I am very happy with what I have bought. 7+ seconds for 0-60 is a tad bit of an exaderation in my opinion, but at the end of the day that is what all of this is going to be (untill actual street people get a hold of them and dyno, tune, etc.)..........opinion. I bought a automatic for one reason, and that is convience. I already have another "toy" that is a manual. The HHR SS is the car that is for when I'm going out with friends and such for a night out for some fun. I dont really want to have to bother with shifting or any of that. And I will admit from the articles that I have read and seen that the manuals are faster and are more for sheer performance, as you would expect from a manual. All that I feel is that the performance differences can #1 be compesated for with bolt on parts and #2 are not as drastic as is being reported. That is also the rationality of it, its do you want to drive a manual or not? You have to take into account where you live, what your using the car for, how often your using it, etc. Its all a matter of opinion, I would rather have the automatic and install a exhaust system then buy the manual and have the 25hp. I'm using the arguement of bolt on parts to justify gaining the HP while having the convience of the automatic. Once again, its all opinion, whats somthing worth to you? How much faster (disregarding the 7.5 second 0-60 which I think is way off) does 25hp make you and where are the advantages seen? Acceleration? Top end? Mid-range? its all relative and once again, all opinion.

 

Great thread, kind of the “Meaning of life” or the age old discussion Stick vs Auto which is faster. It’s been going on ever since the first automatic transmission was built.

Stealth first asked: what about the turbo lag for the manual trans. I haven’t gotten mine yet (lost in shipment 1 hr from the dealer) but I was out in my Vette today and watched the RPMs while shifting. The RPMs only dropped 1200 first to second, 1000 second to third and 800 third to fourth. I question if that is enough to cause much of a lag to the turbo. (5000 to 4800 first to second). I think the turbo will stay up in-between shifts. I agree with him: the no-lift shift has little use on the road and I’ll never use it for a track day at a road course. Maybe some one with a HHR-SS manual can chime in.

As for which is faster: lap times are a good measurement of which road car is faster. There are a lots of things factor into total lap. GM test drivers were able to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 8 minutes and 43 seconds. A Porsche Boxster S 3.2L 250 bhp is reported to do a lap 8:32. And I’ll bet my loyalty rebate the HHR-SS they used was a stick.

FYI: To see a lap of Nurburgring Nordschleife in a fast car go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAxmOvwRZlI. This car’s fastest speed was 275kph or 165 mph. This driver doesn’t miss an apex.

Finally: ET and speed reached in a ¼ mile is a good measurement of who’s faster over a short distance. I’ll also bet my loyalty rebate again the manual trans with 25 extra HP will win out over a little difference in shift times. But this is where the launch control and no-lift shift will make the difference. Just plant the right foot and shift.

As far as fun: a stick always wins hands down in my book. And I’ve been driving sticks for so long I don’t understand it being a bother or inconvenient. But since Chevy is expecting that 70% of the HHR-SS and 75% of the Corvettes are auto I’m in the minority.

Finally: buy what you like and enjoy it. But if you auto guy want to put the cars to a true test at a track day give me a call.

 

I live in a large metropolis and a stick isn`t my idea of fun, and when I`m on the freeway, it`s basically flat and straight.
I can`t buy a car thinking about that once in a while chance I would be in the twisties and need to go to 1st gear.
Besides my wife has to be able to comfortably drive the car too.

 

Don't forget in all these discussions that the auto SS turbomotor is only limited to 235 HP in 1st and 2nd gears. In 3rd and 4th, it makes 250 HP.

If you superimpose the power curves of the 2 engines, they are almost identical until the very high end RPMs.

 

This thread is funny.....

The 0-60 times for the standard are in the 6.3 sec mark. For the auto it's 7.5. It's much easier to keep the standard spooled up than any auto.....

 

I drive a SAAB 9-3 Aero with a turbo and I find that when I slip the clutch a bit when I shift to a higher gear the turbo builds boost better and the power comes on a lot harder. But I'm sure my engine has waay more lag than the DI turbo thats in the HHR SS

 

Just my 2 cents, but don't foget the big rpm drop in an auto trans when shifting. Not good for a motor that is a bit peaky. And another thing, whats the diff between no lift shift and speed shifting, esp on an engine with a rev limiter??

 

Although I am a die-hard manual fan, I'll add an argument for the auto. You can keep both hands on the wheel when you are accelerating hard through a long sweeping corner that may require an upshift. Bottom line, I think we can all agree that as long as YOU are happy with what you have, that is the ONLY thing that matters.

 

Where is it published that the auto is only limited to 235 hp in 1st and 2nd? Thats not the norm for GM, who typically limits boost in high gear, and inhibits full throttle 4th to 3rd downshifts. Besides, 1st and 2nd are the gears you are normally going to have fun with when in normal stop and go driving.

Yes, the 250 hp hp curve is simular to the 260, actually peaking at 600 more rpm, but the real story is told in the missing 38#ft of torque clear from 1900 rpm to 5300 rpm. Thats where its noticable in street driving, and what all road tests have noticed in their reports and advice to get the stick if you really want to have fun driving the HHRSS.

 

All the "No Lift Shift" does is impose a 4,000 RPM rev limit when the clutch is depressed, vs. the normal 6,300 RPM limit.