Coming Soon: 4L65RR Manumatic System

[Steve Chryssos]

Very tough. The manual box offers visceral excitement of yanking back and forth on a stick as well as direct drive coupling across the rev range. We've made huge progress with coupling efficiency and shift time, but we replace that visceral sensation with a simple, unemotional "tap". People need to realize that we are freeing them up to concentrate on that thing in front of the car called: the road. Gas, Brake, Steering. The paddle shifter frees you up to concentrate on your driving line. And since most of us are amateurs--Learning car control is paramount. There is no fear of missing a gear or worse--a catastrophic 5th to 1st accidental downshift. No chance of catastrophic over-revs. So that occasional hesitation during gear changes is gone (The one that no-one will admit to). Shift times are faster and there is ZERO power interrupt. When its time to turn your brain off (i.e. traffic), there is always automatic mode. Try that with your stick. During lock up, the Bowler 4L65RR chugs just like a manual. Below lock up (currently 28mph on my carbureted small block) the system offers silky smooth power delivery like a Cadillac. We can make it chug at 15mph, but have realized that it is better to dial it out because we can.

There are tons of benefits, but yanking back and forth on that stick is a powerful temptress--even as we approach the coupling efficiency of a fully mechanical trans and shave shift time.