[Bye Bye Bye]

So I have a 17 6MT PDR Red Hot ZL1, and trust me it's a hell of a sweet machine. But man o man it's not a drag race car, its so hard to get a good launch out of this thing. i have had some glimmers of hope, and landed some great launches, but it's less the case than the norm.

Positives:
- Complete control of the motor
- Rev matching is so cool, I don't have enough words...
- Manuals are kickass

Negatives:
- Bog on launch
- Hard to replicate GM's times for 0-60 & 1/4 mile
- Frustration

So for you A10 folks is it as great as they say?
Can you get an easy launch on the street (I see that they do well at the track)?
Are there different driving modes for the A10 (aggressive vs. say touring)?
Lastly, for you 6MT folks - please me give your thoughts...

[Fred 6528]

Let me say I don’t own one yet but have been studying them for a future purchase. Everything I read shows the Bog is real, it’s built in the tune to protect the car and probably warranty. It seems to be locked in and very hard to unlock, rumors say a few tuners might be able to unlock soon. The A10 appears to be an excellent tranny with great shifts and reliable, it’s clearly the better trans if you’re going to use your car on the drag strip. This trans even gets great remarks from manual guys so that’s a plus. Some people have said that the numbers that GM states are hard to repeat and it takes a lot of practice to launch these cars consistently, again Im only basing my answers on my research and I don’t own one.

[BlaqWhole]

I am by no means an expert on drag racing. I go every now and then but more to just have a good time than anything else. With that said, I got an 11.8 out of my A10 ZL1 very easily. That is without using any of the modes (Sport, Track), without going into the extra modes menu (from holding the TC button down for 5-7 seconds), without using the paddle shifters, no lower the tire pressure, no burnout, no launching. Just going around the water, up to the light, and going of idle until the tires catch and then nailing it. I literally approached it as if I was at a street light just to see what she could do. And I got 11.8 at 122 MPH. That is 4 tenths off from a pro-driver launching it at it's best and using all the tricks and modes to get an 11.4. So if I can do that, then imagine what a really good driver could get out of it.

The A10 is extremely easy to get a really good ET with. It's almost like it takes driver skill out of the equation. As easy as it was for me to get that 11.8, I have no doubt I could do an 11.6 which would be 2 tenths off from a pro driver. So if the quarter mile is your thing then the A10 is your best bet.

[EDFHOBBIES]

There's day I wish I had a A10 then there's day I like my M6.. I drove 4 A10s before buying, I didn't even drive the manual 6 and still bought a M6. I think if you always been a manual driver even with such a great transmission its hard to switch.

The bog issue is hard to launch correctly for sure.. it seems like if you over rev and let clutch out slow it burns the clutch to easy.. letting out slow doesn't even seem slow that's the problem.. then if you dump it, it for sure bogs..

I think you need 2 setups for launch control one for surface that sticks and one for no grip or spinning if you notice the grippier the surface the more the bog issue comes in..

I'm not sure why I didn't think to ask or request a demonstration of no bogging launch at cfest when all the GM guys were around. It would of been nice to been shown how to do it correctly and prove the point..

Maybe next year they can demo for us.. not really to bash but to resolve a problem if there is one or to schooled on how to correctly launch it..

3.9 is my best to 60 so far I get 4.1 pretty much every time.. I'm not no lift shifting either to 2nd im granny shifting.. I think i could do 3.7 no lift or just riding out 1st.. according to a post I saw a stock m6 just a few weeks ago he did 3.6 tying the A10..

and some guy ran a 10s in the 1/4


As far as traffic goes that's malarkey Im in houston on the way home I see 50 mins to 2hrs the clutch has never bothered me yet.


The monetary pros that I saw is that no converter is needed with a cam and the tune is 200 less when modding..

[Bye Bye Bye]

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

I am by no means an expert on drag racing. I go every now and then but more to just have a good time than anything else. With that said, I got an 11.8 out of my A10 ZL1 very easily. That is without using any of the modes (Sport, Track), without going into the extra modes menu (from holding the TC button down for 5-7 seconds), without using the paddle shifters, no lower the tire pressure, no burnout, no launching. Just going around the water, up to the light, and going of idle until the tires catch and then nailing it. I literally approached it as if I was at a street light just to see what she could do. And I got 11.8 at 122 MPH. That is 4 tenths off from a pro-driver launching it at it's best and using all the tricks and modes to get an 11.4. So if I can do that, then imagine what a really good driver could get out of it.

The A10 is extremely easy to get a really good ET with. It's almost like it takes driver skill out of the equation. As easy as it was for me to get that 11.8, I have no doubt I could do an 11.6 which would be 2 tenths off from a pro driver. So if the quarter mile is your thing then the A10 is your best bet.

Thanks for your feedback - It does really take the driver out of the equation. That is a good time for no practice. And I agree you can improve upon that with different methods to get a better holeshot.

[Bye Bye Bye]

Originally Posted by EDFHOBBIES

There's day I wish I had a A10 then there's day I like my M6.. I drove 4 A10s before buying, I didn't even drive the manual 6 and still bought a M6. I think if you always been a manual driver even with such a great transmission its hard to switch.

The bog issue is hard to launch correctly for sure.. it seems like if you over rev and let clutch out slow it burns the clutch to easy.. letting out slow doesn't even seem slow that's the problem.. then if you dump it, it for sure bogs..

I think you need 2 setups for launch control one for surface that sticks and one for no grip or spinning if you notice the grippier the surface the more the bog issue comes in..

I'm not sure why I didn't think to ask or request a demonstration of no bogging launch at cfest when all the GM guys were around. It would of been nice to been shown how to do it correctly and prove the point..

Maybe next year they can demo for us.. not really to bash but to resolve a problem if there is one or to schooled on how to correctly launch it..

3.9 is my best to 60 so far I get 4.1 pretty much every time.. I'm not no lift shifting either to 2nd im granny shifting.. I think i could do 3.7 no lift or just riding out 1st.. according to a post I saw a stock m6 just a few weeks ago he did 3.6 tying the A10..

and some guy ran a 10s in the 1/4


As far as traffic goes that's malarkey Im in houston on the way home I see 50 mins to 2hrs the clutch has never bothered me yet.


The monetary pros that I saw is that no converter is needed with a cam and the tune is 200 less when modding..

I didn't even bother driving the A10, I knew it was faster - I'm a manual driver and I knew I wanted to get the 6MT. I bought the car without a test ride as there were none around (the dealer had to do a dealer trade). Since I was an early adopter I never knew about the bog issue...

I come in at 4.0 a lot, have hit 3.8 and 3.9. I have never made better times with launch control or any of the track modes, which is a serious bummer since you would think those modes would assist.

Good Point on the GM fellows. They could certainly give us customers some insights on getting the most out of 6MT. I'm in Michigan so not uncommon to come across GM guys at car shows, but trying to find the right guy who is familiar with this specific insight is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack!

[Fraxum]

All 9 of my last Camaros, Mustangs, and a Firebird were manuals. But as I found out GM has a built in a bog on all M6 V8 Camaros. So this time I tried out the A10 and it is very cool. Love it. It is a nicer car just to go out for a drive cruising. And you are always in the right gear. But I do miss the M6 a little.

If I had chosen a M6 ZL1 I certainly would enjoy it and not worry about that bog. I drag race, when it is not raining, and for sure high 11s with 650 hp is a little disappointing, but in the end that is faster than 90% of the cars in the test and tune lanes and 99% of the cars on the street. Even without the bog the stock ZL1 is not the fastest car around. So you can still have a ton of fun trying to get better and trying to find close races. Those things to me are why I keep going to the track. But if you do not drag race why bother at all? Just enjoy your M6 ZL1.

And if you do switch I would not call you stupid, but rather crazy.

[mlee]

Wrestled with this one ever since the ZLE came out.

I had an M6 5th Gen Z and loved it. For a regular ZL1 there is no question, hands down, A10 all the way.
You're still going to deal with the bog issues but not near as bad. My best 60' was 3.6 and I had a bunch of 3.7's but you know the minute of launch whether it will be a good or bad time.

The A10 is programmed so well for the road track there is no question there either, but this car lacks on the drag strip due to bog no matter which trans you get.

For me once you throw in the 1LE package it's pretty much a toss up between the two. I've ordered the ZLE now so going back to M6 and don't plan on drag racing it since we all see it's not made for that. Definitely going to miss having the A10 and hope to see GM couple the LT5 with the A10 someday.

Here's a thread that may shed a little insight to the bog issue.
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=520373

[17CamaroZL1]

I've always loved manuals and have always thought they were the most fun. I've not driven an M6 Z to know how much I like it, but the A10 is by far the best auto I've ever driven. I can't compare to any dual clutches because I haven't driven any, but I've read many reviews from guys that have, and they say it's even better than some of those. It will blow you away when it comes to how fast it can drop from 10th to 3rd and almost instantly pin you back, just from flooring it. Even in full auto, I find it to be a lot of fun. Using one of the 2 manual modes can be fun for playing around too. The paddles are the fastest way to shift it manually, but using the shifter feels better.

As for launching on the street....yes it is easy to do good. On a good prepped track, I usually see 3.3 0-60. I've never tried lowering my air and doing a burnout to heat the tires to see what the best I could do on the street is, but I can easily get 3.8 down to 3.6. I did most of my street launches when I first got the car broken in and haven't done any tests in quite a while, so now that i know how to consistently launch it good on the track, i might be able to do even better than 3.6. GM claims 3.5, so I'm sure I could at least do that simply by dropping air and heating up the tires.

There are different driving modes, but the trans shifts exactly the same if your just cruising, except in Track mode. It will shift at higher RPM all the time in Track. Now when you mat it, Sport and Track both allow the trans to go into Competitive Shift mode, which is awesome! As long as you keep driving aggressive, it will keep the RPMs up by holding lower gears and downshift with Rev matching if you get on the brakes or slow down. Then about 7 seconds after you relax and start cruising at part throttle (you have to give it a little gas before it starts timing out) it will start slowly up shifting as it starts coming down out of Competitive mode. If you're in Tour or Snow/ice mode, the trans responds slowly to aggressive inputs, acting more like your typical auto, and will not go into Competitive Shift mode at all.

[17CamaroZL1]

I'd love to drive an M6 some day, because I know it would be a blast, especially the rev matching downshifts. I know it wouldn't be something I'd want to use for drag racing though, because I'd get frustrated pretty quick with the inconsistent and sometimes terrible launches, and resulting slow ets.

So it really depends on what you plan to do with the car. If racing is your thing, A10. If just cruising the streets and banging gears for fun, the M6 might be best (I'd have to drive one to say for sure).

[unavailablezl1]

I learned to drive on a manual Chevy pickup. Then another Chevy pickup with a 283. Fun. So all my sports cars have been manual. I cannot seem to get a wanting for an auto like my Toyota Tacoma.

M6 all the way for me. I like taking the curves and the Rev Match is unbelievable compared to not using it. I don't "No lift", the old term is "Speed Shift", as it is hard on the clutch. I just shift fast and hold on as it will break loose going to 3rd. It doesn't going to 4th.

So for much of my driving I never go to 1st, as I am taking the curves to the limit. The country roads I go on where the speed limit it 55, the curve speed sign says 25 and I am doing 85, in Mexico of course.

[hashtag]

I am a horrible driver. Factory advertised 3.5 0-60 with the A10. With the new GS3 I achieved a 3.2 last week. Naturally I failed to save it when CHP suddenly came out of a side street after I made that run. With the (6) speed you will not do good on freeway runs as it does not have the best gearing. Been a manual guy my whole life & have not looked back since I have owned the A10. Most of you know I owned a ZL1 1LE. i’ve been very fortunate to have been able to have experienced both.

[jbp8653]

I have a A10 17' ZL1. I also am lucky enough to have a 13' ZR1. The ZR1 is the 27th Corvette I have owned since 1974 and the majority have been sticks. I love the ZR1. I bought the ZL1 because of the 10 speed. I did drive the stick as I work at a Chevy store and had access. In back to back test dives there was no comparison for me. Although I am a stick guy the A10 in the ZL1 was the clear winner. The car is way to easy to drive fast! The sound of the tranny shifting 9 times through the gears is also way cool. Sounds almost like a Formula 1 car.Of course this is just my opinion but I don't see how anyone could not love the A10. FYI: I drive the ZL1 way more than the ZR1.

[Michael52]

I guess if the just want to drag race the A10 is better/ faster but if like to drive manual then you have the right car. I have been driving manuals almost exclusively for the past 35 yrs. I just updated my old S4 to a 2018 and am stuck with an A8 as they no longer offer manuals in Canada. It’s s great car but man I miss my manual. I just find driving boring with an automatic but that’s just me. I guess it makes me enjoy the ZL1 even more! Just my 2 cents.