Another would you rather: GranSport or tastefully modified manual 4200?

D Walker

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9,827
I have always been under the impression that as its a GT the gear change doesn't need to be lightning quick, the CC is quick enough for me. I understand the manual bit tho as you are more involved.
Each to their own and preference.
 

FIFTY

Member
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3,100
I was comparing the cc I drove to a BMW M6 SMG which is also single clutch but seemed much more responsive and snappy.

That said I opted out of both options because they both have a tendency to fail (BMW box more so than CC)

V10 M6 with the 6 speed manual are extremely rare (500 cars made globally) while the 4200 manual is slightly more common.
 

rockits

Member
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9,167
I have a 4200 CC and had an E60 M5. The CC box is easily as fast as the SMG in the E60 M5 at 75% and above. Both are lightening fast at full tilt and you never wait for a change ever full stop. If you are then that CC box or clutch is busted or badly setup. Both obviously in their respective sport modes.

Both boxes at anything less than 75% leave a lot to be desired but they are tuned for or cater for this.

The manual in a Boxster is nice and I've driven plenty of nice manuals. I drove a couple of E39 M5's with quickshift kit and they were horrible. I found the stock box without quickshift kit better.
 

TimR

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2,656
It seems commonly 1>2nd is the least good selection..,,Im finding selecting first, the worst ! Im going to start leaving it in 1st ( not reverse) when parked,,,.

I would concede; I rode briefly in Zep's GS when he still had it. In sport, the changes were slick. I was not expecting it to blip on downshifts either.

Manauls allow you to go 2>4th or whatever. This is something I do often when in traffic or an urban cycle.
Maybe its about preference. But my reluctance to buy into it is based on previously poor experiences with systems that were slow, unresponsive and clumsy. Unless the CC is better by a country mile than others I have used, I am still firmly in a familiar cabin landscape, albeit out of preference....:p
 

Zep

Moderator
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9,110
It seems commonly 1>2nd is the least good selection..,,Im finding selecting first, the worst ! Im going to start leaving it in 1st ( not reverse) when parked,,,.

I would concede; I rode briefly in Zep's GS when he still had it. In sport, the changes were slick. I was not expecting it to blip on downshifts either.

Manauls allow you to go 2>4th or whatever. This is something I do often when in traffic or an urban cycle.
Maybe its about preference. But my reluctance to buy into it is based on previously poor experiences with systems that were slow, unresponsive and clumsy. Unless the CC is better by a country mile than others I have used, I am still firmly in a familiar cabin landscape, albeit out of preference....:p

Nice of you to say so! :) The shifts in the Strad would surprise you...

I spent a long time getting the shift on my car just so. I would advise anyone who has tried a CC and not liked it to make sure they tried a good one.

The whole 1st - 2nd shift thing is an Italian feature. It was the same in my Alfa 75, 'Sud and 33. I always went 2nd and then 1st when cold. It probably stopped the shafts spinning or something.

The thing with this is, I liked my GS and the gear change. Then I would see someone manual and think, I wonder what that is like. They are all good in their own way. No such thing as bad, just different.
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
I have a 4200 CC and had an E60 M5. The CC box is easily as fast as the SMG in the E60 M5 at 75% and above. Both are lightening fast at full tilt and you never wait for a change ever full stop. If you are then that CC box or clutch is busted or badly setup. Both obviously in their respective sport modes.

Both boxes at anything less than 75% leave a lot to be desired but they are tuned for or cater for this.

The manual in a Boxster is nice and I've driven plenty of nice manuals. I drove a couple of E39 M5's with quickshift kit and they were horrible. I found the stock box without quickshift kit better.

It was an 04 not from a specialist or reputable dealer for a low-ish price so it is likely to have had problems with the system

For a project car the manual is definitely the way to go as it cancels out a complication

I have driven plenty of manual cars but not Porsche. I have had a few BMW (e34, e46, e90 and f30) and their pedal box is best for "heel toe" but the shift itself is not great and really depends on how new the car is because the bushes seem to wear very quickly... They all had springy heavy clutch pedals regardless of engine/power. My wife's fast scirocco is utterly terrible other than good feedback through the clutch pedal.

The maserati 4200 has not got the best pedal box set up, the clutch throw is very long so if you have short legs you need to get very close to the brake and accelerator pedals which granted will not be comfortable. If you wear very wide trainers like those skaters wore in the late 90s you also might struggle with the pedals being too close together but with appropriate shoes it's fine - I recently got rid of the rubber covers for a set of Mav's 3200 AC style aluminium covers and it has made it much easier to heel toe on the downshift.

The gear shifter itself is pretty bad when cold but once up to temp I can't really fault it... Isn't it the same box as the F360? That needs to be warmed up for 5 minutes before you can set off... While it takes less to set up/maintain the manual over time the cables stretch and the shifter mech wears its bushes with all of this serviced and adjusted it will feel good but i guess no Porsche 911.
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
I have always been under the impression that as its a GT the gear change doesn't need to be lightning quick, the CC is quick enough for me. I understand the manual bit tho as you are more involved.
Each to their own and preference.

The 4200 is a sports GT. Mine tends to see more sports car style use than GT use. Perhaps this is down to my driving style and preference, manual all the way for me.

The speed of the gear change, to me, is irrelevant. There is no way I can physically change gear quicker than the modern 7 speed dual clutch Mini thing, which was lightening quick, as you'd imagine, but it was soulless and boring. After 3 weeks with it, I left it in full auto, and switched to sports auto when on a run, then I searched for and bought a manual car which is miles better. I can't see the old tech and regularly described as clunky Maserati CC box being better in any way,

As others have said, it's down to personal choice, and perhaps I'm a bit of a driving dinosaur. I can't see me ever owning a granturismo though.