Pretty big difference in turbo cars. Auto stays at full boost while a manual's boost pressure and RPMs drops due to shift time/delay.

 

During power shifting there is no RPM drop. If you leisurely drive down the track granny shifting what you say will be true.

 

True although it would get quite interesting keeping your foot all the way in it through the gears on a boosted manual C6. The A6, using paddle shift, once tuned correctly (which is still far from perfect) has been a pretty good advantage over the TT Porsche guys around here. I have yet to come up against one that power shifts his $1xx,xxx ride.
Funny thing is, I've caught myself lifting on shifts a couple times while using the friggen paddles. Hard to break habits after years of manual cars.

 

All it takes is big b@lls, a bullet proof drive train and a clutch that won't give up.

 

That's a lot to ask I think I'll stick to manuals until they come up with a dual-clutch automated tranny that drives nice at the street with mid-throttle, too.

 

OH YES! You can't best an A6!

Chuck CoW

 

but you also have a heavy torque converter to deal with slowing the drivetrain down.

when going to work in the morning, I have to hit stops and then immediately take off to beat certain lights and get around the sunday drivers. In my turbocharged tiptronic car it is slow to get back going when I shift down from 4th to 1st and stop for a half second then have to rev back up. Ive noticed the same with other autos - the engine feels less free and responsive. Its like it has to go through a cycle of operations (about 1 second but slow enough to be noticeable when you have to GO!)

despite the downside I like the paddles - actually any sequentially operated system (be it auto or dct) is better than a traditional manual imo

having a clutch pedal (instead of having that left foot free for the brakes) and having the risk of accidentally shifting into the wrong gear when youre in a sticky situation has pushed me away from manuals.

I understand the fun factor, but as far as being easier/faster and safer (less able to f-up) Im happy losing a few hp and efficiency in order to pick the gear I want without having to use some fancy footwork

*note: regular autos that select the gear for you are junk and Id never recommend them to anyone - the last thing you need is the thing shifting at the wrong time in the middle of a turn...

To me the biggest downside with any auto is the fact that when your clutch packs go, you have to pay for the whole damn thing to be rebuilt

 

Interesting that you brought this up today. I ran at my local 1/8th mile drag last night and there were quite a few Vettes there. In all seriousness with an experienced driver I don't think one had an appreciable advantage over the others. The more modified the engine the more modded the trans were. One guy with a c5 had an auto with a 4000 stall and his car was as strong off the line as one other guy with twin turbos and drag radials. There was also a c5 ZO6 and it ran pretty good, but not bunches over the others. JMHO

 

I agree with this persons assessment. I've got an 80 mile RT commute daily. I had an M6 with my 2005 GTO and a Monster Spec 3 clutch. The manual was great on canyon runs but other than that the manual I found to be a hassle.

I was a die hard manual guy for 20 years, but I thought a change was in order. So I got my 2008 Coupe with the LS3 cranking out decent power (it's tuned with some goodies), and the paddle shift is pretty damn good IMO.

The rev match upon downshift is very cool, especially when you've got an aftermarket exhaust, sounds pretty mean. I still get a good scratch on the 1-2 shift too, I know it surprised me! Let me tell you, at 65-70, bang 3rd (downshift from 4th or 5th) and punch it and you're just thrown back in the seat and hit 4th again and you're just gone; 120 in just a few seconds

 

There is way more to an A6 vs M6 than the speed of shifting. Just to name a few:

- M6 has zero slippage, giving it a more direct and snappier feel than the A6
- M6 has less parasitic loss than an A6
- M6 runs cooler than an A6

-A6 easier to launch
-A6 generally is not as hard on your rear end as an M6
-A6-don't have to shift if you don't want to
-A6-multiplies torque on your launch

Take a wild guess why the A6 Grand Sports don't come with a dry sump like the M6s do? The purpose of the dry sump as you know is to make the car more track capable for extended high G turns. The A6 is not designed for extended high G turns and uncovers the pickup, runs the pump dry and burns up. The A6 is the weak link, not the oil system so they didn't think it was worth it to put the dry sump system on the A6 cars.

Regardless, people need to remember there is a life outside of the 1/4 mile for Vettes. I don't think you'll find too many people who consider the A6 an advantage on a road coarse but here's some 1/4 mile info for you according to the fast list A6 vs M6


-Fastest bone stock LS3 : M6
-Fastest internal Mods LS3 : M6 top 5 are M6
-Fastest Internal Mods LS2 : M6
-Power adders LS2: M6 beat the A6
-Larger displacement: M6 beat the A6
-Heads up fastest LS3
A6-09.556 @ 144.52
M6-09.681 @ 148.36



So really it comes down to what you personally enjoy driving. Only you can make the call if it's worth it or not but if you go the Grand Sport route you DO give up a lot going to the A6 though so keep in mind if it's worth it to you or not cause you won't get:

-Wixom hand built LS3
-dry sump oiling system
-Z06 diff case and cooler
-steel crank
-battery in the rear

Paddle shift on the C7? Now that's a WHOLE different ball game!!