2015 Stingray w/A8 Driven

Thanks to MotorTrend, we have learned:

"Wide open throttle second-to-third upshifts are 0.08 seconds quicker than those of its benchmark, Porsche’s seven-speed PDK, says Kaveh (0.45 vs. 0.53). Downshifts from WOT at 60 mph in Sport mode are just as quick (0.95 seconds) too. The PDK also nips at the Hydra-Matic’s heels during WOT first-to-second upshifts (0.49 vs. 0.52)."

"To experience the gearbox’s character, Chevrolet set us loose on its 2.9-mile twisty, undulating, blind-corner-filled track at the Milford Proving Grounds. Nil-to-wee sprints in Track mode, automatic shifts, were quite telling: The gearbox knocked off gears at its indicated 6500 rpm abruptly, spectacularly, with an accompanying violent explosion that only a 6.2-liter V-8 with quad pipes could produce. As corners neared, downshifts were again crisp. Deep inside corners, gears held with no moments of confusion or hesitation — it was as if the CPU was more intuitive than reactive; more organic than robotic — which ballooned my confidence and allowed me to pinpoint the longish nose."


"While Chevy’s numbers beg to differ, the 8L90 in Track mode simply didn't feel as quick as the PDK when operated via its plastic paddles. Don’t get me wrong, clicking off a WOT upshift is a glorious, stupidly fast affair. It is much the same for downshifts. Yet, Porsche, with its well-honed cohesion of an extra clutch and different structural packaging, still has the upper hand in smoothness and feel while on track. Even still, the 8L90 was impressive, especially when off the track. We drove more than 40 miles in highway and city settings around Milford. Smoothness was the name of its game. Intuitiveness was too. Multi-step highway passes in automatic mode required no pauses on its part. The ‘Vette just flew. Then it calmly upshifted into a gear best suited for casual cruising."

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Eight-Speed Automatic First Drive



2015 Corvette Stingray eight speed automatic First drive | Autoweek

"We only caught the new transmission hunting once in about 12 laps on the difficult course, and that could have been our fault with sloppy pedal work -- feathering the gas when we should be flooring it, or the other way around. It is a little unsettling seeing the shift lights on the dash flashing, which means “shift,” while and transmission just hangs in gear and the exhaust wails at full rpm.Once your driving has settled down off the track, the eight-speed automatically adjusts back into “street mode.”After driving three high-powered cars with eight-speed, torque-converter automatics (Challenger SRT Hellcat, Jaguar F-Type R and now the Corvette), we can say the newest models are every bit as good as the dual-clutch setups. They can shift as fast, feel smoother and aren’t rough on low-speed launches like many of the performance-oriented DCTs on the market, giving you all of the advantages and none of the disadvantages."