PSA Autoboxes

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rossnunn
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PSA Autoboxes

Post by rossnunn »

I saw a 206 (I think) in the breakers with a autobox with tiptronic on the sidegate.
What are these like for changing?
I have read reports with tip/auto boxes that they can be a right pain, swapping cogs a age after you moved the stick, changing before the car gets to the redline etc etc. I have read very good reports on the tip/auto box in the Mitsu FTO, that will bounce off its rev limiter if you let it & will only change down for you when in Tip mode. They are apparently one of the best boxes out there, very repsonsive etc.

Your thoughts.
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DoubleChevron
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Post by DoubleChevron »

Easier still ... How about something unique ... Hows this for amazing, get a clutch and proper manual gearbox, no electronics, no slugomatic issues ... No power loss, the gearbox does ONLY what it's asked to do..... !!!!!! Sounds bloody amazing, I think I'll have to get one :P :D

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Post by rossnunn »

fair do's :lol: I was just wonderin
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Autoboxes are superb for everyday commuting in urban traffic.
Here in DK at larger towns (not just Copenhagen) its stop and go at snails speed every morning for most drivers.
Its exhaustive for the clutch foot. And no manuel box is that good you wont miss a couple of gearshifts during qeue time. It stresses you to the pain limit - and you aint started working yet :?
One of many stress factors that do their job to increase the number of those minor everyday traffic incidents.

And you can forget about daily "spirited performance driving" in DK. There is simply not room for those speedy heroes on the highways - other than late Friday night & early saturday morning.

By nature (design) autoboxes were never meant to "up the performance". (Which by some strange thinking always means top speed and acceleration capabilities - never the daily comfortable driving).
Autoboxes in competetion cars are very different creatures - and so are their costs :shock:
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image
James.UK
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Post by James.UK »

I agree entirely with Anders. Most top of the range cars have autoboxes, if you can afford an auto, get one! :D

The Auto box in my ZX is excellant, it may have a slight power loss from parked, but it's top end is uneffected, and as Anders said, it leaves me free to enjoy the ride and not have to keep shifting levers, and pumping pedals! I can concentrate 100% on what the people ahead and behind are doing.

I have owned both type gearboxes many times over the years, including a Daimler DB18 with a pre-selector box, and auto's get my vote every time. :D And changing gears in a busy town centre can be a dangerous distraction at times..
.
James. (Nr M67 East of Manchester).
Dark Blue ZX 1.9D Auto 1994 'L' 5 dr (modified) Aura. 98K miles used daily. Ave mpg 40
Wedgewood Blue 75 CTD auto Connoissaur. 2002. 144k. used daily. ave mpg 40 ish.
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Post by DoubleChevron »

Hee,hee,

I think I drove through peak traffic ......... for a whole 5minutes here yesterday Image Image Image Image Image

I'm far more likely to have the left foot nailed on the 'loud' pedal passing cars & trucks at high speed than to be in traffic... There's nothing like touching the rev limiter in 3rd on full boost and changing into 4th as you continue to charge past slow trucks & cars Image Image Image Image Image

I'd HATE with a passion to be stuck in traffic for any length of time, that would take all the fun out of driving !! I'd sooner have a full frontal labotomy than fit a slugomatic gearbox to my car :roll: (given my driving conditions)

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Mandrake
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Post by Mandrake »

DoubleChevron wrote:I'm far more likely to have the left foot nailed on the 'loud' pedal passing cars & trucks at high speed than to be in traffic...
You use your left foot on the accelerator ? :shock: :shock:

Regards,
Simon
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
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2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
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1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
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Post by horrid1 »

:lol: Left foot on loud pedal? He's obviously an Ocker !!! :roll:

Regards, Ernie
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Post by mbunting »

Well, as someone who's recently gone from manual diesels to an auto petrol, I would say that I generally prefer the auto. I miss the torque of the desel though, so the auto sometimes changes down, or doesn't use what I would think is the most appropriate gear.

How interchangable are the gearboxes ? Could I ( for example ) put one of the later xantia intelligent auto's into my 405 ( replacing the old one ).

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Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Someone mentioned 'afford' and that is really the crux of the matter. The autobox absorbs considerably more power than the manual equivalent, and therefore uses more fuel, also if you run a relativly cheap car, auto box failure will write it off, they can also be dangerous for elderly confused people like me. I personally dont like autos to drive, they dont do what you want, but I can appreciate the case for them in urban areas. I am very pleased that I live in the country!
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Post by James.UK »

Hi Pete. The fuel usage isn't that much different these days. I have had 55 mpg on a couple of long Mway runs, and ave around 35-45 mpg. depending on town visits.. Many manual 2 litre ish cars can't manage that.

As for gearbox problems auto scrapping the car, that depends on the problem, and what value you put on your car.. Should my gearbox fail beyond repair, then I would get another s/hand or recon one to replace it. Exactly as I would if a manual gearbox did the same thing. And personally in 45 years of driving I have never had an auto box fail beyond repair, they are in my experience, extremely reliable.

Auto boxes also save you a lot of time, trouble, and money, by not requiring new clutches and cables every 50K miles or so. :D

Quote- "they can also be dangerous for elderly confused people like me". -unquote..

I fail to understand how??? You just put them in drive and off you go? You can then forget gears till journeys end, then put it in park, turn the engine off, and exit car. What could be simpler? A 5-6 speed manual gearbox?? I don't think so!! :shock: A lot of elderly people (and learners) don't seem to understand how they work, and drive round in the wrong gears all day. Usually choosing a middle one to minimise the number of changes they have to make! :shock: :roll:

In the UK living in the country is no help to a motorist. Our country roads never run straight for more than a hundred yards!, visibility is normally very poor due to hedges, and the roads go up and down like a switchback ride in your area. I doubt anyone can stay in top gear for very long, other than on an "A" road.. :(

Unless you have loads of open roads (like Shane :-P) that are traffic free and run fairly straight for hundreds of miles, then an automatic car is a far better choice, it does cost marginally more, but not enough to worry about :) , and its well worth the little extra. :D
.
James. (Nr M67 East of Manchester).
Dark Blue ZX 1.9D Auto 1994 'L' 5 dr (modified) Aura. 98K miles used daily. Ave mpg 40
Wedgewood Blue 75 CTD auto Connoissaur. 2002. 144k. used daily. ave mpg 40 ish.
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Post by rossnunn »

here in very cold :( Lincolnshire, UK the roads are very flat & very straightish.

Has anyone had any experiance of the Auto/Tiptronic boxes?

Mother has a Xantia with a Auto box & that is fantastic, althoguh if you nail the load pedal it can downchange with a rather large thud! But her's doesn't have the Tip on the side.

If I were looking into swaping it would be to a Auto/Tip box, kinda gives you the manual effect until you can't really be bothered! lol
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Post by jeremy »

I seem to remember looking at the official Citroen site and in the technical section they list the performance for the semi autos as compared to the manuals. The semi auto seemed rather slow from what I remember, and the diesel was slower than a ZX 1.9D which I use as a measure for the minimum acceptable performance.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Hi James

I must admit that I am basing my opinion largely on the XM td as that is what I have been driving for the last 20 years or so. I did try an auto with a view to buying it, but didn't like the way it changed gear or the revs that it changed at. I change up at usually below 2,000 rpm as the 2.1 td has plenty enough torque to pull at that speed, the auto changed up at about 3,000 making it noisy as well as thirsty.

If you are getting 55 mpg from an auto, I compliment you on your driving, you obviously dont tear about like many do. My XM averages 40-45 mpg around here but on my north Scotland trips has been known to exceed 55 mpg and its a big heavy estate car. I would be very intersted to know if anyone on here has got anything like that from an auto.

As most XM are only worth about £1k the cost of just removing and replacing the gearbox would be enough to write the car off, thats why there are plenty of auto XMs for sale on e-bay for very little money but late manuals are like hens teeth, also if you get a fault on a manual box it doesnt usually stop you driving it. My last XM had covered 292k when I sold it and the gearbox was still near perfect, whereas I have heard of may autos that have failed at around 80k. I have never changed a clutch on an XM, the one I have now is perfect at nearly 140k.

They are dangerous for the very reason that you state "you put them in drive and go" many elderly people (older than me of course) dont react as quickly as a car with an auto box does as is evidenced by the number of people, in this part of the world that have driven off ferries, in the middle of the river, off quay sides and river banks and through walls.
With a manual box you have to think about dipping the clutch, putting in to gear and controling the clutch while pulling away, by the time you have done this you are sufficiently awake to be in control of the car. Just check the statistics of accidents involving elderly drivers and see how many were driving auto's.

Anyway, its horses for cources, I dont drive in traffic enough to warrant an auto, although I still do about 20k miles per year, if I lived in London I probably would, but thankfully I dont. I used to work there in the '50s and the traffic was bad enough then!.
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Post by mbunting »

You tend to hear about a 95 year old driver who somehow managed to go over a cliff in thier car - you hear "eye witness" statements that say the person looked confused as they took off at speed over the grass, and then went downwards.

I wonder if this is due to them putting it into drive rather than reverse ( or the other way ), and panicking ?

Anyway, onto my point:

We like to go to a Scottish island ( won't tell you where, it'll spoil it ! ) for our summer holidays - we first went there in our Xantia TD Manual for our honeymoon. I calculated the fuel economy ( as you do :wink: ) as 42mpg overall.

Last year, we did the same in an AX 1.5D ( don't ask ) - 67mpg overall.

This year, we did it in the 405 2.0 Auto Estate - 44mpg

Similar driving styles - the AX was fully loaded ( we camped that year ) and had a roof-box on, the other two trips were B&B.

My daily 70 mile journey consist of 70% dual carriageway / motorway, and 30% stop-start traffic. This later part is the bit where the fuel gets slurped, and so maintaining momentum ( no matter how low ) is very important.
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