After 45k miles in a C7 w/ M7. What I think of the A8 tranny...
 

Paddle Shifts are a FAIL!

I'm on my 3rd C7, first two were M7 Z51's and I just picked up a Z06 with the A8. After reading about how terrible the paddle delay was as well as watching videos, I decided it can't be that bad right? Well I was wrong.

While I absolutely love the Z06, the paddle shifters kill the joy of the car. I didn't think I could get frustrated at how slow the reaction time is from when you click it to when it shifts.

Unless I really get fond of the A8 and get really lazy to row my own gears, I see a M7 Z06 in my future.

Sorry, had to let my frustration out. LOL

End of rant...

For myself, an automatic transmission would always be a disappointment in a Corvette!

My first and only experience with paddles was in 2012 when I took my car to the dealer for a service and the salesman wanted to "pitch" me a new Camaro. The only V8 he had on the lot was an A6...


I was rolling at 1500 rpm in 2nd gear when I decided to try dropping to 1st for a quick little sprint just to get a feel for the power of the thing... I noticed no change and looked down at the digital cluster: "Shift Denied."

Test drive over. Fail.

How many miles do you have on it?

I happen to agree.......BTDT. My next Corvette (C7/8) will be a manual - or nothing.

I had a 2015 Z06 with the A8 and currently have a 2016 Z06 with th A8. No problems with paddle shifting. I have owned six Corvettes from 2004 to 2016 and all have been Automatics and have had no transmission problems with any of them.

It's surprising to me the a performance car would have an automatic transmission with such a delay in paddle shifting, especially from 1st to 2nd. If I didn't have to spend so much time in heavy traffic every day, I would've gone for the M7.

I don't know why people want to make the paddles difficult to use... simply take the time to learn the lag and shift accordingly.... I put 126K on a C6 with paddles and the system works fine.....

Don't make a problem where one isn't.

And, before the stick-shift hounds start baying - I've been rowing gears for 60 years so I'm quite familiar with the process - still own two cars with standards....:willy:

You need to go to the Z06 Forum and investigate the threads dealing with the A8.
You will learn how to make the Trans. shift far quicker than ANY manual.

Paddles
 

Just put it in performance shift mode and enjoy. Hit the gas hard and release then performance shift kicks in and it's awesome. You can even do this at 40mph. It screams.

But doesn't "hitting the gas hard" present its own problems? Like loss of traction? Especially with the Z06, where you have to be careful with the throttle.

I remember struggling a bit with the choice when I was ordering. The C6 I traded in was an M6. Every time I imagined myself driving a new C7, rowing the gears was part of the image. After 3 years I'm still loving that M7!

In every A8 thread, there are two different issues commonly cited:

1) Transmission works fine, but there is a perceptible lag when paddle shifting ("just have to get used to it") and some "jerkiness" when in D. To some those issues are acceptable and to some they are not.

2) Transmission has malfunctioned, whether a bad torque converter or something else, and there are a significant number of these.

#1 is OK to some people, "just have to get used to it," and they're satisfied. It's simply unacceptable to others.

#2 is acceptable to no one.

I'm in the unacceptable camp for both reasons and wouldn't purchase one.

Its not the time it takes to shift between gears. It's the time from when you click the paddle shifter to when it actually shifts.

my problem is that after 12 years of driving Vettes I guess I was expecting a little more. I've never driven a automatic / dct that has such a delay from the time you click it to the time it shifts.

Yes. Very much so. I floored it once at about 90 and the back end got loose!

Maybe it's because all my past vettes were manual and I was just expecting when I click it I want it to shift instantly.

About how long is the delay?

My wife used to have a Camaro. That message always used to tickle me.

Denied. Yeah, deny this you annoying little mommy car.

I have noticed in the past that many manufacturers had delay paddle reaction (DPR) but it seems to have gotten much better with Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc. I guess not so much with Chevrolet... :ack:

I'll have a manual transmission in my sports cars as long as I'm able to drive. I know that the autos are faster, yada, yada, yada, but it ain't all about ETs.

Suggest going to Spring Mountain for the $1,000, it's money well spent and you will get to use the paddles in a performance environment and they work great. I came from a Viper, manual only, to Z06 I understand what your saying. They worked well on the track.

About a second or so but it feels like a lot longer. It's like using being on 3G vs LTE, it's only seconds and feels like hours. I want my shift NOW! LOL


I'm sure they work well overall but it's just annoying that there's a delay.

I test drove one recently A8 Z06. I didn't like the 'clicking sound' of the paddles back and forth...and I didn't like the salesman constantly saying 'slow down! Oh my God!'

My Jaguar F-Type w/ the German-made ZF8 automatic transmission was also instant on the paddles, both up- and down-shifts. Having driven a 911 PDK, which of course is not a slush box, I was pleasantly surprised that the ZF8 auto was as fast and lag-free as the dual clutch transmission.

Yes, it can be done w/ a conventional automatic, but GM hasn't quite gotten it right.