Converting From Manual To DCT

[John]

Facing the C8’s DCT...

Are you a manual-transmission sports car driver, and if so, how are you feeling now that you saw the (alleged) specs and they showed what we have been repeatedly hearing, that there will not be a manual transmission C8 — at least not in the first year.



This thread is geared primarily to those who are sports car manual trans drivers. How are you feeling knowing that your manual Corvette days are over — at least in the near future? Are you facing this change with a heavy heart? Or feeling you will find a way to make it work well for you? Or somewhere between “resigned” and “okay” — but not feeling any positive aspects to what you are C8 facing.

For those who are wanting to first learn more about changing to a DCT:

https://www.midenginecorvetteforum.c...ng-about-a-dct

Regarding your current thinking/feelings as you make the transition, does the DCT having paddles that you can manually shift your gears, help for you to make the major adjustment to next year now longer having a clutch andno longer having a gear shift console lever?

Alternatively for some of you, if that single 2020 DCT only trans is confirmed, does that mean, “absolutely no 2020 C8” for you?

[Dr Low T]

I have had many manual Corvettes in the past and currently own a Nissan GTR which only comes in DCT. I can truly say I don't miss the manual at all. And yes I'm sure the Corvette DCT will come with paddles. (even automatics have paddles nowadays.

[meyerweb]

I'll miss a true manual. I was out in my C7 tonight, top down, choreographing the clutch, throttle and shifter. It's truly a big part of the enjoyment of driving a sports car. But if I like everything else about the C8, the lack of a manual probably won't prevent me from buying one. There aren't many alternatives that still offer a manual, either.

[Leshelt]

Four of my Corvettes were manuals. I enjoyed my manual driving experience. Now that I am 64, a manual doesn't mean that much to me anymore, especially when I get into heavy traffic in the area where I live. I look forward to the DCT and can't wait for the ME. Long time coming!

[John]

We can see the DCT’s paddles in this picture. Also we have been told that unlike the C7’s which are plastic, these are a nice aluminum (which we think we see in this picture).

BTW, these are not the finished paddles, but just interim ones until the production ones are ready.



Picture thanks to Carscoops.

[capevettes]

The vast majority of the Corvettes I have owned 33 out of 34 have been manuals. The 68 427 had a Turbo 400, which I enjoyed. I love to row the gears...BUT, I am all in on a proper DCT in a mid engine platform. Heck, I might even consider black wheels!! Bring it on, but make sure it's good.

[jsmatt]

I too have had only manual transmission Corvettes (except a 1969 435 factory automatic). I thoroughly enjoy the shifting and the connection to the driving experience. I can see, however, as time goes on, a DCT in my ME future!

[JB]

Ive been driving manual sports cars for over four decades...my present corvette is a manual a d its my daily driver to boot.

i have some reservations about going to a dct yet the computers are so much faster at engaging and disengaging the clutch in a dct since im into performance im happily going to a dct in the corvette...

even if a manual was offered id still buy the dct...in fact i so want the dct superiority and consistency in my next sports car I was prepared to spend five grand or about what porsche charges for its dct just to be able to experience and sayI owned a dct...

just think of all the endless discussions we can have after we have owned both a manual and a dct corvette...(kidding)

like I said...i would have ordered the dct even if a manual was offered...

change is good...the evolution of performance technology is a fact of life...and I remember sweating it when technological advances like ABS brakes first came out....then traction control and eventually active handling...

quite homestly it was the advancement of active handling when GM offered me an afternoon auto x ing the 1998/9 c5 to allow us to experience the advantages of active hanfling that motivated me to go home afterward and order up a 1999 c5 z51 coupe...

its been over 20 years and 3 new corvettes not to mention a ton of corvette friends...

id suggest that gm ride of a lifetime (autocrosslike event) back in july of 1998 was a smart marketing move by GM.

got me hooked for over 20 years now and I actually found I enjoy technological advancements that as an enthusiast supposedly I was not supposed to need or like...

the gm corvette engineering team creates some prettykick @ss technology ..

competition mode active handling makes even us novices look somewhat skilled on the track...

pulsating one brake at a time in milliseconds to keep the car better planted on the track...

this didnt take away from my experiences on the track...it added to them...

same will go for the dct transmission..

all that said...in some small way Ill miss the manual transmission in my present corvette just a little...for maybe a minute...(heheh)

time marches on..

[brad66]

I've always owned a manual vehicle of one type or another and was one of those guys who said I'd have to have something broken before I bought an automatic. Then I broke stuff in a bicycle crash and that's why my C7 is an A8. I do still have four manual transmission vehicles but kind of regret getting the A8.

When the DCT is the only option, then that's what I'll have.

[Mobius]

I'm OK with the DCT, and I look forward to exploring it's capabilities in both auto and manual modes.

One thing I will miss* is the ability to modulate power delivery with the clutch... like modulating the clutch during launch to get a bit of wheel spin, or doing a white smoke burn-out while flowing in 10 MPH traffic...

*Maybe GM will introduce some capability for modulating clutch power-delivery through pressure application to the paddle(s) - that would be nice.

[Milliwatt Rob]

I have still not fully adjusted to the replacement of a steering tiller with a wheel.

Other than emotion, I have yet to hear anyone explain rationally how a gated shifter with a clutch pedal is superior to a DCT..

No one seems to mourn the replacement of drum brakes with discs, or mechanical brakes with hydraulic brakes.

And with rev matching, the skill of heel and toe shifting is now an unnecessary talent.

If a manual gearbox with a clutch pedal were really superior in any way, they would be used in factory supported road racing.

There is something incongruous with wanting a road car that pushes the envelope, but retaining a transmission system that is 100 years old.

[Bikerjulio]

I'm OK with the DCT, and I look forward to exploring it's capabilities in both auto and manual modes.

One thing I will miss* is the ability to modulate power delivery with the clutch... like modulating the clutch during launch to get a bit of wheel spin, or doing a white smoke burn-out while flowing in 10 MPH traffic...

*Maybe GM will introduce some capability for modulating clutch power-delivery through pressure application to the paddle(s) - that would be nice.

I've discussed this previously, and the short answer is that if they wanted to provide a "burn out" mode for the DCT, it could be done. It's a variation on launch mode, which I'm sure will be provided, and will be programmed to stay within the limits of the drivetrain.

The issue is obviously protecting the transmission as a whole from abuse. If a "burn out" mode was provided I'm sure it would come with a page of warnings in the manual, and possible voiding of any warranty issues associated. DCT transmissions can enter all "launches" into their ECU memory for instance.

Drivetrain problem under warranty? First thing the dealer will do is plug into the ECU and get a report on your driving habits.

[Mobius]

Drivetrain problem under warranty? First thing the dealer will do is plug into the ECU and get a report on your driving habits.

Ruh roh...

[John]

Exactly. Ever since roughly 2 1/2 years ago, whenever a service department is seeing a powertrain or ECU “adjustment,” especially to the degree that it would be an expensive fix, they do their initial diagnosis, and if confirms their suspicions that something has been non-OEM modified, they must before they start that warranty repair (though I am guessing this does not apply to a minor cost item), send what they have learned, including the max power level generated and also the number of times the ECU has been reflashed info they must other than by a GM service department, sending that info to GM’s Regional Warranty Approval Supervisor. It then takes the RWAS’s approval before GM will authorizing the beginning\ the repair as a warranty covered item.

This is to prevent the old “wink wink — look the other way ” repairs where for example, an owner of a dealership would repair a customer’s blown motor under warranty even when he knew the customer had installed a 250 HP nitrous setup on that Corvette, but that customer was either a relative, a friend, of a repeat customer of the owner of the dealership.

BTW, GM is now far from the only OEM doing this or a very similar process.

Again, I do not know what is the dollar level for such a required RWAS review/approval. Perhaps $250? Perhaps $1,000 or even more. And/or maybe every time a ECU has been non-GM reflashed???

[John]

I have posted that I have had 53 clutched vehicles in a row. Yes, technically so, but the other day when talking about this to my gearhead wife, she reminded me that about 50 years ago we had a Citroen DS-21 Pallas, and that is had a hydro-electrical clutch (or something like that). I had forgotten it had no clutch pedal. When you wished to change gears (it was a three on the tree), you literally moved the gear shift lever on the column from one gear to the next. The second you moved the level from its “home position,” even just an 1/8” of an inch, and it would automatically engage the clutch (no hesitation) so you could complete the shift. Within minutes of driving it, it was easy to forget no clutch pedal was needed or present.

It was a hybrid of the kind I have never since seen nor driven. I was just fine with it. To make the further conversion from that system to the C8, it would simply change the shift lever on the Citroen’s steering column to a miniature shift paddle on the column.

I still got to control the Citroen’s shifting, and was very fine with it. Similarly, my guess is that with the C8’s allowing me 100% to control my gear movements (when I choose to not have it in “D”), I would similarly be just fine with the DCT, e.g., that old “need to control” thing LOL.