I'm trying to decide on what transmission to order for a Z06, which I know has been beaten to death already on this forum.
On the M7 I see some talk about the engine power being limited so you don't burn up the clutch. Is that when you just take off from a dead stop?
I just want to get as much knowledge about the M7 as I can so if I order it I'm not surprised by some limitation of the power. It sounds like the A8 is faster and a very nice Transmission. I'm from the old school where a sports car has to be a manual, my first one was a 1968 corvette maybe I have to change my view. This is a big decision for me I was all set on the M7 but now have read some posts where the shifter came out of gear and hard shift into 2nd which I guess is more a cold oil condition. How does this rev match they talk about work? Also what is 2nd to 3rd no lift shift that someone mentioned? Does the M7 limit what gears you can go into at different speeds or rpms? I wish I could drive each one for a couple hours but none of the dealers around here have any they will let you take out. I'm going to see if I can find some used 2015s around that I can try out. Thanks,

 

Can't say anything about the no lift shift since I didn't try it on my son's car. However, the Rev Match is great although more than likely not a big deal for street driven or drag raced cars. On a road course you can do perfect heel toe downshifts every time without actually doing a real heel/toe. Totally removes the skill and practice required for heel/toe.

The M7 does have the skip shift feature found on the late C4s, C5s, and C6s. It isn't a big deal. If the car is going slow in traffic with minimal throttle input and the driver attempts to shift from 1st to 2nd at speeds between 14 and 19 mph the car will force the shifter into 4th instead to save gas. This really doesn't hurt the engine as it has enough torque that it can easily handle 4th gear at 15 mph. However, most drivers rarely have it activate since you need to be going slow enough with not a lot of throttle to make it happen. This usually happens in heavy traffic when you have a car directly in front of you. On all of my C5s and on my C6 if I forget to shift to 2nd at 14 mph I would let the mechanism shove the shifter toward 4th and then I would move it forward into third and then back to 2nd all while the clutch is in. Quick little 3 step move that didn't mean anything from a performance stand point unless it slowed you down from purposely ramming the car in front of you.

Popping out of gear happens but it isn't a general issue.

Bill

 

Hi

Only have 3300Kms so far with my M7. Came from a C6 Auto 6 and really love the manual gearbox. The only very few time it popped out of gear were when I did not engage it properly. Out of that I have minor issue moving from 5 to 6 when I very often get in 4 in place... I probably need to learn better about that new gearbox... no regret at all about the M7 vs the A8 except when I am stuck in heavy traffic jam. Out of that all good!

 

M7 for me all the way. Rev Match feature is heaven. Love the feel and control of the Manual. Skip shift is not a big deal and rarely shows up. But MOST of all: The A8 comes with mandatory Active Cylinder Mgt in ALL MODES except paddle shift. I promise you, you will not like it! I drove a 2011 Camaro with it and HATED IT! And even with that, you will still pay a guzzler tax with the A8.

Go with the M7. No brainer. Trust me.

 

Get the M7. If that's what you're leaning towards anyway, you will LOVE the M7 in the C7Z. I've owned many manuals and this is the nicest/smoothest box I've had.

The rev matching is AWESOME, and if you don't like it, flick the paddle and turn it off! It's a fantastic feature.

The 1-4 shift shows up on my 'screen' but never 'requires' me to do it. The point I'm trying to make is that I've never been 'forced' to change into a specific gear, I use whatever gear I feel like, whenever I feel like it.

As for 'fun factor', it's not even close. I've driven the A8, and it's nice, but not nearly as engaging for fun. If you're exclusively drag racing the car or spend lots of time in traffic, then get the A8, otherwise the M7 is way more fun.

In terms of limiting power, I've never felt any difference at all. It'll spin the tires through 2nd gear and into 3rd gear in the right conditions.

I've never had my pop out of gear either.

If you are concerned about ANYTHING on the M7 tranny, DON'T BE!! It's an outstanding transmission. Period. This is coming from a guy who always had german or italian cars, this is my first Vette...and I think it's pretty damn impressive. Get the M7, you won't regret it!

 

I go with the manual in the sports car...................I have the auto in my daily driver and got the sports car, in part, so I can do the manual shifting. It is part of the fun for me. If I was going to be stuck in traffic a lot, then that would be something else.

I think all the manual C6's and C7's come with that 1-4 skip shift. It was a pain in my C6's so I had the skip-shift eliminator installed (very short money). For the C7 Z06 I was going to get the eliminator installed, and someone on the Forum suggested I wait and try it out 1st----glad I did. So far, I have found the 1-4 skip shift to be a non-event. If it ever does become a pain, I will buy the eliminator (think it is under $20) and get it installed (takes minutes to install).

Like someone else noted, mine has only popped out of gear 2-3 times, and each time it was my fault for not putting it fully in gear.

The rev matching is cool.............makes shifting a little smoother, and easier when teaching my son-in-law to drive it. Neither of my kids use it though. However, I don't like the sound when it downshifts in rev match........I like the sound the exhaust makes on its own without this. I keep my exhaust loud in Sport and Track modes, and it is quiet in Tour mode, which I use when my wife is with me.

With the manual, we have to actually put the car in Eco mode before it automatically switches to the 4 cylinders, etc., whereas I think someone noted with the automatics you can't control this unless you are using the paddles. I know many with the manuals have found the Eco mode pretty useless............only goes into the 4 cylinders when gong downhill, or if on flat roads where you don't have to apply much gas-----I tested it one day and saw it was in 4 cylinders only about 10% of the time, tops. Plus, as many have said, what is a 650 HP car doing with an Eco mode anyway?

I don't track the car, so I can't offer any insight for that use.

Either way, auto or manual, you will love the car. Best of luck.

 

I have never had the skip shift show up so not an issue to me. I like the M7 more than the A8 just because it is more fun to drive for me

 

M7 guy here too. And I use the rev match even on the street. It's just cool! lol I can't give you a comparison to A8 but I can say that I love the M7. One thing I will say is that I drove a car with an MGW shifter and ordered one for my car the following week. I have always driven stick cars, it's not like I am inexperienced with manual trannies. Yet I missed the 2nd to 3rd shift multiple times with the stock shifter. Once the MGW was installed, I have not missed that shift one time, not on the strip, not on the track. I highly recommend the MGW shifter for that reason. It has a MUCH more 'positive' feel than that of the stock shifter. Hinson makes one too and although I have not driven a car with a Hinson shifter, I know they have a great rep and other items I have purchased from them have been of good quality. If you do go with the M7, you might check into both, maybe talk to people who have one of these shifters on their car.

Good luck and long live the 'stick'! ��

P.S. - If you plan on road tracking the car, you might want to review posts regarding overheating issues on A8 cars vs. M7 cars and draw your own conclusion.

 

I went back and forth on this and finally decided to go back to my initial gut feeling - M7. I drove an M7 Z06 and a Z51 A8. The A8 is an excellent transmission, especially at WOT. Around town, though, I wasn't happy with the delay in shifting when in manual mode. If it shifted quicker around town, I may have gone with the A8. Can't go wrong either way: a big part of me wanting the A* was to feel 0-60 in 3 seconds, which will not be hard to do. The M7 will be hard to launch and get 3.3-3.4 but I will enjoy trying!

 

The difference is in the gear range is the tranny's. M7 has a 7.83 over all first. The A8 is 10.99 over all first gear.

The low gear gets traction easier because it spins slower.
Thus the A8 gets a big head start. I never take off like that in low anyway. The M7 has less drive train loss (power advantage) and gearing advantage
once moving about 60 mph.

The A8 wins quarter miles races but loses it's advantage in 1/2 mile- mile rolling 50-60 mph starts.

I bought M7 just more fun to drive in general than the A8.

 

It came down to a simple equation for me.

Daily Driver = A8
Fun\Hobby Car = M7

RevMatch is absolutely awesome! Can't go wrong either way.

 

FYI. Skipshift can be deleted with a simple $15 mod.

 

M7 all the way for me. There is nothing like being in complete control of the car. I love the ability to hold the gear, run up the rpm's then bang the shift at my choosing. The rev match barks the exhaust sounds and gets people looking.

 

A8 - no need for a manual at all....do not miss it....in fact, when i drive my other car that has a 6 speed, i quickly realize how out dated it is....right there with drum brakes, manual steering, and hand crank engines (talk about "engaging").....oh, and rotary dial telephones

your attention span increases quite a bit not having to "worry" about all your body movements...."spanking those paddles" is the way to go now

of course having the option to choose is the best part of this, so good luck !

 

I would get the m7. I initially wanted the A8 but after driving an a8 and then an m7 I knew I had to have the m7. I did install the skip shift plug but it only took a few minutes. Either way it's a great car but for me the m7 is just more fun and that's why I bought the car to begin with.

 

Having had both, I'd say A8 unless it's short/fun trips only. M7 gets old in traffic real quick. And with 650hp it's not like you'll be bored looking for more things to do with your hands to "connect you to the driving experience". You're immersed in it, trust me.

Rev Match would be fun - just like an M7 is fun. But many things that are fun for a little while don't hold up. Only you know yourself, I suppose.

Either way, torque management applies to both M7 and A8 but may be different between the two. Both limit torque lower in the RPM band, but I haven't looked at whether or not it does anything on shifts.

 

No, it isn't just on the launch. Every time you release the clutch it happens. By how much depends upon many variables, but it will even do it in mid shift scenarios. You have to go drive one. Hopefully someone who reads this is close enough for you to meet and see for yourself.
These manual transmissions aren't like the ones from the late 60's to mid 70's. Those were really fun to drive because you could bang gears and spin tires. These modern cars aren't like that. That has been engineered out of them. Can you tune that out? I don't know with a hydraulic clutch. My last manual was all externally shifted Rods and Z bar mechanical clutch.

 

So with the torque management if I'm in 2nd gear at 3500 rpm and floor it I won't get the full torque of the engine?

 

I'm sure someone will have the correct electromechanical explanation, but if you floor it in 2nd Hold On !!

 

Amen brother............