I literally just got my Jeep back this morning from the conversion, so I don't have a lot of experience driving the Hemi with an automatic transmission, but I will explain my reasoning why I decided to switch to an automatic.

First, I like to rock crawl a lot. Since I have also invested in some dana 60s and also am saving up for the EVO coilover suspension, I will also be doing a lot tougher trails as well. Right now it is more effort than I would like controlling my clutch and shifter when I should be being more attention to where I am at on the line on the trails. So for the easier control, I went with automatic.

Second, after I regeared I was already shifting faster then expected. With a Hemi, I would be shifting even faster. I know that this is easily remedied with skipping gears and such, but I wanted something that was a little more 'shift friendly'.

Third, I have come to the conclusion that my wife will never know how to drive stick, no matter how much my brother-in-law, others, or I tried to teach her. I figured it would be easier to get something she could drive, especially when on a trail.

Others may know something else I don't, like whether performance is different between an automatic or manual, but whatever the reasons are just make sure you go with something you KNOW you will not regret in the future.

 

Thank you very much for you explanation,
you have some good points.
My self most of the driving will be in the desert and dune climbing. I enjoy driving the Manual however sometimes I wish that I had auto when driving in the city.
The thing is, i heard from many that Auto Hemi out performs the manual Hemi and the manual Hemi doesn't seem right!!! its like you will have less performance ..i really don't know why..Maybe because power is lost during the shifting or something..Not sure.
but honestly I appreciate your reply.
Thank you