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Automatic VS Standard

The reason I am asking is my 91 xj 2dr 2wd that I have has the tranny out and I am wanting to swap it over to 4wd but I am having a hadr time finding an AX-15 in 2 or 4 wd and the only parts vehicles that I have been able to find have all been automatics .
I would prefer the standard just want some opinions on both.
Sean
 
Both are pretty good trannies, but I think the AW4 takes the cake for durability and longevity. If you have to shift your own gears though, an AX-15 will do fine so long as you're not running huge tires or lots of HP/TQ. There's a vendor on here who makes manual kits for the AW4 although its still not the same as a true MT.

I run an AX15 but sometimes I wish I had the AW4. Controlling your own gears is nice though.
 
I will NEVER wheel an automatic. IMO the many times I have, it's just been a miserable and numb experience. Typically, either I couldn't stomp the brake pedal hard enough or had to constantly shift between N and D.

NV4500 in my rig, had an AX15 before and it never let me down. Get yourself a thumb throttle and you're golden.
 
woodbutcher said:
well what other years and models use the ax-15 besides the XJ?
so I can expand my search.
Thanks for the input.
Sean
Click to expand...

I have an AX15 in my YJ and the AW4 in my XJ.

For crawling I prefer the stick for control, I can't imagine wheeling that sort of stuff in an auto. However, for overland and medium duty stuff (Rubicon on down) I love having the AW4 because it is nice to not have to deal with shifting.

On the street, the AW4 definitely makes the Jeep feel more powerful than its brother and it is definitely easier to drive. Doing everything over again, I'd pick the AW4 Jeep since honestly and realistically 95% of the driving my Jeeps get these days are on the pavement (like most)

Look at it this way, if it is your primary vehicle and you do ~30k in a year, how many of those miles are offroad? Hell maybe you wheel a *lot*, 500, 1000... 2000? Exactly.
 
AW4 by far is my favorite. Strong, hasnt let me, does great wheeling. Get a heavy duty cooler and you can wheel all day and night and not notice a difference in handeling. Only bad part about automatics is when the CPS goes out, and you feel like a idiot when you stall at every stop and youre driving a automatic. DieElectric Grease is your best friend!
 
I wheel an AW4 and I love it. Alot of the guys in my club have TJ's that are sticks and there always stalling them trying to do really slow technical sections and on rocks. I just sit back and concentrate on my line and let the tranny do the work.

The only place I could see the stick being better is where you need alot of engine braking or you need the ability to spin the tires in an instant to clear them.
 
I love my AW4 as well. I made one of the manual controllers, so I can shift it myself, or let the TCU do the work.

It's really personal preference, but I prefer an auto for the following reasons:
-No stalling out
-don't burn through clutches (just use a tranny cooler)
-easier to get moving without unwanted movement (handy when having to stop in rocks or technical off camber situations where brake, gas and clutch would all be needed)
-More Torque (Torque converters double, sometimes even triple the torque output of the motor)
-Laziness, it can get old pumping the clutch all day.
 
vetteboy said:
I will NEVER wheel an automatic. IMO the many times I have, it's just been a miserable and numb experience. Typically, either I couldn't stomp the brake pedal hard enough or had to constantly shift between N and D.
Click to expand...

Why not just fix the brakes?
 
lawsoncl said:
Why not just fix the brakes?
Click to expand...

Because they weren't broken. The problem arises from a factory torque converter that has a low stall speed, and gearing chosen to actually function well offroad vs. relying on slip in the transmission.

Sounds like a lot of folks here that are complaining about stick shift things offroad (burning clutches, stalling, etc) have never driven a properly geared rig.
 
vetteboy said:
Sounds like a lot of folks here that are complaining about stick shift things offroad (burning clutches, stalling, etc) have never driven a properly geared rig.
Click to expand...

Yup, I vary rarely stall at 55:1 and it is almost impossible to stall at 141:1. I vote manual.
 
I've got a T-18 in my CJ, I love it. The XJ I'm building has the AW4, I have no plans on swapping it out. I'll just have to get used to more throttle feathering and braking.
 
As a personal preference, I've always driven a stick. Less to break, and it puts me in control of what gear I want to be in.

Lot of good pro's for an auto as mentioned, but you can't bump start an auto when the battery or starter fails.....
 
I like the torque multiplication of the auto trans...and with 4 wheel disc...I dont have any problems holding the rig in place or stopping it...and I have climbed obstacles that were as near vert as possible without falling over.
 
BRIANHO13 said:
Yup, I vary rarely stall at 55:1 and it is almost impossible to stall at 141:1. I vote manual.
Click to expand...

You're running the NP231 crawl box, right?

With that and the NV4500 I've got about 98:1 and 182:1 as the lowest two choices, sort of a large gap that would be made a LOT better with a 4:1 in one of the cases, but I didn't want to sink that much money into this drivetrain yet. Should be good choices though for "technical" vs. "extreme" stuff.
 
Yup, I am running one. I used to have a 4:1 in a 231 but 80:1 was just too low for much of the midwest wheeling. it seams to be set up perfectly now.
 
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