Automatic Vs Manual Transmission for Jeep and Off Road

This time on the AutoEdits Jeep Wrangler Rubicon series of videos... your talented host, Tahoe Wrangler, will explain the basic Pros and Cons of the age old competition between automatic and manual transmissions.
Which is best for you?
There are so many variables involved that it gets pretty tricky.
00:00 introduction
01:28 automatic talk
04:20 complain about the 3.6 engine (I promise to get over it someday...lol)
07:00 talk about why I think automatic is the best for advanced rock crawling
09:30 heat is the enemy of the automatic
10:16 "dragging the brake" trick I learned from champion ultra4 racers

I'll also offer up a couple of tips and tricks on how to best use the transmission to your advantage during off road obstacles and show some good examples.
Here is a link to the turbo encabulator video:

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#jeep #transmission #best

[matadorprime]

I have a hand throttle installed on my manual TJ Jeep and it's one of my favorite upgrades, especially when offroading. All three of my Wranglers have been stick-shift and have loved them all.

[Skitter]

When towing or daily driving I like having a manual. But when going off road, or recovering somebody with a yank rope I like an Automatic because that fluid coupling action allows me to focus more on the technical aspect of what I'm doing.

[G]

At first I wasn’t gonna watch this because this has been discussed so many times but I’m glad I did. Good info!

[JoseOrtiz_]

I’ve seen a few jks with the 8 speed over the last year and every single owner has loved it and swear by it. Definitely a go-to mod for drivability aspects

[kbialo]

Really looking forward to your manual transmission tips/tricks. I have black 2dr 2014 JK Rubicon. So much fun to drive on and off-road but has its challenges sometimes on the rocks. But also adds to the adventure and I feel connected to the vehicle. Anything you can share from your experience will be great and appreciated by a bunch of your followers!

[jimcabezola]

An excellent explanation of all the benefits and detriments of automatic versus manual in the offloading space. Great to see Pinto, too!

[aacar]

I just wanted a little auto versus manual comparison, but this video is superb. Obviously, this guy knows his stuff about all sorts of things and I learned a ton. We are one of those jeeps city warriors and probably I’m gonna do very little off-road but I still like to know where the week points are and how everything works. Excellent job!

Totally agree that this engine desperately needs an eight speed and was so glad to see them finally do it. It’s crazy how much better performance you can get out of all these vehicles nowadays with an 8
speed versus a five speed transmission


Unfortunately, I won’t be able to snag one of those for a few years financially :-)

[j.r.]

I’ve been around off roading all of my life but I’ve always done it before in trucks. Last year I decided to get back into it and after doing lots of research I settled on ordering my first ever Jeep. I ordered a 2021 JL Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. With my Jeep I wanted a naturally aspirated engine and while my heart wanted a manual transmission I knew that having an automatic would be far more beneficial for me in the kind of off roading that I would be doing so when I ordered my Jeep I ordered it with the 3.6 liter Pentastar V-6 with eTorque and an 8 speed automatic transmission.

2 weeks after my Jeep was ordered Jeep announced the release of the 392 V-8. Had that been available with the Extreme Recon package I would have then ordered that one instead but it’s was too late in order to do so back then.

I also considered getting the diesel engine but the only reason as to why I didn’t was because it had a smaller gas tank due to the def fluid and it didn’t come with 4:10 gears. I wasn’t buying my Jeep to be a speed demon. I wanted lower gear for better crawling and off roading.

With my Jeep, it has done great so far and I have really enjoyed it but I do agree that the 3.6 liter Pentastar V-6 does seem slightly a little underpowered at times. But oh well. My Jeep has performed well for the most part. My only outright hate that I have in my Jeep is the eTorque set up. I absolutely hate everything about it and wish that the Jeep just had a regular alternator and single battery like almost every other vehicle does as well. With the battery and alternator, they’re cheap and can very easily be replaced on an off road trail or when someone is off grid. With the eTorque, all of the parts are crazy expensive. Especially the belt start generator and eTorque battery under the drivers side body on the vehicle. The eTorque also has its own cooling system and water pump and having to replace any of those components out on a trail somewhere or while you’re out camping totally off the grid in some remote location would be darn near impossible to do not to mention again the insanely expensive parts for the eTorque system.

[barryfowler]

I have a Jeep b/c my Chevy 2012 auto trans just failed. My jeep is a manual and I’m very impressed with it so far. Not rock crawling yet, but in snow and mud it does great.

[chrisgravatt]

The reason I drive an automatic is I am 6' 8" and a sardine in a can in my 2 door JK. Love the detailed comparison, never knew about the brake technique for loading up the suspension. I knew a little bit about using brakes to trick your limited slip into engaging.

[trailrunnah]

You describing the 3.6 sounds like me describing the 4.0 in my 4Runner. Same complaints, no low end torque, all the power is up high and the transmission is very unresponsive. I guess it's a Toyota guy thing, because even the other 4R owners think there's no problem running this at 4K all day. I'm not really a yota guy, I just thought at the time that the 4Runner would make a good driver. The nicest thing I can say about the four liter is that it's an engine, it starts when I turn the key, and is likely to do so for several more hundred thousand miles.

[HowtoAutomotive]

Awesome video. I’m building my first jeep that happens to be manual and I definitely plan to use a ton of your experience guiding me through this build. I hope to document that on my channel as well not as an expert but as somebody learning.

[Stretch]

And I hear for stalls on hill climbs, you can change your clutch pack to sonething like a centerforce clutch, which does really well in demonstrations to hold the engine speed without killing during off the pedal hill climbs in neutral. So it’s possible that a simple change can bring fun back to the manual transmission without the concerns of stalling on off-road adventures. Now, of course like any major obstacles, the clutch and engine will need to be feathered more. But just on a 15-20% grade, centerforce can help climbs with no pedals.

[p.s]

I'm totally into my 2003 TJ 4 ltr. straight 6 w/5 speed manual. it's the best, if you can drive.

[KansasSlim]

Looking forward to your manual insights. Other than a ‘77 F-150 I drove for a few years, my daily’s have always been manuals. I’m sure there will be some tips I can pick up, particularly in the rocks. Though my time in Sand Hollow in January went swimmingly. What a great week that was!

[kylegarrison]

Your jeep is definitely a goal for the jeep world

[calebjared]

When I grow up I want to be you!
Luckily I have ended up with a manual JKU and a 4wd k1500 (also green haha)
I am trying to follow in your footsteps with all the upgrades (as budget allows)!

[sandralutz-rodriguez]

that was another great video Jason! Driving a stick shift myself I am looking forward to the upkeep and recommendations from you. Hi Pinto!

[JD-MLJKUR]

I've got the manual in my 2014 JKU. Rock crawl a lot in New England. I'd love to have the auto. Its a totally different element with proper gear selection, braking, stalling, etc. Hopefully a re-gear will help.

[rjm]

Power adders in CA is expensive since you have to go with an approved kit. That said, I just installed a Whipple SC in my 2004 Suburban 2500 and it is awesome.