If that was for me Brian the answer is "sort of"

I went to buy an MN6 coupe and came away with an A4 Vert. Glad I did because I've had way more fun from the softtop than I would have had from the MN6.

Even so, I'll admit that having always driven stick (over 30 cars and this is only my second auto), the fact that my high performance sports car is an Auto is something of an embarrasment. Even my Ford Explorer in vegas was a stick

Back to the discussion though, if it sounds like I drive around pumping away at my A4 gears its not true. Most of the time it sits happily in D. My argument is that occasionally, road conditions dictate that a manual change is smart driving.

I've posted a thread in tech to ask whether ther transmission experts see any evidence of worse reliability through occasional use of the A4 in lower gears.

At this point I bow out gracefully

 

Drag racers (like myself) use automatics for consistency. However, they also have manual valve bodies in their transmissions so they have to upshift. However, they (I) also use air shifters to shift the shifter for them. It's all in the name of consistency.

A street car does not have a manual valve body or an air shifter.
A ratchet shifter won't do anything on a street transmission except make sure you don't go from 1-3 (which wouldn't matter anyways since the trans is still only going to go into 2.....

 

Around here, we have a lot of curvy mountain roads which are fun if you like to drive briskly. I'll lock it in 2nd gear to keep it from upshifting when I get off the throttle to slow for turns. That would mean that it would need to downshift as I exit the turn, and that's very annoying. Now, I don't drive it at or near the redline like this, as it'll do 55 in 1st and 100 in 2nd at the shift points (2.73 ratio). This method doesn't provide the best performance, as you never get into 1st, but it's fun and it eliminates all that shifting that you don't need or want.

 

Hey,
The real deal is to put it in "R" if you want a real performance boost! The "R" stands for Race as any gearhead knows. Thats would be my sugestion anyway!
problem solver Dave

 

EXACTLY! This is driving 101. Especially when dealing with extreme hills and down grades. This is when you want to work with the engine/transmission instead of having it searching for the correct gear. Choosing a gear manually in this situation will be to your and the car's advantage.

I don't see how anyone could possibly disagree with that statement.

That said, I guess I'm one of the few here who prefers an A4 over a stick. Over the years, all I ever heard of was all the headaches and costly repairs that sticks go through because people don't know how to drive them properly. Also, driving a stick is like work to me. Keep in mind that I do a lot of city driving and get stuck in traffic on the freeway on occasion. Plus, there are other things that I like to do with my hands and my woman while driving. Whipping the car around a nice mountain side may be fun to some, but I'm more of a cruiser.

I like to drive slow so everybody can get a good look.

 

Well, I sure don't!

 

If shifting gears is so bad how comes GM put paddle shifter in Auto. C6

 

I've got a better question. Why isn't there a paddle shifter in the C5 A4, the car in which this thread is addressing? Do you think that the C6 tranny is exactly the same as the C5? Do you think that no engineering went into the C6 tranny to make it better than the C5? In your comparison, you must compare oranges to oranges in order to have a valid point.

 

Precisely, which is why I got an A4 .

 

Wow...all that I really meant was if it was okay to Race while it's in "3" to be honest..and was wondering if doing so in "2" or "1" was a wise idea...which obviously it isn't. In my past Automatic cars i've only used the "2" and "1" gears for snow and such where I can drive slow and careful and well under speeds.

My second question was if it's cool to drive with it in "3" and then let go of the gas..push the gear into "D" to let it go into overdrive?

 

Not only is it a 6 speed instead of 4, the internals are different, more advanced and the ECU is programmed to understand what to do when in a manual shift mode. The valve bodies are different, etc. It's a totally different setup!

But, in the end, paddle shifters on anything but a clutchless manual (NOT an automatic) are just marketing gimmicks.

 

 

It is fine to do that and, you don't even have to let off of the gas. You can do it at WOT if you wish. I would imagine that there are a few A4 drag racers that push the lever into D, just after they cross the finish line.

 

I rarely use 1st or 2nd in my A4. I do like to control my car in certain situations such as entering a freeway or passing on a two lane highway, so i almost always shift into 3rd in these circumstances.

If I just floor it in "D" i have little control and know I'm going for a ride when it kicks in. By shifting to 3rd i can use the throttle with good response and let off as needed and better control my acceleration with the throttle and the brakes....just my .02

I also believe I have more power both from the gears and the RPM as both increase the torque at the wheels. I have also notice that my tranny temp. runs higher at highway speeds in 3rd and as you probably know high temp. is a killer of tranny fluid.

 

I find myself using nuteral when I come up to a light. Some of the intersections here have a long waite in between lights. In nutral I don't need to use the brake so much. What do you think? Mark

 

You can't hurt anybody being neutral, but nuteral might hurt a bit!

No, you're okay in neutral!

 

Quite the opposite is true. Most automatic transmissions, and even the 4L60E, are rated for shift (number) lifespans. Driving in OD allowing the transmission to shift into OD for better fuel consumption causes the transmission to shift, shift equals friction, friction equals heat, heat kills transmissions. Driving in OD in town makes the transmission shift in and out of OD quite often, and each shift shortens the lifespan of the transmission. It is safer and causes less wear on the transmission to drive in "3" because it is not trying to shift back and forth into OD all of the time and will actually hold the gears longer and shift a little firmer; all good things for transmission life.

GM makes these cars for a variety of people, and the 4L60E slips its shift much more than it needs too (which makes it shift smoother) but ultimately creates much more friction/heat/shorter life span. It is always better to drive a vehicle in town with OD off, for the life of your transmission. Remember that all manufacturers use this OD shift at low speeds as a fuel saving measure, but it also lowers the service lifespan of your automatic transmission.

BTW, the OD band is weak in the 4L60E so WOT shifts can easily burn the band out. When going WOT even at highway speeds it is better for your transmission to be in "3". Generally unless you are more worried about saving fuel, and not replacing the transmission, drive in "3" for speeds less than 65-70mph.