Help me out here guys, maybe I am just dumb or just don't get it. Have been reading about the possibility of the '06 getting a 6-speed automatic. My question is Why?

The only reason for a six speed anything in a Vette is for gas mileage. Is GM concerned that the C6 may not be able to meet mileage requirements without a double or triple overdrive transmission?

Sure some engines need a multi speed transmission. Engines that have a very narrow power band has to have enough gears to keep the engine in that power band. Just look at sport bikes. But the GM small block engine makes great power from 1000 rpm up to 6000+ rpm. The old powerglide would work great with this engine.

I just don't get the need for a triple od transmission, unless GM has some huge power increases in the works that would keep it from from meeting their mileage requirements

tom...

 

That's where technology is heading. Some like it, some don't.

 

The Z06 is bound to be thirsty compared to the base car. So to keep the CAFE up for the whole Corvette line, going to an economy transmission in the auto cars is a logical move.

 

I think it's also being done to compete with other cars/ makes. I'm sure the technology in this transmission and the transmission itself is being used in the other GM brands...Cadillac, Buick, etc. Even the GM trucks (I believe) are getting 6sp auto.

Even if the 4 spd is adequate for certain engines...GM always get bashed by the auto mags, media for having a 4 spd auto. Most of the public who get their info from these sites don't know much about transmissions, power band, etc. and they perceive GM products as "inferior".

 

Definitely going in trucks. The transmission is actually a good match for a 2500 series truck that may tow a fifth wheel trailer sometimes and run unloaded at other times.

Unfortunately true.

 

A-4

 

Again, we can speculate all we want. It may be better than the A4, it may suck. We won't know until it's here.

 

It is not just a possibility, the 2006 C6 auto will be a six speed with paddle shifters. The A4 is history.

 

I really don't think mileage has anything to do with the reasons to go to a six speed auto. (unless you drive in the 125+range.) Even at speeds of 75 the difference in mpg between 3rd and 4th is only mearurable in tenths if any at all. My car actually gets better mpg in 3rd at 40mph than in 4th. AND...... lugging is a killer on internal trans friction parts like 3-4 clutches (especially with some power behind it)... I don't use OD until speed over 60.

 

Its a great compromise to some that want both options sometimes...

 

Every multi-speed automatic with more than 4 speeds that I have driven are so sweet. The + and - gear selectors are almost as much fun as a standard. Then you also can just put it in drive and let the computer do the shifting at the optimum shift points. The torque difference between the gears is smaller and the cars just feel smoother and more livelier to drive.

I agree the straight line racers will not see an improvement with the standard rear end ratio. We need to demand a performance rear end! Hell, the 2006 Z06 manual does even need to be shifted out of first anymore up to 60mph. Our Corvettes are becoming so sophisticated maybe some of us won't need more than a 2 speed powerglide.

Done right , the first 5 gears should be lower. Second will be like first and a half, third like second and 5/8, etc. I hope the new 2006 C6 will scream. It is very troubling to hear that a performance rear end will no longer be available.

If GM puts in 3 overdrives , they will not be able to compete in the future. Nothing wrong with better gas mileage, but let's hope the General understands that's not why we pay 50000+ for a Corvette. If that is the case this company has lost it's way far worst than I though.

To all the people wondering about the need for a 6 speed automatic, simply shed your Corvette pride for a few minutes and drive the competition. If you drive the right one you will become a believer real quick and start playing with the "paddles" and hitting second and third a lot along with the gas pedal!

 

Even 10ths of a mile per gallon are huge on the CAFE front. GM is trying desperately to avoid a gas guzzler tax on the Corvette which is just a price increase of which they get zippy. Can't imagine a higher final drive ratio than the A4, just better torque management getting there and the paddle shifters should be sweet. Think I'll drive my 05 until the 07 model year when most the gremlins should be gone and then trade, especially if they find some more power out of the engine as they seem to always do. About 425HP, 425lbs torque and an A6 by 07 would be all the incentive I would need, forget rebates, discounts and other monetary incentives (although I wouldn't refuse them if offered).

 

I've driven the new 6-speed C6. I loved it. It makes sense to me to have a first gear lower than the 4-speed first gear for better acceleration and a higher sixth gear than the old fourth gear for better mileage.

 

 

The 6 speed with paddle shifters is a big improvement, assuming the new 6 speed is fully tested out & reliable. I have the C6 with the 4 speed auto and it of course performs great. It just that the extra 2 gears makes it perform that much better. Down shifts should be a lot sweeter and you will always be able to find the right gear for breaking. The paddle shifter should be great for giving the driver easier control. On the Mercedes S430 the 0-60 gain was .5 sec when it went from a 5 speed to a 6 speed; imagine if the C6 improved that much. Thats probably unlikely; it seems launch is the biggest limiter for quicker times.

 

I had paddle shifters on a MB C55. Big gimmick and I never used them. If you need to play with the shift points you should be driving a manual transmission not an automatic.

 

"Big gimmick and I never used them."

I am sure people said the same thing about my Buick Dynaflow automatic transmission versus a standard transmission about 1949 or so . HID headlamps were almost banned by the NHTSA or whatever. I hear when electric lamps replaced kerosene ones the same emotion was unleashed many many years ago.

New technology is not always liked oralways better. Some progress is actually good.
Many people including me like them. Please let us have our fun
If you don't want to play with them, just leave it in "D".

 

The answer is definitely gas mileage. And why aren't you questioning why the manual transmission is a six speed if you think it doesn't make sense?

 

Let's put things into perspective.

With minor changes, the current A4 has been in production before the invention of the PC, DVD, CD, VCR, cellular telephone, touch tone telephone, man's first steps on the moon, a few years after the invention of the cassette tape, and before NBC became the first 100% color broadcasting television network.

To criticize the entry of the A6 transmission, long overdue for GM's premier sports car, is simply sour grapes.

 

Talking about walking on the Moon, can we do that today? No, we abandoned the technology which let us do that (Saturn V) in favor of the Shuttle. The Saturn V never shed foam, it didn't depend on fragile heat tiles. It did come in on time and under budget, and it did launch a whole space station (Skylab) in one piece. It cost 1/4 as much per launch, and put 4 times the payload in LEO. Newer is better? I wonder. The only thing the Shuttle offers that Saturn did not is the ability to bring large bulky items back from orbit. But when was the last time we needed to do that? Shuttle was founded on the premise that newer higher tech would almost automatically lower costs and increase performance. It hasn't.

Back to Chevrolet cars, the small block Chevy V8 has been in production even longer than anyone's A4, yet it is still the right engine for a Corvette. Or are you next going to tell us we need to dump it for something newer, say a Wankel, a turbine, or a fuel cell?

Like the small block, the A4 has been refined over the years until it has practically no faults. Its first 3 gears, coupled with an excellent torque converter, are a nearly perfect match to the torque curve of the engine, and it has an overdrive and lockup clutch for fuel economy. What's not to like? If it were behind a peaky little 3 or 4 liter engine, or if it was in a heavy tow vehicle, then maybe it would need more gears. But it isn't, and it doesn't.

Sometimes the old guys got it right the first time. Physical principles don't change, fitness for purpose doesn't change. Etc. The Romans invented the arch a couple thousand years ago. We still use it today, because good design principles stand the test of time.