[radz28]

If I recall, for cars up to 2020 (yours doesn't appear to be), you can send your TCM to HPTuners to be unlocked, and then begin tuning. If I had the ability to do that, I would have, as soon as I mod'd. Unless you need to change the airflow/torque/spark/etc. model, you'll probably be okay. It is my understanding VVE is near the top of the tuning that needs to be correct, because a lot of how the car shifts depends on airflow, fueling, etc. for the torque model, which influences the tranny significantly. A lot of guys that are heavily mod'd don't even tune VVE, or only tune where they need to, and leave as much stock as possible. I'm not sure you need to really get into the TCM until you move through FBOs, but there seem to be two primary trains of though (leave VVE stock if you need to/tune VVE).

Personally - it sounds like there are some people who post here once-and-a-while that have ONLY tuned the TCM and have made great strides in better performance at the track, without getting into the engine side. It seems to me that either the PCM or the TCM will intervene if the car starts making more than "allowable" torque limits; it will start pulling spark, fuel, or throttle plate, depending on if it thinks in needs to react quickly, or not (spark/fuel is quickest at pulling power, when it thinks it needs to do so). You can (apparently) safely pull how much spark retard there is between shifts, to quicken them (to a point), and adjust pressure and all that. But it seems to me if your fueling/timing/torque models are all within (relative) line of each other, the car is going to shift as it needs to, and apply as much pressure as it needs to to hold together (up to a certain point, obviously). That's pretty much the logic I'm going by (I'm NO expert). You can lie to the car (essentially) and make it think it's making more torque than it is, and make the tranny behave differently, but it doesn't mean it's a dynamic improvement. If you want to try to bark the tires on the 2-3 shift at 60, you could likely kick the rear end out, in the middle of an interchange turn or something and loose control (for example), or just make the car shift harder and just beat on the rest of the driveline just because you might think the quickest/hardest shift is always best for heat and wear (what I'm trying to say is upset the car, and lose control in some circumstances). Each person has their idea of what they think their car should shift like, so that might be where you want to start (if you don't already have an idea what you want).

If you're going to crack you warranty open, you might as well get the most out of the car. Personally - I wouldn't add power without proper tuning and that includes the transmission. All of this torque logic is fairly complicated with how all the systems dance with each other. I'd look for a tranny tune from experienced guys over at HPTuners (there are a few of those guys that post here, too) and go at it after FBOs.

I am still learning a lot, so sorry if I bounced around in my comments. I wouldn't call them answers because I wouldn't try to suggest my logic is better than a lot of others in our Community.