yeah deffinately, i mean i still shift my A4 manually ocasionally when i race but you have to use a clutch which makes it harder.... but like i said, there is always human error involved with anything so you cant possibly be telling that you shift perfect 100% of the time....

 

No, I'm certainly not perfect.

At M10 last year (the only time I've raced my Z so far), I made 16 passes, missing one 3-4 shift on one pass. So, not counting the dozens of shifts that I made off-track, I successfully made 63 of 64 shifts. That's 98.4%.

I'm a lot prouder of my 98.4% than I would be of 100% in an auto -- there's no skill involved in that!

Edit: I wanted to mention that I'm well aware that 13.2 isn't fast.

 

i hate you jakerob ... yeah well i guess an A4 would be more benificial to a car with more performance like a 10 second car..... since everything is so much quicker

 

I've seen M6 cars run 10's. Again, that's just so much cooler than an A4 running 10's. For a given ET, an M6 is the more impressive car.

Now, I've seen A4's run 8's (actually, some might have been an A3's), and I know that there are some out there running even faster.

Anyone know what the fastest M6 F-body is?

 

I'd be willing to bet Ronnie Duke would agree. He's in the 7's with his auto.

I think that also answers your question as to why an auto is better (at drag racing).

 

I honestly wouldn't go that far. Alot of the autos in single digit cars are not computer controled. The driver is still responsible for R/T, launching and even shifting (just without the use of a clutch pedal). When it comes down to 9 second and below cars it takes driver skill regardless of what transmission you use.

That's just my humble opinion.

 

I respectfully disagree. As I stated above, you need skills to perfect R/T, launching and in some cases shifting. Once you try and launch a 2.5+ STR torque converter on drag radials you start to understand just how much skill really is required. After that it's all computer so I understand why you would think that way.

 

I respect your right to have that opinion. Mine is that a 8 second car is so much cooler then a 10 second one regardless of what transmission it has.

As far as I know it's taner with his 9.4 @ 148.

Here is a good list of fast track times:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/etdb.php

If you click on the model it tells you about thier setup including transmission. Taner has the fastest "true" manual and he is 21 on that list.

 

Okay, so you think pulling off a high-STR launch is harder than pulling off a 5krpm launch in an M6 with a 12-bolt and slicks? Seems to me that the right foot skills would be very similar, and the M6 adds left foot skills.

Darren, think of it this way. I am speaking only of the difficulty in shifting. Launching and R/T apply to any car, regardless of transmission.

In a full auto, you don't worry about it. In a non-computer-controlled auto, you just have to time it right, but you're pretty much guaranteed that the shift will execute quickly and accurately. In a manual, your right hand and left foot had darn well do everything right, and in sync with each other.

Shifting in a manual takes more skill for a given ET than shifting in an auto. That's the only claim I'm making here.

 

I agree. That's why I keep saying "for a given ET".

Don't argue with half of my point. That's just silly.

 

Harder no, Just as hard? Yes! This is something manual guys usually overlook.

I understand and agree with you.

 

My point was that what some consider impressive, others do not. I think anyone in the 10's or lower is impressive. I don't care what transmission they have. It's not like you can see them shift or not shift when you watch them run.

I think this whole debate is silly. But I do notice a trend. These debates and at times arguments always seem to start with a manual guy bad mouthing automatics. I am obviously not referring to you Jake. You seem pretty level headed about this discussion.

 

The source of my respect for automatics: My father in law has a 1970 Buick GSX. 462ci, 200R4 w/ lockup from a Grand National, 2800 stall, and B&M slap shifter.

It's fun.

His best time right now is a 13.5 @ 100, but he's starved for fuel and air in the top end and his tires don't hook at all. This year he's got a new 850cfm carb, a larger air filter, 1/2" fuel lines across the board, and Nitto 555R's. He should get himself into the low 12's @ at least 105.

My Z isn't going to be the fastest car in the family for long.