A8 "torque management"?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,310
Likes: 93
From: Hager City WI
A8 "torque management"?
Hey guys,
It's almost time to take my car back out of storage and I'm trying to get all of my ducks in a row for a great drag racing season. I have been researching quite a bit this past winter and my last question revolves around the torque management in the A8 transmission. My last car made a world of difference once my tuner removed the torque management and played with the shift points. Felt like a different (better) car in every way. I can't help but think that these cars must be similar and that there is probably quite a bit of time (at the drag strip) left on the table? I'm not really in need of more power since if I get too much faster at my local track, they are going to either kick me out or require a roll bar (cage). Not willing to do that but just like everyone else, I wouldn't mind finding a little more ET at the strip. My PB to date is 10.77 at 130 on DR's in 83 degree heat. I would like to think that my car has a 10.5 at over 130 in it.
Has anyone else played with the torque management and what were your findings.
Thanks!
It's almost time to take my car back out of storage and I'm trying to get all of my ducks in a row for a great drag racing season. I have been researching quite a bit this past winter and my last question revolves around the torque management in the A8 transmission. My last car made a world of difference once my tuner removed the torque management and played with the shift points. Felt like a different (better) car in every way. I can't help but think that these cars must be similar and that there is probably quite a bit of time (at the drag strip) left on the table? I'm not really in need of more power since if I get too much faster at my local track, they are going to either kick me out or require a roll bar (cage). Not willing to do that but just like everyone else, I wouldn't mind finding a little more ET at the strip. My PB to date is 10.77 at 130 on DR's in 83 degree heat. I would like to think that my car has a 10.5 at over 130 in it.
Has anyone else played with the torque management and what were your findings.
Thanks!
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,356
Likes: 105
From: Mesa AZ
There is some left on the table but not as much as the A6. I also have a C6 A6 and tuned the crap out of it to optimize the shifts. The A8 shift in 100 milliseconds or less so the amount of change will be much less on A8 compared to the A6.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,310
Likes: 93
From: Hager City WI
I'm sure that you are correct about the "shift speed", but it sounds like torque management must free up something? I'm not really sure what it does which is why I started the new post.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 8,729
Likes: 1,508
From: Redmond WA
I played with it in the C6M7 but that's it. I would proffer that torque management can make the car faster, so be careful.
On upshifts they cut power briefly to allow the trans to complete its upshift. Not only does it sound cool, it allows the trans to complete the shift MORE QUICKLY than it could under power, and then power is immediately reapplied (via spark or fuel, not the slow throttle).
Just throwing that out as an example where people may not appreciate that GM knows what it's doing and isn't always working to screw customers and protect warranties. In this case, the torque management feature that people think of as "leaving power on the table" is actually making the car faster.
On upshifts they cut power briefly to allow the trans to complete its upshift. Not only does it sound cool, it allows the trans to complete the shift MORE QUICKLY than it could under power, and then power is immediately reapplied (via spark or fuel, not the slow throttle).
Just throwing that out as an example where people may not appreciate that GM knows what it's doing and isn't always working to screw customers and protect warranties. In this case, the torque management feature that people think of as "leaving power on the table" is actually making the car faster.
Last edited by davepl; Mar 19, 2016 at 12:59 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,310
Likes: 93
From: Hager City WI
Originally Posted by DAVE396LT1
I played with it in the C6M7 but that's it. I would proffer that torque management can make the car faster, so be careful.
On upshifts they cut power briefly to allow the trans to complete its upshift. Not only does it sound cool, it allows the trans to complete the shift MORE QUICKLY than it could under power, and then power is immediately reapplied (via spark or fuel, not the slow throttle).
Just throwing that out as an example where people may not appreciate that GM knows what it's doing and isn't always working to screw customers and protect warranties. In this case, the torque management feature that people think of as "leaving power on the table" is actually making the car faster.
On upshifts they cut power briefly to allow the trans to complete its upshift. Not only does it sound cool, it allows the trans to complete the shift MORE QUICKLY than it could under power, and then power is immediately reapplied (via spark or fuel, not the slow throttle).
Just throwing that out as an example where people may not appreciate that GM knows what it's doing and isn't always working to screw customers and protect warranties. In this case, the torque management feature that people think of as "leaving power on the table" is actually making the car faster.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,437
Likes: 977
From: Overland Park KS
Doesn't 'Torque Management' also modulate the amount of torque in the lower gears to actually make the car faster to accelerate? Meaning it attempts to minimize wheelsman by modulating the power/torque in the lower gears so as not to simply light up the rear tyres? This seems to me to be incredibly important in a car with as much hp/ft lbs as our cars have; although perhaps in drag racing it might be quicker to reduce how much the software intervenes.
Bish
Bish
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 97
Likes: 10
From: Anaheim Ca
just today.....
John, this is Ed at CP Pistons.I took my car to a shop a day or so ago with a very knowledgeable proprietor/tuner who verified that in 1st gear my A8 ZO6 was employing timing retard, throttle body modulation and a taste of fuel management to severely limit the torque. Some subtle changes were made today to the timing curve and throttle modulation (the fuel wasn't very different when the torque was limited so it was left alone) and this weekend I am going racing on Sat and Sun to see if it will be quicker.
My best ET and speed so far (on Hoosier 335-30-18 DR) has been
10.66 at 131.88 MPH with a 1.611 60 ft
On the Michelin PSS I have gone 1.62 60 foot with a 10.69 Et at 131.05 MPH
I have felt for some time that the car was limited to a certain amount of power/torque ( mostly in first gear) because the car runs virtually the same with PSS tires and sticky DR.
With this modification the car feels tremendously more powerful in 1st gear. I am really looking forward to Saturday and Sunday.
Ed
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