Manual vs. R-tronic

[arunraja7]

Okay, final thing to decide. I was going to get the R-Tronic R8 but I have read a few threads which put some doubt into the whole system.

The reason I am considering R-Tronic is because I am from Toronto and the traffic at times is really bad and I do not want to be switching gears all the time and I intend to use it for going to work.

Any ideas or suggestions or pros and cons?

[Redokee]

Okay, final thing to decide. I was going to get the R-Tronic R8 but I have read a few threads which put some doubt into the whole system.

The reason I am considering R-Tronic is because I am from Toronto and the traffic at times is really bad and I do not want to be switching gears all the time and I intend to use it for going to work.

Any ideas or suggestions or pros and cons?

r is comfortable, faster...

m is for fun, and a bit reliabler than rtro

btw i prefer automatic transmissions

[randombloke]

worth doing a search here - there are lots of threads covering pros/cons and experiences with r-tronic.

r-tronic has its faults, but I am glad I went with it and would choose it again over the stick manual as it suits the roads I drive on (fast twisty roads).

[r8phantom]

I was given a manual to drive for a month before I received my r tronic.

The manual is very fun and to be honest I was kind of sad I didnt choose it...
However I live in London and the traffic is terrible so the r tronic is better suited for me.

The bad reviews it gets are mostly due to when its in automatic mode...which is clunky. I have owned mine a few months and have never used this mode...I use the paddles and the stick and change gear when I want without having to use a clutch. All in all I like the r tronic and believe it was the more sensible choice for me!

Hope this helps!
Alt

[R8_050]

R-tronic all the way! Despite its cons, it's a worthwhile option, especially if you are gonna be driving in the city. Besides, the stick seems too 20th-century to me...

[MikeB]

Manual undoubtedly! For proper driving sensation and sensational driving on fast twisty Scottish roads for me. Must try the Welsh ones soon!

[randombloke]

The bad reviews it gets are mostly due to when its in automatic mode

Anybody who comes to an r-tronic thinking it will be like a normal torque-converter style automatic is likely to be disappointed - it really is an automated manual with automatic mode as a bonus imo.

For proper driving sensation

yeah, real men only drive stick - and I hope you deactivated the ABS on your car as real men only use cadence braking

joking aside, it really is a personal thing as to what things give you the most pleasure when driving - r-tronic vs manual isn't something you can really get an "answer" from by asking other people on a forum anymore than asking what football team you should support.

they can just make you aware of the things they like/dislike but ultimately you'll either have a feel for it or you won't but if r-tronic is the first sequential manual box you've used then you need to allow a good few weeks to really get used to it as there is a learning curve with it just like there is for a stick manual.

[MikeB]

I dont have ABS on my truck if that helps the manhood thing.

[lowsmoke]

My last 5 cars have been manual, and in general I love the interaction that you get with a clutch and the feel of rowing the shifter through the gears.

That said, some manuals are better than others, and I don't especially like the click and clack when you change gears in the manual R8. The 2-3 shift seems especially prone to clacking on the metal gate. My impression is that shifting speed suffered somewhat compared to a non-gated shifter. Also, the spring tension going to the right of center seems excessive and unbalanced. In general the manual in the R8 didn't have quite as sophisticated or precise a mechanical feel as manuals in a few other cars.

I do like (love) the responsiveness of the manual-mode R-tronic. I drove the R-tronic on a track, and I felt it was preferable to the manual in that environment. On the street, I also found it preferable as long as it's in manual mode. It will never shift as smoothly or as fast as the dual-clutch transmission in a GT-R, but once you spend some time to get a feel for the R-tronic, I think you'll like it.

However, if you have any reasonable skill with a manual, and the smoothest possible low-speed driving is your main priority, then I'd suggest the manual, not R-tronic. For driving the car hard, and the lovely, precise downshift blips with a gorgeous V8 sound, I'd go with the R-tronic.

Hope that can help in your decision.

[razbox]

The bad reviews r-tronic gets are mostly due to when its in automatic mode...which is clunky. I have owned mine a few months and have never used this mode...I use the paddles and the stick and change gear when I want without having to use a clutch.

Ditto - the RTronic is great in manual mode for normal driving and in auto mode for heavy traffic