jimmyb

What concerns me about a DCT being offered is that Corvette will go the direction of Ferrari and stop offering a manual at all, eventually. That would be a sad day.

Jimmy

hb_cpa

No. I did not like it on my M3. You lose the connection with the car.

michaelinmech

No. Because 427C5 has made me nauseous with the incessant whining about it . . . . . .

Jeff W

slief

I voted Yes even though the answer is really no.

Let me explain. I plan on going manual so it would not be an option for me. That said, "if" I was going with an auto, then I would most certainly spend the extra money for the option if it proved to be worth it.

I err on the side of trust with GM. If and when they are ready to release a DCT, it's because (in my opinion) it's refined enough to work (and fit) better in the C7 than the status quo. If and when that time comes, we will have the DCT option and not a minute sooner.

Personally, I'd love to see a true sequential with shift paddles or buttons on the wheel, an optional push pull shift lever in the console and a clutch pedal on the floor!

tuxnharley

^^^^^^ This!

Having driven a DCT/SST in the McClaren 12c, I can say it's fantastic. But who really needs it for the street?

Your poll is, once again, incomplete. It leaves out the cost variable. Or are you assuming it's a no cost option? I might order one if it was a no cost option, but we all know that's not gonna happen.

The difference here as opposed to AWD is we know that DCT can be incorporated with no compromises to the basic platform.

Flex182

Maybe one day though.

427 C5

BMW charges $450 for the DCT option.
I think $1,000 is a safe amount.


So, you have driven a DCT and you think it's fantastic.
Why wouldn't you want it for your own car?

Who "needs" 400hp for the street, let alone 600hp?

SCM_Crash

If I were buying an automatic, yeah.

But I'm not. I prefer to drive manuals.

jimmyb

Nah, a DCT isn't an automatic....
Sorry, I had to do it.

Here on CF, the various "experts" have proclaimed that an "automatic" is torque converter equipped. My point will always be that if the transmission will SHIFT ITSELF, then it's an automatic and I don't care what the internals are. Automatic SHOULD be an easy word to understand....

And I want 3 pedals in my Corvette (even though our time of being able to get one that way is probably limited).

Jimmy

427 C5

Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?
If there was any question if you were clueless, your post removed any doubt.

DCT is a manual.
It outperforms every stickshift/clutch pedal trans available.
You manually shift a DCT.
DCT only shifts automatically if you engage the automatic mode.

lve2xlr8

Yes as long as it shifted as aggressively as the one in the m3. Love chirping the tires into 4th

LS1LT1

Is it that cheap?
I remember when the SMG option was like a $3000.00 option on the M3 but that's not quite the same transmission you're referring to, right?

Trackaholic

Are you sure that silver one is a Corvette? It looks like it has Camaro tail lights.

Also, NO, I would not get a DCT.

I know they are faster than a stick, but I simply prefer the greater involvement a stick shift brings to the table, even if I give up some performance.

-T

Trackaholic

I actually totally disagree. I know the DCT has a clutch (or two) and is similar internally to a traditional stick shift, but there is nothing manual about how the user interacts with it. And that is what truly defines the type of transmission. The torque converter was just a way to eliminate the clutch in order to allow smooth automatic shifting. The DCT can now provide smooth automatic shifting with a clutch, but the clutch does not make it a manual.

From a user interaction perspective, a DCT is no different than a TC automatic with a manual mode (like the one in my Volvo V70 wagon). In normal use, you are still letting the car shift for you. In fact, with the Porsche PDK, practically every review recommends that you leave the car in sport or sport+ mode and let it shift for you. Most DCT's also have best accelertation performance in auto mode because it can shift at the optimal time, better than a human.

So, if you make the argument that a DCT is best because it is the fastest, then you also should be arguing that it is best in automatic mode. Therefore, it is an automatic.

Did I mention it is an automatic?

-T

musclecar6

Gm keeps improving the automatic in the corvette ( the automatic in my 2012 CTS-V is a huge improvement over the auto that was in my 06 C6 ). That said I think the GM 8 spd auto under development will make it's way to the vette in 2015( 2006 all over again). We'll also see a DCT available in the Z06/ZR1 initially, & when the sales numbers start to slip later in the life cycle of the C7, they'll make it available in the base/Z-51 models. A great strategy if it goes that way, & I would will be one of those waiting for a DCT, likely in a Z06/ZR1.

Guibo

Indeed it is that cheap. SMG was a single-clutch gearbox and nowhere near as smooth. Some DCTs incorporate aggressive shift algorithms to duplicate the "kick-in-the-back" feel. Nowadays, the Steptronic slushbox is a no-cost option on BMWs, which should tell you something about amortization (or maybe the thick profit padding that premium manufacturers can command).

I think he is saying that from an interactive point of view, the shifts in a DCT occur much faster than in a torque-converted slushbox. You can also grab neutral when you want, or order up as many consecutive downshifts as the engine can safely handle.
While a Porsche PDK may be fastest in full auto mode, I don't think that practically every review recommends that you leave the car in sport mode and let it shift for you. Eg, R&T's latest comparo between the Evora IPS and Porsche PDK:
"Nearly 50 years later, Porsche’s dual-clutch, two-pedal PDK gearbox is far better than half-baked. No torque-converter automatic can match its efficiency; no straight-cut crash box can shift as quickly. Combined with the current 911, it might be the best grand-touring answer money can buy.
Somewhere up the mountain, I flick the right-hand paddle into fourth gear. The big, raspy six punches me along the narrow two-lane so hard that the sun peeking through the tree cover becomes a strobe light in the door mirrors. The wall of rock ahead swells with auto-zoom intensity before I step on the hot but unfazed ceramic brakes for the 50th time in 20 minutes, and that’s when I realize: Porsche’s really done it. The PDK is now effectively flawless.
Five years ago, most automated-clutch transmissions required the predictable confines of a racetrack to justify their outrageous prices and often terrifying service intervals. On fast roads, they fell apart, pounding their owners with incomprehensible shifting decisions and punishing clutch action. In traffic, they were temperamental, to say the least.
No longer. This is version 2.0. All bugs fixed, all promises fulfilled. The Porsche’s (optional) steering-wheel-mounted metal shift paddles are finally in the correct position, much to the delight of anyone who suffered through the different but equally worthless wheel-mounted switches used in Porsches over the past 22 years. Flick the left paddle once, twice, 10 times. Or just hold it down for a while; it doesn’t matter. The 911’s gearbox computer interprets your intent, not your execution, and delivers flawless shifts down to the end of the braking zone."

Dif

Cool, just like the C6 Auto trans ... shifts Manually if you engage the Manual mode.
Wait .. now I'm confused

PS: I voted No.

TTRotary

Damn - a well reasoned post from RC000E - who'd-a-thunk-it.

As for budget DCT in the Vette price range - it's not that far away. Once a mass-produced, reliable DCT is out there (VW Group's is best candidate at present), it will wind up in other cars, Vette included. GM has much more latitude to source best-practice parts than it did before. Dumping Goodyear and the union contracts was a huge step in that direction.

SCM_Crash

Totally agree, and while this was argued over and over and it was proven that even the automotive manufacturers call their DCTs automatics, the people that don't want to say they drive an auto will continue to call them manuals. (Derp)

By the way, only a few DCTs actually use clutches (dry clutches). Most use - what we call torque converters - wet clutches. They're viscous friction based clutches (like a torque converter) that handles a lot more torque than a dry clutch (like a torque converter) and even require a pump to move fluid and cool them (like a torque converter).

But C5 427 will likely say something along the lines of: "Are you stupid? How could they be torque converters? Don't you know they shift faster? Don't you know they're in Ferraris and the GTR?" Or something that has nothing to do with anything I said.