[Est98SS]

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

[17_50]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

I am still in the break-in phase, but I can answer most of your questions.

1. My 50th M6 makes all the pops and crackles that the A8 does. Can't speak to the WOT yet.
2. The Hill Start assist works great. If you feel more comfortable using the parking brake then go that route, but the Hill Assist keeps the brake lights on until release. It holds you for a couple of seconds then releases.
3. I never downshift to first. I only use 1st to take off.
4. Still in break-in so 4k will be my answer here
5. All the way to the right and up. You will hear the beep and the rear camera comes on, and there is a lockout so you can't engage reverse while moving forward.
6. Flat foot shifting as in no lift? Not sure.
7. Haven't tried launching yet (have 750 miles to go before doing that), but I am sure others can speak to whether launch control gives a better take off
8. I have tested the rev match and it's pretty cool but I like to do it myself.

I have found this clutch to be the most forgiving out of all of the manuals I driven so far. I hope this helpful.

[adg5151]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

1. The car has plenty of pops and crackles on deceleration. However, I dont notice much noise on WOT upshifts. I have read a lot about the A8 making noises but I have never driven the A8 to tell you the difference.

2. I have mixed feelings on hill start. On really steep hills it works great, because I know it will engage. However, on minor hills I never know if it will engage so it kind of keeps you guessing. For this reason, I suggest not getting used to it. If you are expecting it on a hill and it doesnt engage, you might be rolling backwards unless you are really quick.

3. I do not downshift to 1st unless I am below 10 mph. I actually dont think the car will let you downshift into 1st above like 10-15 mph. I havent really tried to force it but there is definitely a lockout for downshifting into 1st.

4. Cant answer this exactly. 1st is probably around 40-50. 2nd I believe is close to 80. After that I have no idea.

5. Up and to the right. Like the post above me said, it will lock you out of reverse when the car is moving forward. You dont have to worry about missing 5th and going into reverse (unless the solenoid fails).

6. Havent tried it..

7. I use launch control sometimes. Works pretty well from my experience. However, I dont launch enough to notice a big deal from using launch control or just doing it myself without it activited.

8. Rev Match is nice. However, I usually drive with it off unless I am really tearing through the back roads. I find it more fun to blip the throttle for downshifts myself and balance out some downshifts by easing the clutch. I love my car being loud, but considering I leave the exhaust valves in track mode almost all the time, having rev match on all the time can be a little obnoxious at times.

[Dysan911]

a couple things I picked up owning the M6.

1. The car has a feature called "No Lift Shift". and when you get it perfected it shifts FAST!. https://www.facebook.com/nickanders/...5154669918739/

2. Aside from the normal things like taking off from a start, etc. You'll want to familiarize yourself with knowing which gear to jump to for max power like:

35 to 65 I will jump to 2nd gear when I want full power
and 3rd gear for anything like 70 to 120.

I only use active rev match when Im on the highway. If I need to drop a gear or two it's perfect. However I find the throttle blip a bit much for around town driving. I mean everytime you come to a red light its bliping the throttle and everyone around probably thinks im being a douchebag. lol.

If I can think of a few other things I'll post them.

[JD 50th]

I have driven manual transmission all my life. This is the most forgiving clutch and transmission I have ever driven. I am still in break in phase as I don't even have 500 miles on here yet. I personally like the rev match and turn it on every time I start the car not saying I can't rev match myself but it's handy when this is not my daily driver and i am not used to the shift points yet.

[Est98SS]

Thanks for all the answers! They are all extremely helpful. Kind of sad that you can't downshift to first since I used to do it all the time during deceleration to make lots of noise ��. Another question I had is say you want to accelerate hard from a dead stop do you go all the way to redline in first or do you need to shift to second once you get some speed to avoid blowing your tires off?

[irmb]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

1 yes
2 iffy. I've used it in San Francisco - but honestly it's hit and miss - so I don't rely on it.
3 I don't downshift into 1 to accelerate - but downshifts into 2nd are fine
4 1st gear will get you to about 55. not sure about second. 3rd will get you right to 100. haven't topped out 4th yet - but I think 145 or higher
5 never accidentally gone into reverse
6 no idea
7 - you have to be gentle. it breaks loose easy
8 I use rev match all the time. love it

a lot of people complain about the 1st to 4th shift thing. This only happens when you're driving super mellow and between 15 and 20 mph. it doesn't happen on hard acceleration

[Est98SS]

Originally Posted by irmb

1 yes
2 iffy. I've used it in San Francisco - but honestly it's hit and miss - so I don't rely on it.
3 I don't downshift into 1 to accelerate - but downshifts into 2nd are fine
4 1st gear will get you to about 55. not sure about second. 3rd will get you right to 100. haven't topped out 4th yet - but I think 145 or higher
5 never accidentally gone into reverse
6 no idea
7 - you have to be gentle. it breaks loose easy
8 I use rev match all the time. love it

a lot of people complain about the 1st to 4th shift thing. This only happens when you're driving super mellow and between 15 and 20 mph. it doesn't happen on hard acceleration

Thanks, I actually live in San Francisco so hopefully I either have good luck with the hill start assist or I get good at catching the clutch real soon. And yeah in almost every review I've heard of complaints about the skip shift feature so I plan on getting Phastek's skip shift eliminator if I don't like it myself.

[ThatRedFirebird]

Get rid of the shift skip asap. It is an extreme nuisance if you drive in inclement conditions (even just slippery roads). I finally eliminated it in mine two weeks back and wish I hadn't been so lazy and done it sooner.

The throttle by wire is not my favorite with the manual, took me awhile to understand that you have to give it a little more throttle than you expect taking off. Watched two different techs stall my car when it's been worked on- that said it's still super easy to drive by manual standards.

The exhaust is just vicious. I am absolutely in love with the NPP + auto rev matching. Unreal. Somewhat obnoxious haha.

[SSDan]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

Thanks for all the answers! They are all extremely helpful. Kind of sad that you can't downshift to first since I used to do it all the time during deceleration to make lots of noise ��. Another question I had is say you want to accelerate hard from a dead stop do you go all the way to redline in first or do you need to shift to second once you get some speed to avoid blowing your tires off?

You can downshift to first at speeds higher than 10-15 mph if you want just as long as you don't mechanically over rev the engine doing so which is more like 45-50 mph. If you are wanting to hear the crackle and pop on coast down you will get all that you want if you coast down from third and then through second. On your second question - it all depends on the traction you are getting when you nail it in first. I've taken mine to redline in first and no lift shifted it to second numerous times with great success. But sometimes the tires break loose before redline and I lift and quick shift to second. It all depends on the temperatures and road quality. Don't sweat it much about enjoying your new M6. If you like the engagement and joy of driving a manual then you are going to love your new car. Its a really good clutch/trans combo.

[cbr1100xx]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

To summarize:

9. How do you drive a car with a manual?

[Marty McFlew]

Originally Posted by Est98SS

I owned an A8 2SS for about a year before it got totaled and I just purchased an M6, my first manual, from out of state and now I'm waiting for it to be transported and I have some questions.

1. Does the M6 make all the good noises of the A8? Loud pops on WOT upshifts, backfires when you let off at 3-4k RPMs etc.

2. How well does hill start assist work? Is it better to just pull the electronic parking brake and let it disengage on its own? Does it hold you until you catch the clutch then your off or is it more complicated than that?

3. When your at slow speeds just cruising in 2nd or 3rd do you ever downshift to first if you want to floor it or only go to 2nd and only use 1st to come from a stop?

4. What speed does each gear top out at?

5. How do you get into reverse? Just push all the way right then up or do you need to depress the shift knob? Is it easy to accidentally go into reverse?

6. How is the flat foot shifting feature and how often do you use it?

7. How hard is launching? Do you prefer launch control or doing it on your own?

8. Do you actually use the active rev match or do you do it on your own?

Please add any other info about the M6 that you would find useful, or just things you like or don't like and things that are better or worse compared to the A8.

Thanks

1)Sounds 10xs better than an A8 bewteen shifts.
2)Gives you about a sec. or so to get going before drifting back.
3)No 1st is only for starting from a complete stop.
4)Don't know that one. I wonder myself.
5)Push right and up.
6)Never heard of FFS
7)Never did a real hard launch because still in break in period.
8)RM 100%

[SSDan]

Guys, what's up with all these answers that first gear is only used from a stop? Really? Just yesterday I was going about 25 mph on a nice open stretch of road and I down shifted to first and let it rip! You absolutely can use first gear anytime you want at lower speeds. You do not have to come to a complete stop to downshift to and use first gear. Now you may break the tires loose easier in first from a roll than from second and that might scare some of the granny drivers around this forum. But to me its part of the fun.

[vtirocz]

Originally Posted by SSDan

Guys, what's up with all these answers that first gear is only used from a stop? Really? Just yesterday I was going about 25 mph on a nice open stretch of road and I down shifted to first and let it rip! You absolutely can use first gear anytime you want at lower speeds. You do not have to come to a complete stop to downshift to and use first gear. Now you may break the tires loose easier in first from a roll than from second and that might scare some of the granny drivers around this forum. But to me its part of the fun.

Does active rev match work well for the shift to first at 25 mph or did you need to manually blip engine speed to the correct spot.