A6 Capabilities
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 328
Likes: 54
From: Baltimore, MD
A6 Capabilities
Is the A6 as bad as the the A4 in stock form? I am coming from the c5 4l60e world where just about everyone says its a toothpick. Having clutch pack issues and all that. Just curious cause I am looking for an 08-13 A6 but wanna be sure I know how they are generally. Can these things handle some power...or do they have the same issues the A4/4l60e does?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 846
Likes: 105
From: Knoxville TN
This really needs to be a sticky note as this gets asked all the time.
The 6L80's are great transmissions IF they have a good tune and keep it cool with a good cooler. The life of them depends all on the tune & heat.
I bought a 6L80 new from dealer in 2015 and it has been put thru being a very quick car on several different setups, bolt-ons, bolt-on/nitrous, heads/cam/nitrous, and now a Procharged setup for 2 years. Car/trans has been seeing 1.3x sixty foots and 9 sec passes for years and trans is fine - with that being said, it could break tomorrow and I wouldn't be mad at all as it has taking a beating for years. Solid tune and a good trans cooler will go a long way.
The 6L80's are great transmissions IF they have a good tune and keep it cool with a good cooler. The life of them depends all on the tune & heat.
I bought a 6L80 new from dealer in 2015 and it has been put thru being a very quick car on several different setups, bolt-ons, bolt-on/nitrous, heads/cam/nitrous, and now a Procharged setup for 2 years. Car/trans has been seeing 1.3x sixty foots and 9 sec passes for years and trans is fine - with that being said, it could break tomorrow and I wouldn't be mad at all as it has taking a beating for years. Solid tune and a good trans cooler will go a long way.
Last edited by da6speed; Jan 12, 2021 at 10:10 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 328
Likes: 54
From: Baltimore, MD
This really needs to be a sticky note as this gets asked all the time.
The 6L80's are great transmissions IF they have a good tune and keep it cool with a good cooler. The life of them depends all on the tune & heat.
I bought a 6L80 new from dealer in 2015 and it has been put thru being a very quick car on several different setups, bolt-ons, bolt-on/nitrous, heads/cam/nitrous, and now a Procharged setup for 2 years. Car/trans has been seeing 1.3x sixty foots and 9 sec passes for years and trans is fine - with that being said, it could break tomorrow and I wouldn't be mad at all as it has taking a beating for years. Solid tune and a good trans cooler will go a long way.
The 6L80's are great transmissions IF they have a good tune and keep it cool with a good cooler. The life of them depends all on the tune & heat.
I bought a 6L80 new from dealer in 2015 and it has been put thru being a very quick car on several different setups, bolt-ons, bolt-on/nitrous, heads/cam/nitrous, and now a Procharged setup for 2 years. Car/trans has been seeing 1.3x sixty foots and 9 sec passes for years and trans is fine - with that being said, it could break tomorrow and I wouldn't be mad at all as it has taking a beating for years. Solid tune and a good trans cooler will go a long way.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 537
Likes: 169
From: Ogden, Utah
How much power are you talking about? How do you plan to drive it? It has limitations for sure. My A6 was great in stock configuration and power, but the 6L80 is definitely not meant to hold lots of power. It can be improved and built with better clutch packs and parts, but it's still probably just a matter of time until it lets go in higher horsepower applications. My stock trans with tune lasted one summer after I started putting 800hp thru it, with 50k miles on it. First to go was the 2nd to 3rd shift. So now the plan is to get Century trans to build me a beefed up 6l80 and adding a trans cooler is a must. Heat is the enemy.
Also there are several who swap out the 6L80 for something like an RPM trans 4l65 conversion. The 4L65 is said to be a much stronger.
Here is a thread I started recently about my A6 upgrade.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1602797313
Also there are several who swap out the 6L80 for something like an RPM trans 4l65 conversion. The 4L65 is said to be a much stronger.
Here is a thread I started recently about my A6 upgrade.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1602797313
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 328
Likes: 54
From: Baltimore, MD
How much power are you talking about? How do you plan to drive it? It has limitations for sure. My A6 was great in stock configuration and power, but the 6L80 is definitely not meant to hold lots of power. It can be improved and built with better clutch packs and parts, but it's still probably just a matter of time until it lets go in higher horsepower applications. My stock trans with tune lasted one summer after I started putting 800hp thru it, with 50k miles on it. First to go was the 2nd to 3rd shift. So now the plan is to get Century trans to build me a beefed up 6l80 and adding a trans cooler is a must. Heat is the enemy.
Also there are several who swap out the 6L80 for something like an RPM trans 4l65 conversion. The 4L65 is said to be a much stronger.
Here is a thread I started recently about my A6 upgrade.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1602797313
Also there are several who swap out the 6L80 for something like an RPM trans 4l65 conversion. The 4L65 is said to be a much stronger.
Here is a thread I started recently about my A6 upgrade.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1602797313
