Dinsdale Piranha

What do you guys want?
Do you want a 6 speed manual trans or a 6 speed auto with paddle shift or slap stick?
Piranha Bros has already done the 6 speed manual, now we are in the process of our first 6 speed auto swap. We would like to know what our potential market is so we can design the best product for you all.
Manual or Auto?
PS: What would you guys think is a fair price?

SeanR

I want an auto/paddle/slapstick trans. I'd give you my '88 for a test vehicle but I'd have to find another car to drive.

77tony

Going from a 3speed auto to a 6 speed auto in the early cars and 4 to 6 on the later cars is going to be a hit. Your only gaining 1 extra gear with the manuals plus there are a lot more auto's out there. T

IcemanG17

I think the market is for the 6 speed auto...granted our automatics are MUCH stronger than the 5 speeds......but 3 or 4 gears is a bit old school today..... Going with the vette 6 speed auto allows for much lower gear for better acceleration with an even taller top gear for easier highway cruising... I think a paddle shift would ROCK and its been done many times on hotrods.....

6 speed manual is better as well for its strength.....but it comes with a substantial penalty in weight....up to 80lbs heavier.....granted for the BIG HP race 928's it doesn't matter....but for us mere mortals its a bit overkill.....

77tony

80lbs heavier with a C6 setup (2005-2013). Dinsdale's been installing C5's (1997-2004). IIRC C5's only weigh approx 50lbs more and the weight distribution going to the back of the car. Iceman, why don't you dump that LS motor in the bay, motor weighs approx 150 lbs less up front, C5 will weigh 50lbs more out back. Sounds like lap times will decrease significantly. T

brealytrent

How about a 7-speed PDK? Too heavy? Wouldn't fit? Too complicated for such a 30 year old car?

I guess a 6-speed auto would be nice. 'Flappy paddles' would only be nice if they're responsive, unlike the ones on my grandma's Malibu :P

polecat702

6 speed auto slap stick. Don't want paddles cause it's a dead bang giveaway somethings different. Stock looking sleeper, is the way to go.

danglerb

Much will depend on the cost of the options. I voted slap stick partially on the assumption is would be cheapest with the most gain and be a good match for moderately bumped power plant be it P or C.

daveo90s4

I maybe missing something, but why, other than for the bragging rights, would anyone but a dedicated racer add more manual or auto gears to a 928? More gears are what small engines with narrow torque bands need. Like the 17 or so speed 125cc Honda racing bikes of the 70's. But with a torquey 928 mated to a 6 speed manual most would use 1, 3 and 5 or 2, 4 and 6 for everyday driving I reckon. And the stock auto seems plenty fine for both strength and purpose. Sure a bit of a gap between 2nd and 3rd but if not working ok why not just fix it / replace it with an oem transmission?

Or simply do it 'cos you can and it's fun and it's a hobby that keeps you sane when stuff gets hard and it's your car and you can do whatever you damn well please. And all power to you.

But I still don't think it's needed in a normal technical sense.

Just my thoughts...

Dave

Dinsdale Piranha

Daveo, Correct. You are missing something. It's called "The Pucker Factor".
Normal technical sense? Were from TEXAS! Normally in TEXAS if its fast, we make it faster. If it has gears, we give it more gears and make it faster!
Bragging Rights???????????? Hell Yeah!
Sounds like you need too Drive your car, not just ride in it.
Regards Dinsdale

17prospective buyer

But adding more speeds to an automatic inherently improves fuel economy, i did a PDI yesterday on a new RAM truck with the 8 speed and 3.6L V6 (now pushing 300+ HP and torque) and i drove it conservatively for the road test, seeing how it did with normal acceleration and nothing hard. Sure enough it shifted very early, at 1800 in some cases, and on the freeway you were only revving maybe 1800-2000 at normal freeway speeds. Mind you it is an adaptive feedback transmission, and much smarter than the first adaptive feedback trannys, so YMMV with a Corvette 6 speed auto, but if you don't hammer on it all the time i would think shift points and revs would be kept low.

Cole

More gears keep you in the sweet spot of the power and efficiently. The 928 really has a stretch between gears.


For comparison, I've got a 6 spped auto in my 550hp/550ish TQ Big V8 twin turbo Cayenne. Much broader torque curve than the 928 and it is MUCH more sporty to drive with 6 gears. Rips through them like a dream.

I feel like the 928 is in each gear FOREVER, half the time just trying to get to its real sweet spot of power. The 4 gears of my S4 auto really hold the motor back.

Adamant1971

Auto slap stick

xschop

Auto...besides all the pros mentioned, availability of parts, multiple rear ratios if desired, and NO MORE TBF or TT bearing migration issues as the TT bearings are captivated, not to mention ease of rebuild.

Stronger axles.... bigger diameter and way better materials 4340 chromoly and you could even go stupid strong with 300M.

dprantl

The main reason a newer Corvette can get 27mpg highway is because it has a super long overdrive 6th gear. Technically, that is a significant improvement. Even now after owning the GT for years (after coming from a US '86), it seems ridiculous to me what kind of high RPM the transmission makes the engine run at highway speeds with the 2.73 rear end. Not to even mention 928's with much more power than stock that would benefit greatly from a longer 1st gear so that it's not just a burn-out gear, speaking from personal experience.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft