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2.4 auto vs manual

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Faerhyn

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Yorkshire
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RX-8 (changing)
Hi folks,

So in my journey towards another Accord the choices include both iCTDi and iVTEC. Having driven and loved the diesel I'd like to know peoples opinions on the petrol - particularly the difference between the 2.4 manual and auto gearbox (stats seem like there is a frightening drop off in performance!).

Should I come to want to mod the engine at all (always a concept, never actually got that far before) would I be crippling myself if I chose the auto box?
 
I don't know if auto has tip tronic, but even if it did its still not inspiring to drive an auto that way. Nothing beats a bit of super late braking, heel toe downshifts in a manual.
 
Not driven the later autos but had an M reg accord estate 2.2 petrol auto. Was kinda interesting but not my style, changed gears mid corner, only had 4 gears so was never in the VTEC zone when you wanted it to be. Hopefully the newer one's are a little better. Having said that I had a Jazz as a courtesy car last year. That was an auto/tiptronic and whilst better than the old auto still not as nice as a manual. Now drive a 7th gen tourer and I prefer the flexibility of the Diesel and a manual. Plus I understand that it's easier to get quick power gains from the diesel with just a remap.

You may have noticed that I prefer manuals. Is there any specific reason you want an auto, lots of stop/start or town driving?
 
Nothing really pushing me towards a manual other than the vast majority of 2.4s I've seen seem to be auto (feels like 80% or so, though this is just a gut feel rather than anything scientific).

I've enjoyed manuals in the past and would expect my next car to be so, just wanted to know if there were any drawbacks people were aware of to the auto (e.g. the E46 330d auto I've been told is pretty good, but the economy on there can be expected at around 35mpg - kinda defeating the point of the diesel to an extent imo!)

At the end of the day it's all about the options I guess!
 
7th gen accord didn't have an auto diesel, and no one buys a 2.4 petrol for economy :lol: manual or otherwise ;)
 
Blue Guru said:
I don't know if auto has tip tronic, but even if it did its still not inspiring to drive an auto that way. Nothing beats a bit of super late braking, heel toe downshifts in a manual.
Click to expand...
The 2.4 Auto does have a tiptronic ('semi-auto') and it's pretty good. Actually, the autobox as a whole is a pretty good match with the 2.4 engine.

When used in full auto, it does the typical pause-then-surge kind of thing when pushed hard out of a slow bend. If the mood takes you, you can put it in semi-auto and change down while on the brakes approaching a bend without touching the throttle and the down-changes are smooth. You can also go down more than one gear at a time by moving the lever repeatedly quickly and the car does 'tighten up' nicely on the throttle. There are no sport / winter modes, the car seems to figure out what you want to do and plays along. This is good.

I don't know what the performance / economy hit is versus the petrol but I'm not too bothered to be honest as the car's real world quick and we don't do so many miles that the fuel consumption is decisive.

Perhaps the biggest downside is that, if you are doing motorway journeys with cruise control and use the 'reset' to come back up to cruise speed (say 70mph) from lower speeds (say 50mph), the car may decide to go into 3rd gear to accelerate where 5th or 4th would be less hectic and more appropriate for what is, when all's said and done, a great engine. Again, you can get round this by pre-selecting semi-auto to trap the car in the higher gear.

I have no regrets about getting the automatic.
 
Previous car was an 01 Accord 2.0 Coupe manual. New car (57) is a 2.4 Auto estate with ADAS.
New car gives better fuel consumption than the coupe (27mpg in town, 32 with the cruise set at 80 (36/38 set at 70)). Range seems to be much more, old Accord £70 tank, 300 -320 miles, new one 390-410 miles, both seem to have the same tank size.
The auto box gives pretty immediate acceleration when overtaking, I guess the difficulty is that you can't anticipate an overtake by dropping to a lower gear unless you use the manual override.
That said the auto acceleration is perfectly delivered and adequate.
The thing I like about the auto is that the cruise setpoint is maintained regardless of gear. With the manual you either slow down on a hill or you disengage the cruise when you use the clutch to change down.
With the Auto it just sorts everything out.
Towed the caravan for the first time with this car last weekend. Excellent acceleration out of roundabouts and even able to overtake on single carrageway roads. At one point it creeped to 80 mph which is way over my normal towing speed and it had more. Van completely stable.
MPG with van about 19 but mainly on country roads, hope to see more in a 60 mph cruise.

Be aware the 2.4 Auto Estate costs £425 VED from a certain date (2006?). Check it out elsewhere on this forum.
 
I think the 2.4 and the auto is a cracking combo. Might not be as quick as the manual but it's certainly not slow when you press on. I seem to recall that when the 7th gen was launched many of the motoring press picked out the 2.4 auto as the sweet-spot in the range.
 
I'd echo the other guys statements on the pairing of the 2.4 and the auto - it drives really well. When I am overtaking I stick it into tiptronic mode drop a few gears to get it to 4k+ RPM and floor it. Great response!! The change from 1 to 2 could be slightly smoother at times (normally when its just started) but apart from that it's super-smooth. I definitely do not regret my choice
 
I've had my 2.4 auto tourer (03) for just a week and living in London i've certainly noticed that around town it burns petrol like it's going out of fashion. But I agree, as previously stated, that you don't choose this engine for it's eco/economy credentials. Thankfully, most of my miles are long distance on fast roads. It's the first auto i've owned and i'm loving the way I can either tootle along or press ahead quickly (driving conditions allowing). The lack of mid-range torque on the motorway I've found to be a bit of a pain when the road is busy, flooring the accelerator causes the auto to change down which is great for a-road overtaking but not smooth enough for the M4, it's all or nothing, which is great, when you're in the mood. Still working out the tiptronic mode - I took it off the motorway last weekend to check out some b-roads to try it out, it's very quick and responsive but certainly less involving than a manual - I definitely need more practise :)
1200 miles to do this weekend which would be a uncomfortable prospect in my last car but not now...
 
If I had a choice I would go for the manual mate, alot stronger box and more fun to drive. However it's your personal preference
 
Manual all the way mate, no question. Check out the 2.4 fuel economy threads. My manual 2.4 squeezed 430+ miles from it's last tank before the fuel light came on. No motorway in that either. For a 2.4 petrol engine, that's staggering economy by any standards.

Then, if you wanna spank it, she's a brute and the manual 6 speed gets you through the revs with a lot of enjoyment.

So it's more economic than an auto and when driven enthusiastically is faster too because of the gearing. It's a no brainer in my view :p
 
So it's more economic than an auto and when driven enthusiastically is faster too because of the gearing. It's a no brainer in my view :p
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Agreed.....Until I get the remap done at XO Tuning :)
 
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