Off-roading with a manual transmission?

[hoch]

One of my most memorable moments in Moab earlier this year was stalling halfway up Hells Gate. No way the e-brake was going to hold me, so restart, and tried my best at heel toe (fail), too much gas, tires squealing, kids screaming, felt like we were being launched into the sky like a space rocket. Woooo! There was no saving my underwear after that, no matter how many washes.

Sponsored

 

[Toycrusher]

I've posted this before, but without risk there is very little reward. The joy of a manual is the clutch, not the Shifter.

It's the satisfaction of smoothly pulling away from a stop light, of a rev matched downshift, or of using your clutch to hold you in place on a hill rather than pulling the handbrake like you should.

It's the agony of stalling in front of others or embarrassment of jerking your passengers heads around with a poorly executed shift.

Some people live in areas with amazing trails all around them, and others have to travel hundreds of miles to find a dirt road

I find a manual makes my Jeep fun on otherwise incredibly mundane travels and makes my pulse race on obstacles an auto equipped sport could conquer on cruise control.

I didn't buy my Jeep for It's fuel economy or practicality, and I know most of you didn't either

 

[Rubi6mt]

I've posted this before, but without risk there is very little reward. The joy of a manual is the clutch, not the Shifter.

It's the satisfaction of smoothly pulling away from a stop light, of a rev matched downshift, or of using your clutch to hold you in place on a hill rather than pulling the handbrake like you should.

It's the agony of stalling in front of others or embarrassment of jerking your passengers heads around with a poorly executed shift.

Some people live in areas with amazing trails all around them, and others have to travel hundreds of miles to find a dirt road

I find a manual makes my Jeep fun on otherwise incredibly mundane travels and makes my pulse race on obstacles an auto equipped sport could conquer on cruise control.

I didn't buy my Jeep for It's fuel economy or practicality, and I know most of you didn't either

This!

 

[AZ Hella]

Off-roading with a manual isn’t more difficult, it’s just more involved.
sure, I might stall once in a while on a difficult obstacle but, it doesn’t keep me from completing the task.
I love rowing the gears on and off road and have never been held back by the analog interface.
If you don’t have a passion for manuals you won’t get it and should just drive the automatic which, is ok.

 

[AcesandEights]

As someone that just spent a few days in the Oregon Outback with a manual transmission JLR, I can tell you firsthand, you can't off road with a manual. Just can't be done. Gotta have an auto to have any fun.

 

[RubberFrog]

One of my most memorable moments in Moab earlier this year was stalling halfway up Hells Gate. No way the e-brake was going to hold me, so restart, and tried my best at heel toe (fail), too much gas, tires squealing, kids screaming, felt like we were being launched into the sky like a space rocket. Woooo! There was no saving my underwear after that, no matter how many washes.

Did you hang them off the antenna afterward?

 

[JP1990]

My JK was a manual, it was a sport S 2 door, 3 inch lift and 35s still running the stock 3.21 gearing (I know, bad idea ?) and it is harder to off road, especially if you’re bumping up rocks and stuff (for anyone familiar, used to go to SMORR). But I wouldn’t change that experience for anything. When I finally place my JL order you can bet 100% I’m going manual again.

 

[Canjeeper]

Every Jeep should have a manual , trouble is the new ones get a low torque engine and a light weight flywheel . hence all the issues with poor clutch life and poor off road performance .

 

[SadRobot]

One of my most memorable moments in Moab earlier this year was stalling halfway up Hells Gate. No way the e-brake was going to hold me, so restart, and tried my best at heel toe (fail), too much gas, tires squealing, kids screaming, felt like we were being launched into the sky like a space rocket. Woooo! There was no saving my underwear after that, no matter how many washes.

Ha have to respect that. I parked mine and rode passenger in an auto up Hell's Gate just to see how it was and halfway up I knew there was no I was doing that in a stick. I just knew I was going to stall halfway up. Maybe next time I'm in Moab I'd give it a try but for the first time it was a big "nope, nope, nope....."

 

[jbcrane]

I've posted this before, but without risk there is very little reward. The joy of a manual is the clutch, not the Shifter.

It's the satisfaction of smoothly pulling away from a stop light, of a rev matched downshift, or of using your clutch to hold you in place on a hill rather than pulling the handbrake like you should.

It's the agony of stalling in front of others or embarrassment of jerking your passengers heads around with a poorly executed shift.

Some people live in areas with amazing trails all around them, and others have to travel hundreds of miles to find a dirt road

I find a manual makes my Jeep fun on otherwise incredibly mundane travels and makes my pulse race on obstacles an auto equipped sport could conquer on cruise control.

I didn't buy my Jeep for It's fuel economy or practicality, and I know most of you didn't either

Amen brother.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

Ha have to respect that. I parked mine and rode passenger in an auto up Hell's Gate just to see how it was and halfway up I knew there was no I was doing that in a stick. I just knew I was going to stall halfway up. Maybe next time I'm in Moab I'd give it a try but for the first time it was a big "nope, nope, nope....."

The manual REQUIRES gears.. I can idle up that in 4lo

 

[Rodeoflyer]

Every Jeep should have a manual , trouble is the new ones get a low torque engine and a light weight flywheel . hence all the issues with poor clutch life and poor off road performance .

You are correct sir..hence all the positive reviews of the centerforce and other clutch/flywheel options.

Did I want a viscous driveline coupler in my jeep?? nope I do not and still don't

 

[NWJeepr]

I did Moab earlier this year in a manual JK 3.6. And 10 years of trails in the Mountain West before that. Heck, Trail Mater runs a manual in his brown Square-body and the Scrambler. It's a different skill level and type of enjoyment for sure.

I decided to go with an auto in my JL this round. In truth, it sees more road miles than Moab and trails. One thing I never appreciated about the JK was the electronic throttle was always laggy, so I never considered it a "fun" manual trans. Rev-Matching downshifts with the throttle was always imprecise, and the flywheel was heavy. But it did great off-road. It needed throttle in 1st gear for steep stuff, but that was more a function of my axle gearing not being optimal (3.73 w/ 33" tires). But, with a manual I never needed to worry about transmission temps. OTOH, the 8-speed auto is fantastic on-road and it seems to lock out in 1st gear for crawling just fine...

 

[Ratbert]

Every Jeep should have a manual , trouble is the new ones get a low torque engine and a light weight flywheel . hence all the issues with poor clutch life and poor off road performance .

Low engine torque in the new ones??

 

[Rodeoflyer]

CRAWL WITH CONFIDENCE
With a 4:1 low gear ratio, the Rock-Trac®-equipped Rubicon can deliver an available Best-in-Class 100:1 crawl ratio( Disclosure1) when equipped with the manual transmission and the available 4.88:1 axle ratio.

It's not about low engine torque...

Sponsored