[timg]

After a lot of testing with different OS and segment combinations last year, I wasn't able to get my paddle shifters to work. HPTuners scanner wasn't helpful, Tech2 freaked out at my combo (though this could have just been a garbage Chinese clone...), but EFI Live would show relatively useful data. It acknowledged when I tried to use a paddle shifter, but noted the presses as invalid. I moved at the end of last year, and have been in a rental without most of my tools since then. As a result, I had paused my troubleshooting for over a year since the car was otherwise running very nicely.

Earlier today, I decided to go back to basics and check the wiring. ~ 2 years ago, I put together a spreadsheet with pinouts for the TBSS, 9-7X, Corvette, and for my steering wheel which combined all three. Right away, I noted that my +12V switched feed to the paddle shifter had no power when I probed it. I looked under the dash, and sure enough, the other end of that wire was hanging loose because I had forgotten to connect it during the course of my 3 year build...

I connected the wire to +12V switched, raced out the door to get my son from daycare without any testing at all, and it actually worked. Now, when I drop down into 3 / D4, it goes into TUTD mode and I can use paddle shifters at will. With this done, my 6L80E swap is now 100% functional. I have more fine tuning to do, but this is true for both the ECM and TCM.

I'll post later with more details. I'm also going to do a bit deeper dive into the programming side of it in the next few months. My current solution mixes Corvette and Denali OS and segments, but I'm not sure that's really necessary. I suspect that I could stick 100% Denali and be OK. 100% Corvette results in some ECM/TCM communication errors.

Tim

 

[timg]

Here's a picture of the paddle shifters and the wiring information. I did the F1 paddle shifter mod where the right shifter upshifts and the left shifter downshifts rather than both shifters doing both depending on which way you push them.

Tons of additional steering wheel pictures here:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0s5oqs3qlcyRU

I just realized that I hadn't really posted about this before. If you have any questions about this swap, please let me know. The Corvette steering wheel is smaller in diameter and needs a tiny bit of trimming of the plastic on the back, but otherwise fits very nicely. The fiberglass work for the controls was the hardest part, but even it wasn't too bad.

Tim

 

[Pyroproblem]

Wow, nice job Tim!
That's quite a project.
Congrats!

 

[jakool]

thats very cool

 

[Klyf]

This is awesome! Down side for me is I cant look at the conversion file because its a Mac file. This gives me even more projects for the TBSS.

 

[timg]

You should be able to unzip on your Mac and then open in Numbers if you don't have Excel. I made the archive on a Mac and the Excel file too. If you can't get it to work and you want a copy, send me a PM with your email address and I'll email you a copy.

Tim

 

[MI_Louie]

That’s awesome Tim, I’m very jealous of your build.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[scott750]

Awesome Tim! Thanks for taking the time to see this project completed!

 

[bluedragon]

This is awesome. Another step to making the 6Lxx transmission a preferred choice for the GMT360 trucks. 4L80s are great for track, but the 6Lxx is what should be in these trucks for street use.


Dave

 

[Klyf]

You should be able to unzip on your Mac and then open in Numbers if you don't have Excel. I made the archive on a Mac and the Excel file too. If you can't get it to work and you want a copy, send me a PM with your email address and I'll email you a copy.

Tim

I'm on a PC. If there is a way to open a Mac file on PC then I'll get it done... someday. In the meantime, I'm working on my posts so I can send PMs and post in the WTB section. Need a part but I don't have 50 posts yet, so...
:dunno:

 

[timg]

It's a regular zip file, so you should be able to unzip it on Windows and then open it in Excel. Don't rename the extension. I routinely run both Windows and Mac and use the exact same files on both operating systems.

Tim

 

[timg]

I've been driving mine almost every day since getting the paddle shifters working. Thoughts:

• I love this car! I also have a 2013 manual CTS-V, but I'm finding it hard to drive it instead of my 9-7X. In fact, it's probably been sitting for over 8 weeks now... I'll probably only drive it again to install and play with a new CarPlay add-on module for the factory radio.
• Even in D, the 6L80E is awesome around town. The CTS-V shift points modified for the TBSS gearing and tires are perfect. The truck and Corvette shift points I tried before never really made me happy. The Corvette loved rpms too much, the truck tried to get into 6th gear as quickly as possible. The CTS-V doesn't care about fuel economy, assumes an engine with a ton of torque, lets you use quite a bit of throttle at low RPM without downshifting, yet also downshifts when necessary.
• In TUTD mode, you get significant engine braking on command (with a bit of exhaust pop that was never there before), almost instant upshifts, and 1st through 3rd gear starts.
• 2nd and 3rd gear starts are pretty nice to play with around town. The CTS-V torque converter is loose enough that 2nd gear feels often feels better than a 1st gear start.
• Downshifts are a bit slow, but not too bad.
• S2T paddle shifters are amazing. The feel and positioning on the Corvette wheel is perfect.
• The F1 mod for the Corvette shifters is super easy and absolutely worthwhile. It makes one side up and the other down. This is the way all paddle shifters should be.
• It would be really helpful to have a gear display indicator when in TUTD mode. I'm looking into adding one.

This transmission swap when combined with the paddle shifters, Corvette steering wheel, and CTS-V torque converter is probably the best mod that I've ever done to my 9-7X.

Tim

 

[timg]

Some more details on the Corvette steering wheel swap. It's well documented on other forums, but not so much on here.

Here are the parts I used:
J42640 steering wheel tool
Corvette Steering Wheel with leather and blue thread 22805645
Clock spring from 3SS TBSS 88965345
C6 Corvette Airbag from eBay
Trailblazer steering wheel from eBay to use the buttons for fiberglass work and the wiring harness. Cheapest one wins.

Great info here:
https://www.skyroadster.com/forums/f...kappa-s-39923/

This one's good too, but he has to do a LOT more work. For ours, it's more like the Saturn. It bolts right in. The wiring and fiberglassing in the controls is the hard part if you want to keep them functional. If you didn't want to have steering wheel controls, the swap would be ridiculously easy and 100% bolt-in.
https://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/...82/index2.html

Thanks.

Tim

 

[timg]

One more update. I'm another 9 months in (since my last post) and with the recent torque management updates, this is definitely the single best mod I've done. If you're considering a 6L80E, I'd definitely recommend it.

Tim

 

[Cmorales40]

Hell of a right up and project! Congrats on your accomplishment I'll be happy just with an 6L80E/90 in my 06 TBSS

 

[Cmorales40]

Excellent write up. Definitely would like to do it but my skills are not there yet. But I will be swapping to a 6L80E/6L90E for sure

 

[Bluelightning]

Do you have the files for the swap available anywhere?

 

[timg]

What do you need? PM me. I've got a bunch of files from my car. If I had a subscription to SPS, I would have tried a handful more transmission files, but mine's close enough that I'm not worried about it.

Tim

 

[SSilveronyxx]

Wow, Tim. A recent customer brought this mod and thread to my attention. I have not been on the forum for years now and I've clearly missed a lot. I am so excited to read/know that you were able to discover how to add tap up-down to our trucks. I have a Saab in the garage now getting a 4.8 L and 6L80 swap done and we're going to be adding this upgrade to the build and experiment with different GM steering wheels. Hopefully, develop a plug and play upgrade package.

 

[Officialchavez]

Wow, Tim. A recent customer brought this mod and thread to my attention. I have not been on the forum for years now and I've clearly missed a lot. I am so excited to read/know that you were able to discover how to add tap up-down to our trucks. I have a Saab in the garage now getting a 4.8 L and 6L80 swap done and we're going to be adding this upgrade to the build and experiment with different GM steering wheels. Hopefully, develop a plug and play upgrade package. View attachment 103213

Did the package ever go into development or found any new information? I’m gathering research to start my steering wheel swap I’m thinking of going to the junkyard and getting a Saturn aura one ($25+tax) just to experiment and if I can get it to work I’ll pull the trigger on a corvette steering wheel.