2015 GM Trucks will get 8 speed Transmission

maxwell11 wrote:
is that a 1/2 ton rated truck (brakes, frame and tires) to tow 12,000#

that is quite a load,

I wish my old truck had that 8 speed transmission.

Not clear from this article whether the 1/2 ton will get a tow rating that high, or if they are going to offer the 6.2/8 speed combo in the 3/4 and 1T trucks as well.

Surprised they are going home-grown on the design and not using Aisin or other....although the TH 400 and 4L80E were GM home grown and good strong transmissions.

Sure like my 6 speed Allison - don't think they will be making any changes - to an 8 speed.

6.2L only which is a tiny % of Silverado/Sierra sales. GM sells more Yukon Denalis and Escalades with the 6.2L than pickups. But the trans should trickle down to the 5.3L some year.

I towed a TT at 60% of my tow rating with our 2012 VW Touareg TDI with 8-speed Aisin transmission, and I didn't feel like it was hunting excessively. I felt like the computer always chose the correct gear and after manually choosing the cruising gear for a while, I just let it do its thing because it did a better job. Most of the time it would hold 8th gear on the flat unless there was a strong headwind. The trans is so smooth and the engine so quiet that you hardly notice the shifting anyway. New technology = awesome.

srt20 wrote:
I have an 8 speed, and it definitely does not hunt for gears.

Do you tow heavy with it?

The great thing about a trans like that is you can have a low rear end (4.10 or better) and still have highway gearing because it allows manufacturers to give double OD. You get the best of both worlds!
But god help you when it's time for a trans overhaul.

I just bought a new Yukon and have read where there will be a 2015 1/2 model with 8spd. I bought a Denali so that I could get the 6.2 just so it had the power to not be shifting constantly. I have a work truck with 6.0 gas and it wears on you how much it's always shifting. Will be interesting to see what the 8spd does.

srt20 wrote:
I have an 8 speed, and it definitely does not hunt for gears.

X2. The ZF is very intuitive. Chev and GMC customers will be very happy if GM can match it.

N-Trouble wrote:
And 10 even better than that... Then 12....

It starts to become a matter of diminishing returns at some point. Personally I wouldn't want a tranny that's always hunting between gears as that is what an 8-speed is going to do. 6-speeds seem more than enough to me but what do I know

If it hunts for gears like my 2010 F150 6sp did then it will get old fast.

If that combo gets decent fuel economy and they put it in a 3/4 ton or max tow 1/2 ton Suburban, it is gonna make for a difficult decision between that and an Ecoboost Expedition EL. The market is just getting better and better, it seems!