₦airaland Forum

Spyker:
If you are still driving manual car, that means you are driving an old school car.
The entire world has gone beyond manual transmission, even luxury buses and trucks are now on automatic.
If not for poverty, i don't see anyone, i mean any person drive manual vehicles.

IMHO, automatic car gives me enough rest during long distance and also relaxation when faced with a chaotic traffic jam.

Hmm!! What a lazy world we have today, with this auto trans enthusiast!

chidyke77:
may be u hvn't drive auto or just that u dnt hv d resources. Hw cn u be suffering and smiling? or may be u re used to that.

What makes you think its all about resources/affordability? See, am a Peugeot 505 enthusiast. I just paid for 505 V6 5-speed manual transmission. Not because I can't afford to buy one of these plastics, but because I went for what I want. I dont have to buy a car to please/impress the on-lookers, I bought that car to please myself. The car is MACHINE What I spent in buying that car could as well buy ONE OF these plastics on our road.

I drive and choose Manual over auto trans with various reasons below:

FOR FUN:
Til tomorrow, I derive a lot of pleasure driving stick cars. Its something I cant really explain. Most especially with powerfull engine propelled vehicles like cars with V6 engines. You get the complete power of V6 engine on the wheels via manual. Like I said, you will feel the fun while the car is in motion. In fact, V6 autos with manual trans drives or goes like ROCKETS!!

RELIABILITY:
Its world wide known that manual trans are very reliable Units. We do have electrical failures on our vehicles all the time. Its inevitable, no matter how new your car is. Battery can fail anytime, likewise Alternator and Starter. With Manual tranny, you can always Jerk-start the car, to take you home or nearest auto worksop. You wont be stranded on highway when your battery or starter suddenly fails.

DURABILITY:
I prefer manual trans because of its durability. Even with less maintenance, it can outlive the car itself. I dont remember ever draining and refilling the gear oil. All I do is to top up if there is a leakage, which is very easy, simple  and cheaper to fix. Manual trans does not select oil grades like auto does, as long as there is oil inside, carry go!! Cost of maintaining manual trans is very very low.

ABSOLUTE CONTROL:
Ahh!! This is where I love manual like , Being in total/absolute control of the car, how you want it to move, stop, rev while in motion, etc. You need to drive one to understand!

Please, a colleague of mine is having some issues with his 1993 honda Accord. Below is his explanation of the problem:


, (1) The Car jerks during Gear selection (Auto transmission) .
(2) The Engine stalls or turns off while the car is stationary or idling.
(3) Once the Engine is warm and the gear is "Park" or "Neutral" position, the acceleration wont go beyond
4000 rpm.

His Mechanic has suggested for ECU replacement, which I doubt is the cause of the car problems. He really needs our help.

Please advice.

George,

Manual trans allows you to gear down and maintain a high rpm while overtaking 3 or 4 heavy trucks/Lorries at a stretch on highway single lane, when suddenly you see on-coming vehicle while in the overtaking. Trust me, only manual can save you in that situation. Thats what I mean by being in total control, ordering the car what to do and how to do it with your clutch pedal and stick shift. Ahh! Man, is fun to drive. So much pleasure to derive.

I dont recall changing gears at short intervals, in all long distance driving/motoring i have done so far.


Ikenna.

George

I love being in control when am driving. You can only understand this if you are the speed type or always on long distance trips, most especially on single lanes. I dont see any suffering in shifting the gear lever when I want the engine and wheels to give me a particular performance I need, when and where.

Finally, for those that complain about their cars rich fuel economy and still stick with auto trannies, I wonder!!

Ikenna.

pak:
interesting . . .

@ Pak

What is interesting?

@ George

What can I say. If you are telling me that you have never heard of such complains from other auto trans car owners & that you have never experienced any of the poblems frequently in your auto, then you are not an observant driver.

God! How can I have a V6 without enjoying the power of the V6 on the wheels via stick. Just cant imagine that. You guys are missing a lot.

Ikenna.

Hmm! George, you can be very funny. You are just trying to prove your love for auto trans, by not admitting the facts in my earlier post. Anyway, you are entitled to your opinion.

I hate it when an auto trans car follows me behind in cities, especially here in Abuja, with traffic Lights everywhere, where the traffic light will stop u, only for the auto trans car to come & hit u behind because of lack of engine brake. In a normal situation, its normal to have hesitation before applying brakes in a stop & go traffic. But most auto trans users fail to realize that that driving pleasure is not meant for them. Because the car is always in motion until brake is applied, unlike stick cars that you seldom touch the brake pedal in such situations, bc of the engine brake. Tomorrow, they will complain of the frequent wear of front brake pads. The next day, they will complain of front wheel hubs failure. The next, it is overheating of cooling system @ traffic jam. All because of auto trans. Good luck with that.

Ikenna.

@ George D,

Problem with we Nigerians is that most of still suffer from MENTAL COLONISATION. Means, everthing a whitemans brings to us or have is better than ours or they know the best. Go over there country and see the results. Obesity. Yes. Obesity. Why? because they are inventing and adopting things that make them lazy more and more. No one likes to lift finger anymore, yet they want to maintain steady health. People now lie on their couches, beds, floors for 24 good hours, changing TV stations with remote cntrol, without moving an inch. You are calling that technological advancement. Am not disputing the help of Remote control in using our electronics, but it has made some of us so lazy that they leave their electronics on stanby for ages, just not move our body to switch on the electronics whenever we need them, not making attempt to manually switch off the electronics on the power button on them to prolong their life, just because Remote control was invented. Children no longer exercise their bodies in the fields or playing grounds because the whiteman invented computer games. They will remain on the TV screens for hours, playing games after games. What will be the result. Obesity. We see it on our children nowadays. Or am lying?

Exercise your body and concentrate more in your driving with manaul trans for crying out loud! Why are you on the drivers seat when the car is in motion, yet you are not driving? We are so lazy minded that we scramble for whiteman's invention that will make us lazy more, in the name of trying to live like them?

Ikenna.

@Seal777,

How could you have compared Manual trans to auto trans? There is no way auto trans would be better than cars with stick. First of all, how can you enjoy a V6 when you dont do the driving yourself? There is nothing so facinating about auto tranny. It drags. It consumes more fuel because of the drag. One can never get a high rpm with auto trans. What then is there to enjoy? Auto trans is just a Nigerian thing. I can never use my money to buy an auto trans vehicle, nomata how cheap or beautiful the car might seems. I prefer to do the driving myself, feel the motor power. This is just like comparing front wheel drive to Rear Wheel drive autos. Rear Wheel drive will always be the best to drive. If you doubt me, test drive a V6 rear wheel drive car. You will feel the differience.

Am not saying this to support Siena, its just the truth. Every now and then people repair their CV joints on their front drive shafts on short intervals and they still regard FWD as the best. Thats why big auto makers like Benz, BMW, etc, maintained their RWD auto production. Peugeot seized to be Peugeot after 505 production was stopped, because the 505 predessesors seized to be RWD. They made a lot of sales in the world in 404, 504 & 505, which were nicknamed "NEVER SAY DIE" autos, because of their design. As far as am concerned, Peugeot 504 & 505 were produced by their engineers, while 405 til present models were produced by their Accountants.

So, V6 and manual transmission (Stick) will always be the best. If not, why do they use manual trans in Race?

Ikenna.

@eriko.

I never knew radiator was not the cause of the rusty colured water in those cars. Anyway, Thanks for the Lecture.

Ikenna.

@ big father,

Is there anything wrong with 505 1999 model?

Hmm! As for me, I love peugeot 505 V6 more than any car in the whole world. Why is everyone laughing at the mention of the 504 & 505. Problem with Nigerians is that we are pretenders, victims of bandwagon propaganda (everyone does it), etc. What make you think that all these good for nothing flashy vehicles on our roads are better and more durable than 504 and 505? For those of us that are auto mechanical/technically minded, we know cars that can give one any type of service one wants and still be on our roads beyond when you expected. Why would someone compare rear-wheel drive auto with front-wheel drive auto that are very unreliable? When you handle RWD car on a long distance drive on our highways, you will understand what am talking about. Problem is that Nigerians dont realise that all these modern flashy vehicles (the more you look, the less you see) are just city cars, yet people brag about them. Why would I own/have a car, yet I cant travel to any part of the country with the Vehicle? Thats front-wheel drive, flashy, unreliable vehicle for you. Most of them dont go beyond 300,000k/m, without their engines rebuilt several times. Yet, we all rate them very good cars to go for. Check online, if you doubt me. 504 and 505 engines, especially the XNs, ZDJL and ZN3J PRV engines can exceed 400,000kms and yet still handle good on roads as if you just bought them, except for those who dont know how to maintain 504 & 505, which is very easy and simple to do.

Well, you can say or believe whatever you like, but guess what. I just paid for, recently, Peugeot 505 V6 5 speed manual transmission. The car is going to be my MY BABY FOREVER. Care for a test drive?

Ikenna.

Have you found any? As for me, I do most of the repairs on 505 myself. Its very interesting and satisfying to work on Peugeot 505 because it was simply designed. 504 GL & 505 are the most durable cars I have ever seen/driven. The spare parts are available all over the country. Never give up on that Car!

Ikenna.

@erico2k2

Am not disputing the funtion of coolant in a vehicle cooling system, which for Nigerians, is only to prevent rust in radiators & engine blocks, for the auto technically mindeded ones. It just that you wont blame someone that used the ones he could lay his hands on in our markets, only to create problems for him. To such a person, Coolant is a "White Man's lie". It is not just coolant alone. Nigerians buy so called Injector cleaners here only to reverse and become a huge problem for their injectors and cylinder valves. Most of auto additives in Nigerian markets is like "RUN FOR YOUR DEAR LIFE, WHEN YOU STILL CAN!" So, until proven otherwise to such a victim that there is a genuine additive/coolant/antifreeze out there, then dont blame him for his opinion. Afterall, "EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER!"

About what I said earlier concerning the radiators in the cars, 504 & 505 i handled before, I didnt mean that the water in the radiators never had a rust colour. They were always brown in colour each time the engine would be idling/running. But my point was that in spite of the rust, I never experienced overheating in any of them, for the years they were with me. Some engines can tolerate such, especially XN peugeot engine series. I went around Abuja city this morning and confirmed that TOTAL also sells coolant produced by them, which I believe must be a good one, because of their quality engine oils I have used and confirmed. Yes, it wasnt Ideal to run the engine with rust colored water in the radiator, but it was better than buying problems for the cars myself, with my money, when the cars were saying to me "I no mind the rust jeri!" But like I said earlier, I will use TOTAL coolant this time around for the cooling system of the Peugeot 505 V6 5 Speed manual transmission I have been dying, waiting for it to arrive. The car is going to be my "BABY" for good. So, I will not allow any rust in its cooling system, even if it can live with that.

Ikenna.

Hi everyone. Am Ikenna and new in this forum.

I have read from this first page to the last of this thread and I have few points to make.

For those that attacked Chelseabmw, you were wrong. The point he raised was right. For those of us that do the repairs of our cars by ourselves, we do know that what is obtainable in other parts of the world is completly not the same here in Nigeria. I myself have seen a lot of coolant in the market and trust me, I dont trust any. Yes, Jucol, they might be produced outside Nigeria, but quality differs. Writing out theories of Physics and Chemistry to back up your claims here does not work. What you should have suggested earlier to Ireneann is the quality coolant or good one in Nigerian market he should go for. Because as far as Nigerian marketeters or retailers are concerned, all are of good qualities. Even the well pronounced fake ones by mere looking at them. Chealseabmw was speaking out of experience, not some theories, and you, Jucol, was there making him looked like an idiot, That was unfair. I have never used one, coolant, and I never had any issue with my cooling system . But that does not mean I didnt want to, but adding a chemical that will messed up my engine was not what I was ready to entertain. Not that I never believe the function of antifreeze/coolant, but as far as Nigeria is concerned, it was too risky to give it a trial, when one had suffered under the hands of wicked retailers in our markets with, fake auto addititives and spare parts. yes I acknowledge your point that water only in radiators causes corrosion/rust in radiators and engineblocks(around piston liners). Though, coolant or no coolant, rust in radiators or no rust, it all depends on the make of the car. The Peugeot, 504 and 505 I was using then never, I mean, never gave me such problem. Thats why am still hanging onto earlier Peugeots, because i just ordered and paid for Peugeot 505 V6 5 speed manual transmission, with even fire PRV ZN3J V6 engine, engine simlar to one used by Volvo 780, which am expecting soon. This time, I intend to use coolant(50/50 mixture with water) , not because of anyother thing but to prevent rust in the Radiotor and around the Piston Liners in the engine blocks. Since you guys said that Total has and sells coolant, I will start with that brand and see what happens. So please all, stop comparing products in Nigerian markets and the western world markets, they can never be the same.

Ikenna.