JDMUSCLE

Did some searches and I don’t find a dedicated thread to discuss manuals for this upcoming C8...

i see the new patent for shift by wire patent from GM.. provides some hope there but what are y’all thoughts?? Who is expecting what for this new gen vette?

Not4spd

There won't be a manual for C8.

Sub Driver

Already been plenty of threads on this.

BEAR-AvHistory

Foosh

Yep, this has been discussed ad nauseam, but it may not have been in a dedicated thread title containing those terms. Thus, you probably would have had difficulty locating past discussions using the search engine here.

I'm a dedicated manual person, and I'm now certain the C8 will not be offered with a manual initially. I think there's a chance it will come back as it did at BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar, thus I won't purchase a C8 as long as there is a good manual choice available. Whether it comes back or not will be entirely dependent upon how much blow-back GM receives for dropping it.

Corvette#2

I hope they come out with a manual eventually. The clutch by wire patent looks interesting. I think they will have it, if they can get it working properly. McLaren and the Italian exotics don't have them anymore, but Porsche still does. I think Corvette should too.

JDMUSCLE

Issue was.. discussion was all over the place and not in a single place for people coming to this forum.

Yeah.. I’m a full blown manual only lover. Without a manual I won’t even consider a C8.

Michael A

I have a garage full of cars with manuals. If the C8 doesn't come with a manual, I'm in no hurry to purchase. A well executed clutch by wire would be good enough to get me to buy.

John T

Can one rev a DCT without finding neutral? Will the C8 have nuetral availability on the steering wheel?

pickleseimer

OK, as we're starting this thread, I'm a little behind the curve on what a clutch-by-wire system is all about. I'm assuming the clutch-by-wire system is a method of eliminating a manual linkage from the cockpit to the clutch. If so, isn't this what the hydraulic clutch actuators in the current cars facilitate? What would the wire system bring to the party?

JerriVette

If gm ever feels the need to spur slow sales of the c8 im sure a manual can be retrofitted by bowling green for the following year.

i believe 23 percent of all corvettes annually are optioned with manuals.


at the peak of sales of the c7 that must be around 7000 units,aube 8000..

if the c8 sales slow you can bet the c8 will miraculously find a way to house a manual transmission.

im a diehard manual owner for 40 years but im ready to delve into a dct for the c8 z51 fe4 im considering buying.

if you wait long enough and c8 sales slump..a manual transmission will be installed and offered as an option by the corvette team..

if sales are strong...for the c8 throughout its lifetime...manual fans are screwed...

ferrari, lamborghini, ,mclaren only offer dct s so time to get with the program...

even porsches new 992 is launching only with a dct and maybe in the second year a manual transmission will be offered.

The 992 or boxster turbo four might be your huckleberry.

maybe a new 7 th gen camaro that looks like a portofino with little plus two rear seats might be a smart option...with a manual tranmission...

i am guessing a year or two after the c8 hitting the showrooms i fully expect a remodel of the excellent performing 6 th gen camaro that will offer a manual.

TXshaggy

No. What would be the purpose?

6714

I have owned 6 corvettes in my life , I still have 2 a L-89 67 and a Z-51 14, I will not get a C8 until a manual is available!!!! Thanks jjj

JDMUSCLE

Hopefully GM gets to see this thread and make a manual to keep the existing owners happy...

ShahulX

ditto on all sentiments, no manual, no sale.. c6 Z06, C7 grand sport... no C8 w/o 3 pedals

Bill Dearborn

To release a manual GM engineering in Michigan would have to do a bunch of endurance tests to prove the one chosen would work, they would have to certify the car from an emissions/fuel mileage stand point while the bowling green plant would have to develop new tooling to handle the incorporation of the manual into the powertrain during build. Not a one year job. The only difference between a manual transmission as people think of it and a DCT is the drivers doesn't have to use their left leg to pump the clutch. The left leg is thus freed for left foot braking which means the driver can get the car to perform better by combining braking and throttle input in a more useful way.

Getting a shift mechanism from the console between the seats would produce some of the same issues as trying to plumb a hydraulic clutch release so they would probably introduce shift by wire by using electronics/electro-mechanical actuators controlled by the paddles to move the shift lever coming out of the transmission. As it is now the shifter does nothing but move a rod back and forth and rotate the rod through a few degrees of rotation. A combination of steeper motors would probably work.

However, it might be simpler to just fake a manual trans with the DCT by combining clutch by wire with the DCT so the driver can play with the clutches in the transmission at certain times such as when stopped. If the driver wants to push the clutch in and out while the car is accelerating or braking some software could be developed that would direct the DCT to behave a little differently with the push of a button on the dash thus providing the experience of mismatched clutch engagements the manual lovers love so much.

Bill

John T

Thank you for clarifying TX. I thought I heard the C8 revving as it was going around the museum circle. The driver appeared to keep both hands on the steering wheel the entire time. I was just curious-

dsevo

Pulling both paddles at the same time will shift to neutral in Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, and probably many others.

mschuyler

There are three kinds of people in the world.

1. Those who drive manuals
2. Those who don't
3. Those who can't

The number in category 1 is declining over time. The curve is trending down. The numbers in categories 2 and 3 are increasing over time. The curve is trending up. The percentage of manuals sold in this country is running about 3% (Figures vary from 2% to 6%.) In Europe the number of manuals is much higher, but we're not talking about Europe here. Were talking about availabiity in North America. From these figures you can clearly see that the number of Manual Only Diehards is dwindling. Not all people who have traditionally bought manuals will balk at a DCT. Many will simply move without much complaint to Category 2: Those who don't. You can't count on them to refuse to buy a DCT.

You can see this in the Corvette statistics as well. In 2014, the number of manuals sold was 35%. By 2018 that number was 22%. Relative to each other that's a nearly 40% drop in five years. And as this number of manual Diehards dwindles, so does its marketing significance. Some of you believe if you just hold out long enough, GM will see the light and force fit a manual into a C8. Don't count on it. You are increasingly marginalized and it won't be long before the rising tide will be tickling your toes while you're on high ground.

So if you want a manual, you'll have to go elsewhere. The only question is, where will you go? And for those of us staying with Corvette regardless, nobody much cares.

TXshaggy

I agree with this. Perhaps I misunderstood the original question. “Can one rev a DCT without finding neutral?”