[KoolBRZ]

How about the difference in how it actually feels to drive each, MT and AT? The MT puts a lot more attention on the drivers skill level. Clutching, rev matching, and the rpms at shift are very important factors in the MT experience. While in the AT, suspension, tune, and how much throttle is applied contribute far more to the AT experience. The rpms at shift, when using the AT manual mode, is even more critical than in the MT, since the AT engine has less mechanical advantage than the MT in every gear, less power in other words. The gear spread is wider, and it is harder to shift and keep it above the torque dip in the AT than it is in the MT. The AT really needs two power peaks, one for cruising at low rpms, and one for accelerating at high rpms. I highly recommend a UEL header for AT's to give them two power peaks for the best DD configuration. The tune of the engine is even more critical in the AT than the MT, since the AT has so much less mechanical advantage than the MT, so the AT drivers experience more of how well they're engine is running. I drive an AT, tune it myself, and I can tell the difference between clear sky's and cloudy weather just by how the engine handles running slightly richer or leaner. I've even played with different tunes for different weather, but thought that was a bit much. There has to be a really big difference in a tune for an MT driver to tell any difference with they're "Butt Dyno", but, an AT owner can feel the slightest difference in how they're engine is running, since they feel so much more of the engine running through the taller gears. With an AT, the drivers feels good about a manual shift when the engine pulls without bogging down after the shift. With an MT, the driver feels bad about a shift when it bogs down, because that means they just shifted from 2nd to 5th, instead of from 2nd to 3rd, because shifting without bogging down is just a normal shift with an MT.