Re: Any SMG\'s Installed Yet?
Xanadu,
For some reason, most of the people who respond to threads about putting a sequential clutchless shifter on the Viper are mindlessly dead set against it. If there is any reason offered for their opposition to it, it typically is something like "what's next, an auto trans?" or "can't you work a clutch?" or some equally intelligent thing. I don't understand it. At least you received a few reasonable responses to your post.
The concept of the clutchless shifter, though executed better by some marques than others, seems perfectly acceptable in various Ferraris, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Aston Martins, and other exotics, not to mention every F1 car on the grid, as well as all sorts of other very serious race cars. My guess is the clutchless shifters are unlikely to lead to automatic transmissions in those cars any time soon. It's also my guess that Schmacher, Alonzo and the rest are fully capable of working a clutch. So why is a clutchless manual trans somehow beneath the dignity of a Viper? I just don't get it.
Okay, a poorly executed clutchless manual isn't much fun to drive. But, that is no reason to condem the entire idea. And even those clutchless manuals that are not very smooth in street driving can work very nicely when it comes to shifting on the track where smoothness is not a consideration. I know I've read this about BMW's SMG...it is hard to drive smoothly on the street, but it is very effective on the track. I've also read that the current generation SMG is much better in day to day driving than when it first came out.
Viper owners should be relentless in a call to DC for a clutchless manual. At the very least, what's the harm in offering one as an option? That way, owners could get one if they wanted it or decline it if that's what they wanted.