automatics on track

For those of you using automatics on track, does the automatic rev match downshifts so the chassis in not upset on down shift?

I do not have an auto but I know someone that has a 2015 auto and he tracks his car. The car will revmatch when downshifting but he says it is really slow to respond and sometimes he has to pull the paddle a few times before the car will downshift.

I autocross my car which is an auto. It rev matchs on the down shift. Its a little slow and you have to plan ahead but it works good.

but he says it is really slow to respond and sometimes he has to pull the paddle a few times before the car will downshift.

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Its a little slow and you have to plan ahead but it works good.

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For both these instances the sluggishness can be greatly improved with a tune. But also don't forget that while the paddles do offer "manual" control of the gearing selection...the whole process is still controlled by a computer and is not directly connected to said paddles. So it will never be instant or even quick especially on a torque converter unit, especially when going down multiple gears.

I've had good luck with autos in other cars, and they can be fun on the track with paddle shifters but most of them do require some sort of tuning as the stock configurations leave much to be desired when driving spiritedly (as some of you have menti
oned).

Guy I spoke with (no-tune) said he almost just leaves it on auto always and it does fine.

Another guy who has a tune had work done specifically to the transmission for road course to make it as quickly as possible and he said that worked out nicely. He said he didn't do anything to actual engine power, which I found interesting. Went to a local tuner I'm guessing, I didn't ask. No idea how it's done.

No problems w Whipple 6R80 on road course driven very hard.
The track does not change, you know every turn and corner and where you need to down shift an entire lap ahead of time ( or days if you know the track well).
Running no cowl and opened rear of hood to keep trans cooler happy.
Change trans fluid after 2 weekends during spring, every weekend summer heat,
Budgeting for 3k beefy build when clutches wear out but so far so good.

sigintel said:

No problems w Whipple 6R80 on road course driven very hard.
The track does not change, you know every turn and corner and where you need to down shift an entire lap ahead of time ( or days if you know the track well).
Running no cowl and opened rear of hood to keep trans cooler happy.
Change trans fluid after 2 weekends during spring, every weekend summer heat,
Budgeting for 3k beefy build when clutches wear out but so far so good.

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How do you change the "lifetime fill" auto tranny fluid? That's quite often...

I leave mine in auto sport mode on the track, it rev matches for me when I slow down for a turn or hit the brake. I'm not tuned..........yet.

CTH621 said:

How do you change the "lifetime fill" auto tranny fluid? That's quite often...

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"lifetime fill" does not apply to tracked cars. lol...
Google 6R80 fluid change

Nick said:

I leave mine in auto sport mode on the track, it rev matches for me when I slow down for a turn or hit the brake. I'm not tuned..........yet.

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That is good to hear. The new 10spd coming at the end of the year is supposed to be DCT fast. It is already doing great things in the camaro and the F150 supposedly. I'm most concerned with downshift speed and not upsetting the chassis at high speeds. I really want to start my mustang GT racecar build but I am torn between buying a mustang right now with 6sp or waiting for the 10 speed. The 10 is supposed to shift way faster and all those gears you can keep the motor in the peak powerband so the laptimes of the 10spd should be faster in theory.

First adopter on new trans for road course...
Totally interested, gonna wait 18 months just in case , lol...
Still think about GT350 without trans and diff coolers....

sigintel said:

First adopter on new trans for road course...
Totally interested, gonna wait 18 months just in case , lol...
Still think about GT350 without trans and diff coolers....

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I am certain more and bigger coolers will be required. They always are when road racing on 100% of "track ready" cars. I think the SCCA Runoffs level club racers are very close to pro level drivers and some of those drivers dabble in the occasional low level pro races. They will heat up cars pretty good and find the weak spots pretty fast. Universally they will be brakes and cooling.

I race the car often and I still didn't applied the tune. The gear change itself is fast, the response time on paddles is slow. When i pull up to limiter I have to calculate well the timings and i know i have to press the paddle around 6k rpm to don't hit the limiter. I would say there is a delay of 1 second between the paddle press and the start of gear change. Then it takes around 0.2 but there isn't much loss of torque on the wheels.

The downshifts are a bit faster but the car ofc ignores that downshifts that would make the revs go over the limiter. This is why sometimes there is a need to press two times the paddle.

In conclusion, it isn't a sports car but it is anyway fun to drive

zanGTA said:

I race the car often

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Are you tracking it or W2W racing it? Since the GT automatic does not come with the performance pack, can you just add the brembo brakes etc. or is there anything else special about the PP you can get on the manuals?

Add radiator, maybe master cylinder and booster.