6L90 how to get started

[123gr]

Hello, my son bought a 2014 ZL1 with 6L90, and the stock shifting is very slow.
How to get started to make it shift more fast and harder?

[flyingfool007]

yeah they tell you how to fix this when you purchase the Transmission guide booklet. its over at the tuning school

[123gr]

yeah they tell you how to fix this when you purchase the Transmission guide booklet. its over at the tuning school

Thanks for the information, i didn?t know about the tuning school!

[hjtrbo]

Generally you would hit the following tables. This is assuming you haven't got a built transmission or a wildly high HP engine. This is good for a 630rwhp street setup.

Everyone will have a different take on things. This is what I run.

6L90 Street tune

Shift General -> Inertia Factor Profile -> Upshift
I have increased some of the cells in the 'daily driving' area of the maps to firm up the shifts a tad. Only talking a half or 1 (2 at most) points here or there. This is personal preference so tune to your tastes. Use in conjunction with torque management to achieve shift feel. (Refer to attached tunes to see)

Shift Scheduling -> All
Copied sport to normal tables. Then adjusted the 'daily driving' areas to suit my tastes. This method allowed me to keep it simple and only tweak one set of shift points. For my car Patt A is drive and Patt B is sport mode. The shift pattern in use can be found by logging 'Trans Shift Mode' in the scanner.

Shift Pressure -> General -> Max Pressure (Leaning towards this is not necessary, as per workshop manual, 758kPa will command max pressure)
Set to 1258kPa

Shift Pressure -> General -> Max Line Pressure (Leaning towards this is not necessary, as per workshop manual, 758kPa will command max pressure)
D1 to D3 set at 950kPa
D4 to D6 set at 1150kPa
N, P R ok to leave stock

Shift Pressure -> Base Line Pressure -> Discrete Shift Torque Mode
Disabled for 2-3 gear change. What this means is it will use the torque reported from the ECM to calculate the shift pressure as opposed to using one of the '3 levels' of shift pressure values that corelate to the torque numbers in the low / mid / high tables.

Shift Pressure -> Upshift -> Pattern X, Y (Pattern Z not used in my tune)
No point doing 5-6 as 6th gear is locked out for WOT.
Copy Y to X for gears 1-5.
Then take 1000Nm column and copy to 750Nm column. If you're making more than 1000Nm then increase 1000Nm by how much % you are over 1000Nm.

Shift Pressure -> Adaptive -> Oncoming Pressure Preset
Copy special to normal

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Torque Adder Normal & Special
Copy special to normal
For the high torque high rpm cells from 1 to 5 gears set the time to 0.15s and blend out. Generally 5->6 gets left alone as that shift is locked out at WOT

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Transition Time
Copy special to normal for both initial and final

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Desired Output Torque Factor
Copy special to normal

Torque Management -> General -> Stall Torque Management
Max out enable and disable

Torque Management -> General -> TCC Limit
Max Out

Torque Management -> Torque Reduction -> Speed Ctrl Terminate
Leave stock. If you like head snapping this tune is not for you.

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Torque Factor
Set all to 1

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Adder
Set all to 1

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Adder -> Adder Modifier
In the medium to high torque and medium to high rpm cells set to 0. This will apply full torque reduction for your high torque shifts. I have found that leaving the full torque management on has resulted in the fastest shift times.
In the other cells, tune to your taste. These are the daily drive area of the table. I have -0.5 in the lower cells and progressively blend it out to the 0 cells. This table takes a long time to get it to how you like it.

Torque Converter -> General -> TCC Desired Slip
Zero out AC off / on tables

***Torque Converter -> General -> TCC Pressure -> Desired Pressure
Shift the whole table 5 columns to the left

***Torque Converter -> General -> TCC Adapt -> Adapt Min & Max
Zero out

***Torque Converter -> Apply Release -> Speed
Tune to your liking, mine is disabled for gears 1 - 5 and enabled for 6th. Speeds above 37% TPS are maxed out so the TCC can only lock when engine torque is at or below cruising torque I.e. not accelerating. Choose unlock speeds so that it will unlock just before the shift scheduling table will trigger a downshift to 5th.

***Torque Converter -> Apply Release -> Full Throttle
Disabled for all gears. (Consult your TCC manufacturer for lock / unlock capability at WOT)

***Aftermarket TCC only (2800 single disc, no WOT lockup)

Notes:
Always reset / preset adapts in the scanner if modifying anything that has to do with shift pressure.

If it's not mentioned here then I left it stock. Refer to attached tunes for reference...

The idea of this tune is copying special to normal. It allows for a peppy tune without having to move the shifter over to sport. If I want gear holding or whatever I use TUTD.
With the above settings my full throttle shift times are usually reported around 0.125s - 0.15s in the scanner.

Always monitor the trans slip PID. No matter how much HP you have, it should have a nice linear profile during the shift. If you see large peaks on it during the shift then something is not right.

Stock tune and current tune attached for reference with a data log of full throttle run. Ignore my shit fuelling. Project is in motion to upgrade the fuel system.

[flyingfool007]

read the GM trans book before you mess around, and do a couple data logs with thier trans pids and chart layout first. dont touche it till you do your homework

[hjtrbo]

read the GM trans book before you mess around, and do a couple data logs with thier trans pids and chart layout first. dont touche it till you do your homework

I haven't had the luxury to read the GM trans book. How does my strategy compare to what that book says? My settings have been derived from all the threads read on this forum plus a bit of trial and error and a bit of logic. I.e. copying special over to normal and going from there.

[NotSure]

Pay attention to TCC slip as well. My suggestion would be to eliminate its apply in all but the top gear(s), and possibly raise the TCC Regulator Offset enough where it won't constantly slip when applied.

[flyingfool007]

definatly zero the tcc slip, this alone dropped my fluid temps 8-10 degrees, i dont even run aux trans cooler, just tuning the trans and removing the thermostat i'm able to cruise on the highway @ 115 degrees F all day

[robbyredneck]

Generally you would hit the following tables. This is assuming you haven't got a built transmission or a wildly high HP engine

Everyone will have a different take on things. This is what I run.

Shift Pressure -> General -> Max Pressure
Set to 1258kPa

Shift Pressure -> General -> Max Line Pressure
D1 to D3 set at 950kPa
D4 to D6 set at 1150kPa
N, P R ok to leave stock

Shift Pressure -> Upshift -> Pattern X, Y & Z
Find the table with the highest pressure and copy over to the other 2. Add 10%.

Shift Pressure -> Adaptive -> Oncoming Pressure Preset
Copy special to normal. You can add 5% at a time if you want the gear to hit a bit harder. Depending on the your programmed shift times this setting may be learned out by the adaptive control

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Torque Adder Normal & Special
Copy special to normal.
For the high torque high rpm cells from 1 to 4th gears set the time to 0.2s and blend out. Generally 5th & 6th gets left alone

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Transition Time
Copy special to normal for both initial and final

Shift Timing -> Upshift -> Desired Output Torque Factor
Copy special to normal

Torque Management -> General -> Stall Torque Management
Max out enable and disable

Torque Management -> General -> TCC Limit
Max Out

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Torque Factor
Set all to 1

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Adder
Set all to 1

Torque Management -> Upshift -> Adder -> Adder Modifier
In the medium to high torque and medium to high rpm cells set to 0. This will apply full torque reduction for your high torque shifts. I have found that leaving the full torque management on has resulted in the fastest shift times.
In the other cells, tune to your taste. These are the daily drive area of the table. I have -0.5 in the lower cells and progressively blend it out the 0 cells.

Always reset / preset adapts in the scanner when modifying the above tables.

I also was happy copying over the special shift points to the normal tables and adjusting to suit my tastes. That way I only have 1 set of shift points to tune no matter if I am in sport or normal mode.

With the above settings my full throttle shift times are usually reported around 0.12s in the scanner.

I just bought a v that has some serious trans tm going on and i appreciate your contribution. thanks

[hjtrbo]

No worries. Those settings have worked for me perfectly so far for over a year. Drop pan regularly for inspections and is always nice and clean. Updated my post to include how I have the TCC set up.

[robbyredneck]

Wow didn't realize the tcc lockup behavior was as such. I would have totally over looked that. thanks guys

[Robert C Morgillo]

123gr, the Tuning School book is a very good way to get the trans dialed in. They are also very helpful if you need to call them after you get the book. They can help you tweak it to your liking. They spend a little time telling you what the changes will do.

[jnatemartin]

I joined the forum for the primary purpose of saying exactly how dead-on hjtrbo's advice on this is. Made nearly every change he suggested (with the exception of the oncoming pressure presets) and my customer's 6l90 went from operating like a worn out turd (it was not) to being crisp, responsive, and pleasant to drive. It worked so well, I adapted the same recommended changes to my Gen IV 6l80 and with a few minor tweaks, it now works like a million bucks. In any case, a massive thank you is due to hjtrbo, and I would recommend the suggested changes to anyone.

[hjtrbo]

I joined the forum for the primary purpose of saying exactly how dead-on hjtrbo's advice on this is. Made nearly every change he suggested (with the exception of the oncoming pressure presets) and my customer's 6l90 went from operating like a worn out turd (it was not) to being crisp, responsive, and pleasant to drive. It worked so well, I adapted the same recommended changes to my Gen IV 6l80 and with a few minor tweaks, it now works like a million bucks. In any case, a massive thank you is due to hjtrbo, and I would recommend the suggested changes to anyone.

Thanks for the kind words. Forgot I wrote that post lol.

[Jeepguy25]

Just wondering how these manual changes compare to the Bluecat software changes? I used the software to make initial adjustments...would I revert to stock before trying these changes?

Thanks!

[hjtrbo]

If you like your shift and TCC mph settings then by all means keep them. No need to lose your hard work. Everything else will play nice with them.