driving behind a truck hauling hay about 50 mph, decided to pass on a straight section in my 97 auto, hit the first kick down and starting to pass, see on coming traffic a little close and hit the second kick down, and WOW what a kick in the butt, passed truck doing 90. the perks of owning a vette are priceless

 

True adrenaline

 

It is nice to have the extra power when you need it.

 

 

What rear end ratio are you running? If you dont have 3:42s you are missing out on even more fun.

 

The power and acceleration is great in these cars! It is a new found freedom.

Keep in mind that brakes are sometimes the better option in those situations. I mention this because I witnessed a dangerous decision made by a "muscle car" driver this September. We were out West and the "muscle car" driver decided to pass a 5th wheel. He got half way when a car coming the opposite direction appeared. Instead of slowing down and pulling back into his lane, he pressed forward. The 5th wheel and oncoming car had to use the shoulder of the road to avoid an accident.

The "muscle car" driver was from Illinois and we were in South Dakota. He didn't realize how much elevation affects a naturally aspirated car and couldn't understand why his car didn't perform as usual. I found this out because he pulled into a rest area not too long afterwards where I was already stopped. I chewed him a new @ss after explaining why his car didn't perform. He later approached me and agreed that he should have slowed down but then tried to blame me because "having a Corvette following you makes you want to pass the slow traffic."

 

Many years ago, my first brand new car was a '71 Chevelle SS454. I don't remember exactly why, but my father and I were driving along on a country road, on our way back from somewhere, and we found ourselves in a situation similar to the OP.....we came up on a fully loaded haywagon, half on the roadway, and going about 25 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. I took a peek, and the road looked clear to pass. I downshifted to 3rd gear, gave it a little gas, and started the pass.

Just then, somebody pulled out from a driveway a little way ahead, and I thought it would be a good idea to clear out of there, in case the farmer couldn't stop in time to avoid the lunk-head that had just pulled out in front of us. I kicked in the secondaries, and off we went!! After we had slowed back down, my father looked over at me and said, "I knew this thing was fast, but I didn't realize it was THIS fast".....

 

This 02 that I have is my first Manual and even though I've been driving big trucks for 11 years I sometimes forget for a second or two that I need to down shift to pass someone and find myself waiting on a passing gear.

 

use to have a 70 olds 442 conv(455 with 4 speed) no need to hang on to anything when the secondaries kick in, because you were pushed so far back into seat.

 

I remember when I first bought/drove my C5. I was on the long road trip home on the highway using cruise control. Had to lightly hit the brakes once because I got blocked in and could not get in the passing lane for couple seconds. When I got out to pass I hit the "resume" switch on the cruise control to get back up to the 79 MPH I had been using (75 mile per hour speed limit)...wow, neat to go from 50 or so back to 79 that quick. Kind of surprised me a bit.

 

Or want it!

 

Nice... first downshift was the tranny moving out of overdrive to 3rd, then you romped it and took it to 2nd. At the speed you were moving, you were right in the powerband of your car and the result was ZOOMO!!! Nice...

 

Totally awesome. Got pictures?

 

oh oh, my wonderful bride of 20 years just found this thread and shared with me her two cents, awkward.

 

Ruh roh...

 

I too have experienced a few surprises when pulling our on 2 lane roads and like the OP found the passing power to be quite a rush,,in more ways than one!!With the M6 second and third can be thrilling AND helpful!!