The 8-speed automatic gearbox of the acclaimed gear manufacturer from Friedrichshafen (Zahnradfabriek Friedrichshafen) is known as bulletproof. First used in 2008, the ZF8HP automatic transmission is now used by almost the entire automotive industry with a torque ranch from 300 to 900 Nm.

What kind of meaningful adjustments can you make to the TCM software?

Well, that is a good question. Both the Giulia and the Stelvio drive very well from the factory. The engineers did a great job. So, what can still be improved? We’ll read about that later. First a little technique.

You should be realize that a gearbox is something completely different compared to an engine. Pretty much all our experience with engine tuning can be put aside. We started with a blank sheet of paper. We know “quite well” how an engine works. But how does an automatic gearbox actually work? Apart from the basic knowledge, we didn’t know very much about it. So first we had to dive into the books. You can’t work on software without knowing the mechanics. Same as for engine tuning.

Engine tuning is about turbo pressures, ignition timing and fuel quantities. With gearboxes, it is about disconnecting and coupling transmissions. The 8-speed has 5 clutches that are controlled by hydraulics. With those 5 couplings, 8 different gear ratio’s can be made. In addition to these clutches, there is also the torque converter (think of this as the clutch on a manual gearbox).
In terms of software, there are countless maps that tells everything about internal oil pressure (hydraulics) and disengage and engage clutches, torque limiters and shift times. Countless strategies which can be set on or off, reference maps. Groups of maps apply to each possible gear change. Groups of maps apply to each DNA position. Groups of maps apply to the driving style (acceleration, braking, lateral forces, uphill, downhill) etc. etc. In short, an endless list of maps.

But there are even more differences. When it comes to engine tuning we use a lot of diagnostic equipment with which we can read about every possible engine parameter. As a result, we know exactly what is happening and whether a software adjustment has the desired effect. Unfortunately, that turns out to be different with gearboxes. For ALfa Romeo the available parameters are very limited. It became clear that feedback had to come from driving the car on the public roads and paying attention to how the shifting is done and feel what the gearbox does. Even a dyno doesn’t offer a solution here. On a dyno the car is stationary. So no acceleration or lateral forces. Which are both used for shifting points.

Fortunately, we did have access to other very valuable information. We will not discuss this in detail here, after all, the competitors also reads along.

Shifting points

Each TCM software contains an average of about 100 different shifting point maps. These are the maps that show when up- or downshifting takes place. These shifting point depends on the accelerator pedal position and the output shaft speed of the gearbox. That last one only is already a tricky one. As a driver you have no idea about this rotation speed. Do you? As a driver you do know the engine speed. Simply because it is indicated on the rev counter. In short, to make the switching map more transparent, we had to have a conversion made in our own data analysing software, Since we made this software ourselves, that was easy to do. The pictures below show the result.

But how do you know which of the 100+ shifting maps is used under which circumstances? That was partly described by the additional information we had. But unfortunately that turned out not to be complete either, which ultimately comes down to a lot of trial & error and logical thinking. Eventually it all became clear to us.

Shifting times

We are not going to make an attempt to make the gearbox faster switching times. We read everywhere that many “tuners” promise this. However, we also know that they work with certain information supplied. We have also studied that information and our conclusion is that this will not lead to faster switching times. It can provide the feeling of faster switching times. Basically what they are trying to do is to increase the hydraulic pump pressure. This would allow the clutches to move faster, but it will mainly result in a rougher engagemen of the clutches. Which results in discomfort only as far as we are concerned.

The real switching times are made up of many sub-actions. Every gear change of every gear of every DNA/R position has its own set of actions. This is so complex and precisely tuned that we have no illusions that we can improve it. So we don’t.

Torque limiters

Gearbox software also uses torque limiters. However, for our Alfa’s they are at such a level that they are not a limitation, even with a good engine tuning added. We have not yet come across any software where there is a real limitation.

There are also torque limiters that come into effect when there is a malfunction or when the gearbox oil temperature rises too high. We do not adjust these. In our opinion, that is not wise to do.

The absolute RPM limiters

Raising the absolute rev limiter may be necessary if the rev limiter has been raised in the engine software. If this limit is exceeded, it is accompanied by quite a dramatic effect. A literal hard limp home. Not pleasant. We will increase this according to the needs of the engine tuning

What is our focus?

We focus on switching points in all DNA positions and eliminating some inconveniences. Adding meaningfull Race Mode shifting when Race Mode is configured. Activating shifting paddles when needed (in Race Mode). Everything aimed for more driving fun.

How does this manifest itself in real life?

Engine tuning means generally more torque and power. Everyone can imagine something about that. It will provide faster acceleration.

However, we have noticed that it is difficult to imagine something with our gearbox tuning. As indicated earlier, we focus on modified switching times. This can best be described with the word “eager”. The car responds more quickly to accelerator pedal movements. The car doesn’t feel so lazy anymore.

One can also look at it differently. Suppose you drive in Dynamic. That already drives quite eagerly (if one doesn’t know any better). You then switch to the A position. The car feels noticeably lazier and more sluggish. Approximately the same difference is added to the Dynamic after the gearbox tuning. This is also noticeable when switching back from the new Dynamic to the N position. The N position has become the old Dynamic. The new N-mode/old D-mode suddenly feels lazy/slazy again. Strange but true.

We have also realized that people are often inclined to give a lot of gas when a lot of acceleration is required. This is somewhat logical because one wants to encourage the gearbox to downshift (kick down). After tuning, the need is much less because the driver now almost always drives one gear lower than before. The result is that the torque at the wheels is now higher than before. It is therefore not necessary to downshift. The car accelerates more easily. It is therefore no longer necessary to give a lot of gas. One now has to let the gearbox do the work and not so much the engine.

• The new A position (old N position with minor adjustments) is intended for quiet driving.
• The new N position (old D position) is intended for normal traffic.
• The new D position is intended for real steering work. The revs are kept higher so that the engine is at the beginning of its maximum torque range. The turbos can then spool up much more easily. The engine is always ready to GO. Intended for roads with many variations. Lots of braking, acceleration, nice cornering. Real dynamic driving. Less suitable for highway traffic. The revs are often unnecessarily high. Unless one is “hunting”.
• Race Mode is largely unchanged. Except for a faster kickdown reacton

Estrema tuning

For the Quadrifolgio models we have developed an Estrema tuning above the Massimo. This tuning achieves the extra power gain from a longer rev range. This is only possible when the maximum revs of the ZF 8-speed are also higher. The standard level was not high enough. The Estrema gearbox tuning also has automatic shifting in manual mode (also in Race Mode). We chose this because the absolute maximum revs of the gearbox are close to the maximum revs of the engine. At 7600 RPM there will therefore always be an upshift. The maximum power of the engine is around 7500 revs. This way you can never miss the ideal upshift moment and the acceleration is as fast as possible.

What customers say about it

“The car is, as it were, woken up from a coma”
“Dynamic is now the “attack mode”. Always ready to go!
“It feels like I got a new car”
“I’m getting that old Alfa feeling back again, a lovely revving engine”
“Indeed, EAGER is the best description”
“I don’t drive the car anymore, I play with it now. What an experience!”
“This is how a real Alfa should be”