Automatic Vs Manual Kei Trucks

There is a lot to learn in a vehicle. Among the most important functional parts in a vehicle is the transmission system that it has. Transmission system of a vehicle in simpler terms means switching gears. Switching gears helps to ensure that the engine continues running normally. There are two main types of transmission systems used in vehicles. There is the automatic transmission and manual transmission. In this guide, we will go through a comparison of automatic vs manual kei trucks. It should also be similar to any other vehicle out there.

What is Manual Transmission

The manual transmission is the first generation gearing method that was used in motor vehicles. It requires the input of the driver to engage and switch between different gears of the vehicle. Usually, the gearing system is located in the gear box. A gear box is a mechanical device which is usually found under the vehicle body. It is houses different parts which includes the gears and its switching system. It is here where the driver’s action takes place and engages different gears to change the torque of the vehicle as required.

Some people call the manual transmission vehicle a stick-shift car. This is because there is usually a stick device that the driver uses to shift gears. The shift stick connects and is well designed in a way that one can change the gears by pushing it into different positions.

How Manual transmission works

Now that we know what the manual transmission and gear box holds, how does the manual transmission system work?

Anyone who has had a chance to look at the interior of a manual kei truck, or any other manual vehicle will notice a conspicuous stick device in between the driver and the front passenger seat. This is the shifting gear stick. There is also a noticeable “H” pattern. The stick is moved differently along the pattern and it is at this point that the driver is engaging different gears of the vehicle.

The reason why there are multiple gears is because of the different torques that are generated when the engine reaches the maximum rpm. It reaches a point when a there isn’t enough toque in the vehicle and there is need to shift either to a higher gear or a lower one. Therefore, you need to change the gears, and in this case, manually. The switching of gears is made possible with the clutch of the car. The clutch disengages the gears from the engine gears before shifting to the net one that has been selected by the driver.

What is an Automatic Transmission?

Automatic transmission is the next kind of transmission that the Japanese kei trucks come in. It is a transmission system that requires no manual work or actual engagement by the driver. This type of transmission is the latest and is being used with most modern vehicles around. It is actually an advanced version of the manual transmission and many people find the system to be easy to use. So, for instance someone who has only driven an automatic vehicle would find it a bit harder to start operating a vehicle that uses a manual transmission because there is some learning and gettign used to.

But what happens with automatic vehicles? First off, you will realize that there is a different stick which doesn’t have a “H” pattern like it is with manual transmission. The other difference is that automatic vehicles have two pedals while a manual one has three. However, this doesn’t mean that the vehicle has one gear or doesn’t switch gears. Automatic transmission actually uses hydraulic functionality to switch between gears.

How does automatic transmission work?

There are planetary epicycle gear-set design which basically lines up gears on the input, output and intermediary shafts of the system. Another thing that one would realize is that there is no manual clutch as it is the case with manual vehicles. So, how does it disengage and engage the gears as required? Automatic transmission system have a set of devices which includes internal clutches, brake packs and friction bands. These devices work collectively with the hydraulic system to engage different gears instantly and automatically without requiring any driver intervention.

Most of the kei trucks that are designed with automatic transmission uses a sprag clutch. This type of clutch allows transmission of torque in one direction while freewheeling. IT handles the drive-train load and ensures no sensitivity when transitioning from one gear to the other. And this is why in reality, anyone without any mechanical expertise will hardly realize what goes on under the hood. The whole experience is seamless and everybody loves it that way.

Automatic Vs Manual Kei Trucks

Having gone through some of the crucial things, we hope you now have a better understanding of how the automatic and manual transmission works. The question to ask is: What is the difference between automatic vs manual kei trucks?

A comparison between automatic vs manual kei trucks or other vehicles is more like comparing an easier to control vehicle vs one that is more involved. There is a lot of involvement needed when you are using a manual transmission vehicle. For instance the need to press on the clutch every time you want to manually switch using the manual stick. For automatic vehicles, there is no clutch to press on, and the stick will usually have 4 modes (drive, reverse, park and neutral).

However, one thing that is worth noting is that there are some kei trucks that will give you good efficiency. They may also come more affordably as compared to automatic ones. So, there are also some things worth looking into before you make that outright decision. And if you know how to drive a manual vehicle, you can drive an automatic one. Automatic users will have some time to adopt to manual though.

Final Word

Japanese kei trucks, like any other vehicle have a transmission system. A transmission system is necessary for the physics and functionality of the vehicle. Having outlines and gone through the two main types of transmissions, hopefully you know the advantages that comes with each of them.

Take some time to check out some of the best kei trucks you can buy from our car sales listing page. We can help you with the shipment to any country you are.