trading tiger

New to the forum, and I will be a new C6 owner very soon. I'm trying to decide between a 6 speed and an automatic transmission. I have never owned a car that didn't have a manual transmission and honestly, I'm a little tired of changing gears. I think an automatic might be kind of nice, but then again, an automatic corvette???

What's your opinion and why? What are the main differences in performance between the two specifically in the corvette? Add anything else that might be helpful. Thanks.

07atomic

What are you plans for the car?? If it's going to be something you drive daily and take out for a nice cruise then I would go for a automatic I love mine it's fun to drive im not much into the manual stuff anymore. If you plan on using it for road course kind of stuff then I would buy a manual. Plus with the auto you have paddle shift when you want it.

Vette_DD

I drove manual tranny cars for the first 20 years I drove cars, but most of my driving is done in town and I got tired of doing that much gear shifting. So, my first C6 was a manual tranny, just because that was the only C6 for sale anywhere close to me when they first came out.

But my other C6s have been automatics. I don't miss the manual tranny at all.

You've just got to ask yourself what's more important to you.

GS Diva

My husband and I just went from 20 years of Corvettes with manual transmissions to a 2011 automatic. He's having a much easier transition than I am, but the car itself more than makes up for shifting through six gears! There are pluses to an automatic so I guess you'll just have to figure out if you can live without a clutch.

Elaine

charlietuna

How much trouble do you want to get into ? I have had many of both. It is a lot easier
to drive an auto easy than a stick, but not as much fun. I have a 427 convertible and I have to really Watch myself. Either way have fun...

trading tiger

Thanks for the reply. It will be a daily driver, mainly around town but I live in the country so everything is sort of spread out. I also commute about 30 minutes on the freeway to get to work.

I test drive an automatic and I found the paddle shifters to be very unresponsive. The transmission also shifted before I even used the paddles on numerous occasions and I wasn't anywhere close to red lining it, it was a test drive afterall. Maybe I'm just not familiar with how the paddle shifters work, but I do not see myself using them much if they behave like they did on the test drive.

FAUEE

I'm getting an automatic. I get a lot of crap from my friends and family, but frankly I want to be able to use it as a cruising car sometimes, and I don't want to have to deal with 430hp AND a stick all at once.

Plus, with the paddle shifters it's not like you're giving up a lot of performance, and you can still shift it manually if you wanted to.

Vette5.5

Honestly, depends on you, and if the car is a daily driver or not. I've owned a few Corvettes over the years as toys, and all of them have been manuals. Really haven't them given them any thought, as just drive them. Try and get hold of an auto for a few days, and see what you think. Believe you can rent one at a specialty place.

Gary '09 C6

I had an '09 coupe w/A6 and found it a bit boring to drive, even though I wanted the paddle shifters. The Corvette A6 tranny doesn't perform as precisely as the higher-priced exotics w/sequential paddle-shift transmissions, as it's not the same type of design. The A6 tranny was a bit more responsive in "S" than in "D" without using the paddles, b-t-w.

But you need to buy what you really want to drive--it's your money and you've got to be happy with the car. If your commute involves a lot of stop & go traffic, then an automatic may make much more sense for you.

Racer

I love my manual when I am having fun being bad.
I hate it when I drive in heavy stop and go traffic.

Your results may vary.

R&L's C6

DigitalWidgets

There is a learning curve with the paddles, but once you've figured them out, they'll become second nature. I'm a 90+% of the time paddle shifter, and often find myself hanging out in 2nd and 3rd gear for a long time before I realize that 4th, 5th and 6th are probably much more fuel efficient. Although the debate here will rage on until manual transmissions are gone (and probably many years after), I'm a fan of the A6 (at least on my 2011 GS). They're definitely not F1 double clutch 3 /100th of a second deals, but they are a nice compromise for my intended purposes for this car.

murf257

4 me.....I have a 65' 4 spd and a 04' auto; as I don't drive either regularly; I so enjoy the 4 speed I am looking to replace the auto.

Again I do not drive often nor do I drive in rush hourer trasffic!

I bought the auto so the wife could drive and I regret that decision....however I will keep the wife!!

Mad*Max

I would try out both before buying.

HD_Rider

I've owned five Corvettes over the years, first an automatic (1984), then three manuals (2000, 2001, and 2009) and now another automatic with the paddle shifter (2012).

To be honest, I was getting tired of the shifting. I was just a tad apprehensive about buying the automatic, but now that I have it, I'll never go back.

My car shifts far better and smoother than I ever could and I truly enjoy driving the car that much more. And if I want to pretend I'm "speed racer", the paddle shifters are a blast to use.

Take one of each for a test drive and decide for yourself.

MelAnn

I have ALWAYS been a stick shift guy. Been driving "standards" since 1958.

I'm very happy with my 2008 C6 automatic!

pmt67usa

I went from a manual C5 to an automatic C6 mostly due to driving in stop and go traffic where the automatic is much better. In retrospect, I am neutral on this decision. The automatic is nice in some driving circumstances....the performance is much quicker than my C5...but I miss the feeling of control with the manual. From your description of the paddle shifts, it sounds like you were in Drive, not Sport....so weren't really using the paddles. In my experience, if the paddles are in use...it will not upshift itself. Good hunting..

Kvothe

For me my DD's are auto's so I wanted my fun car to be a manual.

I feel more part of the car when I'm running through the gears. It's a blast driving down winding roads shifting away.

Nothing wrong with an auto but for me it's a little boring. If you live in an area with a lot of stop and go traffic and the vette will be your DD an auto may be for you.

DSOMC6

I'm putting aprox 620rwhp/620rwtq thru a bone stock tuned A6 for over 5yrs with zero issues...no broken drive train, no fried clutch and it shifts very smooth and fast..nough said.

BayouCountry

The vette is my fun car so a manual was the only way to go. Just got on it on the way home and hitting those gears was a blast!

If I don't feel like shifting, I will take my other car when I know I will get stuck in city traffic.

A dealer near you should have some used vettes you can test drive. Drive both a few times and decide which transmission is more fun.