K10 Automatic; Owners' Reviews

[porkpie700]

The title pretty much explains the point of this thread. I saw a very mint looking auto k10 parked up the other day and it got me thinking, whenever i see one it's useually in a pretty tidy condition and boasting over 100k on the clock.
So from all those who own or have owned a k10 auto, let the micra world know what you think of them.

 

[James]

My K10 camper van was a 1.0 auto, it couldn't get over 55mph on the motorway, although that may have been down to all the extra weight

I really didn't like the auto box though!

 

[superls]

when i had the 10 on the road, i had the 4 speed, the 5 speed short and a 5 speed long, so at some point ive had all the popular manual gearboxes.

never had dealings with the micra auto box, so couldnt possibly comment, do they have torque converter lock like my dads beemer used to?

 

[Shaun]

How can you tell if you have a long ratio box?

 

[superls]

the number on the top under the dizzy, forget what it is now tho. also you can tell when you change from 4th to fith, if the revs only change by about 500 youve got a short, but if they drop by 1000+ then youve got a long

 

[superls]

@shaun

post 7

http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/20369-another-gearbox-question?highlight=

 

[Shaun]

ah ok will have to have a look for that today whilst i have my head in there seen some nice k11's that take my fancy too

 

[porkpie700]

Shaun your's is a 1.2 so it will have the long ratio as standard, to my knowledge only the 1 litre 5-speeds were short-ratio, making them drive up hills much better. The long ratio 5-speed is essentially a 4-speed with an extra gear added on there, which makes it much quieter on the motorway. I changed from a 4-speed to a 5 long-ratio and it's the daddy on the motorway (Y)

 

[boyracergt]

my 10 started off with the 4 speed which seems quicker than the 5 speed long ratio i had afterwards i find (on a ma10) the long ratio 5 isnt much good yes its uber quiet at higher speeds but constantly changing down gears when wanting to accelerate or an incline. im now running the 5 speed short ratio but havent had it on the road so no ideas wether its a good compromise. as for the auto i have no experience with theese but seeing as its a fairly old car its going to be simple box (for auto standards) meaning pap but as said never had an auto.

 

[RTLkyuubi]

My 1st car was a 1.2 auto, had it for a week and converted it to a 5speed manual. Sooo much better! I dont know which 5 speed it was so ive clicked both.

A micra with a manual box cant fight its way out of a paper bag so expect the auto to be alot worse! Also with it being a fully mechanical box, it doesnt change gear at different revs depending on how much your booting it (ok it does it a little with the kick down cable but thats either change now or a little later) In other words, its very crude

 

[imp124]

My ST has an auto box (fair enough it has a bit more guts than a standad K10) but yes it is fairly crude and doesnt change down when you want it to

 

[porkpie700]

Oh dear, its not looking good for the autos lol.

A micra with a manual box cant fight its way out of a paper bag

If that's the experiance you have with your 1.2 then there must be something wrong with it, my 1.2 will give most things a run for their money and that's on a long ratio 5 speed. That said, i keep mine well serviced and make every effort to keep it ticking like a swiss watch

 

[Shaun]

I've been giving puntos a good kicking ever since I got my K10 (Y)

 

[porkpie700]

Yeah man down with chavy boy racer cars lol. Punto, corsa, 206, fiesta and saxos, you guys ain't got nothin' on the micra!

 

[RTLkyuubi]

Oh dear, its not looking good for the autos lol.



If that's the experiance you have with your 1.2 then there must be something wrong with it, my 1.2 will give most things a run for their money and that's on a long ratio 5 speed. That said, i keep mine well serviced and make every effort to keep it ticking like a swiss watch

with 60bhp (standard iirc) your not gonna give many things a run for their money! My single cylinder 660cc motorbike has more power! But it all depends on what youve experienced. If youve been on scooters, pushbikes or the bus, then yes, a k10 will feel fast lol.

But after owning a bike carbed 2litre viva and driven bmw 325's and 335's, Micra's dont feel like they get you anywhere quick

 

[boyracergt]

Of course a micras going to seem slow compared to bmws and the viva the engines are twice the size but a micra against a similar sized hatch will win anyday. My 1l micra would easily kill my 1.2 nova, 1.2 puntos and even a 1.6 golf. In the run of it a micras fast for what it is.

 

[porkpie700]

If you don't like micras then what are doing on a micra forum bro lol. You can't compare bikes to cars because they don't weigh anything. Crist my 125 aprilia left an MR2 for dead up to 60mph and it's a tiny engine, so null point.

 

[RTLkyuubi]

maybe because ive got a micra?? But I didnt buy it to be fast lol. economical and cheap to buy ftw. I wasnt comparing the acceleration between a car and bike, just saying how little horsepower is produced from an engine thats got 4 time the ammount of pistons and twice the capacity.

 

[Shaun]

just saying how little horsepower is produced from an engine thats got 4 time the ammount of pistons and twice the capacity.

you got a point there so in order for us to get the full power.... nitrous anyone?

 

[porkpie700]

Nitrous... na, too much expence for a few seconds of action. They have a heavy body to pull around, if the doors, tailgate, wings and hood were carbonfibre or fibreglass that would help out a hell of a lot. What really annoys me more than owt else with the k10, why didn't nissan use fuel injection instead of a carb... It was the 1980's and injected engines were being used in lots of cars at the time. Then again i don't understand why they didn't just use the sunny engine of that era and let us have a 1.4 k10 as standard and a nice big 2.0 version for the super s. That would have been fun :grinning:

 

[Shaun]

Nitrous... na, too much expence for a few seconds of action. They have a heavy body to pull around, if the doors, tailgate, wings and hood were carbonfibre or fibreglass that would help out a hell of a lot. What really annoys me more than owt else with the k10, why didn't nissan use fuel injection instead of a carb... It was the 1980's and injected engines were being used in lots of cars at the time. Then again i don't understand why they didn't just use the sunny engine of that era and let us have a 1.4 k10 as standard and a nice big 2.0 version for the super s. That would have been fun :grinning:

well yeah but then again they had already planned to have fuel injection in the k11 which was their plan to convert micra lovers over to the k11 i guess for economy etc.
still best looking micra body to date (Y)

 

[boyracergt]

still best looking micra body to date

agreed!

 

[tankyou]

Having owned a 5 speed 1.2 and 3 speed auto 1.2 I can say that the auto isn't all that bad in comparison. Sure the manual will feel nippier, but manuals are always quicker off the mark than the comparable auto box.

 

[porkpie700]

Having owned a 5 speed 1.2 and 3 speed auto 1.2 I can say that the auto isn't all that bad in comparison.

So how did you find the auto box in terms of reliability, is it a case of strong-arm-steady and built to last or are there any common faults as there are with the k11 auto? Lot's of contrasting views on this thread, it's pretty interesting stuff. I think i'd be quite happy to have an auto k10 provided it was a 1.2, i love the ma12 why weren't all micra's fitted with one lol.

 

[imp124]

So how did you find the auto box in terms of reliability, is it a case of strong-arm-steady and built to last or are there any common faults as there are with the k11 auto? Lot's of contrasting views on this thread, it's pretty interesting stuff. I think i'd be quite happy to have an auto k10 provided it was a 1.2, i love the ma12 why weren't all micra's fitted with one lol.

Well my engine has some poke with the turbo and s/c and the box still sounds mint and its probably had a good battering in its life

 

[Kerriebum]

I know this thread is old but had to say my bit (nothing too interesting)
I get a real thrill out of driving my k10 she's a 1.2 GS auto and has not once failed me, had minimal advisories on mots, considering she sat unused outside for 4 years till July this year she did pretty damn well when I took her out again for the first time... I wasn't easy on her forced 80 miles out of her that day and not one complaint, I get a lot of looks when I'm driving... don't know if its coz they think she's ugly coz she's old or if its coz she's got such a loud engine they think its a super car coming down the road lol

I think my k10 handles fine for a car over 20 years old, with no power steering and the suspension being so old too, I like to feel the car working and swinging my steering wheel round to get round the corners... who really needs a push button start! and power steering would only really benefit me for parallel parking!
I get away from the lights quicker than most the boy racers in their silly decorated cars, and then get shouted at out their window when they catch me up coz im a girl, my music is too loud to hear them anyway!
I've been looking at getting a newer car but I cant put my trust in anything else, she's done so well I've decided I don't want anything else till her dying day!
My 8 year old is in love with it too, she has asked me if it can be her first car.... i'm not sure it will last till over the age of 30 without a lot of money being spent on it, but i'm going to give it a go, its not worth enough money for me to bother selling it anyway. Every mechanic I meet thanks me for bringing a car for mot that they actually might get to work on instead of plugging in a computer, and have all been wowed at how she runs and that it passes mot! I've not looked after it like a car enthusiast might have done changed spark plug done the belts I got tyres when needed... has been neglected really so to do the job it does I think its a fantastic car whether it be an auto or a manual.
Cant stand the shape of the newer micras I think they butt ugly and I cant fit my 4 kids and their car seats in the newer ones either!
Really cheap to run, I couldn't ask for anything more from a car unless of course I want to go round a race track....

 

[porkpie700]

Cool stuff Kerrie. Whenever i have passengers they always tell me that people are "having a right good look" at my auto. Thing is I never notice because i'm driving lol.