go back and re-read your post. You said it was the slowest shifting car. That is just complete BS and I pointed it out, thats all..

 

i have 06 A6. paddle shifters operates very slow but do the job. and system do not shift up unless you want it. i drive bmw and vw tiptronics and it shifts up when revs are peaking. that was disturbing!!
anyway for smooth cruising i suggest auto. leave manual for far less torque car.

 

You're joking...right, because the auto can't handle anywhere near the torque or hp the MN6 can.

 

I was thinking the same thing I couldnt find the Z51 i wanted 6 speed and all but I know the last time i went away from a manual i ended up trading cars in after about 10 months.

 

That may be true, but the stock clutch can't.

 

Sam, I'm going to play devils advocate here because it really sounds like you're looking at this as the glass "half empty". I like to look at the torque converter as an amplifier/attenuator. It can either amplify the torque from the engine to provide better acceleration or attenuate the torque from the engine to prevent upsetting the chassis on a slow speed corner on a tight autoX course. Lag would be the last thing I'd think of about a torque converter because of the quick rev capabilities of the small block Chevy. I would think the lag from shifting and getting the clutch release correct to prevent upsetting the chassis would be horrible.

With an automatic, I have complete control over not only the drivetrain, but also the chassis. I can make a seamless shift with an automatic in the middle of a slalom and never upset the chassis by varying the position of the gas pedal which controls the line pressure and makes the shift "hit" softly. I also don't interrupt my rhythm whether I'm on an upshift or downshift and I always have my left foot for braking. In fact, I do left foot braking only when driving an automatic and can threshold brake quite proficiently without ABS. I can late brake all the way to the apex using threshold braking again with my left foot while using my right foot on the gas to provide input torque to the posi clutches to keep the inside tire from locking and prevent a spin...again without ABS. I use to have a video of me in my '71 'Vette at Roebling Road in the '80s threshold braking to the apex (which just happened to be our track out point) to exit the track where you could see the inside tire locking and unlocking in unison with the engine loading/unloading as I modulated the gas pedal to transmit braking force to the outside wheel by "locking" the posi. I'm sure you know the posi requires torque in order to "lock" or else one tire sitting on ice will just spin, it's called the bias ratio. You won't be doing any of the above with a manual whether it's an SMG or not...there are simply too many pedals down there for a regular manual or you're at the mercy of the "brain" of the SMG which puts you right back to your beef about not having full control of the drivetrain. Simply put, the guys in automatics were faster than the guys in manuals on the autoX courses because they weren't fumbling with the shifter/clutch pedal or thinking about what gear to be in. They're smooth as silk and able to concentrate on attacking the course.

To put a spin on your last line...if you don't understand the above, you've never driven an automatic car properly.

Yes, my ZR-1 has a manual but only because it's the only way it came...I wish it was an automatic. But I do pretty decent for an old man that's slightly handicapped.

 

You're under estimating the stock clutch.

 

I am very impressed you can be fast with an auto at the autocross, but truth to be told it is very rare to see a course where you have to shift out of 2nd gear. Has anyone ever placed 1st at a National event with an automatic car? I know back when I ran the nationals at Miller Park in Milwaukee, it was ALWAYS manual cars winning, 100% of the time, in every class. Since the courses are designed to be run in 2nd gear, all the torque converter is really doing then is consuming power and adding a delay between when you get on the gas, and when it winds up and actually starts transmitting torque. It is that delay that absolutely drives me insane. With the 2008 C6 I rented, I could, quite literally, stomp my foot on the throttle to the floor at 60MPH, count "one one thousand", take my foot off, and have the car gain maybe 1 mile an hour during that time period because the engine RPMs would come up while the converter wound up, then it would pause, wait, downshift, wind the torque converter up again and by then I had my foot off the gas. I was blown away that a car -any car- could take that long to shift. I'm sure it is much better with a tuned transmission but with the stock one it was beyond irritating.
The paddle shifters were not any better. In 1st gear you have to command a gear change >600RPMs soon, or it will smack the rev limiter before it gets its act together and actually shifts. This is not just my observation, I can pull up a dozen or so quotes on the forum from people who noticed the same... I guess you get used to it after a while when you own the car, but for me, having owned nothing but manual cars that actually shift when I want them to, it is aweful.

 

The only racing the auto shines in is drag racing. And only when you allow it to shift itself.

 

Back when I was still autocrossing (Mustang LX 5.0 and before that a Camaro IROC Z28 350) the automatics were dominant on both the local and national levels, at least in the F Stock, ESP and even SS (what was essentially the Corvette category) classes.
The Camaro automatics were cleaning up at the time and I believe they still are.





Not entirely true, as noted above automatics have also excelled in SCCA Solo II/autocross events as well, depending on the course.

 

Whew! Man I'm glad I have one of the two transmissions that's offered.

 

I love 6 speed Corvettes (they're ALL 6 speeds now ).

 

When I bought my MN6 I test drove an A6 w/paddle-shifter. Easy to drive, seemed to get the job done well. I just like rowing throught the gears myself better

Jim

 

Very good idea.

For me getting a manual was one of the only options I would not sacrifice and I daily drive mine. I'll never drive an auto sports car, but thats just me - everyone has their own preferences.

 

I have an 07' with the A6 and I'm very happy with it. I've had 4 Vettes, all C2's, in the past and they were all sticks. I bought the A6 for two reasons. I have a bad left knee and my wife drives it, once in a while. My Vette is used for my DD and for cruising and just for fun. I don't want to race this car, it's not me, anymore. I use the paddles on occasion and they're fun, but, not that great. They're a little slow, but, that's OK. I have found that, while in the Sport mode, the tranny seems to be more responsive than the Drive mode. It seems to downshift quicker and hold a gear longer, depending on throttle pressure. I don't think it's my imagination, I believe it to be true because I've compared it to the D mode. All in all, I find the A6 to be just fine for normal driving. For racing, I definitely would opt for the M6, but, that's my opinion.

 

One big difference is the rear differential ratio of an automatic vs. the manual. The base auto comes in I believe 2.56 ratio whereas the manual has 3.42. Big difference in acceleration between the 2.56 and 3.42. If you get the auto w/Z51, you get a better ratio at 2.73, but still is not as quick.

 

I too was going back and forth between the a6 and m6. I also found a sweet deal on a 3lt w/nav, hud and an a6. After owning it (a6) for 5 months I don't regret it. The car is fast and it shifts well at wot. My wife does drive sometimes and is trying to steal it from me. At least she didn't burn up the clutch or bang into something learning the m6. With 3.42's and a good tune about to happen it will be awesome!

 

You gotta remember the a6 has a steeper 1st gear than both m6s, so both auto rears actually have a better overall gearing than the manuals...a6 z51-4.02x2.73=10.97, a6 base-4.02x2.56=10.29, m6 z51-2.97x3.42=10.16, m6 base-2.66x3.42=9.10