When I was a kid, being taught by the previous generation about hot rods and engine building, there was one phrase I heard over and over again: “The devil is in the details.” With modern performance cars becoming more and more complex and complicated over the years, this lesson has never been more true. Skipping out on the smallest thing can spell tragedy for your performance build and that’s what we’re going over today with the installation of Swift Filter’s C8 DCT Filter, servicing the Tremec TR-9080 in your hard-launching late-model Corvette.

Swift Filters announced their C8 DCT filter kit just a few months ago. It features an element that offers significant upgrades over the OEM filter, featuring anodized billet aluminum end caps that are machined in-house. The filter utilizes microglass material, which is supported by stainless steel mesh on both the inside and outside, all housed within a stainless steel body. Microglass provides greater efficiency in filtering contaminants while allowing for higher flow capacity and lower pressure drop.

Additionally, the new DCT filter from Swift Filters includes a redesigned internal bypass valve that delivers more consistent performance compared to the OEM filter. GM specifies that the O-rings and the four housing bolts are not reusable. To address this, Swift Filters will supply the new filter with all necessary high-temperature O-rings and OEM hardware, enabling you to service your Stingray yourself with everything you need.

The combination of a microglass filter element and a redesigned internal bypass valve means you get a higher flowing filter with more consistent pressure. Poor flow and insistent pressures can spell disaster for a high performance DCT transmission. – Jim Lapsley, Senior Engineer, Swift Filters

Our Guinea Pig: Boost District’s Twin-Turbo Eray

Just in case you haven’t heard about Roshan and his team at Boost District building their record-setting twin-turbo Eray Corvette, let’s get you up to speed on the 1000-plus horsepower hybrid C8 used to test Swift Filter’s latest DCT filter. The Eray Corvette has a simple setup from the factory, take a Z51 Stingray, add the widebody fenders off the Z06 paired with slightly redesigned bumpers, and hook up the front wheels to a 160-horsepower motor with a small battery pack.

The team at Chevrolet did it right with this setup, this hybrid system isn’t there to lower emissions or increase gas mileage, its sole purpose is to improve performance. This is the only time you’ll hear us be pro-electrification, and for good reason, the electric assistance helps this Corvette put down 655 horsepower and rocket to sixty miles an hour as quick as a C8 Z06 in stock form.

This twin-turbo Eray is built for dig racing and the drag strip is it’s natural habitat, but it can also sprint to sixty in two seconds flat on the street!

Boost District decided this would be an interesting version of America’s sports car to push further than GM intended with some extra boost. Boost District is no stranger to boosting the C8 platform. They started back in 2021 with supercharging the then-new generation Corvette and now offer supercharger and turbo kits for the LT2-powered C8 in varying stages to meet the owner’s horsepower and performance goals.

This Eray so far has set record after record at the drag strip with a best time of 9.38 seconds at 148 mph thanks to a sticky set of drag radials with a previous best of 9.70 seconds at 153 mph on the stock Michelins. Surprisingly, pushing the LT2 to make 830 rear-wheel horsepower on the chassis dyno does not require an extensive list of mods to handle the boost provided by a pair of ball-bearing 6466 turbochargers from Precision Turbo.

Even though a hard launch reduces weight over the front tires, the hybrid system still helps this two-ton C8 hook up and go!

Boost District’s Eray still sports the stock block, heads, crankshaft, and connecting rods. Even the valvetrain is left untouched with the stock cam! The stock pistons were swapped out with a set of Lingenfelter forged drop-in replacements for some extra strength and the fuel system has been upgraded with LPE’s big-bore high-pressure pump and bigger injectors. This C8 still runs direct injection and the stock computer, which was unlocked by Trifecta so it could be tuned for the extra performance.

The Tremec TR-9080 only had to have a clutch upgrade to handle the extra power with a custom clutch pack by Dodson Motorsport. I think we can all agree that the team at Chevrolet built a stout performance car, seeing how stout a majority of the stock components are. But when it comes to a performance vehicle, once we start upgrading, we also need to consider upgrading some of the basics, like the filter in the DCT transaxle which is sure to require something more than the stock element.

Removal and Install Of The C8 DCT Filter

Compared to installing a twin-turbo kit, changing the DCT filter is a walk in the park. An owner can complete the job at home with an inch-pound torque wrench, 7mm, 10mm, and 13mm sockets, an E8 and E16 socket for the external Torx bolts, socket extensions, needle nose pliers, and your Swift C8 DCT filter kit.

These sockets are required for some of the bolts, but luckily they’re common and can be had at any local hardware store.

With the rear of the car safely off the ground, start by removing the metal belly pan and the large plastic cover in front of it. You will have to remove the plastic cover before the metal one. There are roughly two dozen bolts that need to be removed, requiring the use of your 10mm and 13mm sockets for the plastic cover and E7 and E16 sockets for the bolts on the metal cover. This can be done easily by hand, but a small electric impact driver on a low torque setting can really be a time save here.

The two undersheilds that you will remove are held on by a total of 45 bolts. Don’t think you can leave these off after you’re done, they play a vital role in the car’s aerodynamics.

Now that these covers are out of the way, it’s time to locate the filter housing cover. It can be found on the driver’s side, the same side as the engine oil filter, next to the axle shaft. You will notice the cover is secured with four bolts that are commonly called external Torx bolts. Using an E8 Torx socket, remove these four bolts. Pro Tip: It may be best to remove these bolts by hand, instead of power tools. There have been reports by both dealership technicians and owners of these bolts breaking off during removal with certain power tools. While not very common, better to be safe than sorry, right?

One the filter housing cover is removed, use a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the old filter straight out with some wiggling and patience.

With the bolts out, it’s time to pull the cover. This can require some patience and wiggling to remove by hand. But once off, you gain access to the DCT filter element. The filter pulls straight out and your needle nose pliers can help you persuade it out. There will be a small amount of fluid lost during this process, but just a couple of ounces, so no need to worry about a big mess.

With the old filter out, it’s time to install your new Swift filter. Using a small screwdriver, carefully remove the old O-ring from the housing cap and install the new O-ring provided in the kit. Take your new filter, with the end that has a large opening in the center facing up, and install it into the filter housing by hand. No tools are required to press it in, just firm hand pressure, so leave your hammers in the toolbox.

With the old filter out and next to the new Swift filter, the differences in construction become obvious.

Once the filter is in, it’s time to bolt everything back together. Do not reuse the old bolts for the filter housing, they are one-time use only. After you reinstall the filter housing cap by hand, hand tighten in a criss-cross pattern your four new bolts with an E8 socket. Then you can tighten the bolts to a final torque spec of 53 inch-pounds. Do not use power tools on the new bolts, it sure would be a nightmare to break one.

The plastic and metal undersheilds can now be reinstalled in reverse of how you took them off. The bolts that use a 10mm socket have a torque spec of 80 inch-pounds. The bolts that use a 13mm or E16 socket have a torque spec of 16 foot-pounds. The two bolts that use an E7 socket do not have an official torque spec, so hand-tight is sufficient.

Here is a close look at the filter housing cover and bolts. don’t forget to replace the blue o-ring with the new one supplied in the Swift filter kit and to throw away the old bolts, you get new ones in the kit for a reason.

Now you and your C8 can hit the road! The Swift Filters C8 DCT filter is easy to install, comes with everything you need, and offers superior filtration for your Corvette’s dual-clutch Tremec transaxle, be it a stock Stingray that enjoys spirited driving or a highly modified monster like Boost District’s twin-turbo Eray.