Racer 162

I am considering buying a 2015 Z06.
I would like opinions about the feel of the manual gearbox.
I have three cars that have a manual that feels great, and by that I mean
that there is a slight resistance when I change gears, and I like that feeling
The cars are a 2014 Viper, a 2011 Shelby Mustang GT 350, and a 2011
Porsche GT 3 RS
Thanks in advance

a striper

I'd give it a definite "OK" compared to the other sticks I normally drive (4) T56, (1) TKO 600, (2) STi. I've never driven anything I liked better than a Muncie with either the stock Vette linkage on short throw or a Hurst. I'll probably try an MGW shifter at some point in the Z06.

badhabit_wb

It shifts much better, in my opinion, with the MGW. I switched mine out a couple of weeks ago. I think part of the reason I wasn't satisfied was that my stock shifter was probably not adjusted correctly. The cars at Spring Mountain shifted better than mine did.

CaryBob

Four car garage? Seriously, ask to drive one. The Stingray is the same and it shouldn't be hard to find a dealer with one to test. What feels "right" is awfully subjective.

motomanvette

If it's anything like the Stingray M7, you will miss an occasional gear but the throws are short.

bhay1977

I was in the same boat 10 days ago. I pulled the trigger on a white Z06 w/ Z07 option, 7 spd manual with CF/body color surround top. I never in a million years thought I'd buy a white car, let alone a white CORVETTE at that....but I'll be damned if there is a better looking chassis on the road (besides maybe a 458). Some of my track/car buddies try and dig at me sayin I bought an ol man's car, but then I eat their M3s and S5s for breakfast

My thoughts + first impression on the stick: I had driven two different 2015 Z06s (rentals --> 1 week each) prior to my purchase. Both were A8s. Both I drove hard, like real hard. I abhorred the automatic, just felt like I was being driven instead of drivin'. So when I got the manual I was real excited to try it out. To give you my BG, I am coming from a tts rotrex supercharged V-8 2009 Audi S5, which had power not too far from my vette (601HP w/ the blower)....the car had a buttery, smooth tranny that seemed to crave each throw before I shifted. I loved it. So I had high expectations going into my vette purchase.

My 2-cents ---> I have found my new car to have a solid gearbox but, to be honest, I wish it was a 6-spd....I guess I have found the transition hard, mostly in the 4th to 7th range. At that point, under duress, like racing hard, I am all over the place. Just messy. To land each throw properly, you gotta have a precise, deft hand....For me, right now, I get lost on a sea of gears......4th to 7th range is where I'm a mess...I will say, however, that I love that the throws are super short. And taut. The 2nd pull is sublime. She takes a big inhale from 1st to 2nd, and when she exhales, you hear a voluminous ROAR, but strangely, the sound comes not from your car but from your wake, a la some sort of doppler effect, as you have shot forward like a bat outta hell, leaving everything from friends to the sound barrier BEHIND YOU. Every mammal within 500 yards shrieks in terror and runs into the arms of their mommy.

So, uh, yea, the 7 speed is AHH-ite.

lol

P.S. I'm 38, no spring chicken like my I made it sound!

SA WHN

While is for sedans. I enjoyed your take on the car. I agreed with your statement about never owning a white corvette. I bought my white Z yesterday with red interior (another color I would never in a million years own) dark charcoal stinger hood and carbon fiber roof. This thing is bad *** and turns heads. My wife usually doesn't get excited about things in my toy box but she loves this one and I have had a bunch of kool toys over the years. I agree with you about the tranny, a 6 speed would be better. Probably the EPA gas mileage thing forced the 7 speed. Got u by 30 years on the high side. Enjoy the ride.

408sbc

I am told the MGW shifter makes everything right. My MGW is here in the box. My Z06 M7 is built and should be in the mail shortly.

TRT SR

Love my m7 too, and the rev match in my opinion makes the car.

badhabit_wb

You'll love the MGW. It's a small price to pay for great shifts. It's notchier than the stock shifter but it's always easy to hit the next gear. Kinda like throwing the bolt on a precision rifle. The throw is shorter and takes a bit more effort but I love it.

bradsvette57

I have a new C7 ZO6 with the 7M transmission. I've owned it for about a month and have just under 1000 miles on the car, so my impressions are limited by my experience with this gearbox.

To begin, this gearbox feels very similar to the one in my previous C6 ZO6. The throws are short. The gates are narrow. It's fairly easy to put it in the wrong gear, mostly when downshifting. That being said, the only times I've "missed a gear" were when downshifting to 4th, where I hit a stop (synchro?). This 4th gear downshift issue has happened a couple of times. I'm hoping that I can smooth it up with use, as opposed to making it worse with use. It's actually very minor, but I thought I'd mention it.

If I'm very deliberate with my shifting hand position (held vertically behind the shifter), I can shift right at redline RPM on up through the gears with no problems. It's actually better than any other shifter I've ever experienced when shifting at redline.

Overall, I really like the gearbox, and also the ratios of the gears. First gear is tall, but other than getting the car going, it makes it a more useable gear. 7th gear is incredibly tall (.4/overdriven!!!). Initially I thought it was too tall, but thus it's probably the only way to get decent mileage out of the car. To select 7th gear you have to move the shifter fairly far to the right and it requires a very slightly greater effort to select it, as compared to the other gears.

So again, I really like the gearbox, the transmission, and the spacing and ratios of the gears. If I could change anything, I'd just delete 7th gear, or keep 7th and swap the final/rear gear to a 373. But those choices would not make the C.A.F.E. standards people happy. The C7 ZO6 gearbox is the best factory unit I've ever felt and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you order a new ZO6 with one.

CaryBob

It feels like the C6 shifter because it is. The C6 and C7 both have the same shifter -- it's the same part number.

SA WHN

The 6 speed shifter is the same shifter as the 7 speed?

bradsvette57

Maybe the shifter **** is the same, but I don't see how the 7 speed shifter assembly could be the same one as the 6 speed.

Racer 162

First of all thanks a lot for your feedback.
It seems that the 7 speed shifter is very much what I like in a manual.
But then a question occurred to me as someone posted that the A8
is better than the PDK.
My 2015 Porsche GT 3 comes with a PDK, as Porsche does not provide manuals any longer for the GT3 cars.
I found this last PDK version maybe the best of all automatic/ paddle shifts right now.
It beats closely but beats Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
I never thought that I would say this, as I am a longtime owner and admirer of these italians, but it is true!
So do you think that the Z06 A8 is the best in the market right now?
By the way what I like in the PDK is that you can paddle shift it as well as using the gear lever as in a sequential gear.
Both ways is extremely fast!

2K3Z06

The Z06 needs a DCT... No pro racing series uses standards anymore. They are faster than kludge shift.

Just look at the posts.... Everyone says you miss gears, and they change the shifter because it feels like crap. Should tell you something right there.

Corvette needs to get past all the 1950's transmission tech. And just do the DCT.

The ones Porsche and Ferrari make are excellent...... The Corvette is suppose to be the Tech halo car for GM...... So just do it.

badhabit_wb

If a DCT had been offered I would still have gotten the m7. I just like a manual better in my toys. I got my car to have fun and it's more fun, to me, to have a manual transmission. The standard shifter is fine I just like a shorter throw shifter, others may not. Some people don't like DCT's because they're not as smooth when they shift. I'm not in that group either. For a sports car, if I had to have an auto, i'd rather have a DCT. But it wouldn't be my first choice.

Bill Dearborn

You are forgetting the DCT is an automated manual which like other manual transmissions is a direct drive transmission with two clutches Vs one. It isn't an automatic slush box with a torque converter separating the gears from the engine. What difference is there between toggling shifts with paddles on the steering wheel Vs shoving a stick around on the console around other than the location of the shift device? One uses an electrical connection from the paddles while the other uses a mechanical linkage.

One reason the Vette can get away without one is the low rpm broad range torque that never seems to quit through the rpm range. That means less up and down shifting when on track and less shifting is still an advantage because even with a DCT there is a small interruption in power flow from the engine to the rear wheels.
Bill

badhabit_wb

If you have driven both you would know the difference. It's a great transmission but it's not the same as a manual. I like using the clutch and shifting an manual vs toggling a switch behind, or on, the steering wheel. There is a big difference, for me.

CaryBob

MGW also sells the same shifter for the C6 and C7. The gearbox is different but the shifter is the same. The ****'s pattern will be different.