my car has a problem shifting from 1-2 at WOT and hits the rev limiter. At first i thought i was spinning through first, but last night at the local track with a fresh coat of track prep and BFG DR's at 20 psi it was happening again.
dutman98 said:If you were to tune your car would you want it to shift at max power up in the rpm band, right before it starts to fall off? I can see where this could benifit peformance.
nyuk98gt said:96mod289:
The handheld tuner can be used to increase pressure and firm up the shifts. You can go ahead and do it and enjoy firmer shifts. But, know that there is a fundamental disadvantage to just increasing line pressure. The transmission pump generates flow and pressure. If you want more pressure at a particular spot, then flow will be reduced. With a pump, you have to trade one for the other (pressure for flow or flow for pressure). If you firm up the shifts too much with a handheld tuner, you may have robbed too much fluid from the other needs of the transmission (cooling of the innards, for example). So, you get firm shifts but it is costing you long-term durability.
What to do? You need to improve the hydraulics: reduce the pressure loss of the trans fluid by opening up some passages in the valve body [separator plate, to be specific]. This is "the j-mod". By opening up a few holes in the separator plate (a thin metal sheet with specifically sized holes that control the flow of fluid [the plate is attached to valve body] from one part of the transmission to another. With these holes opened up ("j-modded"), the pump can move more fluid at the same discharge pressure. Practically, the shifts are much quicker because the fluid can move through the larger holes faster. And, the quicker shifts can be had without any adverse affects on the cooling needs within the transmission. A major benefit of improved hydraulics is less friction during the shifts so the ATF temperature does not get as hot (as an unmodified transmission). This is how the transmission should have been made to shift from the factory but most drivers like smooth, almost seamless shifts of passenger cars and don't want quicker, noticable performance shifts.
Of course, you can always firm up the shifts more on a j-modded transmission if you desire, too. The key thing is to first open up the circulation system of the transmission so that heat is reduced and durability is improved. Adding some pressure then takes very little flow away from the other parts of the transmission.
Well, it's time I put down my j-mod cheerleader pom-poms. Every auto Mustang should be j-modded and have a tranny cooler added, too, imo.
Chris