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Four Benefits of an Automatic Transmission

Both automatic and manual transmissions have their own set of benefits, but let’s talk about the perks of driving an automatic in this blog post. Oxford Automotive can service and repair your transmission no matter its type – we work on both automatics and sticks. Ever wondered why people might prefer an automatic to a manual transmission? Here are four benefits of the non-stick-shift-variety.

Ease

Simply put, many people prefer to drive an automatic because it’s easy to drive. You put the car, truck, or SUV in Drive and off you go. The vehicle shifts the gears itself; all you need to worry about is keeping your eyes on the road and navigating the vehicle. For some, driving an automatic is almost too easy; they like to control the gears themselves. Still, automatic transmissions make driving much easier and many people prefer them over a stick.

Power

Despite the fact that they are easier to drive, automatic transmissions are more powerful than manual transmissions. This is because they use a different gear make-up called a “planetary gear set.” The reason the gear set is called “planetary” is that it has small “planet” gears that are driven by the “sun” gear. What this means generally is that your vehicle’s torque is spread out over a greater area, which increases vehicle power.

Torque

Spreading the torque out over a wider area is not the only way an automatic transmission increases a vehicle’s torque. Automatics are also designed to use what’s called a “torque converter” to increase torque production from the vehicle’s idle. Did you know that most drag race cars are automatic? This is because the torque production at idle speeds the vehicle up faster once the driver slams down the accelerator, which leads to…

Acceleration Speed

Even if you’ve driven a stick for decades and know your car, truck, or SUV’s gears in and out, you cannot reproduce the accuracy of an automatic transmission or the torque production from a dead stop. Your body movement alone shifting gears will slow down how quickly your vehicle picks up speed. The torque converter in an automatic plus the automatic transmission’s accuracy increase acceleration speed over a manual transmission both from a dead stop and as you’re driving along.

If you need automatic or manual transmission service on your car, truck, or SUV, stop by Oxford Automotive in Oxford, PA, today. You can set up an appointment by dialing 610-890-8938, and we can service, repair, or replace your vehicle’s transmission.

Photo by 12521104 from Getty Images Pro via Canva Pro
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