[Red rocket corvette]

So now that some people have received their 2015 A8, is it what you expected? Better? Or do you just wish you would have gotten a 7sp?
Just curious on owners' opinions.

 

[Raydor]

Very curious, myself. I am trading my 2014 for a 2015 just for the new eight speed automatic. The 2014 Stingray is my first automatic transmission car. I like it but, even without anything to compare it, I know it could be better. The first three gears seem tall and oddly spaced. But dammit, I love it!

 

[007's VET]

Coming out of 30+ years of non performance cars I'm one week away from getting back into the grove. I plan on slowly working with and understanding the A8. Will report back.

 

[Chip]

Coming out of 30+ years of non performance cars I'm one week away from getting back into the grove. I plan on slowly working with and understanding the A8. Will report back.

Good! We do need to get some feed back on owners impressions of this new tranny.

 

[rvanhouse]

We just received our first 2015 Stingray. I took it out with the manager of our store. We could not believe we had full open lanes on our local expressway. Hammered the accelerator and held it down, Oh Man, the shift was so fast using paddles. Much better than the 6 speed. I may have to reconsider my own Stingray build to the automatic!



Sent from my iPhone using Corvette Stingray Forum

 

[lancekl]

Coming out of 30+ years of non performance cars I'm one week away from getting back into the grove. I plan on slowly working with and understanding the A8. Will report back.

It's an automatic, what's to understand? Foot to the floor and zoom!

 

[Rdrcr]

Very curious, myself. I am trading my 2014 for a 2015 just for the new eight speed automatic.

Nice! When you get the 2015, please post your thoughts comparing the A6 and A8.

Mike

 

[dpmdc]

just finished a test drive in the 8 speed automatic very very nice it shifted very nice and smooth and was not notchy.

 

[USCANAM]

Have almost a 100 miles on my 2015, but I'm really happy I have the A8. Using the 20 second paddle feature while the transmission is in Drive is really great as it will allow you to downshift for a quicker pass without engaging the passing gear with full throttle, or to slow down without using the brakes without shifting into manual mode.
Also, this transmission appears to shift up by itself just as fast as the Formula One cars using their shift paddles. Obviously you would have to use the Down paddle to equal their downshift speed.
Jack

 

[BOBSZO6]

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray [UPDATE] Quick Spin - Autoblog

"When he reviewed the C7 for the first time, our own Michael Harley had these, not-minced words to say about the existing 6AT:

"The traditional six-speed automatic seemed to extinguish the C7's performance edge. I found it softer, slower and more lethargic (even paddle-initiated shifts had annoying lag). Even though it was every bit as quick in terms of outright acceleration, the gearbox took much of the excitement out of the driving experience."

Clearly there was room to improve.

Thankfully, I can now report that the improvements have been made, and that the new, General Motors-designed Hydra-Matic 8L90 is up to the task of shifting one of the best sports cars in the world. Take heed, 65-percenters."

"Down to it then. Executing shifts in manual mode feels dual-clutch quick, for sure. The Chevy guys were puffing out their chests talking about the speed of this 8AT versus Porsche's PDK, and the truth is that the reaction time from paddle-pull to upshift is right there. At least, as that's what my imperfect human brain can suss out – any advantage to the quickest dual clutches I've yanked would require a machine to judge."

 

[tmcternan]

Great info Bob. I was waiting for one of our members who's taken delivery of a 2015 A8 to step up and provide us with their impressions of the new 8-speed, but haven't seen a word. Even thought about staring a new thread inquiring about it. Obviously Mr. Harley has driven both the 6 and 8-speeds as well as Porsche's PDK and has provided a qualified comparison. Thanks again for the encouraging news.

 

[JoshuaKM1]

I've put about 500 miles on my 2015 A8 and I love it so far. No issues and shifts are very smooth.

 

[RCjr]

How about some GM published numbers vs calibrated butt numbers.

WOT 2-3 up shift sport mode: 8 spd 0.31 sec faster. 0.45 vs 0.95
WOT 1-2 up shift tap mode: 8 spd 0.07 sec faster. 0.49 vs 0.56
WOT downshift @ 60 mph: 6 spd ( yes 6 spd) 0.01 sec faster. 0.95 vs 0.94

Total time is from shift initiation until final gear acceleration is reached.
This results in 0-60 1/10 th of a sec quicker.

I'm not believing anybody's calibrated butt is feeling any of these above numbers. And if the 8spd driver is 2/10 th of a sec slower off the line than the 6 spd or 7spd for that matter,, he's already lost.

Would I like to have the latest and greatest - sure. Would I pay for a '15 and deprecation '14 for a difference that can't be felt, nope.

 

[bbrun]

I can't compare the 6 vs 8 speeds, but I LOVE the 8-speed. It's the best of both worlds--shift when you want or just plain auto. I drove 2 super cars last weekend--a McLaren and a Ferrari 458. They had auto's and worked just fine. No time to worry about shifting. Got to 142 mph in the Ferrari!!

 

[K25daytona]

I have 3500 miles on my 8 speed auto and it is amazing. I cant compareit to another vette as this is my 1st.. but drove it from Atlantic city NJ to Vegas and it was awesome all the way around. No need for the paddle shiters as it shifts so fast

 

[007's VET]

After a 2500 mile trip to Las Vegas, including Vail CO., South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Winslow Az. And Santa Fe NM., and back to Denver I'd say it was a great touring experience with the A8. On all types of roads including interstates and two lane highways this transmission operated as expected at various speeds and performance requirements. It was fun approaching slower traffic on the two lane roads and effortlessly passing with only downshifting one gear. Even worked the paddles but auto is the way to go.

 

[Mike Mercury]

having our 2015 A8 for 6 weeks; had to wait until we got past the 500mile restriction. But now that's past; and the tranny is interesting.

The A6 was already fast shifting; give credit to GM for shaving off additional milliseconds on the A8; but the quickness is not day/night over the A6.

I had to get aquainted with the feeling the A8 was shifting a lot; it trying to always place the car in the best gear for the situation. And when accelerating from constant speed driving, it can downshift a couple of gears (even when not going WOT); which caught me off guard at first... though it also generated a grin due to the planting-into-the-seat feeling of the the serious acceleration pull.

I don't expect any real improvement in the 1/4 mile with the A8; as there's an additional shift (and possible a second additional shift in Z51's); so whatever gain the shift quickness could create in the 1/4 - will probably be swallowed-up by the additional shift(s). But, I imagine those that autocross/roadcourse may be able to take advantage by carefully selecting which A8 gear they are in during certain parts of the course.

I mean, we all know these mega-speed automatics are more about CAFE and MPG... than performance; right?

 

[mjw930]

I mean, we all know these mega-speed automatics are more about CAFE and MPG... than performance; right?

Yes and no. At a certain point, and I think 7 or 8 is that number, having the multiple overdrives gives you a really good 4 or 5 speed in the performance ranges that can go into 7th or 8th on the highway and keep the powers that be at bay. Without the mega-speed gear boxes there wouldn't be a V8 Corvette.

 

[Mike Mercury]

Without the mega-speed gear boxes there wouldn't be a V8 Corvette.

exactly.

without good MPG numbers on the EPA mandated roller test, the Corvette might just push the division over the CAFE limit. That doesn't force the end of production; just adds a hefty tax to the price.

 

[BOBSZO6]

Great info Bob. I was waiting for one of our members who's taken delivery of a 2015 A8 to step up and provide us with their impressions of the new 8-speed, but haven't seen a word. Even thought about staring a new thread inquiring about it. Obviously Mr. Harley has driven both the 6 and 8-speeds as well as Porsche's PDK and has provided a qualified comparison. Thanks again for the encouraging news.

Here is a quote from another tester from another Corvette Forum:

"Just wanted to chime in since last week I drove '15 M7 and A8 back-to back. Also been spending some time driving Cayman S with PDK and GTR with its wonderful paddle shift auto 6-speed.

Reason for all my testing and driving of the various cars and transmissions, trying to figure out what to buy!

My personal impressions, including the other 2 in case any are familiar:

PDK when in Sport or Sport + mode in '14 Cayman S-really quick and snappy, you feel the shifts, they make your body move inside the car as it just snaps crisply into gear. Did not try in softer settings as even for daily driving, I'm not personally interested in those settings.

GTR-track beast, ultra fast shifts, on par or better than PDK for aggressive and fast. This transmission makes a bunch of clatter noise, I don't care, but many " casual drivers" might. I would buy this car if I spent a lot of time at track. Was in 2 different ones at Road America yesterday, 1 bone stock, 1 modded, it simply dominated all including fully prepped race cars, Godzilla is a beast, but not as much fun on street, as this transmission and car love to be pushed. Not as harsh as above mentioned PDK in settings I used, but was shifting faster than I could ever ask for.

C7 Z51 manual-really good, kudos to GM for this improvement in my opinion. It's crisper and sharper than I remember previous Vette's. I seem to compare most manuals to an S2000 I had years ago, as I feel that gear box was damn near the ultimate manual. This gear box had me interested in a way no other American box has in the past.

C7 Z51 8speed auto-in lesser settings (less than 100 miles on car mind you), was good, better than I expected for its construction, but definitely a bit slower reacting than GTR and PDK. Seemed to get a bit quicker with more throttle and higher revs. When in Sport mode, felt quicker, I liked, and could live with, still not quite PDK or GTR but close enough, and much smoother with no noise. As revs got higher, quicker and closer to awesome it got. Remember, out of respect for a future owner, I did not go at this 100 mile car hard.

Now, track mode, loved it, quicker and on par with PDK. Little more snap to the shifts which I personally love.
I was 100% going manual on a C7 Z51 until I heard of 8 sp auto coming that would be improved from 6sp......so I was then 90/10 manual assuming it would be closer to GTR or PDK shifts, after driving I am now 90/10 8sp auto, liked it! I have never owned an automatic performance car, always manual, this may be my first. Just waiting to find out real story on CFZ aero package availability before ordering, which buys me some time to get to 100% on the auto... "


So, make sure you test in "Track Mode" for the quickest shifting!