When to change a10 transmission and diff fluid?

red6.2 · 01-06-2021, 11:13 PM

When have you zl1 owners first changed the a10 transmission and diff fluid? First 1500 miles, 5,000 miles or not yet? How about for those who do both spirited driving or tracking? Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

Tricksta · 01-07-2021, 06:36 AM

I changed the diff fluid at 1,500 miles and then again at 5,000 miles. Owner's manual recommends rear diff ever 45,000 miles, I will likely be doing it every 20,000 or so as I drive spirited 99% of the time.

SJFGTO · 01-07-2021, 06:55 AM

I change the diff every spring, about 10,000 miles annually. Overkill I know, but I am a 3,000 mile oil change guy too. Old school.

Markoz28 · 01-07-2021, 07:09 AM

Every 10k miles sounds good. I use Amsoil. Comes in a bag and takes about 20 seconds to fill.

JSH · 01-07-2021, 07:17 AM

50k, but I won't own it then

PROMETHEUS · 01-07-2021, 08:29 AM

IMHO, if you do alot of tracking you should do it at the end of the season every year. This is certainly overkill, but better safe than sorry!

Vigilante375 · 01-07-2021, 09:45 AM

The owners manual calls for changing your A10 transmission fluid after 15 track hours.

The differential, I looked in the manual and didn't see anything mentioning that you should change it outside of the regular maintenance schedule.

If you never take it to the track then just follow the normal maintenance schedule.

JSH · 01-07-2021, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

The owners manual calls for changing your A10 transmission fluid after 15 track hours.

I assume they are really saying after 15 hours of hard driving on and/or off the track. In which case, I should have mine checked.

DangerZL1 · 01-07-2021, 10:26 AM

JSH, since the T93 TCM can't be tuned, are you satisfied with the the daily drive ability after the HPE upgrades? I'm trying to get an idea of what might be missing or the limits of mods without being able to adjust shift points, etc.

KingLT1 · 01-07-2021, 10:33 AM

If JSH could tune the transmission it would probably be a solid 4 tenths quicker down the 1/4 mile. A lot of it is from Torque Management reduction and making the shifts quicker. the A10 makes 5 gear changes in the 1/4 mile. If those shifts take .25 of a second then just the transmission alone spends over 1 second of the run shifting. Now reduce that shift time to .15, speed up the shift torque recovery time, and now the transmission is only using a little over a half second of a the 1/4 mile run to make gear changes. Note, These numbers are for example...I am not saying the A10 takes .25 to shift. The A10 is definitely slower on the first 2 shifts then gets much quicker on the 4-5 & 5-6. So averaged out it might be close to the example I used.

Mark R · 01-07-2021, 11:34 AM

I have 12,000 miles on my car, and have had the transmission fluid changed twice. Once at about 5,000 miles, and most recently just before winter storage. It's actually a reasonable cost at the dealer, about $350, IIRC.

The diff definitely needs frequent changing, especially since that is also a very low cost maintenance item. Every year for that.

Vigilante375 · 01-07-2021, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSH

I assume they are really saying after 15 hours of hard driving on and/or off the track. In which case, I should have mine checked.

It's always up to the owner but hard driving on the streets isn't anything compared to being on a road course.

JSH · 01-07-2021, 12:28 PM

I really love this car. It's a lot of fun and very drivable on the street. HPE said they built it to be a DD and it is, whether in Touring or Sport. But it's really more of a road course car than drag strip. I mean I could send it to Jerry Haas for serious traction mods but it's not worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerZL1

JSH, since the T93 TCM can't be tuned, are you satisfied with the the daily drive ability after the HPE upgrades? I'm trying to get an idea of what might be missing or the limits of mods without being able to adjust shift points, etc.

JSH · 01-07-2021, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

It's always up to the owner but hard driving on the streets isn't anything compared to being on a road course.

I've driven it on both courses and roads. Colorado has a lot of wide open roads.

01-06-2021, 11:13 PM	#1
red6.2 Drives: 2010 camaro Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 208	When to change a10 transmission and diff fluid? When have you zl1 owners first changed the a10 transmission and diff fluid? First 1500 miles, 5,000 miles or not yet? How about for those who do both spirited driving or tracking? Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

01-07-2021, 06:36 AM	#2
Tricksta Drives: 2018 ZL1 A10 Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Leipsic,Ohio Posts: 3,811 View My Garage	I changed the diff fluid at 1,500 miles and then again at 5,000 miles. Owner's manual recommends rear diff ever 45,000 miles, I will likely be doing it every 20,000 or so as I drive spirited 99% of the time. __________________ Modifications GM Dark Tail Lights / 3rd Brake Light & Reflectors \| LED Reverse Lights \| Diode Dynamics Side Markers \| Borla "ATAK" Cat Back Exhaust

01-07-2021, 06:55 AM	#3
SJFGTO Oh Oh it's Friday Night! Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Nightfall Gray Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Walton Woods Posts: 1,061	I change the diff every spring, about 10,000 miles annually. Overkill I know, but I am a 3,000 mile oil change guy too. Old school. __________________ 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE NFG; ARH 2” headers, catless mids, ARH full exhaust, Lingenfelter 18% lower pulley, ATI Harmonic Balancer, Roto-fab CAI, EE-catch can, TM ported TB, NX Lid, BMR strut tower brace. Aeroforce dual pod interceptor gauges. Tuned by Vengeance Racing!!! 644 HP @ 6250 rpm / 689 trq @ 3660 rpm Four that wanna own me Two that wanna stone me One says she's a friend of mine...

01-07-2021, 07:17 AM	#5
JSH Drives: '20 ZLE Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Mile High Posts: 3,556	50k, but I won't own it then __________________ '20 ZL1 1LE A10, OEM short block, LME heads/valve train, E2650. 100+ octanes, no eth, no meth, no N2O. 2/23 - 1031/1004 wheel. 4/23 - 1.41/9.61/145 at DA 7000 ft. (only made five passes). 2/24 - LME 390, E2650, FBO, 100 oct.; 1116hp/ 1063tq; 109 oct. dyno next.

01-07-2021, 10:33 AM	#10
KingLT1 Drives: 2016 1SS NFG A8 Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: 46804 Posts: 6,793	If JSH could tune the transmission it would probably be a solid 4 tenths quicker down the 1/4 mile. A lot of it is from Torque Management reduction and making the shifts quicker. the A10 makes 5 gear changes in the 1/4 mile. If those shifts take .25 of a second then just the transmission alone spends over 1 second of the run shifting. Now reduce that shift time to .15, speed up the shift torque recovery time, and now the transmission is only using a little over a half second of a the 1/4 mile run to make gear changes. Note, These numbers are for example...I am not saying the A10 takes .25 to shift. The A10 is definitely slower on the first 2 shifts then gets much quicker on the 4-5 & 5-6. So averaged out it might be close to the example I used. __________________ 2016 NFG 1SS A8 Options-2SS Leather/NPP Perf. mods-Whipple 2.9/Fuel System/Flex Fuel/103mm TB/Rotofab Big Gulp/Cat Deletes/Corsa NPP Per. times- 10.5 @ 137 w/ 1.8 60ft Full weight on 20's 1200DA

01-07-2021, 07:09 AM	#4
Markoz28 Drives: 18 ZL1 nightfall grey A10 Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: RGV Texas Posts: 1,527	Every 10k miles sounds good. I use Amsoil. Comes in a bag and takes about 20 seconds to fill.

01-07-2021, 08:29 AM	#6
PROMETHEUS Drives: 2019 ZL-1, Shadow Gray, Sold Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 1,390	IMHO, if you do alot of tracking you should do it at the end of the season every year. This is certainly overkill, but better safe than sorry!

01-07-2021, 09:45 AM	#7
Vigilante375 Drives: 2018 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,366	The owners manual calls for changing your A10 transmission fluid after 15 track hours. The differential, I looked in the manual and didn't see anything mentioning that you should change it outside of the regular maintenance schedule. If you never take it to the track then just follow the normal maintenance schedule.

01-07-2021, 10:26 AM	#9
DangerZL1 Drives: 2023 Black ZL1 Auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: FEMA Region 4 Posts: 2,935	JSH, since the T93 TCM can't be tuned, are you satisfied with the the daily drive ability after the HPE upgrades? I'm trying to get an idea of what might be missing or the limits of mods without being able to adjust shift points, etc.

01-07-2021, 11:34 AM	#11
Mark R Drives: 2018 ZL-1 Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 948	I have 12,000 miles on my car, and have had the transmission fluid changed twice. Once at about 5,000 miles, and most recently just before winter storage. It's actually a reasonable cost at the dealer, about $350, IIRC. The diff definitely needs frequent changing, especially since that is also a very low cost maintenance item. Every year for that.

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