Auto or 5 Speed

[TANDREW]

What does every one prefer the auto or 5 speed trans?
Why?

[K9sH3]

Auto... if you deal with traffic and hills.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

When I got my truck I thought a stick would be cool,

BUT

no sticks available in YELLOW with LUX PKG,

SO

I got the auto

AND

now that I turned 60

I'm glad.........

[NEOCON1]

auto , damn peddels are close enough already couldant imagine a clutch down there too

[HBH3]

I have the 5 speed and love it; however I have always driven manual. If you are used to auto just get auto. By the way the pedal issue was improved in the 2007s

[Wisha Haddan H3]

I love my 5spd, and that was a big selling point for me. I couldn't find one with both the Adv pkg and sunroof, so I special ordered one.

I never had a problem with the pedal spacing. Here's a pic I took last summer for an old thread ...

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Originally Posted by K9sH3

Auto... if you deal with traffic and hills.

You're right about traffic in a manual ... rush hour sucks big time. But I gotta disagree with you on the hills.

I test drove both auto and manual H3s up I-70 on 6% grades, and the manual did a much better job. The auto couldn't decide what gear it wanted and it felt like I was lagging behind the traffic. But in the 5-speed I just stick in 4th and hit 3rd on the steeper grades and when passing (yes passing) other vehicles. Engine braking is easier on the way back down, too.

My only pet peeve with the 5-speed is 1st gear at a dead stop. Trying to engage 1st gear from neutral (with clutch to the floor), there's some resistance at idle (about 600 RPMs). But if I rev the engine a little (to 1000 RPMs or so), it slides in nice.

Anyone else notice this?

[ChiHummer3]

My 3 is an automatic. It's the first automatic I've ever owned. When I was looking to purchase my Hummer I searched locally for a manual 3 and nobody had one....so I just went with the auto.

Driving isn't quite as "fun" with an auto tranny - but I guess that's just a personal preferance. With the manual you get the response you want when you want it. I absolutely agree with the statement that with the auto H3, it seems like the tranny can't figure out what gear it needs to be in sometimes.

I guess auto has been a good change for me though. I'm getting older, and I don't feel the need to race with my car anymore - and with the H3, you couldn't do that anyway.

FYI - My last vehicle was an SUV and, like I said, was manual transmission - and I had a hard time selling it. It was in great shape, and I had a lot of lookers on it, but people seemed to run when they heard it was manual. That may just be a local thing though.

[HummerHippy]

I went with the 5 speed. I wanted to be able to pick the gear myself when climbing hills etc. But I bet rush hour traffic could be a bitch with the manual. Also, I first noticed the peddle spacing issue when test driving, but have never had a prob with it once I brought it home. 10 1/2 shoe. Also, I wanted the posibility of 1 extra mpg.

Prefer automatic dealing with traffic as my daily driver. Prefer stick on my other (sports) car. But I wish the H3 was a 6 speed automatic.

[1_maniac]

Berstrom Hummer of Milwaukee has a yellow '06 H3 with the Lux/Adv
MP3 radio / black tube steps / brush guard / 5 SPEED / with under 11K

I had to order it ... Only drawback is that it has a couple of serious quirks
that neither the dealer or GM could or would fix ... at times, when the clutch
is depressed the engine revs to 4K and stays there ... 2nd ... the brakes are
really spungy and never have worked right since day one ...

Now since it was not a "BuyBack" or "Lemon" the title is not branded ... neither
does GM or any dealer has to disclose it ... IF the new buyer asks, the dealer
is required by Wisconsin law to provide the previous owner's name & address

I was going to order an exact replacement, but the yellow is no more
For '08 the replacement color is "Sunset Yellow", which no one seems to
know what color that is ... If it is the color of the "flat gold" I've seen in
pictures of the '08 ... NO thanks

If, you are going to buy a pre-owned vehicle ... always ask to speak to the
previous owner before making the purchase

[Desert Dan]

5-speed was my choice but I prefer manual trans.

I had to order the 5-speed with Adventure and Lux Package

The debate over manual VS auto will go on for ever.
I still think you get better perfomance out of a stick if you know how to drive it. I like decideing when to shift up or down.

Off road with the 4:1 low range starting and stopping on hils etc. is a non-issue.

The gearing is low enough that stop and go traffic isn't too bad.

I hope a 5-speed will be offered with the V8

[f5fstop]

After years of manual Heeps, I switched to automatics for off-roading, automatics for normal road in a normal vehicle, and a manual trans for hi-perf vehicles such as vettes.

I should also like to mention, this is a very personal subject and very subjective.

(PS I would bet a lunch, no 5-speed for Alpha.)

[PackerFever]

I also got the 5 speed. I do live in the moutnains in Colorado and tested the auto....went with the manual. I also ahd a manual and an automatic cherokee.....the auto was a V8 so there was not hesitation when climbing.

I am going to have to get used to it but the plan was to get the V8 manual in Yellow.....now I will ahve to convince myself to get over it. If there is the slightest chance Yellow wil be back in 09 because of customer demand....I might wait.

[HUMMJAY]

f5fstop- 4L60-E auto trans for the alpha

[Huck BB62]

Seriously, if I can wait a year and get yellow again, I'll wait too. It's just the way it's supposed to be!

I've driven sticks all my life on and off road. If the engine's big enough, the auto makes life so nice. On my last Scout that I built, I had a hand throttle on the stick, it made SUCH a huge difference!!!!

If I had a manual again, I'd have to have the hand throttle AND I'd have to make it so that I could start it in gear, whatever that took. On a really steep scary climb, it takes a stout bladder to do it with the pedals. Being able to start it in gear, rev it by hand as you hold on the brake and slip the clutch is heaven.

Ol Russel himself (the offroad guru of all times) went to automatics in his CJ8. After years of driving every trail in the country, he switched. That speaks VOLUMES!

I have too many danged curves and hills to put up with rowing it by hand but I have to say this: That paddle shifter on the wheel with the new 6.2 is frickin' unreal! It'd be an amazing upgrade for the H3 Alpha to get a 6 speed with the shifter paddles. The H2 crowd has no idea as to how awesome an upgrade that is!

We had a little Element that had a pushbutton on the shifter for taking it out of overdrive. I'd love even THAT feature on the Hummer. It allows for a little down shifting in the corners without rowing the shifter... nice.

Hey, F5, any idea as tow if the Alpha's going to have the tow/haul mode?!? Is the sunset yellow a blingy ghetto color or is it nice?

[Agriv8r]

They each have their place, but for the long haul, the automatic is the way to go..just an opinion!

[HUMMJAY]

HUCK- I looked through the color chart for o8' no yellow of any veriety, also no tow haul mode for alpha.

Originally Posted by Huck BB62

We had a little Element that had a pushbutton on the shifter for taking it out of overdrive. I'd love even THAT feature on the Hummer. It allows for a little down shifting in the corners without rowing the shifter... nice.

?

Had the same feature on my 2002 Toyota Highlander, worked great.

[Huck BB62]

Originally Posted by HUMMJAY

HUCK- I looked through the color chart for o8' no yellow of any veriety, also no tow haul mode for alpha.

MOTHER$&#&'N S^$*BRAINS!

Why do they have to go and crap on a perfectly good parade. I was reading an article where one of the color people for GM actually took cues from Martha Stewart. Why I oughtta drive up there and kick the dogsnot outta those twinkle toed drapery pickers.... Is there a REASON that someone with half a brain can't oversee the whole project and make it so they don't have to put a turd in the punch bowl?!?