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A/8 transmission question

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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 01:13 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by MikeERWNC
There is no excuse for this. The car works fine in V8 and V4 mode with the proper ATF.

All V8 mode adds wasted gasoline.
So you're saying the factory fill is not the proper fill?
BS....


And a PS, who buys a vette, a performance car for V4 gas mileage?
I specifically bought my vette BECAUSE it has a V8!
Why would I want to drive a sports car in V4?
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 01:26 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by YO-EL
My suggestion is to keep the car in V8 mode as much as possible.
You can either drive in manual mode, use the plug in Range device or use the Diablosport Intune to disable V4 mode, commonly called AFM (Active Fuel Management, or DoD, (Displacement on Demand)
Not sure why--I have an A8 (2015 bought new, now 3 years old with 15,000 miles) and other than the first 500 miles-the break in period-when I used manual mode to vary the engine speed on the trip back from the factory/museum, I run mine in auto all the time and drive it pretty hard.

No transmission/torque converter issues. Not sure why the cylinder deactivation has any correlation at all to those we have had torque converter or transmission issues with the A8.

From day one to today, I'm impressed with how seamless the cylinder deactivation is--other than the change in engine note (which I hear but haven't yet had a passenger notice), it's perfect!

Last edited by boxster99t; Feb 11, 2018 at 01:30 PM.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 02:07 PM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by boxster99t

No transmission/torque converter issues. Not sure why the cylinder deactivation has any correlation at all to those we have had torque converter or transmission issues with the A8.
When the LT-1 or LT-4 is in V4 mode the torque converter lockup clutch is continuously modulated on/off/on to absorb some of the additional vibration created by running a V8 engine in V4 mode. The ability to use (or abuse) the torque converter clutch to absorb vibration is a primary reason the A8 is allowed to run in V4 mode in any driver mode unlike the M7 where it is locked out unless the driver enables it by selecting eco mode.

When not in V4 mode the torque converter locks and stays locked under steady cruising and moderate acceleration; with V4 mode the clutch is constantly engaging and disengaging which greatly accelerates wear. The 8L90 was designed to fit within the same space as the earlier 6L series transmissions and part of the ability to fit this space was through using what GM called a "squashed" torque converter which reduces the amount of space available within the torque converter and given the way the A6 (6L80) and A8 (8L90) react to the V4 vibration reduction routine it appears the space available for a robust converter clutch was reduced.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 04:57 PM
  #24  
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I say buy it, and don't worry about it. I haven't seen, or read a thread that an A8 has blown up. Also, the problems of the earlier A8's have been taken care of. My '16 has been fine.

The good thing is it has a 5/50K warranty.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 05:08 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by MlwYlw
Three sides to every story. Was this car beaten like a rented mule? Modifications? And, of course, a valid warranty claim / manufacturing defect. My A8 is a hoot! Runs like a top.
This happened to friend of mine and no, the car was never abused. A new transmission was installed under warranty with no questions asked, by GM but it took 2.5 weeks. It was inconvenient as hell for my friend as it happened while he was 200 miles from home.

Absolutely no mods unless you consider a coat of wax as a mod.

Another friend of mine is on his 3rd C7 Z51 as the first two cars had bad transmissions. First car(2015) had the transmission take a dump with 4 miles on the clock while the salesman(Wes Milby) was driving it to the gas station to fill the tank while my friend was completing the paperwork. He refused to accept the car and GM had to install a new transmission in that car. The second car(2015) had the original transmission replace at 1,600 miles and when that second transmission started acting up at 3,000 miles, GM put him into a third new C7(2016).

Last edited by JoesC5; Feb 11, 2018 at 05:15 PM.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 05:36 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by JoesC5
This happened to friend of mine and no, the car was never abused. A new transmission was installed under warranty with no questions asked, by GM but it took 2.5 weeks. It was inconvenient as hell for my friend as it happened while he was 200 miles from home.

Absolutely no mods unless you consider a coat of wax as a mod.

Another friend of mine is on his 3rd C7 Z51 as the first two cars had bad transmissions. First car(2015) had the transmission take a dump with 4 miles on the clock while the salesman(Wes Milby) was driving it to the gas station to fill the tank while my friend was completing the paperwork. He refused to accept the car and GM had to install a new transmission in that car. The second car(2015) had the original transmission replace at 1,600 miles and when that second transmission started acting up at 3,000 miles, GM put him into a third new C7(2016).


Heck if the corvette was not so buetifull it would not be on my short list, and on the flipside we often hear of the bad one's more then the good.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 07:22 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe
What's an "A/7?"

The A8 has mixed feedback, as evidenced by the membership here. You won't know until you own one on what to expect (unfortunately.....).
A/8 is the newer variant of the A/7 which was the trans used in the 15-17 models. Now my understanding is they did some modification to the A/7 to solve some of the problems with the converters and torque tube problems, as you well know.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 07:27 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by owc6
Define "blowing up" and "A/7" please.

Not sure what you have heard and expect from the car.
simple converters letting go, torque tubes , causing problems, as well as in some cases engine main bearings letting go because of an alignment problem between the trans and engine..
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 07:32 PM
  #29  
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The A8 was introduced to the Corvette with the Z06 and is also used in other models, it is better identified as the 8L90 (8 speed, longitudinal orientation,with the last two digits indicating a relative torque within the transmission family). It replaced the 6L80 which is commonly referred to as the A6. Both of these families also have lower torque members used in other GM vehicles.

On edit basic data available from GM here, see second page of PDF for transmissions: http://www.gmpowertrain.com/assets/d...ide_101917.pdf

There is no A7 unless you are referring to the Audi A7
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Last edited by NSC5; Feb 11, 2018 at 07:35 PM.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 07:34 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by NSC5
The A8 was introduced to the Corvette with the Z06 and is also used in other models, it is better identified as the 8L90 (8 speed, longitudinal orientation,with the last two digits indicating a relative torque within the transmission family). It replaced the 6L80 which is commonly referred to as the A6. Both of these families also have lower torque members used in other GM vehicles.

There is no A7 unless you are referring to the Audi A7
ok ok , the trans used in the 15-17 models
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 09:05 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by stillcrazy
ok ok , the trans used in the 15-17 models
Is the same as is in the 18 and 19.
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Old Feb 11, 2018 | 09:07 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Rebel Yell
I say buy it, and don't worry about it. I haven't seen, or read a thread that an A8 has blown up. Also, the problems of the earlier A8's have been taken care of. My '16 has been fine.

The good thing is it has a 5/50K warranty.
Well, he should worry about it. Yes, having the A8 detonate like the one did is very rare, however, there are real problems with this transmission and they haven't been taken care of.

Not to mention the fact that the warranty is worthless since GM can arbitrarily not honor it.
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 09:47 AM
  #33  
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Since its already on order, too late to recommend a 2014 a6. No such thing as a Chevy a7 transmission. I have a 2014. Since you will be the first owner put a range technology AFM delete that plugs into the odb port and I feel you should be ok. Then post back 3 years from now and let us know if you have any issues. GM will make repairs under warranty but not having your a car for a week or two can be depressing.
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