chevyfanatic

means ???????

• no cheap click ?
• no long throw ?
• no delay between shift and rpm drop ?

which is it or all ?

JGarland

Unfortunately, I have gotten used to the shift-lag. Oh well.

The velvet-soft paddle shifts still bug me though.

Still hoping for a factory software update that will never come.

C7/Z06 Man

I know that DiabloSport now has TCM tuning for each gear shift point and pressure/firmness in their intune 2 now for 2015 and "most likely" the 2016 Z06.

0Tampa Tuning

Having calibrated several of the A8 transmission, yes some of them have that "im on pebbles" feeling, and some don't. Honestly, I feel it more in the Camaro than the Corvette. I haven't seen were it effects the WOT shifting, but its an odd sensation when you have that " im on pebbles" feeling.

Throttle response can be addressed with tuning if you go that route. Me personally, I don't calibrate a car with a throttle controller on it, because I can address throttle response in the calibrate. Then if the owner wants to reinstall the throttle controller they can.

Phil

chevyfanatic

cool ! can you get it so it really has almost no perceptible delay when u US. The DS seem fast to me. Just the US lags slightly.

Checkmate1

The A8 lag is just terrible. I just wish the A8 could shift as fast the ZF 8 speed.

chevyfanatic

love it the cheapo click. lol. cunningham motorsports said they will tune it. dont mind the click but I mind the slight lag. its faster when you accelerate harder but dont bang like my Beamer.

0Chuck CoW

Having tuned LOTS of them, I would say that they are GREAT!

No tuner is going to get them right without first doing all of the factory updates first.

That's something I've ALWAYS done and I've avoided lots of pitfalls that way.

One thing I will mention is that we struggled with an 2015 E-Force C7 A8 this past year....

Everything updated multiple times and the same tune others have used with no problems..... Still behaved strange.

FINALLY, I discovered the problem with the GM programming and we've solved the puzzle.

Anyone out there with our AutoCal device and a 2015 A8.... Please call me so I can get your trans where it needs to be.

It's a shame that the factory stuff is not better, but once you have it tuned right....It's all smiles from there.

Recently, I tuned a 900+ 15 ZO6 and to be honest I could not believe how well the car drove in normal driving and traffic

and what a MONSTER the car was at WOT.... All with 1 single tune.

I VERY much like the A8 trans and some of the new tables discovered made all the difference for us.

We're VERY happy with it.
Chuck CoW

JGarland

Chuck, can you confirm some things for us as I am still a bit confused by all this.

When you tune the A8...

1. Would the lag time between pulling the upshift lever and the tranny actually changing gears be reduced when in "M" mode?

2. Same question as above for "shift crispness". Currently we can all agree upshifts are too soft when in partial throttle. Again, I am asking for manual mode driving.

3. Does tranny tuning void the GM factory warranty? If it does void it, tranny only or full drive train?

Thanks in advance.

Higgs Boson

1. No

2. Tuneable

3. Yes, full.

davepl

No, we don't all agree. Part throttle upshifts should be smooth and overlapped. Harsh part throttle shifting was a defect of early DCTs, not a feature.

JGarland

Well that answers it for me then.

Not really looking to void a 5 year powertrain warranty on a $90k car for little or nothing to gain.

0Chuck CoW

STILL GOING STRONG tuning the 2016 and 2017 (YES 2017) TRANSMISSIONS w/ EFI LIVE !!!

Don't WHEEL HOP THE CAR and DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING!!!

Call Chuck CoW @ 914-332-0049

any time!

Chuck CoW

2017heritagegs

Just completed the first tune and it is awesome. I highly reccomend using Chuck. Experience has been great. Cant wait to get some data logs together and continue the quest for perfection! And yes he can tune a 2017 A8 transmission, no smoke and mirrors or magic, it just works!

oldC5

That sounds great . After tune you lose car warranty ?

2017heritagegs

I don't see why you would if what gets damaged is not related to the tune. I believe it would be very subjective. If there was a concern I can literally drop the original engine and trans tune back in the car in less than 10 minutes. One of the things I really like about this set up from Chuck is that I keep all of the tunes that are generated for my vehicle. If my wife decides she wants to start driving the car regularly, I can pick the level of performance that she has.

Higgs Boson

"Why" is because GM explicitly states that if a non-factory calibration is ever installed in the ECM or TCM, even if you re-install the stock tune (they can tell), then the powertrain warranty is void for current and future claims. It really is that simple. It's the diesel truck guys that led us all to this point, making 1000 ft lbs of torque and blowing through Allison transmissions.

GM cannot see that all that was changed in the tune, for example, is the idle speed was bumped from 550 to 600 (won't blow the motor right?) so they have to make a blanket sweep in case that's not all that was changed. It's just not worth the interpretation. We have even seen a warranty claim denied over an oil catch can....

Bottom line, if you want warranty on your car, leave it alone.

0Chuck CoW

The best way to explain this this...... YES, a CAI, cat back, or an oil catch can falls under the tag of "modified" as far as GM goes and YES they can void your powertrain warranty over it.

The simple facts are that GM performs WAY MORE WARRANTY REPAIRS on modified cars than it voids..... This is speaking from personal experience with my customers over the years and

to date, there has yet to be one single customer of mine that has had their warranty claims denied since I began tuning years ago.

Now, In cases where the engine is physically modified or the drivetrain itself has be modified or simply abused you should never expect them to cover

something like that.... Fortunately, for someone like myself I have not had customers with problems like this where it was ever an issue and I can tell you for sure

about a customer recently that badly wheel-hopped his C7 at the track and exploded the transmission by his own admission. Either way, GM repaired the car.


Now, there are NO RULES here, but the simple rule of thumb.... C6's and C7's.... pretty much don't break... UNLESS you do very stupid things to them or don't maintain them...

The incidence of broken drivetrain parts on these cars is VERY minimal even for modified cars...it rarely happens.... When I hear about failures 9 times out of 10 it's

cams, blowers, and slicks that cause the problems..... and typically those customers enter into those mods with full knowledge of the risks and warranty is not even a consideration.


BACK TO TUNES AND BOLT ONs.... YES, they can void your powertrain warranty for any or all of the above.... But, they usually don't.

I'd almost go out on a limb to tell you that it has more to do with YOU, your relationship with the dealer, and wether or not the service manager log laid the night before or not....

Given the 1,000s of dealerships across the country....and the 1,000s of service managers that staff them.....and the practically unlimited number of different scenarios out there..... There are NO RULES HERE.

I can just simply tell you from my vast experience here that it's very rare that a powertrain warranty gets denied from what I've seen.


#2... Here's another Chuck CoW WARRANTY RULE. It's fair to say that there's a vast majority of C6 and C7 owners out there that are.... "older". I prefer to say more wiser and mature, but simply

these are fellas that can afford to own cars that are 3 years or less older and very frequently..... they are older, been there done that, and much of the time more responsible.....

Additionally, I see lots of retired guys buying these cars so they can go visit the grandkids in style.... with their wives....

The amusing part here (and please nobody be offended...) Those are typically the only customers that seem to bring up the "WARRANTY" issue when inquiring about tuning and mods.....

I have to laugh.... for those that buy my tuning package.... I always get a chuckle when I see the data logs, as all of these customers and I see, that they never even push the throttle more than half way

down when I've told them to jump on it. Very amusing.

These are usually the guys that are VERY concerned about the warranty..... and sad thing here is.... I've bet my business that no matter what mods they get.... Will NEVER beat on the car enough

to break it..... YET, they will worry about "voiding their warranty" the whole time.... Many people will never even consider tuning the car till it is out of warranty.... and by that time, they are getting into

ANOTHER BRAN NEW VEHICLE.... Where the warranty starts new all over again....... Never ever enjoying the benefits of a good tune and suffering with the lack-luster performance of a stock car....

Then there are those that buy the car new and spank it every day..... And get good tunes.... and STILL nothing breaks.... They are the WINNERS HERE.


Moral of the story.... DON'T WORRY about tuning or bolt ons.... If you're slightly responsible.... It will never break... and you'll never have to sweat the warranty thing.

Buy it.... TUNE IT.... ENJOY IT...... OR, you could leave it in the garage and wax it once a week.... If that's your thing.

Chuck CoW

davepl

Last time I went to Corvette Night at the Drags they had their own dedicated lane. We all made a pass. Then a pass or two more. Then I got to run hot laps in my own lane all night because the Vette guys were done.... didn't want to break anything.

There was a C5 427 Twin Turbo Lingenfelter car with stock tires. I suggested drag radials, but he "didn't want to break anything".

That's one thing I've learned about most Corvette owners: they don't want to break anything, and they want their warranty valid when they do!

To sharpen the point Higgs has made above, GM can tell (if they sent your tune off which they never do) what you did in a CURRENT tune but can't tell what you did in PREVIOUS tunes, only whether they were official GM or not. Or so I understand it.

0Chuck CoW

Vette Guys.... So, you summed it up so I didn't have to say anything. YES, many of them really HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT WITH WARRANTIES

and such..... I think they just like worrying.... 50% throttle usually won't hurt much no matter who tunes it.....

OH NO!
Chuck CoW