I have a tip also and my thoughts are this. A manual has some advantages like you choose gear constantly and you dont loose as much hp through the tranny. 6 gears instead of five gives the impression of harder pull in each gear but you have to get off boost and shift and back on boost. It does allow for you to rev the car and hear the exhaust perhaps more than manually shifting the tip. The downsides are that if you are not carefull these manuals will break. If you modify you are shortening clutch life. Now a manual with LTW flywheel and better clutch with all the goodies is probably more fun to drive but in terms of really being much faster, I have not found this to be the case. Once modded I think the extra torque likes the gearing spread in the 5 speed auto. Car will pull around 90mph in second and almost 120 in third. It is screaming in these gears and does not really fall off that much even going into forth. Biggest advantage I think is for a newbie just starting DE like me on a track like raod atlanta you can focus on the line and braking and keep both hands on the wheel without worry of missing a shift or hitting the rev limiter. Both are good and I see why some prefer manuals for the sensation or feel when driving but as far as outright quickness I don't think there any material difference. Also a stick is not easy to launch. I can run my car from a standstill with ease and no spinning or wheel hop and run 11.9 consistently in the quarter. Once I learn to brake boost I think I can even do better. Bottom line is buy what you want but don't assume that the auto is less of a performer as it is not. It is somewhat less "fun" but is pretty bullet proof, convenient and quick. Just my personal impression of owning my tippy.