# Driving the six-speed in stop and go traffic



## CrazyAL (Jan 30, 2006)

Hey guys. I am in the market for an 06 GTO. I will be purchasing one in the next couple of months. I currently live in MS and traffic is no problem. I am moving to Houston in September of this year. I was wondering if anyone routinely got into traffic jams with their 6-speed cars? How well does it behave? I figured with 400 ftlbs of torque it would be fairly manageable in slow driving (not having to change gears a lot). I drove an 05 with a 6-spd and one with an auto. The auto is obviously not near as much fun. Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated. First post, love the forum.


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## the3car (Dec 30, 2005)

i drive my '06 6 speed every day in rush hour chicago traffic. it drives wonderfully. i wouldn't give up the manual for anything. believe it or not the clutch action is pretty effortless. i highly recommend a gto 6 speed, you won't regret it!


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## nineball481 (Jan 3, 2006)

your mileage goes to sh1t in stop&go traffic. Then again, we don't buy these cars for the mileage:cool


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

I always did the 2-4 deal in traffic. You can start out just fine in 2nd, then hold it a little higher than normal and go to 4th. It saves some shifting and clutch work, plus with the torque you can shoot into gaps with 2nd better than just about anybody. This also eliminates skip shift. 

The shifter seems rubbery and not very precise. I couldn't recomend the B&M shifter from my experience, but the GMM seems to get great reviews. The Clutch is very light and releases high in the pedal, so it is easy to use in traffic. 

Performance wise there is not much difference between the auto and the stick in the GTO.


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## raven1124 (Sep 23, 2005)

It can get old real quick, but I have bad knee problems too. Otherwise it's not to bad.


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## CrazyAL (Jan 30, 2006)

*Thanks*

Thanks a lot guys. I will take all that into consideration. Looks like the six speed is gonna be the way I go. I might have to hit the leg machines at the gym a little more!:willy:


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## Taka2005 (Sep 2, 2005)

The Goat's got so much torque that it's very easy to crawl in traffic by simply feathering the clutch. No gas needed. I also use the "2nd gear" trick that someone else mentioned. Can't do that in my 4-banger Mazda!


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

CrazyAL said:


> Thanks a lot guys. I will take all that into consideration. Looks like the six speed is gonna be the way I go. I might have to hit the leg machines at the gym a little more!:willy:


You won't need to after driving a 6 speed in trafic for a month!! lol:lol:


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## QwkRed05GTO (Oct 17, 2005)

Also - if you just let the clutch out slowly into 1st, you do not need to apply has and the GTO will not buck or stall like all other manual vehicles. has some throttle control that automatically applies just enough throttle. Pretty cool feature in traffic.

I have the 6M, but I live in Toledo, Oh and we have pretty light traffic. If I knew I was going to be stuck in traffic every day, I'd buy an auto car - probably the Pontiac GXP - shifting gears is fun, but not in bumper to bumper everyday. Just my 2 cents.


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## jortegasr (Nov 4, 2005)

I live in the Houston area and I wouldn't give up my m6. I drive from Spring, which is just north of Houston, all the way to Hobby Airport area. I also do the 2nd to 4th in traffic. The car is a blast and like you said the 6 speed is a lot more fun! 

Good luck with your purchase. What color are you looking at.


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## dealernut (Oct 22, 2005)

I do the 2-4 transition also. I leave 1st gear alone unless I want to go fast to sneak a spot.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

I have more miles on my Holden than probably anyone in the country (possible the world?), much of that in LA traffic. 

The clutch on theses cars are great, light action and good engagement. The torque of the engines helps as well. 

The OEM shifter is a foul, nasty, horrible thing. Sh1tcan it immediately. I went with a B&M-- don't go there. They suck. Buy a GMM.

Your mileage does take a huge hit in stop-n-go traffic, but there you go.


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

Whats your odometer up to now, Groucho? 
Just curious.:cool


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

PEARL JAM said:


> Whats your odometer up to now, Groucho?
> Just curious.:cool


60,000 miles. :cool


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## CrazyAL (Jan 30, 2006)

I'm thinking either orange or one of the reds. I like both of the reds, torrid and spice. Haven't seen an orange car in person yet. I have a 68 Chevelle SS 396, it is hugger orange and it is super easy to keep clean. I'm for sure done with black (even though the black cars are beautiful) my daily driver now is a black Z71 and it is impossible to keep clean and it shows the smallest scratches. A local dealer is supposed to be getting an orange one in a couple weeks I'm gonna check it out for sure.


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## noz34me (Dec 15, 2005)

CrazyAL said:


> I'm thinking either orange or one of the reds. I like both of the reds, torrid and spice. Haven't seen an orange car in person yet. I have a 68 Chevelle SS 396, it is hugger orange and it is super easy to keep clean. I'm for sure done with black (even though the black cars are beautiful) my daily driver now is a black Z71 and it is impossible to keep clean and it shows the smallest scratches. A local dealer is supposed to be getting an orange one in a couple weeks I'm gonna check it out for sure.


I've got a '68 Chevelle as well (although my SS is cloned). It was a Malibu in it's first life.

I'm thinking this Spring it may go up for sale. Prices on those old muscle cars are going crazy- - -


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

Only thing I can add is, Do you plan on drag racing it ?
If so get ready for wheelhop,the manuals have a terrible time with traction,wheelhop and breaking parts. Besides that its pretty much personal taste.
I like cruising in comfort and drag racing so the auto made more sense for me.
It does get 2-3mpg less than the stick since the M6 has two overdrives with 6th gear being .50 overdrive.. My friends 04 M6 gets [email protected] while I get 21-22mpg


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## CrazyAL (Jan 30, 2006)

HTRDLNCN said:


> Only thing I can add is, Do you plan on drag racing it ?
> If so get ready for wheelhop,the manuals have a terrible time with traction,wheelhop and breaking parts. Besides that its pretty much personal taste.
> I like cruising in comfort and drag racing so the auto made more sense for me.
> It does get 2-3mpg less than the stick since the M6 has two overdrives with 6th gear being .50 overdrive.. My friends 04 M6 gets [email protected] while I get 21-22mpg



I won't be doing any drag racing (except ocassional redlight matches). I really just want something fun to drive with plenty of power to get around in traffic. I noticed there was a pretty big difference in the tach at 80mph b/t the two. Thats about what I figured the gas milage difference would be.


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## CrazyAL (Jan 30, 2006)

noz34me said:


> I've got a '68 Chevelle as well (although my SS is cloned). It was a Malibu in it's first life.
> 
> I'm thinking this Spring it may go up for sale. Prices on those old muscle cars are going crazy- - -



Mine is cloned too. Makes them more fun b/c you don't have to worry so much about driving them. If it were original I would not enjoy it near as much. I think I will be doing a leg the Power Tour with it this year. I know if I were to sell mine I would regret it immediatley.


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## GTO_400 (Jul 7, 2005)

noz34me said:


> I've got a '68 Chevelle as well (although my SS is cloned). It was a Malibu in it's first life.
> 
> I'm thinking this Spring it may go up for sale. Prices on those old muscle cars are going crazy- - -


Im going to be buried in my '68 Chevelle, it was my first car and it will be my last I also agree go with the 6 speed:cheers


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## BigNick (Jan 7, 2005)

QwkRed05GTO said:


> Also - if you just let the clutch out slowly into 1st, you do not need to apply has and the GTO will not buck or stall like all other manual vehicles. has some throttle control that automatically applies just enough throttle. Pretty cool feature in traffic.


My first thought was that this had something to do with the fully electronic throttle, but this was also possible in my '04 as well. I think it's just the engine having enough torque to push the car.


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