I just bought a c5 automatic (48k miles), i took it to the track, from 1-2 gear it did fine but 2-3 it took a little longer for the gear to kick in, but when i floored it no matter what rpm i changed from 2-3 it wouldnt change gears till exactly 6k rpm (right before it redlines). Cruising on the road it changes gears just fine. Is it slipping, or could be a bad solenoid?

 

It is always going to shift where its programmed to, regardless of when you move the shifter.

If you hold the gear manually, it will not upshift, but if you manually upshift and it hasn't hit the shift thresholds in the programming, it won't shift.

Its not like a manual valve body in a TH400...


Now when it made the 2-3 shift, if it felt lazy on the shift or seemed like it flared (RPM increase during the shift) then you may have something going on.

A good tranny tune will work wonders for 4l60e performance.


When racing, put it in 3rd(Drive, not OD)and leave it there, let it do its thing. It will be faster.

 

Sorry man, i usually drive a manual and im also new to the Ls world,
I dont know if it felt lazy , it just when i shifted from 2-3rd even if it was at 3000rpm it wouldnt chang till it hit 6000k but from 1-2nd it would change literally a second after i switched the gears.

Does 3rd gear act as a drive? Because when i floor it in 2nd at dead stop it would take a minute to pick up,but when i floored it in 3rd it took off like it was in 1st gear?

 

Yes, 3rd (3) is basically just DRIVE. It will start out in 1st gear and shift up and down normally.

3/Drive is the preferred selection for performance driving. You particularly want to avoid wide open throttle downshifts from 4th (OD) down to 3rd and especially down to 2nd, that is pretty hard on the transmission.. Usually at stock HP levels it will be fine, but if you start modding for more power, I would always manually shift to 3rd (3) before you nail the gas.... And let it up or downshift its self from there.


As far as starting off in 2nd (2) and the trans actually starting off in 2nd, I'm not sure about that, I've never tried it honestly. I have heard they do that upon occassion but I've never tested it.


The transmissions on factory programming will shift pretty soft, sometimes may even feel to "slip" into gear on the 2-3. It's pretty annoying but normal. Definitely doesn't feel like a sports car shift should feel.

My wife's G8 was the same way with the 6l80.. It shifted so sloppy it was terrible when it was brand new. I got a hand held SuperChips tuner and it lets you play with trans shift points and firmness. Now it gets 3rd gear scratches...