[Lerch98]

Kick Ass!
The manual 6 speed is awesome in this car. And the rev match works well, learn it, use it love it.

[Paulbates455]

Thanks for all the well wishes. My left knee hurts. Dadgum, I’m 48. Completely worth it though. Haven’t messed with the rev match yet.

[Michael's 50th]

Welcome ! And yes you will love the manual transmission. Nothing like rowing through the gears.

[rburke76]

welcome to the 6th generation garnet red Camaro! great color!

[CCG Garnet Red]

Love the Garnet Red Tintcoat. Of course, that's what we got my 17 year old son. Color was also around in '69 on Chevelles.

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by MackSteelPrivateEye

They are not slower out the hole they are in most cases quicker. You lose ground between shifts as the Auto just shifts faster than the average person can bang shift it. Now you get a pro racer like Grumpy Jenkins who was famous for his quick shifting and it may be a different outcome.

Nope...The fast list in the drag racing section shows otherwise...the A8 60fts better, ET's better, and traps higher. Once you tune the A8 and remove all the torque management the gap grows even further yet.The M6 gearing is too long, there is a torque management induced launch bog that has yet to be solved, and the A8 gearing is simply superior. The A8 is a much stronger transmission, however it has been shadowed by a converter shudder issue which can be remedied fairly easy. The M6 is still more fun to drive and faster on the road course.

[Mountain]

Im not a red car guy, but the Garnet Red looks great, especially on the Camaro.

[wingchunsifu]

Congratulations!

However I did the exact opposite. Swapped out a 17 black 1SS M6 which I had for one year, for a 17 black 2SS A8. Soooooo much happier now, especially with the 2SS trim. Yes I did encounter the dreaded transmission shudder at 2k milage. Dealer transmission triple flush solved the problem...so far.

Manuals I've had: 70 VW bug where I learned how to heel toe, 71 Merc Capri, 75 Nova with 3 on the tree, 73 Cuda with hurst pistol grip, 06 Mustang GT [would never buy a Ford again. Why do you think the US Presidential motorcade used a GM Caddi as the foundation for "The Beast"], Gen 5 SS. I Come from a car family with 2 lineages. Grandpa worked 35 years at GM plant and Dad owned a Dodge dealership.

Here's 10 reasons why I relinquished the anachronistic standard shift:

1- Too much work to drive the car for a daily driver [To be honest a 2012 Jeep Gr. Cherokee tuned Hemi is my daily driver]

2- M6 is a slower car with terrible throttle lag in 1st gear that can get you killed if you're darting out in an intersection in front of a speeding truck [which you shouldn't do].

3- If you are an active person in sports or work in any kind of human services where there is a high risk of injury; the car is no fun to drive when you're recovering in a cast or in pain. You really need 4 limbs to interface the vehicle properly. [And yes I've driven with 2 different casts and in pain from other surgries]

4- "Hey dude could you go move my car real quick?" "Um, sorry man I don't drive a stick". Or, "Here Mom you can use my car" "No I can't drive that"!

5- There's a reason the majority of supercars don't come with manuals. They're much slower than today's modern, technologically advanced automatics. The A8 2SS is my "poor man's" Supercar.

6- No throttle lag and I mean ZERO in any gear! Yes I "signed a pact" and tuned the engine turning off the 4 cyl deactivation and boosting the HP with a custom Diab-Lew tune. However even with the M6 there were dead spots in the throttle that I couldn't tune out. No bueno.

7- The A8 gives the Camaro its own unique personality and driving it spiritedly is like driving the car with your mind. On an M6 time is wasted on every human shift.

8- A8 holds a higher resale value and is easier to sell.

9- 2017 M6 has, along with the Gen 5 M6, the ridiculous "Skip Shift" 1-4 feature that can come up when you least expect it and are on an incline and don't need it. Sure there's a few ways around it like pausing the shift or hitting 3 instead of 4 or press ignore on the steering wheel but why should you even have to do that. On my Gen 5 I installed a skip shift eliminator. On the Gen 6 M6 I turned it off with the same Diablo tuner

10- NO remote start. The remote start in an SS with NPP exhaust is so cool when the LT1 fires up growling through the open baffles and startles pedestrians walking by. Not to mention warming up the vehicle for you in cold weather.

All kidding aside [not really] the M6 is a lot of fun to drive and practically indestructible as far as transmissions go. I never missed a shift with the precise Gen 6. Missed a couple with the Gen 5 and blew a whole lot going from 3 to 4 but hitting 2 instead with the shitty Ford Mustang ergonomically inferior in every way with severely canted head rests that will give you a neck ache after one ride. Never tried the "No lift shift" though. Let us know how it feels! Also on the M6 there is so much torque you don't even need to step on the gas to get the car rolling just let the clutch out slowly. Hell you can even start the car rolling on level ground in 4th gear with out it bogging! Awesome car in any format.

[1CEBITN]

I will say that every person on this forum has their own opinion and bought the car they did for their own reasons which is totally fine. That's why they make the car in both auto and manual with all the other option combinations. I'm not dogging on anyone for choosing an A8 and not attacking any post above but, generally speaking, a couple things have been bugging me because I think there are some misconceptions floating around. I am no Stig, not trying to say that but I'm not sure why so many folks think there is a bog with the M6. Al did say they built clutch/engine protection into the tune but, honestly, he also said you basically need to get better at driving a stick if you are having a problem with it (i.e. the throttle is your friend). This isn't a Honda people, give it some gas and let 'er rip. I've never had any issues with bog the way I drive, the no lift shift is awesome for banging out quick shifts, and launch control works great too.

How quick the car is has a lot to do with the driver. Someone who doesn't know how to launch an A8 vs a seasoned M6 driver is a really close race when you use the NLS feature. I've nosed out A8 drivers personally in a stock car just because they don't know how to launch the car (I think the noise the NLS makes holding the rpms scared them too actually). Most stock to stock testing I've seen - same driver back to back in both cars on the same drag strip - the A8 is at most .2 faster which is a virtual tie anywhere you don't have gear to time the race. Once you start tuning and changing tires or putting mods on the cars all bets are off, you can't compare them anymore it is apples to oranges and different drivers, weather, altitude, etc... all play a huge part in all the posted time slips aso that isn't a very realistic way to compare cars. Plus, even if there was a way to tune out the "bog" in the M6 most of us wouldn't do it because we like having a warranty.

The skip shift has never been an issue for me either, I shift at 3500-4k normally so it just doesn't kick in. If you leave the car in first in a parking lot or start in second the 1-4 shift won't activate so I'm not sure why this is such an issue for people. Again, it is not a Honda, why are you shifting at 1500 rpm? Just start in second gear if you're going to do short shift it like that.

Personally, I look at my M6 as a theft deterrent. The point that a lot of people can't drive one is fine with me, that means they won't try to steal it either and I don't really want anyone else driving it anyway. If I have to valet it and they can't drive it they usually just let me park it and they ride along - which I prefer anyway. The M6 is rarer so it actually will have better resale value when you find the person looking for a M6 although I agree it will take longer to sell. I don't sell person to person anyway, I negotiate the trade value pretty darn close to the retail price and take the sales tax benefit of trading it in when I buy a new car.

I love my M6, I've had fast BMWs and Mercedes that were autos and it just isn't as fun to drive for me so I can't get behind an A8. Something about controlling the car with the M6 is what does it for me, I feel more connected to it. I am sure lots of people got the A8 for any number of the 10 reasons listed above and that's totally fine but, for me, none of those are an issue. I chose the M6 for different reasons and I think its the better way to go, but to each their own.

[torqueaddict]

Originally Posted by wingchunsifu

Congratulations!

However I did the exact opposite. Swapped out a 17 black 1SS M6 which I had for one year, for a 17 black 2SS A8. Soooooo much happier now, especially with the 2SS trim. Yes I did encounter the dreaded transmission shudder at 2k milage. Dealer transmission triple flush solved the problem...so far.

Manuals I've had: 70 VW bug where I learned how to heel toe, 71 Merc Capri, 75 Nova with 3 on the tree, 73 Cuda with hurst pistol grip, 06 Mustang GT [would never buy a Ford again. Why do you think the US Presidential motorcade used a GM Caddi as the foundation for "The Beast"], Gen 5 SS. I Come from a car family with 2 lineages. Grandpa worked 35 years at GM plant and Dad owned a Dodge dealership.

Here's 10 reasons why I relinquished the anachronistic standard shift:

1- Too much work to drive the car for a daily driver [To be honest a 2012 Jeep Gr. Cherokee tuned Hemi is my daily driver]

2- M6 is a slower car with terrible throttle lag in 1st gear that can get you killed if you're darting out in an intersection in front of a speeding truck [which you shouldn't do].

3- If you are an active person in sports or work in any kind of human services where there is a high risk of injury; the car is no fun to drive when you're recovering in a cast or in pain. You really need 4 limbs to interface the vehicle properly. [And yes I've driven with 2 different casts and in pain from other surgries]

4- "Hey dude could you go move my car real quick?" "Um, sorry man I don't drive a stick". Or, "Here Mom you can use my car" "No I can't drive that"!

5- There's a reason the majority of supercars don't come with manuals. They're much slower than today's modern, technologically advanced automatics. The A8 2SS is my "poor man's" Supercar.

6- No throttle lag and I mean ZERO in any gear! Yes I "signed a pact" and tuned the engine turning off the 4 cyl deactivation and boosting the HP with a custom Diab-Lew tune. However even with the M6 there were dead spots in the throttle that I couldn't tune out. No bueno.

7- The A8 gives the Camaro its own unique personality and driving it spiritedly is like driving the car with your mind. On an M6 time is wasted on every human shift.

8- A8 holds a higher resale value and is easier to sell.

9- 2017 M6 has, along with the Gen 5 M6, the ridiculous "Skip Shift" 1-4 feature that can come up when you least expect it and are on an incline and don't need it. Sure there's a few ways around it like pausing the shift or hitting 3 instead of 4 or press ignore on the steering wheel but why should you even have to do that. On my Gen 5 I installed a skip shift eliminator. On the Gen 6 M6 I turned it off with the same Diablo tuner

10- NO remote start. The remote start in an SS with NPP exhaust is so cool when the LT1 fires up growling through the open baffles and startles pedestrians walking by. Not to mention warming up the vehicle for you in cold weather.

All kidding aside [not really] the M6 is a lot of fun to drive and practically indestructible as far as transmissions go. I never missed a shift with the precise Gen 6. Missed a couple with the Gen 5 and blew a whole lot going from 3 to 4 but hitting 2 instead with the shitty Ford Mustang ergonomically inferior in every way with severely canted head rests that will give you a neck ache after one ride. Never tried the "No lift shift" though. Let us know how it feels! Also on the M6 there is so much torque you don't even need to step on the gas to get the car rolling just let the clutch out slowly. Hell you can even start the car rolling on level ground in 4th gear with out it bogging! Awesome car in any format.

1. Got to disagree, this car has a feather light clutch and is a breeze to drive. The rev matching feature makes it even easier.

2.Hmmm, this is driver error. If you don't know how to properly launch any manual, you can have issues. The M6 gets up and go when launched properly. No issues here.

3. Agreed, it will be difficult for someone with a physical ailment.

4. True, but I actually like having a skill that's getting more and more unique as time goes by. And there's less chance of getting my car stolen.

5. Yep, the automatics shift faster, but many enthusiasts still prefer stick, even in their supercars. Porsche has experienced this first hand. Sure, to achieve the highest performance, you'd have to go automatic. No argument there.

6. Can't comment on tuning. Throttle lag? Not sure how transmission type would matter.

7. Subjective, but I consider shifting manually to be more in tune with the car than having a computer do it for you. Anyone hitting the gas pedal in an a8 would result in the same behavior, so the unique 'personality' you speak of is lost.

With the M6, the driver has a lot more control over how the car behaves.

8. You pay more up front for the A8 so that negates some of that resale value. Also, the fact that manuals are dwindling in terms of numbers can have a positive affect on the resale value in time.

9. I agree the skip-shift can be annoying. But defeating it isn't too difficult of you adjust your 1-2nd shift habit. As I'm doing that, it's getting to be a lot less of an issue. But plugging in a resister to kill it is really easy. This shouldn't be enough of a turn off to anyone.

10. Wouldn't mind it, but certainly wouldn't give up the joy of driving a manual for it.

At the end of the day, the A8 is only marginally faster than an M6 with a decent driver behind the wheel.

[Rayfield]

This "manual vs auto" debate rages on in every car forum that I've perused. I don't have a need to type a dissertation to justify my choice...you buy what you like, and let others do the same.
My enthusiast cars are purchased with the intent of putting a smile on my face while I'm driving, and I go find curvy, fun roads to help facilitate that. I first learned a stick shift in 1982, in a friend's Fiat 131. Immediately, I was like "holy crap, this is so much more driver involvement!", and that was it.

The M6 in the SS is far from hard to drive. Or perhaps it's because I've been doing it for 35 years or so, and learned on cars that demanded more thought and effort, so they all seem easy, now. Either way, if a manufacturer stops offering their car with a manual, they guarantee that I will not be buying their product as my personal vehicle. Unless I have a leg amputated, I don't see this changing, any time soon.

[arpad_m]

What an intelligent and respectful debate on such a contentious topic This forum is truly worth our time and devotion.

[Paulbates455]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

What an intelligent and respectful debate on such a contentious topic This forum is truly worth our time and devotion.

What he said.