Paddle Shifter Mod

[BWF07]

I have always drove manual gearbox transmissions until I purchased my current 2007 coupe. The one thing about the design I never understood was the why GM designed the paddle shifters to work. After a little research I found a post on how to correct the poor design, but it still was not exactly what I wanted, but it work at least make the paddles work like all other paddle shifters. That is to say the left paddle would downshift and the right paddle would be for upshifts, but I still would have those stupid little buttons with the + sign on them unless I cut them off..
I final found a site that sold custom paddles for the C6 and the Camaro. That was the answer to my problem.
So what I did was the remove the steering wheel, and locate the wires going to the paddles. I then simply reverse the two wires that controlled the action of the factor paddles. I them removed the stock paddles and installed the custom paddles.
Here is the site that explains the way to reverse the wiring, http://www.bratten.org/C6/Paddle/index.html
and here is what my shifter look like now.

[[email protected]]

Interesting, so I gather on your C6 the paddles originally had the upshift on the left and downshift on the right? Our C7s have the downshift on the left and upshift on the right.

[BWF07]

No, the paddles on the C6 were nothing like the C7's. you down shifted with either paddle left or right. to upshift you had these little button attached to the paddles that stick up and you pushed them to upshift. So to downshift you pulled the paddle to you and to upshift you pushed the little button or extension of the paddle away from you. GM redesigned the paddles on the C7 to work like other paddles down on the left up on the right. That is what this mod does. It makes the paddles work as they should.. With the original design I found myself downshifting when I really wanted to upshift as I was use to the left down up right concept, but because GM did made both actual paddles downshift only when pulled, I would grab the right paddle and instead of an upshift it would of course down shift.

[[email protected]]

thanks. did not know about that on the C6

[John]

Thank youBWF07. Glad GM got this working well on the C7, for the ME’s going to have paddles for its DCT.

[Bobfred44]

Thank youBWF07. Glad GM got this working well on the C7, for the ME’s going to have paddles for its DCT.

On the ME, will the paddles be attached to the steering column or steering wheel? Hope I made sense with that question.

[BWF07]

Not sure anyone (except those at GM) know that answer, but t

hey should be attached to the wheel. I know I have had some say that paddles (no matter what cat) should be attached to the column, but that is not true.

[OnPoint]

Not sure anyone (except those at GM) know that answer, but t

hey should be attached to the wheel. I know I have had some say that paddles (no matter what cat) should be attached to the column, but that is not true.

I agree. I prefer them attached to the wheel. That way with your hands at track position on the wheel they are always in reach/in the right spot.

[John]

Think GM, which has had them attached to the wheel during at least the C7 gen, will be smart enough to do similarly for the exact reason OnPoint posted.

[OnPoint]

Think GM, which has had them attached to the wheel during at least the C7 gen, will be smart enough to do similarly for the exact reason OnPoint posted.

I think they will too. At least I hope they do. I would like to see them make the paddles slightly larger and fab them out of aluminum. Would be a nicer look and more durable. Perhaps even carbon fiber.

Although, I have to remind myself if we went over the entire car and made a boatload of adjustments like this - each one not a big deal to do, but add a whole bunch of them together, then costs start to get driven up. Always a balancing act on this. That said - these are an item somebody is going to touch/feel possibly every time they drive the car, so their tactile feel and appearance will be noticed.

[John]

I would love to pay $35 more (GM’s cost being roughly 1/3 that) for nice metal paddles. And similarly for other upgrade options. As our “Fasttoys” noted months ago, the plan for the ME is to have a larger plate of options, a la Porsche, to maximize choice, and maximize profits.

GM please bring on more individual options, and those that want just one, will spring for it, and those who want to empty a large bank account and choose them all, will do likewise.

[Frenzy36]

Maybe I'm thinking too much, Why are they mounted on the wheel or the column? There should be a third pedal like a clutch pedal with a limit switch that up shifts when you slightly tap it and are on the accelerator, and downshifts when you tap it and are off the accelerator. This would free up both hands for complete control of the wheel.