A4 vs M6

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May 12, 2010 | 06:26 AM

#41

Cybermind

Melting Slicks

Joined: Apr 2009

Posts: 2,479

Likes: 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amherst

It totally depends on individual tastes and applications. As stated above, for high traffic situations an auto is much easier.

Mine was bought to be a weekend / errand car so the M6 was a must. Even though it's bone stock, rowing through the gears and feeling that low end pull never gets old. I also love the sound the exhaust makes when the engine is winding down from 3,000 rpms or that quasi backfire you get when idling along in first.

But I would never look down upon a A4 or speak ill of another Vette brother!

I agree. Mine is also a weekend car and I know that I would've regretted it if I would've gone for an auto. It took me a long time to find a manual car. In my area, they are extremely rare. But, I am glad I did. As a weekend car, shifting gears is 50% of the driving enjoyment in this car and the 3.42 rear makes it even better. The beautiful sound that my Magnaflow catback emits on a downshift is pure heaven.

May 12, 2010 | 07:07 AM

#42

Sargevette

Burning Brakes

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 819

Likes: 3

From: Flowery Branch Ga

God man you own a Corvette! Be happy with the A4. Awesome car either way you look at it. Both have advantages. I got an M6 this time because it's a weekend driver. But as far as performance there is very little difference. You can already outrun about 95% of the cars on the road now! Enjoy.

May 12, 2010 | 08:12 AM

#43

Mister Peebody

Drifting

Joined: Feb 2006

Posts: 1,877

Likes: 1

From: Ok! So you don't believe in conspiracies, but will you acknowledge the possibility of there being coordinated activities in secret places? Texas

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCM_Crash

I'd have to disagree with that. Higher stall does not give you the best of both worlds at all. You lose gas mileage and you lose some driveability.

For drag racing, you can't beat an A4 with a high stall and gears. That's why most drag cars are autos.

But when it comes to what the car was actually designed for, a high stall is going to make the car slower and it's going to heat up more and cause problems. Autos are great for the straight line when they have a high stall, but go through the canyons with one and life sucks.

If you want the best of both worlds, you do a 6L80 swap and call it a day. No high stall. No gears. Just the transmission. You get six speeds to play with. You'll get better economy. You'll even go faster.

But again, an A4 with a big stall is just ridiculous for daily driving and for any racing other than straight line.

So I shoulda said shift kit and/or higher stall, depending on intended use.The focus of my post was actually on the shift kit allowing for "rowing thru the gears". The higher stall was directly in response to a post about the M6/M12 leaving the line at a higher RPM than the A4. In response to your statement about higher stall being the antithesis of what the car was designed for, I say what the car was designed for isn't neccesarily what most people use it for. Also, suggesting a higher stall is not the same as suggesting a high stall. I'd venture to guess that we have more drag racers here than any other racers and my 2800 stall does not hamper street use. I only notice it when I am starting from a dead stop. Yes I did install a tranny cooler, but most major mods require support. One could easily make an A4 allow manual shifting, but can you easily make your M6/M12 switch gears automatically? The best of both worlds is not all encompassing. There are still compromises (e.g. slightly less mpg) With the A4 you can absolutely have the best of both worlds.

May 12, 2010 | 08:34 AM

#44

retired cop

Instructor

Joined: Mar 2010

Posts: 220

Likes: 0

From: Deerfeild Fla

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCM_Crash

What kind of numbers did you make? I hear the autos usually make about 295RWHP.

It was not a dyno tune. The tune was to stop a pinging problem. Not only did the pinging stop the tuner reset the WOT shifts to 6000 rpms. He changed the lock up on the converter from 45 mph to 55 mph. He also was able to bump the timing up a little and the shifts from the A4 now snap instead of draging like it did stock. The shifts are not really hard just snappy. He also adjusted the fans to come on at 200 degrees to match my 180 thermostat. The car never goes over 205 degrees in hot South Fla traffic. It used to go up to 220. For 250.00 it was a steal. Horsepower sales located in Pompano Bch did the work. They are one of our sponsers.

May 12, 2010 | 08:41 AM

#45

retired cop

Instructor

Joined: Mar 2010

Posts: 220

Likes: 0

From: Deerfeild Fla

The car is stock except a Vortex breather and the 180 thermostat

May 12, 2010 | 12:30 PM

#46

rboineau

Pro

Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 628

Likes: 4

From: Columbia SC

My only real gripe about my C5 is the miserably poor shifting from my manual trans. It can't be appreciably improved, either, as I have driven other C5s with different shifters and they all sucked. Why GM couldn't have done better, especially as the damn cars were in production for eight years, I don't know. Enjoy your automatic. As other forum members have stated, the rear gear change to 3.42 makes a huge difference in auto performance. Your 3.15 certainly is better than the stock 2.73 or whatever that thing was.

May 12, 2010 | 01:56 PM

#47

SCM_Crash

Le Mans Master

Joined: Jul 2009

Posts: 9,526

Likes: 12

From: Los Angeles California

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Peebody

Ah. OK. Fair enough. Corvette A4s get much better economy than my Trans Am A4 got. Weight and gearing are totally different. My A4 came with 3.23s and the car weighed 3500Lbs. So I didn't get nearly the economy the Corvette A4s get. Although, I don't know if I'll want an auto any time soon again. They're better for the strip, but that's only 12 seconds. I drive the car much more than 12 seconds at a time!