So how many transmissions have you driven?

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Mike W. »

Especially with as many younger members as we now have, not a bad thing BTW, I'm wondering how many have driven what? And be assured, I'm not claiming I've driven everything.

3 on the floor, a 3 speed manual once considered a sporting step up from 3 on the tree
4 on the floor, once a big deal and step above a 3 speed. My first 15 years of BMWs were this format.
5 on the floor, now seemingly standard with a stick.
Dogleg 5. I'm not sure I've ever driven one.
6 on the floor. I know I haven't driven one.
8 speed, twin stick, OD on all 4 gears. A fun combo on ~80s Mitsubitshi/Dodge Colts. I had one, best thing about the car.
???

3 on the tree. Column shift manual tranny, once the base tranny on domestic cars. Usually without synchro in first.
4 on the tree. I've driven a couple, some European cars and a friend had an early Ford van (65?) with one. Not as bad as it sounds.

A/Ts
2 on the column
3 on the column
4 on the column
(I'm sure they are more inbetween, I just haven't actually seen them)
8 on the column

2 on the floor
3 on the floor
4 on the floor
5 on the floor
6 on the floor
7 on the floor
and I'm sure more with the explosion of A/T ratios.

Electric OD. Some Volvos and MGs had it. Laycock IIRC. Probably more. Only on 3rd and 4th.

2 speed rear axle. This is borderline, the one I drove was on a 2(?) ton truck. Heavy trucks get into way more.

I've driven 18 of the above. There's more I'm sure, but what?
Mdreamer
Posts: 526
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Mdreamer »

Here goes:

Manuals
Three (on the tree)
Four speed
Five speed
Six speed
Seven speed

Automatics/semi-auto/dual clutch
Two speed (old fashioned type, and new two speed in Porsche Taycan)
Three speed
Four speed
Five speed
Six Speed
Seven speed (PDK)
Eight speed (PDK II)
10 speed

I think that's it. I get to drive some pretty cool stuff for my job, so a lot of the new stuff I am sampling regularly. I miss driving old stuff, though.
RonW
Posts: 5319
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by RonW »

All my cars, and my parents' cars when I was growning up, had standard transmissions:
4 on the floor ('67 VW bug, '70s Honda Civic, '73 Volvo 144)
5 on the floor ('80s Honda Civic, '86 BMW 535i, '87 BMW 535is, '01 BMW 325Ci)

Almost everything else (rentals, other people's cars) has been an automatic.
duggi
Posts: 2417
Joined: Apr 26, 2007 4:45 PM
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by duggi »

4, 5 & 6 "on the floor" manuals
3, 4, 5, 6, & 8 "on the floor" autos
3, 4, 5, & 9 "on the tree" autos
6 & 7 DCTs
A few CVTs as well, even one with 7 "ratios" and paddle shifters :rofl:

Wow this was an interesting exercise, I feel that's a lot of variety for someone my age (mid-30s).
a
Posts: 12469
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Marshfield ,MA

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by a »

Let's put it this way: If a vehicle has a 3rd pedal, I could probably figure it out. I had a class one license for many yrs. Manual transmissions are all the same. Every single one is different. Not much, but enough to make each one different. A ]56 VW came with a hand crank. Time marches on dude. In the late Eisenhower era, I watched USN blimps search Massachusetts Bay for subs. I could hear the chains on Gino Rugani's Sterling sing as it rounded the curves by Melvoen's house, a mile away. Yah, I miss the times of my childhood. Flash forward 60 yrs, I don't even know how many speeds the Fridge's transmission has. 5 maybe 6. Doesn't even have a dip stick. Has a 2.5 L I 4 that goes 75mph @ 2200 rpm and gets almost 40 mpg. It's 5 yrs old, so its not even cutting edge :laugh:
Kenny Blankenship
Posts: 4912
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: NNV

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Kenny Blankenship »

To me, the real connoisseurs have driven 4 on the tree and 5 on the tree manuals... :D

I have one that's not on your list...5 on the tree automatic! :up: I'm surprised how much I like it.

I want to shift like this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPE56T1pGk
a
Posts: 12469
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Marshfield ,MA

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by a »

I had a Citroen DS 19 with a 4 on the tree. I started my training on an old Mack with a Triplex, 5 main x 3spd auxiliary and later a Fuller Road Ranger. Its a learning process.
Galahad
Posts: 495
Joined: Sep 06, 2016 9:08 PM
Location: Beverly/Worcester, MA
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Galahad »

Your list is missing ... whatever you call what my civic has. Five in the dash? Manual Honda Elements had the same setup, but I don't know of any other three pedal cars that do. Here's a pic, sorry it's washed out:

Image

Stick: 5 and 6 on the floor, 5 in the dash
Auto: Various. Nissan CVTs are terrible.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Mike W. »

Galahad wrote: Nov 21, 2020 6:59 PM Your list is missing ... whatever you call what my civic has. Five in the dash? Manual Honda Elements had the same setup, but I don't know of any other three pedal cars that do. Here's a pic, sorry it's washed out:

Image

Stick: 5 and 6 on the floor, 5 in the dash
Auto: Various. Nissan CVTs are terrible.
Yeah, I missed a few. CVTs and GMs dynaflush from the 50s or so. Chrysler pushbutton A/Ts from the 60s, which I have driven. Early Prius with the A/T shiftlever sticking out of the dash, but the manual in the dash I hadn't even heard about. :oops: As far as the Nissans go, I had a rental Maxima with the CVT and really it seemed more like a generic A/T. Of course ~300HP will help compensate for a crappy tranny.
BMWCCA2
Posts: 4060
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Central Virginia

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by BMWCCA2 »

I guess I'm in for a dozen. Though I didn't see the most current ubiquitous BMW version today, the 8-speed automatic floor shifter.
Also, don't paddles count for anything in the experience?

Throw in the upside-down 4-speed manual left-hand shifter from the Isetta, and maybe some 4, 5, and 6-speed foot shifters from motorcycles.
David B
Posts: 520
Joined: Mar 09, 2008 5:43 AM
Location: Savannah, Georgia

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by David B »

4 on the floor.
4 on the floor, one finger punch to overdrive (83 Volvo Turbo).
2spd auto (power glide).
Standard 5 on the floor.
Dogleg 5.
3-4-5-6spd autos.
6spd on the floor.
Various flappy paddles.
One spd auto which suck ass (CVT), although I often thought that my old 2013 Subaru Outback being a CVT would be killer with the turbo offerings by Subaru. In my head it seems you could hold the pedal at the perfect boost right in the sweet spot of the power band thinking it would go like hell, in theory?
davintosh
Posts: 13944
Joined: Jan 28, 2009 1:05 AM
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by davintosh »

Lessee... The first transmission I drove was on a tractor (at about 8 years old!) Most were 4-speed manuals, but I think some had 5-speeds; with the low gearing and high torque on those beasts, you could pretty much get them moving from a dead stop in any gear you want unless you're really sloppy with the clutch.

My first car had a 3-speed manual; it originally had a column shifter but a previous owner had converted it to a floor shifter. The weird thing was the collar on the column would move when you moved the floor shifter.

From there I had 2- & 3-speed autotragics, and others with more gears, but I don't remember all the details; column- and console-shiftered, plus a few push-button shifted vehicles (Rambler and Dodge.) When I was a teenager, I test drove an old Dodge pickup that had a Fluid-Drive transmission in it; as I understand, it had a regular manual transmission behind something like a torque converter. There was a clutch pedal that you'd use to get started, but then you could just move the shifter through the gears without using the clutch. I remember it being a bit odd; I wasn't overly impressed with it, and less impressed with the overall shape of the truck, so passed on the purchase.

I've driven a number of manual transmissions, column and floor shift, and even a couple dashboard shift manuals (Mercedes Benz Vito vans and Ford's European Transit vans use that so you can have 3-across seating without banging the shift lever against anybody's knees.)

And yup, the CVT is missing; I currently have two, a Lexus RX400h and a Prius Plug-In. I wasn't too sure about them at first but did some reading, and from what I've read, the Toyota CVTs just work, no drama like some of the others. We've had the Lexus going on 4 years now, it's got ~170,000 miles, and still working great (knocks on wood.) It's a little strange not hearing the normal shifting noises, but it makes sense when you think about the thing keeping the engine in its power band. It grows on you.
krhodes1
Posts: 131
Joined: Jan 23, 2007 11:46 PM
Location: Westbrook Maine

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by krhodes1 »

Weird stuff:
No speeds - sundry electrics
1spd + locking torque converter (GM transit buses)
2spd + locking torque converter (newer version of same)
4+H/L in every gear - (GM farm truck)
Weird clutchless Ford Select-O-Speed thing (ancient Ford tractor) - no idea how many gears at this point - 8? 10?

Manuals:
3 on the tree (American pickups)
4 on the tree (V4 Saabs, Trabant, Wartburg)
5 on the tree (Renault 16)
4 sticking out of the dash (Citroen)
3 on the floor (Dodge Dart!)
3 on the floor plus granny gear
4 on the floor
4+ granny gear
4+O/D on 4th (Volvos)
4+O/D on 3rd and 4th (Triumph Spitfire)
5spd on the floor (regular and dogleg)
6spd on the floor
7spd on the floor (Corvette)

Countless automatics from 3 to 10spds and CVTs. Yawn. But never a regular old 2spd Powerglide - though the transit bus tranny is similar, but with a locking TC.

Current fleet is three 6spds, one 5spd, one 4+3rd and 4th O/D - No autotragics need apply.
gadget73
Posts: 1176
Joined: Nov 22, 2017 10:30 PM
Location: New Jersey

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by gadget73 »

4 on the floor - VW Beetle, 80s Toyota pickup, early 80s Mustang 4 cyl
5 on the floor - Chevy S10, Dodge Dakota
3 on the tree - 70s F100, 60s Plymouth Valiant
2 speed auto - 68 Impala, 66 Olds F85
3 speed auto
4 speed auto OD
6 speed auto
8 speed auto


Everything has automatics, I'd probably go nuts trying to remember every vehicle I've ever driven with an auto box. Of them though, some stand out as being truly bad. 70s Ford 3 speeds are so sloppy they feel like a bad CVT. The 8 speed GM is the exact opposite, always shifting, but it shudders and clunks when it does it. I regularly drive Ford AODs and a ZF 4HP22, and I think it shifts badly so that should tell you something.

Powerglides work but frankly they suck to actually drive. The gearing is such that its too tall to get any kind of useful acceleration off the line, but too short to cruise on the interstate. Its the worst of both worlds unless you live in the country with few stops and all 50 mph roads. They're truly terrible with an I6. Drive a mid 60s Impala with a 230 and a Powerglide sometime and 80s smog era cars start to feel zippy.
Cactus
Posts: 4991
Joined: Jun 06, 2010 4:13 AM
Location: Dayton, OH

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Cactus »

A: (broken and reduced to 1 gear), 2,3,4,5,6,8,10
M:3,4,5,6,10 & 3 on tree.

Hydrostatic (not a car), cvt 4 wheeler, skid steer (whatever that counts for)

Motor Bikes: CVT, 1,4,5,6 and that weird honda with a transfer case.
RonW
Posts: 5319
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by RonW »

I just remembered - when I was in high school we had a riding lawnmower with a two-speed standard transmission. I think the transmission lever stuck out from under the left side of the seat. The pedals were in the usual place.
MrZ
Posts: 113
Joined: Nov 01, 2013 12:21 PM
Location: Walnut Creek, CA

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by MrZ »

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has driven a vehicle with a preselector gearbox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preselector_gearbox

I expect not, unless we have a prewar British racecar driver lurking here, a tanker from British/German Army, or a British lorry driver from 1940-1960.
Mike W.
Posts: 26872
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: California Whine Country

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Mike W. »

I should have specified cars, but that's ok too. On the non car side, I've driven a bulldozer, which IIRC was just one speed but probably with a torque converter or maybe just a hydrostatic drive. Fork lifts, electric, with one pedal, one side of which does forward and one side of which does reverse. I think there was a separate brake pedal though. A boom lift with 2 speeds controlled by a simple toggle switch. Trucks with 2 speed rear axles. I wonder if the lawnmower RonW is talking about might have had that shift lever under the seat for forward and reverse, rather than 2 speeds. At least that's what the one my folks had in the 60s that I used a bit. Motorcycles with sequential foot shift of course.

Might be more, but that's all that comes to mind at the moment.
Cactus
Posts: 4991
Joined: Jun 06, 2010 4:13 AM
Location: Dayton, OH

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Cactus »

MrZ wrote: Dec 02, 2020 4:11 PM I'd be interested to hear if anyone has driven a vehicle with a preselector gearbox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preselector_gearbox

I expect not, unless we have a prewar British racecar driver lurking here, a tanker from British/German Army, or a British lorry driver from 1940-1960.
I think a small smattering of domestic oddballs and French oldies had those fancy shifters as well.
Nanajoth
Posts: 1551
Joined: Apr 19, 2008 6:38 PM
Location: TX

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Nanajoth »

4/5/6 speed
Split shift F800
13 speed
Various automatics
rodpaine
Posts: 1392
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: 55 miles west of D.C. in northern VA
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by rodpaine »

4/5/6 and 7 speed automated DSG transmissions... the 7-speed DSG in our 2019 Audi RS 3 being the best to date.
Earlier days drove many 3-speed coloum shifts (some 'flopped' for faster shifting) and various automatics with the GM Hydromatic 4-speed being the best and used in my later vehicles after rebuild and modifications (like those done by B&M Hydro). The TorqueFlight trans in my Plymouth 413, 426 and HEMI 426 were also amazing transmissions... given the amount of HP they were handling and the beating they took during my 1/4 mile drag racing days at LADS in Long Beach CA, very nearly every weekend.
-Rod
Federico
Posts: 545
Joined: Sep 16, 2013 6:38 PM
Location: Argentina / California

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by Federico »

I've driven a handful of transmissions, but this one was the weirdest/nastiest:
1978 C10 pickup, converted from new to a minibus body. Originally a 3 on the tree, but the coachbuilder made it a 3 on the floor, with a dogleg pattern and the shifter coming from behind the seat.
It was fun to drive, but with the new seating position the pedals and steering wheel were all wrong (you sat on top of the fender well). Combine that with the oil tanker feel to the suspension and misadjusted front drum brakes, and you'll get the picture :rofl:

Image

Image
glowell222
Posts: 187
Joined: Mar 28, 2017 8:48 PM
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by glowell222 »

I have driven:

Manual:
3 on the tree ('59 GM truck on which I learned stick. 1st gear was so low I could get out and walk beside the truck while eyeballing bed/trailer/whatever was hooked to the bumper)
3 on the tree (A buddy's Malibu. Total PoS and beaten hard)
4 on the floor ('70 Mustang, Ranchero with a 428. Both so nose heavy and so powerful, they were terrifying to drive)
5 on the floor (TR7, Dodge Daytona Turbo, Porsche 914, Subaru Justy, Honda CVCC, Jeep TJ, many others)
6 on the floor (VW Golf Diesel)
8 speed, twin stick, OD on all 4 gears (Mitsubishi/Dodge Colt thingy-great fuel mileage)
21 speed 5,000 gallon water tanker (Military)

Automatic:
2 speed (Powerglide, Chevy Impala)
3 Speed (P-19A firetruck, various military vehicles, many others)
4 Speed (ahem)
8 Speed (In my wife's very late model Jesus Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee iPad-on-wheels. That trans is on it's way out).
rodpaine
Posts: 1392
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: 55 miles west of D.C. in northern VA
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by rodpaine »

Driving since 1957 and too many to list. But the best to date is what our 2019 Audi RS 3 is equipped with which is a 7-speed automated manual transmission. Many people think it is an 'Automatic' transmission such as the slush-box contraptions of decades ago, but of course it is not!

Now approaching 15k miles it is an amazing transmission, especially on fast, curve busy good surface quality country back roads, where you're moving pretty rapidly and many gear changes are involved as grade inclines change rapidly. A truly remarkable transmission. We also have a 2015 Golf R DSG which is also good, but the latest 7-speed version in our Audi RS 3 is a very different animal. Best I've ever driven during frequent shifting needs, in my 64 years of driving many vehical types. Simply amazing technology indeed!
-Rod
e28Sean
Posts: 954
Joined: Nov 23, 2007 2:07 PM
Location: Greenville, SC
Contact:

Re: So how many transmissions have you driven?

Post by e28Sean »

Lesse... In no particular order:

Manuéls:
- Several 5 speeds
- 6 speed
- 3 speed (column shift)
- 12 speed

Autotragics
- 4 speed w/ OD
- 5 speed
- uncountable unmemorable rentals / loaners
Post Reply