Gallardo - E gear or manual?
Discussion
Any feed back would be appreciated on this one - especially from owners.
Thinking about changing our Gallardo manual, and have been offered a manual and an e-gear. Lambo sales guys reckon the e-gears are as least as durable as the manuals. Is this true? Durability is of utmost importance - dare I say it maybe even over driveablity....
Which is the best? Any horror stories regarding e-gear? Would also like to know what people are getting out of each clutch (miles). And is the 06 model better than the previous ones?
Thinking about changing our Gallardo manual, and have been offered a manual and an e-gear. Lambo sales guys reckon the e-gears are as least as durable as the manuals. Is this true? Durability is of utmost importance - dare I say it maybe even over driveablity....
Which is the best? Any horror stories regarding e-gear? Would also like to know what people are getting out of each clutch (miles). And is the 06 model better than the previous ones?
After having a manual Gallardo and enjoying every minute of it for the last 6,000 miles, I got to drive an e-gear the other weekend. Not being a fan at all of the concept of the 'flappy paddle' theory it only went to prove what i already thought... not for me. To me it just felt far to mechancial and i love to be able to short shift down the box, to me that is how a sports car should be.Did sound nice though changing down as it blips the throttle for you. As for the durability of clutches, the issue has now really gone away with the introduction of the Rev E (manual) and Rev C (clutches) E-gear. There are guys on lambo power that have done 25,000 miles on a clutch, so i guess it coming down again to driving style.
Hope this helps.
Andy.
Hope this helps.
Andy.
For me (e-gear owner who drives 400+ mile per week) it had to be the e. I'd already owned a Mas with paddles, and the excellent M3 SMG 2, so had plenty of experience getting the most from a egear type box. I'd say, it takes a while to get comfortable with and use properly a egear type shift. But it's more than the experience. Driving in sports mode, the car aggressively blips the throttle, which sounds great. But it's also safer. The egear won't let you select a gear that could damage the box, and because it matches engine revs to speeds, you can change gear in a corner and not worry about locking the rear wheels from engine torque.
Don't listen to Andy...he talks pish...& he has flags on his car.
E gear......Awsome engine note with a perfect h & t with every down change.
Gives you more time to concentrate keeping the car balanced & use the torgue with short shifts.
V. Nasty in traffic though.... if you were using it every day a manual might be your best bet.
My late 04 coupe e gear was 55% worn @ 7500 miles....regular use @ high speeds on upshifts.
Don't;
A) leave it in gear in traffic
B) constantly roll forward @ 2-3 mph...the clutch doesn't bite etc.
C) crawl up a hill @ 2-3 mph
I've found 06 e gear is much smother when pulling away from a standing start & changing from 1st to 2nd
E gear......Awsome engine note with a perfect h & t with every down change.
Gives you more time to concentrate keeping the car balanced & use the torgue with short shifts.
V. Nasty in traffic though.... if you were using it every day a manual might be your best bet.
My late 04 coupe e gear was 55% worn @ 7500 miles....regular use @ high speeds on upshifts.
Don't;
A) leave it in gear in traffic
B) constantly roll forward @ 2-3 mph...the clutch doesn't bite etc.
C) crawl up a hill @ 2-3 mph
I've found 06 e gear is much smother when pulling away from a standing start & changing from 1st to 2nd
Edited by nastywej on Tuesday 6th June 22:18
You’re from the midlands?
So I’ll allow for your lack of taste...
Wait till we find you on a straight bit of road & your scrabbling about for 3rd!
Exactly ref the H & T...difficult to do Gallardo manual...fine in a 997 but that dirty clutch smell is enough to make me hurl when i'd mess it up...!
Like having a ....& barking yourself?
So I’ll allow for your lack of taste...
Wait till we find you on a straight bit of road & your scrabbling about for 3rd!
Exactly ref the H & T...difficult to do Gallardo manual...fine in a 997 but that dirty clutch smell is enough to make me hurl when i'd mess it up...!
Like having a ....& barking yourself?
Looks like the pub talk has started then, you shouldn't under estimate anyones abilities till you know there full experience!
as for being left scrabbling I very much doubt it, i been out with lots of the other e-gear guys in my car and if you can drive theres not a problem. As for the heel and toe IMO the gallardo has the best pedal set up for H&T of any car I've driven, definately better than my previous 911's, I guess it helps that I can do it properly though.
Andy.
as for being left scrabbling I very much doubt it, i been out with lots of the other e-gear guys in my car and if you can drive theres not a problem. As for the heel and toe IMO the gallardo has the best pedal set up for H&T of any car I've driven, definately better than my previous 911's, I guess it helps that I can do it properly though.
Andy.
Only thing i dont like about the manual is you have no space for your left foot and its a bit cramped in the footwell.
As for e gear- it would seem that the clutches last better in those than the manuals- but i dont like the burnt clutch smell you get when reversing up a gradient or on slow take offs and of course it will break down at some point- there have been a few pump failures and im not sure of the cost -on the 355F1 i had it was 8K!
One never seems to have the same control over the vehicle with F1 systems and whilst they are fun in the end its surprising how many revert to a manual box afterwards and of course as these systems advance it makes a F1 equipped car thats a few years old seem very dated
As for e gear- it would seem that the clutches last better in those than the manuals- but i dont like the burnt clutch smell you get when reversing up a gradient or on slow take offs and of course it will break down at some point- there have been a few pump failures and im not sure of the cost -on the 355F1 i had it was 8K!
One never seems to have the same control over the vehicle with F1 systems and whilst they are fun in the end its surprising how many revert to a manual box afterwards and of course as these systems advance it makes a F1 equipped car thats a few years old seem very dated
Galardo Spyder is real fun. Anything that gets you closer to that V10 sound is well worth it. I prefer the e-gear model because the thing just begs to be revved and it's easy to run into the rev limiter on the manual car and it isn't exactly soft. The e-gear just slurs up another ratio and you're off again.
Watch out for sticking hoods on the Spyder. There's a tool (a long allen key looking thing) that resides in the toolkit in the front boot. If the hood sticks, youll need to stick this into a hole into the rear grille section of the car and release the hood manually. Happened in two of three Gallardos I drove. Maybe a little easing grease or something would fix this.
Watch out for sticking hoods on the Spyder. There's a tool (a long allen key looking thing) that resides in the toolkit in the front boot. If the hood sticks, youll need to stick this into a hole into the rear grille section of the car and release the hood manually. Happened in two of three Gallardos I drove. Maybe a little easing grease or something would fix this.
bad_roo said:
I prefer the e-gear model because the thing just begs to be revved and it's easy to run into the rev limiter on the manual car and it isn't exactly soft. The e-gear just slurs up another ratio and you're off again.
In "sport" mode you get the extra 200rpm over rev, and then you hit the very hard limiter. It's bloody terrible, but no worse than the "flappy stick" model.
As far as clutch life goes, if driven with some understanding of how e-gear works best, there's no reason the clutch should suffer. Mine was 37% worn at 7500 miles. So I'm hoping for around 20,000 miles total life.
E-gear allows the service tech to plug in a laptop and let you know how your clutch is wearing, which helps with the paranoia. This isn't possible with the manual so you just have to hope there's enough meat left to get you to Le Mans and back (eh, Andy?).
There's some misconception (IMHO) that paddle shifts are somehow easier than "flappy sticks". Far from it. At low speed E-gear can be a bloody nightmare and I'd recommend the "shiny lever and extra peddal" for those who want an easy life, especially in traffic. A manual is easier to immediately get on with because it's familiar. Any paddle shift takes some getting used to, to get the best from them. A quick 100 miles test drive won't be enough.
I think the point Andy is making is that if you want to learn to drive properly, a decent manual is best. And I agree. However, once you can H&T there's little left to learn. Anyone who's ridden/raced fast 'bikes knows what I mean. The only gearshift you want if the fastest one possible, and you only actually pay any attention to the gearbox when it isn't working properly. The rest of the time it's just a switch.
I never use the "Auto" function though. If I wanted a car that changed gear for me I'd have bought an Automatic.
Just my 2 cents.
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff