[Chip]

I am interested in knowing how you A6 equipped car owners use it in your day to day driving. How many use only the paddles only? How much driving do you do allowing it to shift for you? Basically, I am just looking for how you use some / all of the attributes of the A6 that it has to offer? Have you created your own "style" in how you use it, and if so please describe. Not looking for a 7 speed vs. A6 discussions here, this one is only for A6 owners or soon will be owners.

 

[Tom0021]

Chip
I like this post as it will be very interesting to know what others are doing. For me mostly drive in auto mode, I just have not been able to get used to the paddle shifters. I sometimes forget about changing gears which I blame on not having a clutch. Thus why I use it almost always in full auto mode.

I do use the paddles shifters from time to time, but clearly not as often as I thought I would before we got the car.

 

[akpancake]

honestly, I let the car do the shifting, that's why I got the Auto trans. however, when I'm aggressively driving, I use the paddles, but the computer does a pretty fair job in sport or race mode.

 

[rdslon01]

Hey Chip, does the A6 have to be in a 'vette, or can I comment about the A6 paddle shifter in my wife's ATS? If that is allowed in this thread, then I can give some details about how I use it, and how the shift points are noticeably different now compared to when we got the car. There has to be some adaptive learning which goes on in there.

 

[Norm]

Don't up shift to much, but down shift most of the time, like the grumble, saves a little on the pads, keeps the dust down too. I'm just anal about that.

 

[Raydor]

NOTE: This is My First Automatic Transmission Equipped Car

I always shift with the paddles. I have only played around in automatic mode a couple of times, just to see what it was like. I now have almost 7000 miles on the car and let the transmission shift itself yesterday for the first time in almost 5000 miles. Glad I did. I noticed the car running the RPM up higher, before shifting, than I normally do. Was very pleased to correct that immediately when I do the shifting.

Because it will not go into ECO AFM Mode while using manual operation, on long trips, I place it in Automatic Mode. I love it. I get 35 mpg and, when approaching a wolf pack of slower drivers, a couple of clicks of the left paddle gear-brakes me on approach and presets the transmission for accelerating through a hole when it opens. The car returns to Automatic Mode and then AFM Mode by itself. Nice.

I like that, by controlling the downshifts with the left paddle, I don't drop as many gears as the transmission does when left to its own accord. It makes more of a ruckus and draws unnecessary attention to drop more gears than necessary. Bad form, IMO. I like it so much, if I buy another Stingray, it will be my second automatic-transmission car, ever.

 

[V1 VR]

Just picked it up Friday and so far in the first 50 miles I have been using the paddles 90% of the time as I find it easy to keep the RPMs moving around staying in 3,4,5,6 and down shifting at irregular intervals for that high load for setting the rings moving up and down avoiding any constant RPM for long periods at least that's what I'm trying to do as I. Break it in. of course your mileage may very as to using this technique. Good thread thanks

 

[AFVETTE]

90% of the in full AUTO and the rest of the time is for play.

 

[Chip]

Hey Chip, does the A6 have to be in a 'vette, or can I comment about the A6 paddle shifter in my wife's ATS? If that is allowed in this thread, then I can give some details about how I use it, and how the shift points are noticeably different now compared to when we got the car. There has to be some adaptive learning which goes on in there.

Rodney; Sure, it think it fits the question as long as the two tranny's are about the same.

 

[jsvette]

I leave RedHot in Auto until I am in twisties or want to decelerate for an upcoming light and have time to downshift through a couple of the gears manually.

 

[rdslon01]

Rodney; Sure, it think it fits the question as long as the two tranny's are about the same.

The ATS has the GM 6L45 instead of the 6L80, so the ATS is smaller, but supposedly somewhat similar.

My wife always uses it in automatic mode, 100% of the time.

For me, my experience is much like Tom0021: without the clutch, it just seems too much like an automatic to me, and I sometimes end up forgetting to shift. Therefore, I don't use the paddles very much anymore. However, I did use them extensively in the beginning solely for the purpose of slowing the car down/saving brakes on many of the steep hills we have here (similar to what Norm wrote above).

That actually brings up an interesting point. When she first got the car, on one of the "moderate" hills near home, if the car was in automatic mode and you let the car coast, it would soon go WAY too fast and the brakes would have to be extensively used. So, I started using the paddles there (and on some other hills) to help slow the car down with a downshift. After a month or so of that, I swear the car learned my driving habits. Now, when going down that very same hill, if you let the car coast in automatic mode, it will shift up to fourth, but WILL NOT go higher unless you hit the accelerator. There absolutely must have been some adaptive learning going on in the transmission controls because, in automatic mode, on that hill near home, it used to shift up to sixth and need braking, but now will hold fourth and need no braking at all.

Does the StingRay A6 also have something like this (learning) in its programming?

 

[jsvette]

The ATS has the GM 6L45 instead of the 6L80, so the ATS is smaller, but supposedly somewhat similar.

My wife always uses it in automatic mode, 100% of the time.

For me, my experience is much like Tom0021: without the clutch, it just seems too much like an automatic to me, and I sometimes end up forgetting to shift. Therefore, I don't use the paddles very much anymore. However, I did use them extensively in the beginning solely for the purpose of slowing the car down/saving brakes on many of the steep hills we have here (similar to what Norm wrote above).

That actually brings up an interesting point. When she first got the car, on one of the "moderate" hills near home, if the car was in automatic mode and you let the car coast, it would soon go WAY too fast and the brakes would have to be extensively used. So, I started using the paddles there (and on some other hills) to help slow the car down with a downshift. After a month or so of that, I swear the car learned my driving habits. Now, when going down that very same hill, if you let the car coast in automatic mode, it will shift up to fourth, but WILL NOT go higher unless you hit the accelerator. There absolutely must have been some adaptive learning going on in the transmission controls because, in automatic mode, on that hill near home, it used to shift up to sixth and need braking, but now will hold fourth and need no braking at all.

Does the StingRay A6 also have something like this (learning) in its programming?

I have the XTS and while it has paddles, you have to be in "manual/sport" mode to use them unlike our Stingrays. On RedHot I found from the very beginning that it has a much more accurate cruise control, especially going down hill as compared to any other car I have had. Perhaps this is because early on I used the paddles to slow on long runs down hill and maintain the set speed- so if it 'learns' driving style that would explain why it now does it so well.

 

[Rfong]

NOTE: This is My First Automatic Transmission Equipped Car

I always shift with the paddles. I have only played around in automatic mode a couple of times, just to see what it was like. I now have almost 7000 miles on the car and let the transmission shift itself yesterday for the first time in almost 5000 miles. Glad I did. I noticed the car running the RPM up higher, before shifting, than I normally do. Was very pleased to correct that immediately when I do the shifting.

Because it will not go into ECO AFM Mode while using manual operation, on long trips, I place it in Automatic Mode. I love it. I get 35 mpg and, when approaching a wolf pack of slower drivers, a couple of clicks of the left paddle gear-brakes me on approach and presets the transmission for accelerating through a hole when it opens. The car returns to Automatic Mode and then AFM Mode by itself. Nice.

I like that, by controlling the downshifts with the left paddle, I don't drop as many gears as the transmission does when left to its own accord. It makes more of a ruckus and draws unnecessary attention to drop more gears than necessary. Bad form, IMO. I like it so much, if I buy another Stingray, it will be my second automatic-transmission car, ever.

This is how I use my A6 too. Left paddle downshifts to control speed and set the correct gear for power to accelerate.

However on mountain roads, I go full manual to keep the revs high and paddle shift for every gear, up and down.

I do wish there was more of a downshift difference between 6th to 5th and 5th to 4th gears. 3rd gear is perfect but there is too much compression dropping to 2nd gear.

The other paddle shift car I had with F1 transmission had nicely spaced downshifting and you could tell which gear you were in just by the sound. I have to look at the HUD display to know the current gear in the A6.

 

[Racerbob]

When I'm by myself, I am in sport and manual. I love to hear the sound of downshifts. When I'm with the wife, I am in touring and automatic. Kind of boring. If I'm on a trip, I will use Eco mode.

 

[docjb]

Manual paddle shifting, unless my wife is present--she prefers smooth, no-jerk shifting and touring mode. I like Sport and Track Modes, in manual mode. Eco or Touring mode on longer trips.

 

[Chip]

...
I do wish there was more of a downshift difference between 6th to 5th and 5th to 4th gears. 3rd gear is perfect but there is too much compression dropping to 2nd gear...

I was wondering about that? How fast can you get the car to appreciably slow when paddle shifting into lower gears?

 

[Rfong]

I was wondering about that? How fast can you get the car to appreciably slow when paddle shifting into lower gears?

According to my "Butt Dyno," it feels if you are cruising at 70mph in 6th gear with the A6, the speed decreases at this rate.

Pull left paddle to drop to 5th gear at 70 mph and you will slow down to 65 mph,

Grab 4th gear, drop to 60 mph,

Shift to 3rd gear, slows to 50 mph,

Then hit the paddle to go into 2nd gear to achieve strongest deceleration and slow to 35 mph.

I would prefer drops of 60/50/40/30.