Anyone ever driven a boosted car with an automatic trans?

[Evan]

Slushbox lag is annoying, and turbo spool is annoying (but at least with good payoff) is the combination of the two = massive fail?

[ViPER1313]

No car with an automatic is going to be good in a road course setting where constant throttle / brake manipulation is needed. Some are better than others (logic that will keep the car in the power band, automatically down-shift while slowing into a corner if driving hard, manual overrides) but it still isn't as good as a manual.

Automatics with turbos are not bad at all if straight line is your thing. Brake boosting an automatic will also cause the turbo to spool, helping your launch. The throttle plate will also never be closed in the 1/4 mile because the slushbox is doing the work, eliminating the need for an anti-lag setup. In a DD, they are really not that bad either.

EDIT: Also, automatic "lag" (ie, time to downshift from 4 to 2 when planting it) varies wildly between cars. I find my mother's Mazda 6 to be incredibly annoying because of this, and my old 97 Taurus was bad to the point it was dangerous. The Grand Prix's transmission is surprisingly good (never hunts between gears, quick selection) and my girlfriend's 08 Corolla S is good as well, if not a little harsh about it.

[HAULN-SS]

The biggest problem I had with the Legacy was the downshifting going into a curve. There was a slight lag between the transmission realizing that you wanted to downshift after braking into the curve about the time you wanted to be laying on it coming out of the curve.

[WRXtranceformed]

Why what are you considering picking up Evan??? haha.... this thread then a Carfax bump?

[Ken]

me. 09 Ralliart Twin-Clutch (NOT A SLUSHBOX)

The initial lag is annoying, but not too awful. I have normal and sport mode and sport mode blips off lightning fast shifts, although the normal mode is no slug at all. Sport also holds shifts for you untill about 4k and downshifts pretty aggressively whereas normal is all about fuel efficiency. The Evo's have a Super Sport mode which is supposedly a better performer than any manual on the track, although it tends to overheat. Like any problem though, that's also solved with a cooling system provided by AMS. It also overheats like in my car if you try to brakeboost past 3k, i personally haven't tried it though.

Overall i love the transmission, extremely fast shifts and an automatic when i want it to be.

[BLINGMW]

heh, my sister's first car, a Volvo 240DL turbo-- that counts, and it sucked. :lol:

However I did get get involved in a road rage / chase situation and got away thanks to my mad stunt driving skills and that car. So, it was better than a Mercury Mystique driven by a crazy person. Does that help?

[Evan]

oops, let me specify intent. This is a daily driver, never ever to come within 100 yards of a road course (although to be honest, if I wasnt restricted to autotragic then it might get a good whiff of one)
but I do probably drive a little more assertively than your grandma on the street, so quick bursts in and out of traffic are a necessity to my driving style. the miata is great for this, but Im afraid that waiting for a slushbox to shift, then a turbo to spool would hamper my driving enjoyment considerably.

I imagine just about anything is going to feel like a slug compared to a miata, so I imagine Im not going to enjoy driving many cars in comparison.

[SethM]

Ive driven only one, a PT Cruiser Convertible...yes I know, gross. But I think your guess is spot on, you get lag from the autotran AND then turbo lag on top of it. But hey, if you just want the quick spurts of power for DD'ing, I think it pretty much fits your needs. Personally I would just snag a relatively quick N/A for a DD, but I would be thinking MPG first for a boring DD.

[Ryan T]

I've driven 7 or 8 turbo cars in automatic and it REALLY depends on the vehicle. A 530rwhp supra with an automatic will annoy the shit out of you because you wait hours for the turbo to spool, but once it does it's fine. Cars with twin sequential turbo's are good because you get boost relatively quickly. I've driven more subaru 2.5gt and wrx models with an automatic than I care to count and it's not horrible. It doesn't gear down as quickly as I would like, but the turbo is small enough that the boost does come on fairly quickly. You can also drive them in "manu-matic" mode, then once you tell it to shift it takes about 300rpm to shift.

With that info, it really does depend on what particular vehicle you are considering; because each vehicle presents it's own limitations and conditions in driving.

[Evan]

well, its a Legacy GT.
Ive actually been shopping the N/A models over the GT, but this came up and its a terrific price for a low mile car so Im giving it a good look. GT comfy goodies are nice too (aside from the black leather...blech)
Ultimately of course Im going to drive it before I would buy it, but I want to know what to expect, and other people's impressions from putting a few good miles on them.

Im guessing I would just have to drive it more like my truck than my miata. Which is a shame because from all accounts it handles nicely.

[ViPER1313]

I think you will find you drive it faster and harder than you do a car with a stick.

[Mike]

has anyone driven a v70 t5 auto? no, she's not pregnant... i'm just giving up on finding a 5spd.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Youll get fairly annoyed pretty quickly compared to the miata, you just gotta realize, its not your fun car. Just realize that, and as an automatic, coming from a manual, you will beat the shit outta of it more to get it to "do" what your trying to do. I do it with the sc400 all the time. I actually become more agressive in the automatic. Cause its either all or absolutely nothing.

[Jeff]

Yeah, tons of them. Its not bad. Think of it as you would driving a V8 with an automatic vs. manual. Its just not as much control over your power. If I didn't keep blowing them up I would have left the van automatic.