"MAC"

iTrader: (1)

The stall kills mpg

99z28monster

iTrader: (3)

I have had both manual and automatic equipped ls1 fbodies. I prefer the manual for a fun driving experience. However its nice having an auto when dealing with traffic and road trips. I dont see one being better than the other when overall cost comes into play once you look at beefing up your ride. Master cylinder, slave cylinder, clutch and transmission rebuild done right cost a pretty penny. Just like having a 4L60E rebuilt and a quality stall converter, including a transmission cooler as well. When its all said and done you are not far off in the total cost. IT DOES boil down to driver preference at that point. Unless you are bracket racing or plan on 10s or faster the difference in a manual and auto are not even worth arguing.

Flaring Afro

I get around 31, but I'm also in a very hilly area. The 6th gear is much smaller than the 4th gear in the auto so my car's at lower rpms on the highway (assuming we are going the same speed). My car would have to be going around 258mph to be at 6,000rpm in 6th gear.

In cities, but do they on the highway? I thought they killed gas mileage due to taking more gas to start from a stop.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

thats true^. stall kills mpg in city but hwy is unchanged auto-m6 i picked up 3-4 on hwy

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

How did the clutch fluid in the reservoir look on the cars is my question? Many don't maintenance it and that is a lot of the problems, GM should have installed a remote bleeder from the factory. Also the clutch was better in the '01+, so no surprise they had less issues with them besides just the fact that they were newer and had less miles.

95Maro

agreed. I call B.S. on this just from my experience. Bought my 95 Z/28 M6 almost exactly a year ago (7/4/13) yep.. Independence Day (but w/o will smith) .. anyways.... back on topic: I bought it off a shady lot in Hollywood after I took my older brother w/ me to check it out and he gave it the thumbs up. (he drives an sn95, btw.. so I knew it was solid if he gave the Camaro the okay. he still hates that I bought it ) anyways it's had who knows how many previous owners and came with tubes exhaust auburn gear diff (4.10? 4.11?) and so I'm pretty sure whoever owned it before me drove it pretty hard. . . and the T56 performs flawlessly to this day. what up.

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

"The automatic transmissions are pretty much bulletproof"....I wouldn't go that far.

In 100% stock form the T-56 setup has issues (clutch struggles to handle hard shifts, poor hydraulics, etc.), however they're easily remedied and the T-56 is plenty capable.

Bazman

Agreed. The T56 needs to be built and modified to reliably hold big power and be shifted quick.

However the auto is anything BUT bullet proof once you exceed factory power levels on the 4L60/65. I've been through 3 - 2 of those are Stage 6 RPM full builds. Autos just can't take the on off of twisty road track work and closed road events with a lot of torque. The converter lock ups go first (yes 800rwhp rated double clutch ones), then the converter slips then the trans cooks. There's no cure I've found for this. A tighter converter with no lock up would last longer... but then you've gone back to old school turbo 400.

stevieturbo

What a dumb article.

And there's more to car usage and ownership than drag racing. Yes if it's drag only, then of course auto makes sense and will likely be faster.

But saying 10-15 year old manual cars have problems as if that is strange....wow. So all 10-15 year old automatics still run like new ?

SS_TOR

they are just trying to sell more built auto transmissions. maybe they really feel that way but doesn't mean they're 100% correct

thetmeister05

The fact of the matter here is that you will almost ALWAYS find more problems with a manual being sold vice an auto. There is more of the "driver error" factor with manuals. And in my experience, you generally find the younger drivers with less experience running the manuals so they are more susceptible to a bit of a learning curve.

I will agree with most of you and say the statement about the A4 being bulletproof is laughable at best, but the only way for this article to make any true determination about the strength of one to the other would be to have 2, one owner cars of the opposite tranny's always being driven by the same person with legitimate driving ability behind the wheels of both cars. My 01 T/A is an abused, 4 owner, bone stock, 140k mile car and the factory clutch is hanging on by a thread right now. But I'll be goddamned if the synchro's aren't damn near perfect.

Either tranny will fail if not used properly by someone with experience driving a car with it's option. That being said, we've had MULTIPLE A4 vehicles that were legitimately not abused and VERY well maintained that lost reverse and either 3rd or 4th gear once they hit 120k.

The statement regarding needing special tools to rebuild a T-56 is also completely incorrect as well. My dad rebuilt mine with what he had at home and some Bud Light in about 2 hours (would have been done sooner, but the more Bud that was consumed, the slower the progress went lol)

These guys may have experience, but this sounds like either a publicity stunt or very poor reporting. (For the record, I've heard nothing but good things about them so I'm not trying to bash them or anything, just stating my opinion on what I see)

Wheelman916

I know nothing about this business, and I am not bashing... But I get the impression from the article, that they are trying to convince buyers who have their heart set on a manual, to settle for an automatic...

Also, if they can drive demand for auto cars even marginally higher, they can keep auto prices closer to manual car prices.

STAGEUP

I believe that the biggest problem with these manuals are that they are not maintained correctly and have bad drivers behind them. Hydraulics should always be kept clean and in great working order. Clutch should be replaced every 50k if driven rather hard or if the car makes a good amount of power. A wearing pressure plate can kill syncros as well. Another big problem is the high RPM miss-shift. If you cant shift like a boss at high RPMS, accept it, and shift normal. Your trans will live longer.