Hergest Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 My first Astra I bought in 1988 was a Mk2. A rather weak 52hp 1200 cc carburettor engine that would top out at about 75 mph. I really wanted the SRi variant, a lovely hot hatch with a 1.8 injected engine that went like stink as it was so light compared to the cars of today (no safety gear). I could just about afford the weekly payments but couldn't insure it as fully comp was almost as expensive as the car itself per annum. What I really liked about the SRi though wasn't the engine, it was the plaid seats... 1
Hergest Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 .Not sure I could ever go back to an auto gearbox, drivings meant to be fun. I've read this 2,789,433 times on the internet but I tell you, I have a shed load of fun in my auto box car 4
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 My old one... Tuning twin SU's is a PITA mine were beauties....happned to have a guy down the road who knew what he was doing and would regularly balance them a treat for me 1
soundfan Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 I've read this 2,789,433 times on the internet but I tell you, I have a shed load of fun in my auto box car Lol, I have no doubt you do. The Mazda is the first and only manual car I've ever owned, and I just came to love shifting gears. Prior to buying it driving was just a chore, now I enjoy it a lot more. Not anti auto by a long shot,but will seriously consider buying another manual when my ride dies. 1
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 Lol, I have no doubt you do. The Mazda is the first and only manual car I've ever owned, and I just came to love shifting gears. Prior to buying it driving was just a chore, now I enjoy it a lot more. Not anti auto by a long shot,but will seriously consider buying another manual when my ride dies. also consider DSG or dual clutch boxes. I know what you mean manual wise but owning two dual clutch cars and now one wiht a robotised manual am not sure i'll ever go back to a manual ever. dsg are amazing in the gear change ...they get the next gear lined up and ready and like a hair trigger they change over ...its like machine gun gear changes bang bang bang...quicker than I ever could. plus e.g. in both the golf gti and merc a250 I owned they can also add a great sound track with all the blips of throttle and what not they do on changes...I used to love just putting around back streets taking the long way home when I worked too close to home for a decent drive to work and back 2
Guest Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 I've read this 2,789,433 times on the internet but I tell you, I have a shed load of fun in my auto box car ] Auto RWD yes... FWD...meh
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 if people are still arguing about FWD and rear wheel drive ... hello !!! hot hatches have been FWD for how many years now ? if wanting a RWD hot hatch I know of one ...the bmw 1 series. now days the vast majority of cars bought in australia are actually autos ...no matter what people say. and as mentioned there are autos and autos....bmw auto for instance even though a conventional one is brilliant. dual clutch autos and robotised ones are brilliant too if know how to drive them. what are very bad are CVTs yeesh they are the scourge... I would go out of the way to not buy a car with one of those. cant believe for instance subaru is selling their WRX with a CVT madness ! 2
muzzagruzz Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 My old one... Tuning twin SU's is a PITA Love the wheels mate. Awesome.
muzzagruzz Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 mine were beauties....happned to have a guy down the road who knew what he was doing and would regularly balance them a treat for me My first car was a Mazda Capella, 3 door with twin carbies. Piece of crap car but by golly gee did it fly. 1
LHC Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) what are very bad are CVTs yeesh they are the scourge... I would go out of the way to not buy a car with one of those. cant believe for instance subaru is selling their WRX with a CVT madness ! Horses for courses. CVT makes sense in certain cars and applications. They are also cheaper than other forms of autos so the savings should be passed on to the consumers. Reliability wise modern CVT may even be better than DSG. http://driving.ca/subaru/wrx/reviews/road-test/in-defense-of-the-cvt-its-actually-not-too-bad-these-days Edited April 9, 2016 by LHC 1
Hergest Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 Auto RWD yes... FWD...meh Nah. It's how you use it that matters, stick or no stick.
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 Horses for courses. CVT makes sense in certain cars and applications. They are also cheaper than other forms of autos so the savings should be passed on to the consumers. Reliability wise modern CVT may even be better than DSG. http://driving.ca/subaru/wrx/reviews/road-test/in-defense-of-the-cvt-its-actually-not-too-bad-these-days sorry we are talking hot hatches here and no CVT has any place in any hot hatch period. 1
LHC Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 sorry we are talking hot hatches here and no CVT has any place in any hot hatch period. That is fair enough. But if the WRX application become a smashing success then ... 1
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 That is fair enough. But if the WRX application become a smashing success then ... hehe based on the pages upon pages on subaru Facebook deriding the decision when they said they would be fitting a cvt to it, I do hope they get the message no body wants it. 1
LHC Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 hehe based on the pages upon pages on subaru Facebook deriding the decision when they said they would be fitting a cvt to it, I do hope they get the message no body wants it. Lets hear from the Auto Expert John Cadogan (http://autoexpert.com.au/subaru-wrx) "WRX now also comes with a CVT as well as a manual. Don't let anyone tell you the CVT is a travesty. Quite the opposite: it's brilliant." "CVT WRX is a brilliant combination - despite what 'die-hard manual' detractors say" 1
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 Lets hear from the Auto Expert John Cadogan (http://autoexpert.com.au/subaru-wrx) "WRX now also comes with a CVT as well as a manual. Don't let anyone tell you the CVT is a travesty. Quite the opposite: it's brilliant." "CVT WRX is a brilliant combination - despite what 'die-hard manual' detractors say" oh pleeeeese...... 2
Guest jakeyb77 Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 Gotta say in Melbourne I have to have a Nanny Tranny. Going from 1st to 2nd then back again every 500m gets old.....
Briz Vegas Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) I have had a slushbox for almost 12 months now and i still find myself going for the gear stick if i want to push on or i am approaching a roundabout or intersection. Its a nice auto but it doesn't know what i want to do next, only what i have just done. It has a sport button that makes good use of the 230nm @1700 rpm but you have to think to engage it and it still things you want to hoon after you have done the overtaking move or whatever. Its a bit dumb basically and it does mean you have less control of the car. Changes are virtually seamless in ordinary driving and thats hard to replicate in a manual, even though i was oretty good at it ( was). It does strke me that even regular hatchbacks these days have similar power to a hot hatch of days gone by, except that most of them are way too heavy. One of the things i didn't like about the Ford Focus is that it is 200 kg more than it needs to be. Interesting comparision. 1985 Peugeot 205 GTi. 1.9. 164nm @ 6000 rpm 96 kw. 875 kg (manual) 1996 Peugeot 306 GTI 6. 2.0 226nm @ 5500rpm 124 kw. 1200 kg ( manual 6 speed 2015 Peugeot 308 t9 1.2 230nm @ 1700rpm. 96 kw. 1200 kg (auto) So on that basis the top speed may be greater due to the kw advantage but driveablity is better in the modern drivetrain. The 1.2 would have a decent weight distribution as well with a small engine over the front wheels and Aluminium bonnet and guards at the front. Edited April 9, 2016 by Briz Vegas 1
christosd Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 oh pleeeeese......Have you ever driven this vehicle? It's a fantastic calibration that uses the turbo sizing and cvt rpm control to build boost and torque really quickly and keep it on boost as you feed in and out. I hated cvts until I drove the forester xt and instantly saw the potential in modern turbo sizing and good cvt programming. 1
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 I have had a slushbox for almost 12 months now and i still find myself going for the gear stick if i want to push on or i am approaching a roundabout or intersection. Its a nice auto but it doesn't know what i want to do next, only what i have just done. It has a sport button that makes good use of the 230nm @1700 rpm but you have to think to engage it and it still things you want to hoon after you have done the overtaking move or whatever. Its a bit dumb basically and it does mean you have less control of the car. Changes are virtually seamless in ordinary driving and thats hard to replicate in a manual, even though i was oretty good at it ( was). It does strke me that even regular hatchbacks these days have similar power to a hot hatch of days gone by, except that most of them are way too heavy. One of the things i didn't like about the Ford Focus is that it is 200 kg more than it needs to be. Interesting comparision. 1996 Peugeot 306 GTI 6. 2.0 226nm @ 5500rpm 124 kw. 1200 kg ( manual 6 speed 2015 Peugeot 308 t9 1.2 230nm @ 1700rpm. 96 kw. 1200 kg (auto) So on that basis the top speed may be greater due to the kw advantage but driveablity is better in the modern drivetrain. The 1.2 would have a decent weight distribution as well with a small engine over the front wheels and Aluminium bonnet and guards at the front. modern hatches are very good these days. they are coming down in weight. and capacity. keep in mind the under 9sec 0-100 of the original vw gti back in 74 ! . our current model mazda sp25 is slightly faster.... about twice the power and more torque heaps more engine capacity and no doubt weighs more. cars these days are mostly heavier...lot bigger...lot more crumple zones and safety equipment etc. theres some great examples of hot hatches today that work well the same formula though of reasonably light weight and good power to weight ratio to keep them pretty swift. Have you ever driven this vehicle? It's a fantastic calibration that uses the turbo sizing and cvt rpm control to build boost and torque really quickly and keep it on boost as you feed in and out. I hated cvts until I drove the forester xt and instantly saw the potential in modern turbo sizing and good cvt programming. I have and no thankyou. they are the scourge. id even a conventional auto any day. 1
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 Gotta say in Melbourne I have to have a Nanny Tranny. Going from 1st to 2nd then back again every 500m gets old..... its why the modern autos are so popular. and they do work well e.g. the 8sp that bmw use thats a great example. 1
vinilink Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 Surprisingly nobody mentions good old Suzuki Swift GTi 3
betty boop Posted April 9, 2016 Author Posted April 9, 2016 ah yes the swift. that particular model had its own race series even. and did a bit of time at bathurst ! 1
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