All depends on where you'll be driving, daily driver stuck in traffic If you use it alot on the track the stick would be more fun. I was looking for a stick when I got mine but there were none to choose from, I found a sweet deal on the one I have, it's an automatic and no regrets.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Cars that have touchy thorttles will be hard to operate smoothly. And I don't like driving roughly, especially on a beautiful vette

I'm kinda new to manual. What exactly does it mean by clutch slip?

Yeah, I drove 1 loop around the block today and I shifted smooth! I was very happy (don't laugh at me). And I've hardly driven manual, I just have to shift like a grandma

Anyway, does the vette have good safety/protection goodies? I mean like the reverse can't be engaged unless you press down the shifter and etc.

Sorry for so many questions

 

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Cars that have touchy thorttles will be hard to operate smoothly. And I don't like driving roughly, especially on a beautiful vette" No touchy throttle here

"I'm kinda new to manual. What exactly does it mean by clutch slip?"
Clutch slipping is revving the engine excessively(like much above 1200 rpm) and slowly letting the clutch out so that you don't kill it. Most vehicles need a little throttle input above idle to prevent the car from stalling. Practice will show you how much throttle input you need to get the car moving without stalling.

"Yeah, I drove 1 loop around the block today and I shifted smooth! I was very happy (don't laugh at me). And I've hardly driven manual, I just have to shift like a grandma "
Concentration and practice makes smoothness.

"Anyway, does the vette have good safety/protection goodies? I mean like the reverse can't be engaged unless you press down the shifter and etc."
ABS with pretty damn good stopping power(beware of cars behind you when braking hard), Traction Control, Active Handling, visibility out is much better than I first imagined, and airbags and of course seatbelts. As far as reverse go, it is over to the right and up(next to 5th) and there is a minor detent so it is not difficult to get into reverse. I have not hit reverse by mistake, so the detent is effective for me.

Here is a tip for getting into reverse: say you car is idling in neutral and you want to shift into reverse.... clutch in and place tranny in 3rd(leave clutch in), then 5th, then reverse and you should not grind when going into reverse.
Same thing when idling and you want to go into first....place transmission into second and then strait shot up to first.
N Dennis

 

Sounds good. So the vette doesn't have a reverse lockout thing? Like you can't put it in reverse when the car is in forward motion? Man I'm really afraid of smashing some gears or over-rev from mis-shifts...

For example, this junk I'm practicing on doesn't feel very solid in gears. No shift gives you a solid feel that you put it in a gear. I'm assuming the vette will feel much nicer though.

Someone told me that anytime you're giving it gas while clutch is pressed, you're burning the clutch? I still don't understand when you're starting how you can not give it gas. Everytime I let it out without any gas it stalls (it is a honda.. famous for no torque)

 

Here are some other thoughts on a manual or an auto... If you drive it in the winter (which I don't), an auto might be easier to manuver. I've driven mine in a number of parades (3 Miss Michigans), and the manual is a killer. If you drive in a hilly terrain, a manual requires more skill, particularly starting from standstill on an incline. Driving in sto and go traffic can also be cumbersome with a stick.
Personally, I think you get more sport from driving a stick with a Vette. In August I drive my MN6 through the Smokies through the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, and the stick made it a pleasurable driving experience. I've modified mine with a C6 Z06 shifter and Royal Purple trans fluid that makes shifting easier. Hope these thoughts help.

 

"Sounds good. So the vette doesn't have a reverse lockout thing? Like you can't put it in reverse when the car is in forward motion? Man I'm really afraid of smashing some gears or over-rev from mis-shifts..."

All cars(and trucks) that I have driven have the possibility of being shifted into reverse accidentally. Most have no synchronization of reverse gear, so if you attempt to go into reverse while in forward motion you will "grinding of the gears".Some I have accidentally tried to go into reverse. Some were easier to hit reverse accidentally than others. Being that the Corvette 6-speed has reverse to the right of 5th, I think the chances of you hitting reverse accidentally should be downgraded. After all, if you are dragracing and going from fourth to fifth you are probably going a lot faster than you should be(like 140...according to my owners manual you should not downshift into 4th at speeds above 143mph )

"For example, this junk I'm practicing on doesn't feel very solid in gears. No shift gives you a solid feel that you put it in a gear. I'm assuming the vette will feel much nicer though."

Very solid and positive feeling.

"Someone told me that anytime you're giving it gas while clutch is pressed, you're burning the clutch? I still don't understand when you're starting how you can not give it gas. Everytime I let it out without any gas it stalls (it is a honda.. famous for no torque)"

There is a certain amount of clutch slippage during normal takeoff from a dead stop. Now once you are moving, if the shifting is done properly, there should be no slipping of clutch necessary to go 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6. Most cars and trucks require a small amount of throttle input as the cluch is being let out. You will find the Vette will need very little input maybe 1000-1200rpm to get her going. My Dodge 3500 weighing in at 9000+lbs can be moved by just letting out the throttle at idle without stalling and thats in first or second gear. My Taurus SHO has so little torque at idle, I have stalled it more times than I care to admit.

N Dennis

 

I see. I don't think I'll be driving ANY vette when there's snow outside (I don't think I'll mind driving it in winter, it doesn't snow that much here)

Those sound like awesome upgrades. And yeah honestly the stock C5 shifter is very ugly.. I wouldn't even want it in a toyota, let alone a vette.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

I see. Yeah I don't think I'll be using 5th much

I'm too much of a chicken to get a ticket/or worse, getting car impounded. Risking losing a vette is

If you're not fed up with answering my endless questions already, can you explain a bit about the skip shift thing? I understand that at low rpm it's supposed to force you to go straight from 1-4. That sounds ridiculous... in most cars, 1st gear is really only for starting, and experienced drivers can start in 2nd gear... also, how do they force it? Do they just not let 2/3 engage if you try to shift? and wouldn't 1-4 be pretty bad? You'd have to rev up 1st gear before you can shift into 4 or else it'd stallk right?

 

I know exactly what you're talking about as far as stalling while letting a honda clutch out at idle.

I learned to drive a stick on a friend's 1998 Honda Civic EX. I had also driven an 1982 BMW 633csi stick but I didn't exactly know what I was doing.

The Corvette was the first manual car that was mine. It is completely different from any of the other ones I've driven. I think it's easier to drive. You don't have to worry about stalling off the line as much, it'll spin tires rather than die if you give it too much gas off the line.

I spent a lot of time learning to start uphill on my driveway to be sure I wasn't going to have any problems on the road. I learned the smell of clutch and am now pretty good with the car.

On a side note, I'd recommend getting a shifter with adjustable stops to prevent transmission damage from slamming the shifter around. I've done some damage to my transmission which I've been told was preventable by either shifting gently, or getting a shifter with adjustable stops to prevent pushing the stick too far in which bends forks. Since I didn't get a Z06 just because it looks good, I'm getting a better shifter so I can worry less about finishing the trans off by driving like I stole it.

I wouldn't get an automatic unless I had to. I've had tons of fun learning to drive stick on the Z06. Now that I'm good at it, I have tons of fun with the gears. An auto won't let you mechanically over-rev the car which is good, but there's always risk vs reward.

If you're considering a stick at all, I'd recommend that you get it.

I've never driven an auto Vette, but I'm sure it's more fun than the auto in my truck. Sitting in traffic isn't going to be fun in anything you drive. You might as well get whatever is going to be the most fun for the actual driving.

I like the stick for the ability to rev up the engine while moving. A guy complemented the car at the gas station. I ended up next to him in a tunnel and threw him a rev. I saw the look on his face and am sure he enjoyed it. It's fun contributing to the enjoyment of people who like Vettes.


Whatever trans you choose, I'm sure you'll have fun.


Take care and have a good one,


Grant

 

The 1-4 shift isn't that bad.

It only engages on light throttle and under a certain RPM.

2 and 3 are locked out only during those conditions.

If you're at like 1/4 throttle you'll get past it.

I think I've only had it hit me 20 times or less in 4 years. I only remember it when it happens, which is rarely.

I really don't think it'll hit you much. It's not like you have to go all the way up first gear to get away from it every time. It's also not like you have to mash the pedal to avoid it either.

Since I've seen it so rarely, I'm really not an expert on it. All I can say is that it doesn't bother me often. I'm still going to have it taken out when I get the car tuned though.

I'm sure the lack of frequent appearances of the 1-4 shift appearing on my car is related to the bent shift forks and the massive hunger for gasoline the Z06 has when I'm having fun .

 

"I see. Yeah I don't think I'll be using 5th much"

Around town I use 1st thru 5th gear....5th gear good for 40-45mph(without lugging) cruising around town. 6th strictly 50/55 and above.
Now I have a 04 Z06 and all stock with 3.45 gearing. First is good for aound 45, second good around 65, third 100-105 and thats as far as I have gotten. I will say that the Z06 is relatively easy to hit the fuel cutout(about 6500 rpm). Many cars run out of breath as they get close to redline and this one seems to hit redline relatively effortlessly.

"If you're not fed up with answering my endless questions already, can "you explain a bit about the skip shift thing? I understand that at low rpm it's supposed to force you to go straight from 1-4. That sounds ridiculous... in most cars, 1st gear is really only for starting, and experienced drivers can start in 2nd gear... also, how do they force it? Do they just not let 2/3 engage if you try to shift? and wouldn't 1-4 be pretty bad? You'd have to rev up 1st gear before you can shift into 4 or else it'd stallk right? "

There is a modification(about $50 and a bit of your labor) that disables the skip shift feature although the dash light still lights up. If the Vette is above a certain temperature and you are leisurly accellerating and under a certain rpm, and in first gear, the tranny won't allow you to shift to 2nd or 3rd. To get around this feature, rev it higher or accellerate faster(more throttle input). It bascially blocks your attempt to go into 2nd or 3rd. I find that going from first to fourth lugs the engine... if I hesitate just a bit during the shift I can get into 3rd. Whatever you do, do not force it do something if you get resistance...that's how things are broken. As far as starting in second, I basically recommend against it as it is hard on the clutch...exception might be if you are stopped heading downhill. I have 2 cummins powered dodge trucks and one has 150,000 miles and one has 132,000 and both are on their original clutches and I honestly believe that is due to me almost always using first gear.

N Dennis

 

Oh wow. So there is someone who had the Z06 (DAMNNN! lol) as their first car? I imagine the coupe should be just as easier if not easier.

Can you explain a bit on that "adjustable stop" thing? I've always thought that the shifter pattern is like an H, where when you hit a gear, you're always at the very end of the H? So you can actually go past the gear?

Yeah, I'm definitely going for a manual if I can find one this winter break (I have work/school and absolutely no time to leave town until school is out).

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

3 syllables.

 

I see. Great info. I don't know how many times I can say thank you!

I wish some of you were like in state so you can teach me the art of shifting

 

karateboi87:
Looks like EOS 05 was pretty much in the same position you are now. When I am going from point A to point B and driving around town, I am a little more conservative and I run into the Skip Ship process more often and that is the only reason I will have that bypassed.
N Dennis

 

karateboi87: Do not mind answering the questions at all. If I could teach my ex to drive a stick, I can teach most anyone. Now has anyone talked about downshifting????

N Dennis

 

Since I'm new and I haven't gotten out of 3rd gear yet, I have tried to downshift a few times (and once was a mistake). It was to 1st gear, and needless to say, I totally jerked the car badly

Honestly, I haven't spent much time on practicing. I've driven less than 1 hour total on the civic.

I understand the concepts of downshift though, you have to rev match to make it engage smoothly. I did downshift once from 3rd to 2nd and it went well. I just have a hard time messing with revs whether it's upshift or downshift. I also don't really have any expert teaching me, I'm just watching youtube instructional videos and reading basic instructions on websites. I've always wanted to learn how to drive stick, but I never got a chance to.

 

Glad to know that you have the basic concept of proper downshifting.
Lets learn how to upsift first off and as you get more experience and confidence, you can practice downshifting. As you are driving around town and you need to slow down, use the brakes, not the transmission. Just please don't push the clutch in and shift down and then let out the clutch and allow it to spin the motor up to speed and slow down the car. Very hard on the clutch. I am still learning how much throttle blip I need to give it when I am downshifting. I will eventually get it down.
N Dennis

 

I have a question though. When I upshfited from 1st to 2nd once, it was jerky, but I did let the clutch out a bit faster than I usually do (grandma speed). Is it just one of those things where I need to practice and get the feel for how fast I can let the clutch out or am I doing something wrong? How are those pro's shifting mad fast without jerking the car like crazy? I've been in some people's cars and I can tell they suck at shifting.. jerky and unsmooth, yet not yielding any performance.

 

"I have a question though. When I upshfited from 1st to 2nd once, it was jerky, but I did let the clutch out a bit faster than I usually do (grandma speed). Is it just one of those things where I need to practice and get the feel for how fast I can let the clutch out or am I doing something wrong? How are those pro's shifting mad fast without jerking the car like crazy? I've been in some people's cars and I can tell they suck at shifting.. jerky and unsmooth, yet not yielding any performance. "

Probably shifted into 2nd and let the clutch out quickly while engine was at idle and it threw you forward and then you hit the throttle and shot forward giving you that herky jerky feeling. I have done that in Vette a couple of times with my GF and she got whiplash from her tata's jerking her around(don't tell her I said that). Practice makes perfect....not a silly saying...it is a fact of life
As far as the pro's shifting mad fast, they are speed shifting and it is very hard on the sychronizers of the transmission and eventually leads to grinding of the gears down the road(not to mention little slivers of metal in the tranny oil). You will get a feel for how fast you can shift as you gain experience. You can shift too fast and wear out stuff and break things inside. Do not force the issue when shifting unless you are willing to pay for the repairs. The MN6 or MN12 transmission can be shifted smoothly and quickly without forcing the issue.
N Dennis