R
Runge_Kutta
Guest
Has anyone here actually tried to drive a 500hp car on
suburban bonzai runs with a manual transmission? I ask
that because I wonder what it's going to be like to drive
a 500hp Z06 or even a 625hp ZL1. In Dave McLellan' recent
book, "Corvette from the Inside," he comments on driving
a 725hp Corvette (page 279). His comment was - "At the
end of a run, I had no idea what the gauges had indicated."
The point he was trying to make is that things happen fast
with big HP and they can overwhelm the driver. Traction will be
a serious problem and drivetrain trashing will also cause
problems. Male ego aside, I think there is a lot of merit
to offering 6-speed (or even 7-speed) automatic transmissions
with the 500hp and 625hp engines. These new transmissions
could easily result in faster 1/4 mile times, less drivetrain
damage, and fewer incidents of vehicle loss of control.
Most importantly, the transmission will lessen the driver
workload so that attention can be focused on keeping the
car in the lane and foreign object avoidance.
It would, however, go in the face of an entrenched attitude
that "real men don't drive automatics."
If there were automatics offered by GM with the 500hp and
625hp engines, what would you buy (assuming you could afford
the car in the first place)?
suburban bonzai runs with a manual transmission? I ask
that because I wonder what it's going to be like to drive
a 500hp Z06 or even a 625hp ZL1. In Dave McLellan' recent
book, "Corvette from the Inside," he comments on driving
a 725hp Corvette (page 279). His comment was - "At the
end of a run, I had no idea what the gauges had indicated."
The point he was trying to make is that things happen fast
with big HP and they can overwhelm the driver. Traction will be
a serious problem and drivetrain trashing will also cause
problems. Male ego aside, I think there is a lot of merit
to offering 6-speed (or even 7-speed) automatic transmissions
with the 500hp and 625hp engines. These new transmissions
could easily result in faster 1/4 mile times, less drivetrain
damage, and fewer incidents of vehicle loss of control.
Most importantly, the transmission will lessen the driver
workload so that attention can be focused on keeping the
car in the lane and foreign object avoidance.
It would, however, go in the face of an entrenched attitude
that "real men don't drive automatics."
If there were automatics offered by GM with the 500hp and
625hp engines, what would you buy (assuming you could afford
the car in the first place)?