Normally, I might agree, but even the media says the GT500's driveline has an issue. The last Lightning Lap C&D article mentioned grind specifically. It did it very candidly, though, including it in the GT's section. Here you go:

Lightning Lap 2011: LL2 Class - Feature - Car and Driver

If their drivers can't shift right, what hope do any of us have? K.C. COLWELL, MARK GILLIES, TONY QUIROGA, AND DAVE VANDERWERP are not exactly "nubs".

Car and Driver is notorious for not having the most skilled people behind the wheel at lightning lap.

So what you are telling me is that the GT500's transmission is so difficult to shift correctly that people who make a living thrashing sports cars cannot properly do it, albeit they can shift plenty of other car's transmissions just fine, including the GT's?

At the VERY LEAST, you are saying the base performance model is a better drive transmission-wise than the top-dog.

Fail.

Any way you slice it.

I think you're reading too much into their off hand remark about grinding.

It is generally true that higher power cars are harder to shift. The GT500 will have a tougher transmission to handle just by virtue of the broad power band.

Well the base V8 engine IS better than the top dawg. :D

One of the big Mustang mags did a pretty interesting comparo of the 5.0 and 5.4 recently that has a lot of the 5.4L guys kind of miffed.

Funny. Nothing was said about the CTS-V's TR6060 being tough to shift. In fact, the only mention of shifting in that review was how nicely the pedals were laid out for heel/toe.

Right now there's no reason to get a Shelby. The 5 liter is a better platform to work with.

The 5.0, and specifically the 5.0 in the BOSS, is one of the sickest motors out there. Ford finally figured out how to make a mod-motor that was light, powerful, and had awesome delivery. I am totally impressed with it and thing they now need to design a car that can maximize its potential.

Well, since we are taking C&D LL reports as gospel (which is laughable, since half those test drivers don't have a clue what they are doing)



We were also impressed by the car’s relatively neutral midcorner behavior and its brakes, which could stop a runaway locomotive. Say it with us now: If only the seats were more supportive and the shifter a little more cooperative

I think this is clear evidence that we all need to run screaming away from the uncooperative Z06 shifter.

I figured you would bring that up, but uncooperative can mean many things, and they are talking about the SHIFTER. That's an easy fix. People on the forums have tried replacing the shifter in the GT500 and the grind remains. Grinding is an internal problem with the transmission regarding the GT500.

Besides, who knows WHAT they were trying to do with that poor shifter. They didn't say. You might not have cooperated either!

For the next model change we can expect a direct-injected 5.0 in a smaller, lighter platform with IRS. Think around the same size as the 94-04s and somewhere around 3200-3350 lbs.

Grinding can be an internal problem, or a drivers problem.

I don't disagree that the GT500 is a PITA the shift when driven hard, but it is kind of the be expected with a car like that.

The problem is, most people try to slam the car from gear to gear at redline without understanding what is happening in the transmission, which is what causes the grind. I can create that same grind in a Z06 without much trouble. I can also easily create it in my Z. The GT500 happens to have a really broad power range, and a particularly unknowledgeable customer base.

I will trade in both the Subaru and the Z for TWO of those if they get that right.

:iagree: Don't rush it!

So what is your method of not causing the grind in the GT500? People are already trying all sorts of stuff. Making sure the clutch pedal is on the metal, pulling the shifter toward them and back into 2nd, at a "diagonal", etc.