[Gerdo]

Who has an Auto Trans in an OR? Still trying to decide what to get when we buy our xterra OR. Do you like the automatic Transmission? How does it perform offroad?

 

[Jodokast872]

i like my auto so far. other than rapart range road and last dollar road i have not done any real four wheeling. As soon as RMXC starts meetings again ill tell you more.

 

[Mosi]

I think it's great! I don't have any experience in a 6 speed X though but the gearing is leaps and bounds better than the Gen 1. I came from a 2000 LR Disco 2 that had a low ratio of 3.27 and I put 4.11s in to make up for the tire size. The X feels like it has a much better power and gearing than the LR. When you manually change gears in the auto X when going down hill... say from 1st to 2nd, there is no big delay in between gears that can make you lurch forward. The Rover was terrible!

 

[mike100]

I don't get particularly tired of rowing gears in my 6 speed, but the auto has to be easier to find.

 

[Erick]

X2

 

[RogueClimber]

My number one reason for MT is cresting a snowy hill at speed and that moment when an auto feels like it wants to rocket down the back side. With an Mt I can control that point in time...

 

[FrankB]

I have an S model, other than the locker its pretty much the same. I really like the AT for off road driving. This particular AT has really good control. The trick, I think, is to remember not to use D(rive) when off road, but rather use 4, 3, 2 or 1. By always taking it out of D(rive) when I put it in 4WD I've never had a problem with unexpected upshifts.

 

[Driver X]

I have an S model, other than the locker its pretty much the same. I really like the AT for off road driving. This particular AT has really good control. The trick, I think, is to remember not to use D(rive) when off road, but rather use 4, 3, 2 or 1. By always taking it out of D(rive) when I put it in 4WD I've never had a problem with unexpected upshifts.

X2. i always keep mine in 1 or 2 and it does excellent.

 

[d-rap]

I have an MT OR and I love it, but I will say this: probably for getting around in tight spots offroad, especially with our inadequate OEM clutch, the AT is better. Once somebody designs an aftermarket clutch that won't fail after one or two high-rev slips, then it would be more of a toss-up. Our clutches are a weak link, no doubt about it.

I've also been surprised by the consensus in the offroad magazines and other publications that ATs outperform MTs on obstacles, in general. I'm an MT guy, but I'll pass that along, since I read it and hear it over and over.

 

[Muzikman]

In the X with the high gear TC (even in 4lo) I will take an automatic. In my Rubicon with the 4:1 TC ratio, I'll take an MT.

 

[RockyMtnX]

I haven't been too impressed with the Auto offroad. I come from a rock-crawling background though (5 spd Samurai with a 6:1 t-case), so it is a world of difference offroad. The gearing just isn't there for very steep downhill decents (but that's probably why they added the HDC... it works great! Just stay off the brakes), and I don't like the "disconnected for the drivetrain" feeling you get with an Auto. On the road, it seems like it is a good tranny as far as gearing, but it seems to clunk a lot of the time when letting off the gas around 40 mph.

Overall, I'd get the Auto again, though. This is our only SUV/4x4, and a MT just doesn't fit what we intend it for.

 

[GreyWolf]

Doesn't the MT have a better ratio then the AT?



Also I found this, looks like a typo:
"With the six-speed manual, the low-range crawl ratio is 42:1"

http://www.automotive.com/2007/43/nissan/xterra/reviews/driving-impressions/index.html

 

[d-rap]

The crawl ratio is different than the t-case ratio. According to Jim Allen in The Four Wheeler's Bible the crawl ratio is obtained by multiplying maximum net torque, by first gear ratio, by t-case low range ratio, by axle ratio.

It's a combined, agreed upon figure that takes account of all the relevant info. Somewhere on this site, I saw a post that crunched these numbers, I can't remember exactly where. The 42:1 number sounds vaguely familiar.

 

[Raymond06]

I like my auto in this style vehicle when I had my wrangler I had a 5 speed and wouldnt of had it any other way but the auto and the hill assist and locker is pretty sweet just wish it had the lower gearing that would make it the perfect rig for me,but of course I can always change out gears

 

[d-rap]

Word of their availability has recently started to arrive. I'm not sure anyone has them yet. There's a thread.