spireland

I want a manual. I love manuals. Almost every new car I've bought has had one.

But if I can get a mid engined "spyder" experience in a car I can afford I can live with a DCT.

fasttoys

I have owned 11 vehicles with a dual clutch transmission. I would not own a conventional TQ- converter auto trans. Since the Corvette is not going to have a manual transmission a DCT is the only way I would buy the car.

If the DCT is programmed properly to match the engine rpm’s it’s truly a lot of fun. The fast shifts create burbles and pops from the exhaust the sound can be amazing. In one of the video”s of the C8 you could her the shift and the exhaust making pops while slowing down.

Warp Factor

While that may feel faster, it's precisely what you don't want on a high horsepower car, which is already traction limited. "Spinnin' ain't winnin' ". That can be taken care of on either a torque converter automatic or a DCT with the proper engine and transmission programming, providing a shift which gives more even torque to the rear wheels, rather than jerking the tires loose.

Sure, I was impressed as a teenager by modified automatics which would chirp the tires on even a part-throttle shift. It wasn't until later that I learned it really had nothing to do with being fast..

vndkshn

You don’t really understand reading comprehension. Go back through the whole thread.

Rinaldo Catria

I have a DCT in an Audi RS5 and have driven several different Porsche PDK’s in high performance manner including the Porsche Driving Experirnce program in Germany. I’m a manual guy to the bone BUT still manage to get a huge “kick” out of driving a DCT. I think the C8’s biggest challenge is getting the tranny right. Tremec has a huge lift to make a reliable DCT that is competive “feel wise” with what ZF has spent more than a decade perfecting. If the C8’s tranny falls short, it’s not possible for near perfection in everything else to make up for it. In that respect, GM is taking a huge gamble IMO.

BEAR-AvHistory

Yes would buy it over a MT

Yeah there are FWD DCT cars. What might complicate putting the "guts" of the Corvette ME transaxle DCT version into a standard FE/RWD configuration is how the differential is integrated into the package. Expect there would be a number of parts in common but dont think it would be a straight case swap.

Anyway those worrying about will the trans be any good think its going to be will the software be any good. I am not all that worried about the mechanicals a gear box is a gear box.

saleen556

I had a DCT in my previous 16 M3. A great transmission that shifts fast both up and down. However it got quite boring to me. The C8 will have to be a HUGE improvement in a lot of ways for me to consider one when the Z version comes out. As for now I’m considering a low wing M7 ZR1 to be my next car in a coupe years.

crabman

I'm an old man, I've had many high hp cars some of which I owned long before traction control existed. You have a thing called a throttle and another called discretion: In other words just because you can jump off a cliff doesn't mean you should jump off that cliff. With that DCT you drive the car and get exactly what you asked for, with the A8 GMs attorneys and bean counters control the shifting and power on algorithms. That's true of that DCT as well but to a much lesser extent. The A8 is slow on power to reduce costs for warranty and to allow for the engineering of less expensive components. It could shift much more quickly and still maintain traction, guys are out there doing it every day with other transmissions and they are going faster doing it.

Michael A

I have to say I am not impressed with all the tailpipe firecracker theatrics of some of today's cars. Jaguar is big into this. In an F Type R in sport mode, don't let off the gas near a cop, or he/she may open fire and ask questions later. Porsche started doing this nonsense with the 718 Cayman, to cover up the lame four cylinder sound. The whole thing comes off very fake to me, and it is fake. These cars don't have carburetors. It ranks right up there with piping in pseudo exhaust sound through the stereo (are you listening BMW). Besides if you are going to have a fireworks show coming out the exhaust, activate all the senses, and do it right with flames coming out the exhaust. For those of us not into creating a sideshow, there should be a setting in the car to selectively turn all this nonsense off.

nunii

The dct in my m3 is just ok and my Mclaren was not really good in auto mode but in my gt3rs it’s incredible!

MYROAD

IN
The DCT in my Mercedes AMG GTS is the same transmission (7DCL750) used in the Ford GT and Ferrari California. It's the best transmission I've ever experienced. Of the 38 cars I've own in my life, I've had many manuals, including in the three Corvettes I've owned. I always preferred a manual - until I bought the GTS. Even if the C8 were offered with a manual, I'd pick the dual clutch.

jvp

He understands reading comprehension just fine. You and NY09C6 are implying through your posts that somehow the DCT in the new car will only be in the Corvette and not shared across other platforms. I wouldn't bet on that. My speculation based on years and years of owning and understanding Corvettes is: that DCT or some form of it will find its way into other GM cars regardless of their engine layout. Amortizing costs is GM's way; without it our cars would cost vastly more than they do today. The truck guys pay for the Corvette's engine, it just gets changed enough to meet what Corvette needs. The same will likely be said about the DCT and other car lines within GM.

We'll see.

AORoads

Thank you. While I'd hope the DCT in the C8 is not as expensive, at this point no one really knows in the gen public, I guess until after it becomes extensively used. We DO know, however, the approx. cost of a new ediff in the C7 tho (mid-$5K range), and it isn't "your father's swap out of a new rear axle with diff."

Yes, I do recall reading that about the A8.

But there are modes to put the exhaust in quiet most of the time except on hard acceleration. I don't know about the BMW-cabin "exhaust sound" and whether it can be quieted tho.

I believe the above. GM has always been very smart about sharing components across lines, brands, models, etc. Sometimes, that's true even tho the items aren't very good, but it does reduce overall costs (to buy from a supplier, and to charge the end customer). At this time, I'd guess no one outside GM knows where, or with what vehicles the DCT will be shared. But while I may want exclusivity to only the C8, I do tend to doubt it will be ONLY FOR Corvette. Or even, Corvette and Camaro.

Houston Z33

That's the same DCT that BMW uses as well in the Z4 and M cars - love it

RapidC84B

I think we just became best friends I think the exact same way. I'd prefer a manual, but for a mid-engine spyder experience I can actually afford I'll take the DCT.

PS - the folks I know who know have confirmed the manual is done. That's not terribly surprising to most of us, but there is 0% chance of a surprise manual on the 18th. That doesn't mean they might not bring it back one day, but for now... done.

Maxpowers

I should have been clearer in my comment. I meant when you hit the shift paddle, there was a slightly higher delay to shift with the Aston Martin Automatic compared to the PDK.

23/C8Z

This car is the biggest gamble gm will make in my lifetime.

So many things that will inherently have an issue or 2 (or 10) and this can all go sideways fast.

That's why the safe(r) approach would have been to make the ME with a conventional trans and a manual then offer the DCT and a manual over time. Just my opinion.

It seems like they are sticking to ohv engine for now. And it makes me wonder how they have this much faith in the DCT. I hope they're right as I may... be looking at the late Z06 version once I'm convinced this isn't 1984 all over again. Where every year for the next 12....they made the car better and whichever bought the year before got screwed. If they can put a car together that can make it 3 or 4yrs without huge improvements I will feel a lot more comfortable trying out an ME car..

Just tough watching the latter years if each design be night and day better then having to trade up.. in gonna try patience this time lol

vndkshn

So GM can take a transmission that was designed for a ME car (making it a transaxle) and shove it into... oh, let's say a front wheel drive car like the (which is most of what they make other than trucks, Camaro, and Corvette). With ZERO changes (changes that would make it a different transmission, which was NY09C6's point). "Economies of scale" work when there are no changes.

Taking that a step further, it we assume the C8 has 500hp and close to that in torque, what sense does it make to put a transmission that was developed for that into a car with half the power? It makes zero sense and it is something GM has never done for logical reasons.

On top of that, why would a truck need a DCT? GM already has a pretty awesome transmission in the trucks (their biggest advantage IMHO) and a truck doesn't really need super fast shifts because they aren't sports cars.

So, unless GM plans to build other cars with a longitudinal transaxle, this trans is very likely Corvette specific.

Now, can they take what they have learned and use that to build a more generic transmission? Sure, and I can see that happening. But, that is not using the same transmission. I also think DCTs are a nitch solution and as TC autos continue to iadvance, DCTs may go away. The comments from the Aston Martin CEO make alot of sense when you think about it.

NY09C6

It is highly unlikely we will see such an expensive trans in a 60k Corvette.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/f...ce-130104.html

vndkshn

I'm really surprised they are betting everything on DCT. With as much change as this car will represent, I'm really surprised they are going this far. It's surprising to me they aren't releasing DCT first in a ZR1 model (maybe Z06) and then bringing to the base car (to control the release and manage development/advancement more). Going back to my earlier point, the more testing vehicles and the more test drivers, the quicker they can fix issues, but if they have tens of thousands of cars and drivers, and things go sideways, it will blow up. GM's nuts are WAY out on the chopping block with this car, and that trans could make or break it.