed. Acceleration, performance were non-issues. Although I still like running through the gears, I would in no way look down upon the AT cars at all.
I've always wanted another NSX with AT as my daily driver.
04 Auto NSX here and love every bit of it. No shame at all.
Traffic can be a pain for one so not worrying about shifting gears in stop/go traffic is nice.
Like some mentioned, the manual mode is much nicer than just leaving it in D, and the shifts are very quick and crisp.
Another is I am 1 of 3 in 2004 with this color/trans combo. The rarity of that alone, along the mileage and price I paid, I was willing to walk away with an Auto over Manual.
Traffic can be a pain for one so not worrying about shifting gears in stop/go traffic is nice.
Like some mentioned, the manual mode is much nicer than just leaving it in D, and the shifts are very quick and crisp.
Another is I am 1 of 3 in 2004 with this color/trans combo. The rarity of that alone, along the mileage and price I paid, I was willing to walk away with an Auto over Manual.
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i really want to drive an AT now after reading this now....
My biggest concern tho, that no one surprisingly seemed to touch on much, is that (i kno im gona catch shit for this) our cars aren't that fast already and with the auto its a 4 speed and combined with even less horsepower that cant be the best thing
My biggest concern tho, that no one surprisingly seemed to touch on much, is that (i kno im gona catch shit for this) our cars aren't that fast already and with the auto its a 4 speed and combined with even less horsepower that cant be the best thing
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