It is faster for the record to manualy shift an auto, not right off the line, but once your up in the rpm range, itll hold for a few hundred RPM more, and give you the little extra kick shift into second gear...

 

So on the auto there is a 1st and 2nd- then drive right?

so at what speed do you go from 1st to 2nd to drive?

and do you start off the line from just drive?

the reason I am asking; I will be purchasing a camaro eventually (oh em gee-next month maybe!!) - weather or not its going to be an auto is still a toss up...

 

holding out rpm is not always the best thing though. depending on the car, some will fall flat on their faces after peak power, ur better off shifting earlier. i usually just tell people to get a shift kit which allows you to increase firmness and reset shift points and then let the tranny do its job.

 

So still using the 1st and 2nd? I guess that kinda answers my question in an indirect way- eh fair enough...

 

no, 2nd is not a lock. you need to do something else to get that to work (like dyno guys locking in 4th gear on autos for dyno runs). if you put ur car in '2" it will still start in 1st, it can just not exceed 2nd gear. when i said better off shifting, i didnt mean that you can actually force your car to shift prematurely other than letting off the gas.

 

On mine at least, a third-gen, there's 1st, 2nd, Drive, and Overdrive. Typically you leave it in Overdrive all the time as it enables the hgihest gear setting- which will give you best fuel economy. Drive is good for lower speed limit or descending hills, and 1st and 2nd are typically used in low-traction environments such as snow and ice, although a smart Camaro owner will put their car away for the winter

No, you don't need to shift through 1st and 2nd- I just do it from time to time when I want to have a bit more control over what gear I'm in~

Other Camaros might have different auto configurations but it's the same as any car with an automatic transmission- you don't actually need to shift except to or from Park, Reverse, and Drive :P