vettejockey

I just got my C6 with A6 Paddle shift capability which is an upgrade from my 03 with an A4. I am wondering what the target RPM levels for shifting using the paddles in S mode would be to get the best perfromance without damaging the car.

Also what is competative mode and what does it do?

gbecton

5200 works for me on the track, comp mode, you control the rear wheels. (to some degree).

vettejockey

So you shift up or down based on speed vs RPM's to keep them at around 5200.

Currently in D or non-shifting S the RPM's look to be at around 2500 to 3500.

Thanks for the information

wratran

is there a reason why you dont shift it at the max HP...around 6200-6500?

shurite44

Right before you hit the rev limiter.

ghostRder

The HUD should tell you when to shift in comp mode, and I believe there is a rev limiter in the A6 (there has to be).

shurite44

For road racing I have no idea, but for drag racing if you shift at 5200 rpms you are going to lose at least 2 tenths of a second in the qtr mile. Somewhere around 6200-6300 rpm's should give you your best times on a drag strip.

TMyers

Rev limiter yes but tells you when to shift, not that I'm aware of.

Anyway on the 1st to 2nd gear shift you need to do it around 5200 rpms. There is a lag on this shift and at that rpm you should not hit the limiter. For the other gears you can be more aggressive. The shifts are quicker between the gears and the tach is moving slower.

shurite44

My C5 had a shift light, I have not seen it on my C6 but I am sure it is there.

adaca

Auto or manual, you do the same.

Up shift at rev limit, normally just above power peak, so you start out the next gear from the torque peak.

TMyers

Hmm now I'm going to check., naw to late.

shurite44

In the C5 it was in the HUD. Said SHIFT, I think at the top right hand corner of the HUD. Many people never noticed it.

Radical05

Same as the floor mounted shifter

TMyers

Nope not there on the C6. Just went out and tested it.

shurite44

Wow, I wonder what prompted GM to remove that?

rayainsw

From the ( 2006 ) manual:

• Shift Light
This light is used for performance driving to indicate
that the vehicle’s best performance level has been
reached to shift the transmission into the next higher
gear. An arrow pointing up will light up on the display
just prior to reaching the engine fuel cut-off mode.
This cut-off is about 6,500 RPM for the LS2 engine
and 7,000 RPM for the LS7 engine.

rayainsw

I think that the issue here is that for the Corvette’s A6 ( like many manumatic implementations ) it was decided that the behavior as the RPM reach redline \ fuel shut-off \ rev limiter ought to be as in a manual trans. Meaning, stay in the selected gear & bounce off the rev limiter.

This appears to be an issue where the lag \ delay in ( paddle ) shift request to actual initiation of the shift is long enough that the fast rising RPM in first gear can allow the engine to hit the limiter before the shift begins.

Though I do not yet have my 07 ( Fall ) my understanding from several other posters here is that if timing of paddle shift request is not perfect, and the motor does run into the limiter, there will be lost time – as once into the limiter, there is a further delay before full acceleration will begin in the higher gear.

My personal preference would be that I have a choice in such trans. behavior. But failing that, I’d have preferred that this A6 behave like the TipTronic A5 I drove for a couple of years – in that if I did not manually upshift the trans., it would automatically initiate an upshift at the redline. The thinking ( I presume ) is that if you are at WOT, and the RPM approach fuel cut-off, a shift to the next higher gear is what the driver really intends – and the driver has just been a tad slow on the draw. This behavior seems preferable to bouncing off the limiter in any real world driving instance I can think of. The sudden cut-off in acceleration in the lower gears seems more upsetting to the car’s dynamics than an upshift to the next higher gear.

But GM did not ask me . . .

- Ray
Moving closer to ordering an 07 w/A6 . . .

AU N EGL

In most cases an LSx motor has peek tq at 4800rpms and peek hp at 6300 rpms. You want to shift above peek HP as the rpms will drop after the shift, yet you will still be in a good power band.

this is racing of course, not street driving.

the other factor is that the A6 paddle shifter does have computer algarythems to all shifting up or down with in a RPM range. If you are not within that range, even if you push the button the trans will not shift until the computer says the engine is in the shift rpm range.

Bouncing the car off the fuel cut off rpm is not a good idea, that is what red line is for and the fuel cut off is 150 rpms or so above red line.

The Squeaky Wheel

Interesting.
I've yet to see this light on my A6, built May 06, and I've hit redline a few times.

wratran

http://www.raptorperformance.com/

This is the smallest shift light i could find.