C8 DCT vs. PDK
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,112
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C8 DCT vs. PDK
MT quote
“Where you won't find time is in the Corvette's hot new transmission. Many sports car makers have tried to match Porsche's class-defining PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Precious few have come close. But the Corvette does—on the first try, no less.”
RT quote
“ And then there’s the less-than-good news: we doubt, even once it’s in production tune, that the Tremec dual-clutch will respond to shift commands as quickly as the DCTs from Porsche, McLaren, or Lamborghini. Ditto with actual shift times. This transmission, at least in preproduction trim, seems a good ways off the best.”
It seems like all the reviews here and there are subjective! and personal preference
Don’t take these reviews seriously and time will tell the truth
“Where you won't find time is in the Corvette's hot new transmission. Many sports car makers have tried to match Porsche's class-defining PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Precious few have come close. But the Corvette does—on the first try, no less.”
RT quote
“ And then there’s the less-than-good news: we doubt, even once it’s in production tune, that the Tremec dual-clutch will respond to shift commands as quickly as the DCTs from Porsche, McLaren, or Lamborghini. Ditto with actual shift times. This transmission, at least in preproduction trim, seems a good ways off the best.”
It seems like all the reviews here and there are subjective! and personal preference
Don’t take these reviews seriously and time will tell the truth
Racer
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 361
Likes: 258
From: Chicago IL
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 1,325
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MT quote
“Where you won't find time is in the Corvette's hot new transmission. Many sports car makers have tried to match Porsche's class-defining PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Precious few have come close. But the Corvette does—on the first try, no less.”
RT quote
“ And then there’s the less-than-good news: we doubt, even once it’s in production tune, that the Tremec dual-clutch will respond to shift commands as quickly as the DCTs from Porsche, McLaren, or Lamborghini. Ditto with actual shift times. This transmission, at least in preproduction trim, seems a good ways off the best.”
It seems like all the reviews here and there are subjective! and personal preference
Don’t take these reviews seriously and time will tell the truth
“Where you won't find time is in the Corvette's hot new transmission. Many sports car makers have tried to match Porsche's class-defining PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Precious few have come close. But the Corvette does—on the first try, no less.”
RT quote
“ And then there’s the less-than-good news: we doubt, even once it’s in production tune, that the Tremec dual-clutch will respond to shift commands as quickly as the DCTs from Porsche, McLaren, or Lamborghini. Ditto with actual shift times. This transmission, at least in preproduction trim, seems a good ways off the best.”
It seems like all the reviews here and there are subjective! and personal preference
Don’t take these reviews seriously and time will tell the truth
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,559
Likes: 4,501
From: North Dallas 40 TX
They were driving preproduction cars, the shift characteristics can be changed in a few minutes by changing the programming. GM could change the shifting fight up to the first car rolls of the line....... wait they could do it anytime by just offering an update. Heck they could probably sell performance shift tunes for a few hundred bucks, and even keep the car under warranty.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 13,180
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OTOH, today Motor Trend published this:
Seems like yesterday's story was written by someone with an axe to grind.
And this:
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...n-test-review/
the Corvette's hot new transmission. Many sports car makers have tried to match Porsche's class-defining PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Precious few have come close. But the Corvette does—on the first try, no less.
During our figure-eight testing, Reynolds, who almost always shifts manually in this drill, found the 'Vette's dual-clutch good enough to not bother. Walton and I thought the same on our pseudo track—though he said he had an instance or two where he might've gone down one more gear than the computer did. If you prefer to pull the paddles, you'll find the Corvette immediately responsive and happy to let you pull a downshift that drops you just under redline.
During our figure-eight testing, Reynolds, who almost always shifts manually in this drill, found the 'Vette's dual-clutch good enough to not bother. Walton and I thought the same on our pseudo track—though he said he had an instance or two where he might've gone down one more gear than the computer did. If you prefer to pull the paddles, you'll find the Corvette immediately responsive and happy to let you pull a downshift that drops you just under redline.
And this:
In judging these cars, we kept coming back to priority. If it's the ultimate driving experience you're after, the feeling of car and driver as one, the Porsche is worth those extra as-tested $34,335. If those extra tenths on a racetrack matter most, the Porsche is also worth the money. But even if this is the lens you judge sports cars through, Porsche should still be looking over its shoulder.
It's always been easy to write off the Corvette as producing big numbers with all the grace of 12-pound sledge. No more. If you're willing to give up a little bit of steering feel and learn to work around the brake pedal, you'll find far more car to love in the Corvette. Performance per dollar used to be an excuse to brush away the Corvette's shortcomings. Now, it's a virtue. Exotic and attainable, it finally punches above its weight class in every category, not just one. When it's this damn good, money matters. The Corvette isn't good enough for the price. It's unbeatable.
It's always been easy to write off the Corvette as producing big numbers with all the grace of 12-pound sledge. No more. If you're willing to give up a little bit of steering feel and learn to work around the brake pedal, you'll find far more car to love in the Corvette. Performance per dollar used to be an excuse to brush away the Corvette's shortcomings. Now, it's a virtue. Exotic and attainable, it finally punches above its weight class in every category, not just one. When it's this damn good, money matters. The Corvette isn't good enough for the price. It's unbeatable.
Last edited by Red Mist Rulz; Oct 16, 2019 at 01:45 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,574
Likes: 615
From: Springfield TN
I was at several of Tadge and Harlan’s presentations at the NCM 25th anniversary event, and talked to Harlan for some time one on one. These guys spent an incredible amount of time on this transmission. I’m sure the box shifts very quickly when set for track mode. If there’s anything left on the table, it’s just because it will appear in the Z06.
These guys studied the PDK box extensively. I don’t think cost is even an issue, as the PDK box is also used on lower-priced Porsche models like the Boxster.
I think they got it right. Only the driving will tell.
These guys studied the PDK box extensively. I don’t think cost is even an issue, as the PDK box is also used on lower-priced Porsche models like the Boxster.
I think they got it right. Only the driving will tell.
Last edited by quick04Z06; Oct 16, 2019 at 02:02 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,033
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I have PDK and DSG, and I believe the architecture (wet clutch) is same but not same manufacturer,they are both VERY good, again, very curious to hear more feedback about this, particularly from some PDK pilots.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 5,363
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From: New England
Watch the Smoking Tire review and Matt’s thoughts at the end. For the track he thought it shifted great, but he said in the course of driving it for a week on the street the DCT was not always smooth and not as refined as the PDK. I think that is reflected in the R&T review.
So problem solved just drive the C8 in Track mode on a track 100% of the time
So problem solved just drive the C8 in Track mode on a track 100% of the time
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Racer
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This DCT is actually BETTER than a PDK for it's APPLICATION ....Its physics people... for years so called car people could not seem to figure out why a GTR accelerates so incredibly well, it was all very simple , it had a massive DCT and an even heavier and massive massive AWD transfer case, DCTs and transfer cases have all their internals rotating at all times before you dump the clutch it was like having a 400lb flywheel rotating at 3500 rpm ready to dump all that STORED ROTATIONAL ENERGY to the road when you dump the clutch ...The C8 has a very heavy DCT for the same reason ENERGY STORAGE for acceleration which greatly outweighs and more than compensates for what very TINY shift time difference with a PDK it has ....It's also why the C8 ROCKETS out of corners like a GTR ..... Lastly that DCT was built to handle OVER 1000 hp in production form
Race Director
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Lastly that DCT was built to handle OVER 1000 hp in production form
Tremec hasn't released any HP claims, but they do say this. I doubt you're going to get 1,000HP with only 590 lb-ft of torque.
The first mLSD and eLSD versions will handle input speeds up to 7,500 RPM and torque capacity of 800 Nm (590 lbft), with higher performance and efficiency versions in development.,
Last edited by Red Mist Rulz; Oct 17, 2019 at 07:03 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,559
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From: North Dallas 40 TX
The C8 has a heavy DCT, compared to the C7's transmission, because it includes the differential and clutches, which are not part of the transmission's weight.
No, it wasn't. http://www.tremec.com/anexos/Literat...R-9080.DCT.pdf
Tremec hasn't released any HP claims, but they do say this. I doubt you're going to get 1,000HP with only 590 lb-ft of torque.
No, it wasn't. http://www.tremec.com/anexos/Literat...R-9080.DCT.pdf
Tremec hasn't released any HP claims, but they do say this. I doubt you're going to get 1,000HP with only 590 lb-ft of torque.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,164
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The C8 has a heavy DCT, compared to the C7's transmission, because it includes the differential and clutches, which are not part of the transmission's weight.
No, it wasn't. http://www.tremec.com/anexos/Literat...R-9080.DCT.pdf
Tremec hasn't released any HP claims, but they do say this. I doubt you're going to get 1,000HP with only 590 lb-ft of torque.
No, it wasn't. http://www.tremec.com/anexos/Literat...R-9080.DCT.pdf
Tremec hasn't released any HP claims, but they do say this. I doubt you're going to get 1,000HP with only 590 lb-ft of torque.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,886
Likes: 1,255
From: Carmel CA
This DCT is actually BETTER than a PDK for it's APPLICATION ....Its physics people... for years so called car people could not seem to figure out why a GTR accelerates so incredibly well, it was all very simple , it had a massive DCT and an even heavier and massive massive AWD transfer case, DCTs and transfer cases have all their internals rotating at all times before you dump the clutch it was like having a 400lb flywheel rotating at 3500 rpm ready to dump all that STORED ROTATIONAL ENERGY to the road when you dump the clutch ...The C8 has a very heavy DCT for the same reason ENERGY STORAGE for acceleration which greatly outweighs and more than compensates for what very TINY shift time difference with a PDK it has ....It's also why the C8 ROCKETS out of corners like a GTR ..... Lastly that DCT was built to handle OVER 1000 hp in production form
A few months back Code Name Zerv re-entered this forum and showed a CAD view image of the 850hp LT7 engine that had never been seen before. It showed a completely different DCT than the DCT that's in the Stingray. I took closeup photos of the Stingray DCT during the Monterey Historics when they had the cut away displayed. I still have the Code Name Zerv image on my IPhone from the day he posted it here. The Mods here took down his post within the hour. There are two different DCT's that have been shown by Code Name Zerv. The smaller one he posted matched the current Stingray DCT. The LT7's version clearly was much larger and most likely engineered to handle larger hp and torque numbers. I would post these images again but they will take them down just as fast.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2016
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A few months back Code Name Zerv re-entered this forum and showed a CAD view image of the 850hp LT7 engine that had never been seen before. It showed a completely different DCT than the DCT that's in the Stingray. I took closeup photos of the Stingray DCT during the Monterey Historics when they had the cut away displayed. I still have the Code Name Zerv image on my IPhone from the day he posted it here. The Mods here took down his post within the hour. There are two different DCT's that have been shown by Code Name Zerv. The smaller one he posted matched the current Stingray DCT. The LT7's version clearly was much larger and most likely engineered to handle larger hp and torque numbers. I would post these images again but they will take them down just as fast.
Anyway, Tremec already stated in their press release they're working on a version of the DCT which will handle higher HP and torque values.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,886
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From: Carmel CA
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...name-zerv.html