bchisom99

Everybodys doing it,... how long until we see paddle shifters and more gears in the C6 auto, and who would buy it?? Just got back from the F1 Race, and theres a new 360 in the office next door, just promted the thought.

Corvette Junkie

You won't see them as log as Dave Hill is in charge.

BuckyThreadkiller

I drove an RX8 that had them and I HATED them. Between turn stalks, wiper stalks and

What a PITA. Give me a floor shifter.

kornblind

Paddle shifters are hot but completley impractical

Black04Vert

I'm kind of surprised that they haven't been introduced on the corvette yet. I would think a well designed paddle actuated, purely mechanically driven clutch should be able to outperform a human punching the clutch and changing gears manually pretty much everytime.

BMW's SMG system can change gears in 80 milliseconds? Ouch.

Z-07 freak

I saw Dave Hill give a speech in Feb-02, and those were basically his exact words.

crabman

An auto with paddles is rather pointless but an SMG with paddles would be an excellent choice for the vette. I have experiance only with the BMW SMG but theirs it is a worthy box. In manual mode it is quite involving since you cant just flick the lever (or paddle) like an auto but rather have to modulate the throttle with the lever throw in order to make smooth shifts. Takes a little practice. While being short of a full manual experiance I think most folks would be suprised just how involving it is to drive, its nothing like a slushbox. You feel like your driving a manual. On the other side of the coin when doing the rushhour thing you can put it in auto mode and it will handle the shifting/clutching chores itself. Not as smooth as an auto but not bad. It would be well suited to this car and if Chevy gave us a worthy implementation I am pretty sure it would sell to lots of folks who yearned for the manual but didnt get one because of traffic etc.

JLinCA

I personally don't care about paddles, but I do want to see some type of SMG trans. That's the main reason why I'm holding off on an 05.

I don't have any insider info on this, but my gut tells me we will see at least a 6 speed auto for 06. Corvette can't keep putting out this 4 speed, and call it a cutting edge car.

Matt Gruber

if you mean a way to precisely control shifts, i set mine up years ago w/ a console switch http://community.webtv.net/MATTGRU/M...tic/index.html

PeterK

BMW and Ferrari paddle shifters come from their F1 racing experience. GM doesn't have such experience and never built a tranny like this. So it is unlikely that we'll see it any time soon.

crabman

It isnt technology that will keep you from seeing it. Money is the main factor. Building an SMG would be an expensive proposition and they dont have many cars suitable for it so the volume of trannys built would be low and recouping the investment would be difficult. Since they will sell the same number of cars without it, that pretty much seals the deal. If it was a money making proposition it would already be available. Different story for a revised auto. They have more potential installations and it would help with CAFE. Much better money spent from the corporate viewpoint. That one would seem much more likely IMO

Black04Vert

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that even in "S" mode the M3's SMG will automatically try to rev match while downshifting even in if you are hitting the paddles manually to downshift.

I just bought an '04 auto. If an SMG type tranny was available for the same price as the M3's, $2400, I would have snagged it in a heartbeat.

PeterK

Well, BMW puts the SMG option across the entire 3rd series. A lot of econo-cars in EU are sold with these 6sp SMG-kind tranny as a standard.
The SMG-like tranny are actually cheaper to build than regular slush boxes and they get better MPG.

I think GM just doesn't have this technology and not willing to invest money to get it.

bchisom99

Good point on the variety of cars that it is suitable for, would be something that would get me into an "auto/smg" version if the MPG would go up as much as the 6mt. right now I could only see it on the vette and the Gto, maybe something that should be on the Solstice. But I am guilty of loving to row though gears like thats what makes the car go. . .

crabman

Actually BMWs new A6 gets better millage than the SMG. Compare the number on the new 5 and you will see what I mean. They have many more cars suitable for installation of the SMG due to their overall more sporting image/product. That spreads out the cost of development and the tranny fits in with the image they are trying to project with their entire product line. I agree with you. They are unlikely too spend the money when they face a significant development cost that would not have an installed base large enough to recoup the expenditures. The money however is the issue. If it was profitable the engineering would get done.

clem zahrobsky

the car magazines say they are a PIA because you have to remember which way is up shift and which way is down shift because they are not standardized

clem zahrobsky

there is no need for a 6 speed with the broad torque range of the LS-2 engine except to get better milage not more performance. if the engine has a narrow power band you need the close ratio of the 6 gears to keep the engine in the power band.

crabman

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that even in "S" mode the M3's SMG will automatically try to rev match while downshifting even in if you are hitting the paddles manually to downshift.

I just bought an '04 auto. If an SMG type tranny was available for the same price as the M3's, $2400, I would have snagged it in a heartbeat.[/QUOTE]

Yes, it rev matchs and downshifts are qued with multiple presses. It snaps off each one in line with nice blips of the throttle. Better than I can do with my meager skills. I was reffering to upshifting. Partial throttle manual upshifts are much smoother with throttle modulation.Even in auto it shifts better if you sense the impending change and back out of the throttle a little. When flogging it you mash the peddle and hit the paddle. While not so much on this forum I think a lot of people in general equate the SMG with an auto and I was trying to point out that they are different animals. The SMG is a wonderful tranny, its a lot more fun than an auto and I think they would get plenty of takers if they offered it. Its just hard to image the bean counters would ok it.

Matt Gruber

clem
on the autobahn what gear would you delete?

clem zahrobsky

top speed in stock C-5 is reached in 5 th gear not 6th as the engine wil not pull to the red line in 6 th. 6 th is only there to get the CAFE mileage