If you could do it over again

Okay, if you guys had to do it over again and buy your camaro, would you get the 6-speed or auto?

Also which is better for like a quarter mile run or short races? Would you go with the auto or 6-speed?

After owning 2 manual cars (a '94 V6 5 speed Camaro and a '94 Z28 6 speed), I made the mistake of buying an auto. I regret it to this day, but I love the rest of the car.

If you're going to drive the car everyday, get the stick. I think you'll enjoy it more. If its a track-only car, get the auto.

I have an auto right now as a daily driver(mig sig). But i was thinking about doing some mods to it. Don't get me wrong, I love my car as is, but if I do the mods will it be worth it in the end, compared to doing it to a 6-speed?

I went from a 94Z M6 to a 98 Formula A4 for a reason. I wanted a car I could consisitantly drag race. Auto is the way to go for that purpose:)

Having owned a 97z which was auto, stalled as well and now owning a stick I would saw for the street stick is 100 times more fun, and is much faster from a roll on. But at the track I'd rather have an auto if you're looking for good times(at least with a stall in it). Still a stick is more fun at the track. I'll take a stick any day over an auto.

My story:

I bought my first LS1 with the A4(didn't know how to drive a manual or care for that matter at the time). Let's just say I never make the same mistake twice. :D Back from last summer, I'm now the PROUD owner of what is in the sig.

Mike

2002 M6 Z28
!CAGS, Direct-Flo lid, & GMMG Chambered Exhaust

Agree with some of the above...the only reason I would ever get an A4 is if I was buying a track-only car.

u wil ony stik on the street a lot more.....stiks trap at higher speeds in quarter mile....but an auto with stall converter will launch better

auto all the way... The only time an M6 has an advantage is when the auto tranny dosent downshift.... The M6 being faster is way over rated i feel.

Originally posted by KamaroL98
auto all the way... The only time an M6 has an advantage is when the auto tranny dosent downshift.... The M6 being faster is way over rated i feel.

Overrated? Maybe...but it's still faster.

Originally posted by 96SFLZ
Overrated? Maybe...but it's still faster.


yup:p :D

First car was an old nissan - stick. Second car was a beat up 92 RS - stick. Also current car - stick. No way I would ever go to a auto unless of course im running 10's or lower. Just love to feel the engine in the shifts and cruise at any gear.

Mark

Just becaus its an m6 dosent make it faster, you can think that. But i have a friends 2001 Z28 6speed running 13.7s best with different drivers. Each car is different.

Originally posted by KamaroL98
Just becaus its an m6 dosent make it faster, you can think that. But i have a friends 2001 Z28 6speed running 13.7s best with different drivers. Each car is different.

actually, it kind of does. Assuming equal drivers with an equal car, one a manual and one a automatic, the manual will win a race.

A automatic takes more power to turn, and therefore produces less rwhp then a manual.

Originally posted by KamaroL98
Just becaus its an m6 dosent make it faster, you can think that. But i have a friends 2001 Z28 6speed running 13.7s best with different drivers. Each car is different.


You're right, just because it's an M6 doesn't make it faster...but that car is running 13.7s because either the guys driving it, can't (drive) or because that LS1 (the motor) just isn't as strong as most of the others. Not the tranny's fault.

And anyway, fast to me is trap speed, not ET. 9 times out of 10, a stock M6 should trap higher than a stock A4. There are always exceptions though, an A4 behind a "freak" LS1 could very well trap 107-108 stock...but most are around 104-106.

Originally posted by kclegends17
Okay, if you guys had to do it over again and buy your camaro, would you get the 6-speed or auto?
6 speed.. *I had an auto.. then after 6 of them decided that 6 speed is better...
Also which is better for like a quarter mile run or short races? Would you go with the auto or 6-speed?
Auto is best for quarter mile.. it is more consistant..

I just recently purchased a stik,and drove alot of cars before gettin the one I have. As many of you know it is hard to find a 6sp.So drove alot of autos ,WELL when I got in the 6sp I was amazed at the difference in acceleration,torque totally noticable.They are as a FEEL more faster.
If I had to do it again 6sp all the way,and as a matter of fact it depends on the track as the benificiality.I run road race tracks and the manuals dominate there.Kinda the only trans,but did track days in my auto v6 w/ success. as for my 6 if I have to choose again I would get 5sp.
They are FUNNER:D imo
T.

Manual transmission for me. it's fun and has better fuel econ. than the automatic.

I drive an A4, but I can't deny that 6-speeds:
help increase gas mileage (no slippage, higher over-drive)
use less fly-wheel horsepower to turn than autos, hence more rwhp
weigh a little less than autos, therefore make the car lighter (which helps the mileage) and help the power-to-weight ratio
have more gear ratios between 1st and 4th (where 4th gear is the 1:1 ratio) than an auto between 1st and 3rd (where 3rd gear is the 1:1). This helps keep the engine in its power band more of the time with obvious benefits
have a definite "fun factor"
However, this doesn't mean that M6's are leaps and bounds faster than A4's, so it's still a driver's race between two equally modded cars. And, for me anyway, I do a lot of stop-and-go driving, so having driven standards enough, I do find it becomes a nuisance sometimes..............not to say I can't/won't/couldn't/wouldn't deal with it, but I appreciate my auto sometimes;). As well, like others have said, unless you're a freaking "PRO", you'll never be as consistent with an M6 as with an A4.

Sooooooo, with all this in mind, as much as I wanted to get a 6-speed car, since I couldn't find the exact car I wanted around here with the M6, I took the car I wanted with the A4, and I'm still as happy as could be:D. That's my $.02:cool:.

This debate always makes me laugh. Especially the stick guys trying to justify getting a stick by saying: "more horses to the road, less parasitic losses, higher trap speeds"
Let me tell you, trap speed never won a 1/8 or 1/4 mile race. The guy that gets there first wins. Not the guy with the highest MPH.
You don't have to justify your decision.
Drive a stick because you love to drive a stick and be proud of that love of the sports automobile.
I love driving our 98 SS m6 car. It's a blast under any conditions.
But I bought a 2000 a4 Formula too and modded it a little because I also love the rush of blasting down the strip. And with the consistancy and speed of a high stall auto it's so much more fun turning the win light on more often.
So when someone asks: "stick or auto"
Say I drive a stick because........................I love it!!!!!
Or say I drive a auto because........................I love it!!!!!

Both of our cars are great and I love them both. Each for their own strengths. No justifications necessary:)

Personally if I could go back and buy an M6 Z28, I would like to go back to 11/01/2001, then I would have saved a lot of time and money and just bought a new 02 Z28 M6. Don't get me wrong, I love my Z now but I know I would have been happier to get an M6 just because Manuals are more fun to drive but don't take anything away from a Auto though.. After I bought my Z28, which I searched over a year to find a M6 Camaro/Firebird, but could not find one since it seemed that a lot of people who owned the M6's would not sell them but A4 were plenty, 2 months after buying my car 56 miles from where I live, the local chev dealer took in a 2000 Firebird Formula set up very similar as my 02 Z except it had an M6 but still it was going for $ 22,000 which was 1,000 more then what I got my 02 Z for... All in all I would have boughten an M6 if I could have but for the deal that I got for my Z w/ 9,942 miles for fully loaded minus the Performance gear, 12 Disc Changer and Sport Appearance package, I am happy with what I have for a Daily Driver...

I love the my manual, but there are times when I kinda wish I had an auto. Usualy when Im at the track because I cant drive, and I know i should be running quicker than I am.

I like my M6 for two reasons.
1. It is fun to shift in order to accelerate. I switched to Nitto's because I was smoking the tires in 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the track. On the street I was only chirping 3rd. True, it is less consistent and more work.
2. Downshifting. Nothing like downshifting and hearing the great exhaust note.

You can't go wrong with either tranny
M6=:bow:
A4=:bow:

It's when the modding starts, that's what's going to tell you who will win a race.

Originally posted by AL SS590 M6
Let me tell you, trap speed never won a 1/8 or 1/4 mile race. The guy that gets there first wins. Not the guy with the highest MPH.
That is a very good point, and I think it's something that gets overlooked a lot;). Thanks for reminding everybody about that!:)

Originally posted by AL SS590 M6

Let me tell you, trap speed never won a 1/8 or 1/4 mile race. The guy that gets there first wins. Not the guy with the highest MPH.


Very true Al, but me personally, I'd rather have a car that runs 13.0@125 than a car that runs 12.0@110...that's just me though because I'm sure most people would take the latter.

buy a stick they are alot more fun to drive on the track and the street anyone can get a good time with an auto

I like my cars to be sticks and my truck to be auto.

Sometimes I wish I had an auto, when I'm driving with a coke in one hand and a chalupa in the other :rolleyes:

I never had to do it again.

67 Chevelle SS convert 4 spd.
99SS Camaro 6 spd.(sold)
02SS Camaro 6 spd.

Because there's more to racing than going in a straight line. I like to throw a curve in the middle of those straights once in awhile.

:cool: A4 all the way :cool: Autos are just as fun as manuals,I've owned both ;)
Kevin

I drove both a 6-speed and an automatic Z28 at the dealer when I was shopping for a camaro, and they both semeed the same in terms of power, except the 6-speed you can shoose exactly which gear you want to be on, but with the automatic the car automatically goes into a lower gear by itself to speed up if you press the gas pedal down more, or if you also do it quickly. I was not sure which one to buy, but after thinking about the times when I have to eat while driving to get to school on the freeway etc, I decided to get the A4 automatic and would also buy the automatic over the 6-speed if I had to do it again. I sometimes have to eat while driving to school because I have a busy schedule and have no choice but to eat in the car while driving, and there's also alot of traffic and the manual transmission gets very tiresome.

I don't buy the "Manuals are more fun" becuase I don't consider it fun at all, it's more like more work than you have too. I would never buy a stick shift again with current automatic transmission technology. Both the A4 and 6-speed are exaclty the same in terms of speed and power to me when I tried them. The only thing is which do you prefer to drive, because it would just be a matter of taste, not performance since they are more or less the same in that.

If you raced a 6-speed with an A4 on a roll, all you have to do is switch to OD if you are over 90MPH and you have a chance of beating, or at least being the same. I always change from D to OD when I am over 90MPH and the car seems to get a boost.

Drag racing, i would go for the auto. Torque converter technology is too good not too. Any thing else, 6 speed. you can get through stop & go traffic better in a 6- speed(a4's are never in the gear i want them to be in, until its too late) IMO. As far as nuisance, after a while, for lack of better terms, it becomes automatic. you don't even think about it, it becomes natural. i can can do all the misc. things(which we all shouldn't be doing anyways) A4 drivers can do while "clutch & sticking". nothing like a 4/3 downshift with your drink between your legs and a burger in the right hand and sterring wheel in the left:thumb: If it gets too bad, i make my g/f either shift or hold something. she's only with me cause of the car anyway, might as well put her to good use:D

I think if I had the chance to do it again, I'd get an M6 (with t-tops). Not that I don't love the car I have now but I think I would enjoy an M6 more. The good thing about the auto, though, is it leaves my hands free.

I'd keep the auto, but made sure I have the 3.23's and put a stall in it ASAP ;)

I have always prefered a manual transmission. Like everyone has already said, its just too much fun driving to pass up. While automatic trans technology is constantly improving. Like perfect repetitive up shifts when accelerating off the line, and instant downshifts for quick acceleration from a roll (except between 30 & 60, man was that an embarrassing night).

However, sometimes "I" prefer to choose which gear I'm in. Like when I want to leave it in the same gear when I push the pedal down. When coasting down a hill I don't want it in over drive. Then there is road racing or canyon carving. Using the engine to slow the car down is not what an automatic was intended for.

After driving stickshift trans for about 14 years, I purchased a '96 LT1 A4. I regretted it almost immediately. I kept the car for 2-1/2 years then traded it in on a '98 LS1 M6. I'll never make the mistake of buying a automatic on a performance car again.

Originally posted by slowpoke96z28
Drag racing, i would go for the auto. Torque converter technology is too good not too. Any thing else, 6 speed. you can get through stop & go traffic better in a 6- speed(a4's are never in the gear i want them to be in, until its too late)

I agree but you know the Torque converter kills the dead spots and gives you full power at the dreaded 35 MPH roll. So when you put in the 3500+ stall TC you don't have to worry about what gear your in when you punch it anymore. They will all put a smile on your face.

I'll probably get a M6 next time around for the "fun factor" but I'll keep the A4 as my drag racing machine. I love automatics at the track. Put a big stall in them and watch them fly down that lane. You M6 guys can keep your higher trap speeds. I can't wait for the TC to get installed in my car so I can get the better ET because that's what I care about and it's what all the people in the stands watching care about (or a vast majority anyway). But stock for stock the M6 has better traps and ET's so get those A4's stalled asap.

Plus A4's are very nice in heavy traffic. And besides only in a high stalled automatic can you eat a chalupa with one hand and wash it down with a coke in the other hand all while your beating a M6 in a 1/4 mile race :D

But hey LS1's rock no matter what transmission you have. Just enjoy what you got and change it later if you want.

M6 = :bow:

A4 = :bow:

If I had to do it again, I'd still take the A4.

Well this is kinda the same dicussion. I would stick with the auto. Strickly for drag racing purposes.

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