(wait for it......
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why so many automatic c4's?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,496
Likes: 475
From: New Jersey
I'm old and lazy and wanted an automatic. Seriously though, when I bought it I was undergoing rotator cuff rehab and was scared that my shoulder would never be right again. I do enjoy the ease but I wonder sometimes.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 21,543
Likes: 3,216
From: Park City Utah
It is true that an auto can be set up to shift faster than any human (just like any duel clutch can -same idea), but in between shifts (where you spend most of your time), the auto is sucking hp with:
*Hydraulic pump
*Clutch and band friction
*torque converter slippage
*weight
Unless you're car is capable of going below mid 12's, I feel that the car can be driven faster w/a stick, than an auto. Maybe not with you driving (not a bash...I don't know), but with top drivers, down to mid 12's I feel the car will go faster w/a stick
You guys should watch some of the top drivers drive Z06's and ZR1's into the 10's. Their shifting is sublime. Could the cars go faster w/an auto? IDK. MAYbe. Could I drive THOSE cars faster w/a stick than an auto? Not me...not those cars. But I've driven 12 second cars to lower times than any auto version of the same car, so I say w/confidence, that the efficiency of the stick can out do the shifting of the auto down to mid 12's. Here is a yellow C5 going 10.33 at my local track...Rowing his own. THAT is driving.
http://s127.photobucket.com/user/mar...N5680.jpg.html
Last edited by Tom400CFI; Mar 25, 2013 at 10:00 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 3
From: Greensboro NC
Im with you.
Ive happily ditched the A/C, and power seats (in favor of manual sliders) on my vert.
Ive come to the conclusion the top should be down if Im driving it at which point A/C doesnt make sense.
Of course a summer rainstorm makes A/C useful, but then again those rainstorms are so short-lived that the windows/top are back down again with the sun shining/ birds chirping like nothing ever happened just as soon as the rainstorm started.
Ive happily ditched the A/C, and power seats (in favor of manual sliders) on my vert.
Ive come to the conclusion the top should be down if Im driving it at which point A/C doesnt make sense.
Of course a summer rainstorm makes A/C useful, but then again those rainstorms are so short-lived that the windows/top are back down again with the sun shining/ birds chirping like nothing ever happened just as soon as the rainstorm started.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 462
Likes: 3
From: Virginia
Hard to shift? I drove an '87 with the 4+3, and I rather enjoyed it. Being able to cruise at 35 MPH was also quite nice and not something I can do with my '96 ZF6. ZF6-equipped cars pretty much hate travelling at less than 45.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 628
Likes: 13
From: Indiana
Tom400CFI,
I meant only the speed of shifting not the speed of the car. I also believe that a manual is where its at when it comes to true racing. As for the automatic my car does 165 mph and at that speed I like the fact that I can apply all my attention to the road and let the car do the rest. Do I miss the manual? Yea there are times but for the most part I like what I have now. You have to admit that for an automatic this is one bold shifter.
I meant only the speed of shifting not the speed of the car. I also believe that a manual is where its at when it comes to true racing. As for the automatic my car does 165 mph and at that speed I like the fact that I can apply all my attention to the road and let the car do the rest. Do I miss the manual? Yea there are times but for the most part I like what I have now. You have to admit that for an automatic this is one bold shifter.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 672
Likes: 2
From: Cheltenham, England
This whole rarity issue regarding stick shift interests me, if, as I found out , there were less than two hundred C4s imported into the UK, Id like to know what percentage of those would have been six speed? and how rare would that make my car? dont suppose I'll find out though..
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,752
Likes: 276
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The only solution is to have both 
a manual C4 and an automatic C4, you would tend to drive the automatic more often unless you were out on a weekend and wanted to change gears for something to do.
I have had manual and automatic cars and i prefer an auto, well in a right hand drive C4 you just don't have the room for 3 pedals and size 12 feet.
a manual C4 and an automatic C4, you would tend to drive the automatic more often unless you were out on a weekend and wanted to change gears for something to do.I have had manual and automatic cars and i prefer an auto, well in a right hand drive C4 you just don't have the room for 3 pedals and size 12 feet.
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