Paddle shifters - thoughts?

[JustSonic]

I want to know what this forum thinks about paddle shifters? What are the pros and cons? Are there any lower end vehicles (<$30k) that use proper ones? And by proper I mean they were designed with the shifters and not just thrown on an ordinary automatic.

I like the idea of being an in between manual and auto option. It allows me to push my car to the limit without sacrificing comfort when I am "not in the mood." My problem is, only high end cars seem to come with proper paddle shifters.

If the RS was offered in a paddle shift configuration, would you buy it? Why or why not?

 

[Natesriv]

Meh
Depends on if they are stationary or move with wheel
I dont know of any in our price range

 

[RMinNJ]

I have paddle shifters on my saab..they work well if driving slow in the snow but are difficult if going faster around curves..especially sharp curves ..you lose orientation of what is up and down.

 

[Bosgarage57]

I had paddle shifters on my smart car And God I would love paddles on my LTZ. It would be manual mode all the time.

Sent from my LG G4

 

[carsNskis]

You could swap a Camaro steering wheel with the paddle shifters rather easily (air bag center and mounting shaft are the same)

The trick would be rewiring your manual button to be activated by the steering paddles.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Dubbs_RS]

Just bought a ZL1 steering wheel with paddle shifters. Should be a pretty simple swap. I think it's plug and play with the BCM.

 

[Dubbs_RS]

ZL1 steering wheel is on national back order right now... Verified that with a few vendors, so it will most likely be a couple of weeks until I get the wheel to test it out.

 

[Bosgarage57]

That sucks. Keep us posted on if it is difficult in switching them out.

Sent from my LG G4

 

[CheapFuneral]

I was just gonna say u could buy a new camaro for under 30k and it has paddle shifters.


**** you auto correct!

 

[Dubbs_RS]

Just got confirmation from GM Parts Direct that my ZL1 steering wheel shipped out today. Hopefully it will be here by this weekend and I will able to take a look at installing it.

Will keep everyone posted!

 

[Bosgarage57]

Did you order airbags for the wheel or not?

Sent from my LG G4

 

[ScarabEpic22]

Did you order airbags for the wheel or not?

Sent from my LG G4

No, reuse your original one. NewZJ has this on his 12, looks and feels awesome. I like my RS leather wrapped wheel, the ZL1 suede one is even better.

 

[carsNskis]

Just got confirmation from GM Parts Direct that my ZL1 steering wheel shipped out today. Hopefully it will be here by this weekend and I will able to take a look at installing it.

Will keep everyone posted!

I'm assuming you'll need the receiver ring for the column side? Haven't dug into how the steering wheel buttons transmit info through the wheel pivot

 

[Qlix]

Read in the facebook group about someone doing this. It was super simple. Only mod you had to do was pull the pin running from the manual buttons on the shifter to the computer and move them to another location on the puter(cant remember or find it... google it). It was pretty straight forward.

 

[Dubbs_RS]

^ exactly. Very straight forward. Only need the wheel and some wire and you're set. I'll try to document what I do.

 

[Bosgarage57]

That would be amazing! I love paddle shifters

Sent from my LG G4

 

[TheGreenDragon]

^ exactly. Very straight forward. Only need the wheel and some wire and you're set. I'll try to document what I do.

Hey Dubbs? I know the 2015 Camaro steering wheel shares the same airbag and would fit a sonic, but what about the 2010 SS steering wheel?

I really like the deep circular sporty look of the 2010 steering wheel, but even with similar buttons, I have no idea if it's even remotely compatible with the Sonic.

 

[Dubbs_RS]

Hey Dubbs? I know the 2015 Camaro steering wheel shares the same airbag and would fit a sonic, but what about the 2010 SS steering wheel?

I really like the deep circular sporty look of the 2010 steering wheel, but even with similar buttons, I have no idea if it's even remotely compatible with the Sonic.

Looking at the wheel it does not look like the airbag from the Sonic would be compatible, but that's just my initial opinion based on the shape of the wheel.

You could always purchase the steering wheel and the airbag, but I have no clue what the connections are like on that wheel to know if you'll be able to have functional steering wheel controls.

Something that you could look into though!

 

[Dubbs_RS]

Guess what arrived today!!

 

[carsNskis]

Guess what arrived today!!

Did you get the clock spring with the new wheel or are you going to use the Sonic one? Curious to see how this is coming along!