Say you want to accelerate quickly from either a standing start or slower speed so want to stay in boost over a range of gear would you more likely acheive that in a manual or automatic. This is for a unmodded 300zx.

 

Basically what i am asking is;

can you change gear fast enough in manual to stay in the boost region, with out breaking the gear stick off?

Or, can the auto box be relied upon to consistently change up (not kick down) at a suitable rev range to stay in boost when the accelerator is heavily depressed, and does this depend on the setting (power mode, overdrive)?

Auto will stay in boost and clearly wont kickdown from a standing start as it will have already started in first gear and will only change up when required. At slow speed the same counts unless you are in 2nd gear in the auto in which case you would want it kickdown anyways to maximise what you can get out of first.

 

I doubt you would be able to change gear quick enough on any turbo car without dumping boost as its a function of throttle position but it really wouldnt make a huge difference.

 

The bonus with an auto for standing starts is a fair bit less skill is required to get the right (ie no clutch issues..) so you just rev holding the brake then let go and plant your right fight at a speed just below wheel spin.

 

HTH