Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the reason a Civic's MT gear box was able to survive the HP and torque from modded engines is because of the FWD configuration. You stomp on a FWD car at a stop, the initial launch and weight transfer is going to shift the load rearward. For a rear wheel drive configuration that weight transfer is going to keep the force applied to the driving wheels which keeps the drive train stressed.
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Sure, that may have helped w/ longevity... but we are talking about cars running huge front slicks and 3x+ more hp and torque than stock. Import drag racers all agreed the MT in these Civics and Integras were pretty much bulletproof.
Juxtapose that against any early 2000s Honda V6 automatics that were made of glass and, well, one can infer that manuals are typically much more durable than traditional automatics.
That's not to say current automatics are poor. I'm sure the tech has advanced greatly and they are very durable. My only argument is that this alleged 450 hp/442 ft lb torque restriction for reliable manuals seems to be total fantasy rather than an actual reason for discontinuing manuals.
I'll totally agree with the premise of discontinuing manuals because very very very few people want them and it's not cost effective at all... but I disagree with the false claim that they are somehow weaker than automatics.