Hi All;
I just recently purchased a very nice 2016 Z51 with a 7 speed with 20K miles after spending months looking for just the right vehicle. My question is about that 1-4 "skip shift" or CAGS system. I haven't driven the vehicle a lot since purchase (I always put a new purchase on stands and really try to go through it, change filters & fluids, check everything out and am in the middle of that now) but in my limited driving of it I have not experienced it engaging in that 1-4 behavior. My original intention was to fit a pigtail harness to eliminate that "feature" but I am beginning to suspect the previous owner may have already done so. A few questions...
1) Can anyone confirm that the CAGS system was still present on a 2016? Owners manual does make mention of it but not in any real detail and I think it says it "could" be equipped with one.
2) Aside from the pigtail harness, is there another way the PO could have defeated this? Could it be done with a tuner? I do NOT get the pop up message on the cluster indicating 1-4 skip is activating so I wonder....
3) Under which conditions could it be induced? I thought it came on only under mild driving (which I have tried to simulate and was successful in doing so in OTHER Corvettes I test drove) but this one can be shifted into 2nd regardless.
I don't miss it, and a very quick visual inspection couldn't confirm if there is a pigtail harness already installed (I need to look closer, maybe pull a bit of heat-shielding away) but should there be, I understand the message would still pop up (and I don't think I have seen it yet).
4) No codes present, no warning lights, no "check transmission" messages or anything.
Any shared insights appreciated!

 

If you have a manual transmission, you have CAGS.

You can insert the "fooler" at the transmission to fool the ECM and not engage the CAGs function

OR

You can tune out the CAGs and set parameters that can't be satisfied, thus putting the CAGs to sleep. Tell it to do CAGs in 1st gear if you are doing 100 MPH and at idle (stuff like that).

ELmer

 

so i have the cags delete thing and the message pops up but it works and havent had an issue with the 1-4 anymore
yes a tune/tuner can delete it and i believe that will remove the message as well from coming up at all
I have a 2016 z06.

i was getting 1-4 all the time since i was just learning the car and taking it very easy and it always messed me up so i had to get that delete thing because i dont like the car forcing me to not shift in what i want.
i like 1-3 more anyway.

 

If you just let rev higher it will never activate. It rarely kicks in on mine.

 

I put the eliminator on my 19 base 7m. It get the message on the dash once in a while but the forced shift to 4th never happens. People say just drive around it so it doesn't happen. BS. When you are the 2nd car making a 90 degree turn, pulling away from a light, limited how much gas you use by the guy in front of you, get onto a slight uphill, the guy in front finally goes just as you get forced into 4th, and now you are trying to accelerate in 4th at 1000rpm, yep you will be cursing, and hoping the guy behind you in an Accord doesn't run up your butt. If you never get forced into 4th count your blessings and be happy that the previous owner fixed it for you.

 

CAGS has parameters, that activate when you drive slowly at low rpm. I rarely drove it like a Prius, so it almost never activated.

You can use HPTuners to adjust those parameters, as was said below.
You take your car to a tuning shop, or purchase the program and learn how to use it, Then, you can remove the functionality by setting parameters that will never be satisfied.

The HPTuners route is reversible, and offers you complete control of the outcome. Just always save the stock tune so you can back out what you have done.

I am comfortable with tuning software, so I chose to buy HPTuners. You can do much more that remove CAGS in the long run.

If you plan on doing any major work to your car on your own, you will need the software eventually. Or you will always be paying someone else.

 

It depends on what type of driving conditions you are in whether CAGS activates or not. The algorithm is roughly based on the following conditions:


For me, it usually occurs when driving in heavy traffic with a slow driver in front of me. You know the type, they accelerate very slowly from a stop, and if I am following them I sometimes absent-mindedly end up trying to shift at 17 or 18 mph and get forced from 2nd gear to 4th.

You can avoid CAGS altogether by training yourself to shift earlier (below 14 mph) or later (above 20 mph). On any Corvette, there is no issue shifting from 1st to 2nd at 10 mph. However, if during an inattentive moment you get caught being forced from 1st to 4th Vs 2nd gear all you have to do is let the shifter enter the gate for 4th and then shove forward slightly into 3rd and then pull back into 2nd. You can do this in less than a second. You don't have to go all the way into 3rd or 4th gears all you have to do is make sure the sensors detect the shifter starting to go into those gears.

What that means is you don't really have to do anything to avoid CAGS since it doesn't happen often and is easily avoided with some self-training. No need to spend $20+ for a CAGs eliminator, no need to tune the ECM, no need to worry about it.

Bill

 

CAGS eliminator eliminates the function, but the DIC message will still display...

 

I have a Diablo i3. Turned off CAGS and AFM. Even set the idle to 850 to help roll out from a stop. Easy!!!

 

x2.

CAGS eliminator was one of the first (and most important) mods I installed on my '19 Z06. I bought an M7 because I want to decide if/when/how to shift EVERY time.

 

Had CAGS on my 06 GTO and tuned it out immediately. I was very surprised to learn GM still continues with this foolishness today when I got locked out of 2nd on the test drive for my C7.

Sure you can avoid it once you know the parameters, but it's still unbelievably stupid. CAGS eliminator or tune is an absolute must for the M7.

 

OK, if the previous owner used a "Skip Shift" resistor as the way to bypass CAGS you will still get the pop-up notice on the dash. The resistor only fools the ECM in thinking the CAGS solenoid is still plugged in so it dosent trip a check engine light. If CAGS was turned off in the tune you wont get the CAGS pop-up on the dash and CAGS wont operate at all.

 

Thanks All for the responses! This weekend I'll have time to get under the car to see if there is a resistor pigtail in there. If not, I'll put the one I have in since I'm there. If the PO killed the CAGS using a tune, well I have no way to confirm that. But even if he did it won't hurt to pigtail it anyway and be sure. There is the possibility the car could be entirely stock, and in my limited driving of it that the conditions for 1-4 were never satisfied and I just got "lucky" and it' still lurking waiting to pop up at the wrong time.

 

Remove the switch and install plug, available at NAPA for two bucks.

 

I think the people that say that don't drive in stop and go traffic a lot - because that's when I encountered it. After it happen just 3 or 4 times I had enough. The eliminator is cheap and easy to install. Now when the message pops up I just smile and shift into 2nd as desired.

 

NAPA doesnt carry anything that will work with or allow the CAGS to be bypassed.

 

As a new corvette owner, I guess this is why I'm sitting here scratching my head about being forced to shift into 4th. I get the suggestion in my dash to save fuel, but I'm never forced to go into 4th. I definitely don't putz around in the vette haha

 

Yep. I've owned three different generations with CAGS and haven't had this come up since I had my c5.

 

I find it amazing how many people are bothered by something that rarely happens and can be avoided at all times if paying attention. It definitely doesn't affect performance driving since drivers use a lot more throttle and rarely operate through that speed range.

Bill

 

With all due respect, @Bill Dearborn, I find it amazing how many people think everyone's experiences and preferences should mirror their own. For some of us, "rarely" is too often. If I wanted my car to choose gears for me, I'd have an A8.
I've owned my car for a little over 2 years, logging about 5400 miles, and have lost count of how many times the skip shift notice has come up because of the exact circumstance @CraigStu described...