C7 8-speed auto
Discussion
If the manual mode is useless.
I know its not going to be porsche pdk sharp, but hopefully its not as slow as my old sl55. Till I get a chance to try one I was looking for any owner comparisons with other cars theyve owned, something I may be able to use a reference.
The car is on a shortlist of possibles when I move to Spain next month but I've seen videos where people say its fine, others say its a deal breaker. Something like 75% were autos so finding a manual is going to be difficult.
I know its not going to be porsche pdk sharp, but hopefully its not as slow as my old sl55. Till I get a chance to try one I was looking for any owner comparisons with other cars theyve owned, something I may be able to use a reference.
The car is on a shortlist of possibles when I move to Spain next month but I've seen videos where people say its fine, others say its a deal breaker. Something like 75% were autos so finding a manual is going to be difficult.
I am indeed
I haven’t driven many cars with paddles, so not much to compare it with. But it certainly isn’t instant. There is a clear delay of half a second or so, but I don’t really find it that much of an issue.
In an ideal world I might have bought a manual if I’d had the choice, but I’m certainly not finding myself regretting having the auto. If you’re only happy with gear changes happening in the blink of an eye you will be frustrated at first
I haven’t driven many cars with paddles, so not much to compare it with. But it certainly isn’t instant. There is a clear delay of half a second or so, but I don’t really find it that much of an issue.
In an ideal world I might have bought a manual if I’d had the choice, but I’m certainly not finding myself regretting having the auto. If you’re only happy with gear changes happening in the blink of an eye you will be frustrated at first
If you want to change gear yourself buy a manual. The main use of paddles to downshift ready for an overtake.
If you want to play with the paddles LT1 engine is so flexible you can usually drive in any gear you choose any time you choose. One of the quirks of driving an A8 in manual is not being able to tell what gear you're in without looking down at the instruments which, if you're pressing on, isn't really what you want to be doing.
A8 transmission is very good at its job - stick your foot down and you'll be staggered how quickly it shifts gears and fires the car up the road - far quicker than you'll ever manage with the paddles and much quicker than anyone in a manual could achieve without significant abuse. An A8 running in auto can change down multiple gears without having to engage each in turn, as you can see in this video where about 30 seconds from the start the car shifts 7-5-3. After that the car has learnt the driver wants to press on and rarely goes above 4th gear even travelling at 100 mph. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/08/2015-corvette...
If you want to play with the paddles LT1 engine is so flexible you can usually drive in any gear you choose any time you choose. One of the quirks of driving an A8 in manual is not being able to tell what gear you're in without looking down at the instruments which, if you're pressing on, isn't really what you want to be doing.
A8 transmission is very good at its job - stick your foot down and you'll be staggered how quickly it shifts gears and fires the car up the road - far quicker than you'll ever manage with the paddles and much quicker than anyone in a manual could achieve without significant abuse. An A8 running in auto can change down multiple gears without having to engage each in turn, as you can see in this video where about 30 seconds from the start the car shifts 7-5-3. After that the car has learnt the driver wants to press on and rarely goes above 4th gear even travelling at 100 mph. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/08/2015-corvette...
I’ve driven C7 Z06 with both types of transmission. For me personally it was an easy decision to go for the manual over the auto.
However, I would say that all the cars I use with PDK gearboxes, I always use them in the ‘manual’ mode. So, I think it would come down to your own driving style, as to your own preference. If you are of a preference to let the car ‘do it for you’, then the decision could come down to the auto. Maybe that’s why there are more autos than manuals.
If, like me, you want to change gear using the paddles, then the auto box is not as sharp as the current double clutch systems.
However, I would say that all the cars I use with PDK gearboxes, I always use them in the ‘manual’ mode. So, I think it would come down to your own driving style, as to your own preference. If you are of a preference to let the car ‘do it for you’, then the decision could come down to the auto. Maybe that’s why there are more autos than manuals.
If, like me, you want to change gear using the paddles, then the auto box is not as sharp as the current double clutch systems.
wish i had the auto/paddle shift instead of manual, very notchy,too close together,you can go from 1st to 7th easily,paid £600 for MGW shifter, not a massive improvement, spoilt by my ferrari paddleshift and my LMP2 / prototypes, even my abarth competizione has paddles, i drove the C5R GT3 in 2005, 5 speed hewland,heel and toe, virtually had to double clutch,paddleshift is the future
my mum has a paddle shift abarth 595 - I find that acceptable and thats not considered a great gearbox. If it was like that, I'd be satisfied.
I've had a r-tronic R8 which was good and then the old fashioned sl55 which was useless.
I'm going to drive one when I'm in spain. Shame about covid otherwise I'd pop along to a meet.
I've had a r-tronic R8 which was good and then the old fashioned sl55 which was useless.
I'm going to drive one when I'm in spain. Shame about covid otherwise I'd pop along to a meet.
My C7 Grand Sport is an 8 speed auto and when buying one, I thought I'd use the flappy paddles all the time.
However, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've used it in 'manual mode'.
I tend to leave it in auto and if you activate 'performance driving mode' (in the Sport driving mode which I leave mine in) with a quick stab of the throttle, then the gears shift much quicker and drop lower almost instantaneously when needed.
Having said this, the 'mid life crisis' part of me often keeps the left hand paddle pulled in when coming to a stop so it selects the lowest gear for a bit of burble...! This is especially 'vocal' since I had an AWE Touring exhaust system fitted...!
However, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've used it in 'manual mode'.
I tend to leave it in auto and if you activate 'performance driving mode' (in the Sport driving mode which I leave mine in) with a quick stab of the throttle, then the gears shift much quicker and drop lower almost instantaneously when needed.
Having said this, the 'mid life crisis' part of me often keeps the left hand paddle pulled in when coming to a stop so it selects the lowest gear for a bit of burble...! This is especially 'vocal' since I had an AWE Touring exhaust system fitted...!
Go have a drive in something semi-sporty that's running the ZF 8-speed auto, if you're able to.
Say, BMW 440i, Audi S4, Jaguar F-Type etc.. A nicely spec'd one of those will have paddles and in my experience is of a very comparable shift speed, or more crucially, paddle --> shift response. If you're cool with those, then you'll be cool with the Vette.
If it was me, and I was moving to Spain, I'd looks harder for a manual. Or, should that be, Manuel ...
Say, BMW 440i, Audi S4, Jaguar F-Type etc.. A nicely spec'd one of those will have paddles and in my experience is of a very comparable shift speed, or more crucially, paddle --> shift response. If you're cool with those, then you'll be cool with the Vette.
If it was me, and I was moving to Spain, I'd looks harder for a manual. Or, should that be, Manuel ...
I agree with the above. Try something with the ZF 8spd torque converter box. This is pretty impressive for what it is. Definitely not dual-clutch lightening quick but its a great compromise.
I remember when the C7 auto came out, GM claimed to have benchmarked the Porsche PDK (dual-clutch) and were achieving faster shift times! I found this: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1089778_gm-8-s...
I'm not sure I believe it would be faster, because a good dual clutch transmission is typically the benchmark for fastest shifts, but perhaps there are some scenarios when the GM unit "can" shift faster. Either way I would expect the Vette should drive really nicely with the auto, as long as you remember it is a torque converter, not a dual clutch.
I remember when the C7 auto came out, GM claimed to have benchmarked the Porsche PDK (dual-clutch) and were achieving faster shift times! I found this: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1089778_gm-8-s...
I'm not sure I believe it would be faster, because a good dual clutch transmission is typically the benchmark for fastest shifts, but perhaps there are some scenarios when the GM unit "can" shift faster. Either way I would expect the Vette should drive really nicely with the auto, as long as you remember it is a torque converter, not a dual clutch.
IMO the computer will generally have a better idea of when to shift between 8 gears than a driver and the principal use of paddles is to downshift ready for an overtake, which the computer can't anticipate.
This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
rockin said:
IMO the computer will generally have a better idea of when to shift between 8 gears than a driver and the principal use of paddles is to downshift ready for an overtake, which the computer can't anticipate.
This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
That is a very good point you make about shift preparation and execution.This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
From my point of view though, a particularly long shift preparation would spoil the paddle shifting for me. I like to drive these type of autos with the paddles. I'm surprised that the A8 in the Vette gets criticised for this, as my experience of the ZF 8spd is not like this, but I guess it must depend on what your own comparators are. Sounds like I really need to try the Vette.
Having said that some of the DCTs are incredible, like McLaren and Ferrari 488. You can see why Corvette have moved to this for the mid-engined C8.
At the very least you've got me thinking that I may still prefer a manual in the C7!
rockin said:
IMO the computer will generally have a better idea of when to shift between 8 gears than a driver and the principal use of paddles is to downshift ready for an overtake, which the computer can't anticipate.
This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
Very well put and interesting. This came up on the Corvette Forum in the context of shift speed,
"Shifting of the 8L90E can be broken down into two phases:
- Shift preparation
- Shift execution
The car's smart enough that for a WOT shift, it can do the preparation part in advance. That means when it comes to redline, it can do a shift in the much-talked-about "faster than a DCT" speed. But it needs to be able to prepare in advance. When it can "see it coming", the A8 shifts like nobody's business.
That's why when you pull a paddle at an "unexpected" time there's a lag. It has to do the preparation and the execution on demand, and only the execution is fast - the preparation take up to a second, or so it seems.
I was explaining this to someone and it made me think - the A8 is thus very fast at shifting at the right time and pretty bad at shifting at the wrong time.
But why do we care how fast the trans shifts at the wrong time?
In other words, the laggy paddle shift - does it even matter beyond bragging rights?"
The first time I took it on track I left it in automatic mode, but I found that it couldn't keep up with what I wanted it to do, but I'm 99.9% sure that's because it was my first time on the track with it, so my driving style was pretty erratic, braking and then accelerating then braking again where I shouldn't be, and so on.
After this I went to manual mode and found this better, but based on what you're saying I'd be interested to see how the auto mode feels now that I'm not a total novice in the car.
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