I dont understand:
why manually shifting in an Auto can improve the acceleration?
cos it doesnt matter if u leave it in 2 or D, when u plant ur foot at the start line, the box will start from 1st gear anyway???

u will find the auto will change from 1st to 2nd too early

Furthar to that, by controlling the gear changes manually, you can make the auto shift at the optimum revs i.e. when the engine is making its max. power. usually, an auto will shift by itself before the engine reaches max. power. By shifting at max. power, you are getting the most out of each gear ;) therefore, acceleration will be faster as you have more power going to the treads per each gear ratio.

what he said, all changing the auto stick does is tell the computer it can shift up, know where your rev limiter is, then shift up just before it to get maximum acceleration.

also good when cornering aswell, to shift down and get better acceleration out.

when i accelerate while getting out of a corner, the auto seems a bit funny, like a thud, u guys getting the same thing?

In corners... my auto hates changing gears till my wheels are dead straight.. only on some certain occasion it will kick up a gear.. but most times... it just holds 3rd till it decides to REV the hell out of the engine and goto 2nd...

I want a manual... but all the manuals have done more km's than my car :(

what he said, all changing the auto stick does is tell the computer it can shift up, know where your rev limiter is, then shift up just before it to get maximum acceleration.
As a general rule, most cars reach their max. power before the rev limiter. usually about 1000 rpm before rev limiter. Changing after max. power is a waste as power actually goes down rather sharply. Find where your max power is in terms of revs (I think from memory for a stock magna its about 5500??? is that right or wrong?) and change gear when you hit that point.

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Greetings All.

Ok then...Question...

If I decide to over rev in 1st gear, will that help me get into a better power band in 2nd (4spd auto with TALL 2nd)

Cheers,
--Tonba
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ive found it prob looses power, if you plant it gear shifts happen ~5000rpm. and manualy shifting them doesnt do too much. as while shifting gears the auto "clutch" slips and overlaps the 2 gears in transision to make it smooth. shift kits get rid of this for autos by making the solenoid shift harder to the point where it may seem harsh. once i did my shift kit i see no need to manualy shift leave it in D and floor it, with the kit its very qucik sharp shifts and chirps in 1->2 , 2->3 not so much as ur speed is higher.

some pics/attachments below to explain things. for older no electricaly controlled transmissions you need to open them up to modify them, with newer and electronicaly controlled transmissions its not too hard to do, all can be done at the trannys ECU.

So subby - can you recommend what sort of places can carry out this work?? ie: standard transmission shop or a performance mechanical place.

How much did you fork out for your 'shift kit'? I recently heard a commodore driver brag about his 'stage 2 shift kit' - so I presume it's like heads/cams/engine overhauls etc in so much as there's different 'levels' depening on what you want to get out of it.

well im not too sure with the newer magnas but im sure they are electronicaly controlled transmisions (hell if the TN - TP's were). im sure some transmission place could help with options. but what most places do is replace the solenoid to a firmer shifting one which usualy is about (dont quote this) but ~$400 mark, or an alternative what i did is to lower the current sent from the ecu to the solenoid, lowering current increases firmness, more current = smoother shifts. i just added a resistor and a switch (stock shift/firm shift) - bit tricky in a front wheel drive car in the wet with firm shift. all up a few dolars been great.

for a "stage 2" once you work out an appropriate resistance range you can add a potentiomter (variable resistor) instead of a fixed resistor, so you could adjust firmness on the fly or to suit road conditions. it may sound weird but shifting harder increases the life of the transmission.

see a few tranny places they will prob like i said replace the stock solenoid but if you want to go the other route you may ask if they have a controller for your car (newer cars would be more popular - i know with the BA falcons they have kits about ~$55) pretty much plug and play and they use the principle of using a resisotr to control current. if u have some knowledge, and ecu pin out, an multimeter and a few days to muck about cant be too hard to whip one up :D

Might be just me, but that sounds sooo incredibly ugly, I dont think i would even want to go there......imagine the damage that even a small stuff up could cause??? :confused:

Afterall, if your so eager for manual gear changes, get a manual. Would be so much cheaper in my opinion :P

ugly? commercial kits do exactly the same thing ie see http://www.shiftkits.com.au/

for example this site deals with fords http://www.shiftkits.com.au/ShiftKitsFord.aspx

read up on the theory how these units work, they are made up of simple componments. and auto trannys ecu managament is not stupid, in my testing stages if the ecu picks up something is wrong it puts the tranny in "limp mode" to stop any damage, try another resistor value or remove it and wow, tranny back to normal big deal.

now spending tops $100 or so on a commericaly made controller kit is more expensive than a full manual conversion? (~$2,000) - how so? the auto handles like an auto but with the nice sharp shifts of an manual sort of best of both worlds.

I mentioned to my Mitsubishi mechanic that sometimes my auto holds the gears a little too long after I have upshifted (Tiptronic) and he said when I come in for my next service to mention it to him again and he will run a program through my transmission ECU and update the shift points or something to make it more responsive. Apparently you cant tighten the bands in these gearboxes because they are sealed units but you can do stuff to freshen them up via the ECU.

I'm sure sharper shifts would cause more wear on the tranny? unless you upgraded the internals somehow? or would it just jerk the car more changing gears? i know mate who had a VL with a short shift kit (until he wrote his car off). The thing went pretty hard. Would be cool to get one for my car, but i imagine them to be pricey.
$100? sounds too good to be true, sign me up for one! :bowrofl:

if you have it rediculously firm then the only thing you could realy stuff is your driveshaft.

Said it before and I'll say it again yes I'd like a manual, but there's nothing sluggish bout my gearbox, the electronics make sure of that. However tighter changes would be awsome.

Do you have more info on changing the current in the solenoids for tighter changes?


This is mines learnt it consistantly changes at WOT at 5600, 70Km in 1st and 5600, 140Km in 2nd as for 3rd ? not enough room at Willowbank (I know its over 180). It will kick back WOT to 2nd at 100-120Km every time and head for 120-140 real quick, great for safe overtaking (out,round,in).
Once you know just how much throttle makes her kickdown, exiting corners is a blast.
Remember these autos are adaptive so teach it how you want to drive and their nearly as predictable as a manual.

WOT wide open throttle

my 2c worth

Well said phil!

Find where your max power is in terms of revs (I think from memory for a stock magna its about 5500??? is that right or wrong?) and change gear when you hit that point.

But i have found with that with most gearboxes(well my dads TR, My mates EF, and my mums 99' camry and my mates TS) that just because u put it into 2nd doesn't mean it shifts straight away. My mate in the EF has worked out the perfect timing for it to shift as 5700rpm. He shifts it into 2nd at about 5200rpm and then if he gets the timing right because of the delay it will shift at about 5700rpm(100rpm before the limiter). Well yeah thats what i'm trying to say. Just because u shift into 2nd doesn't mean it's gonna go into 2nd straight away cause there seems to be always a delay.

yeh the whole point is to remove the delay between shifts - the overlap, with mine you floor it, it goes into 2nd instantly (may chirp depending on road surface) and accelerate away.

as for the ecu learning, all it learns is the best place to change gears rpm wise based on its knowledge and how hard your pushing it. it does not alter the duration of the shift, that is fixed. as for what it feels like well this is an example of how the "shift" feels like

i dont recommend doing this but it feels like this say if you put your car in N and reved it to say 1,500 - 1,800 and slammed it into drive thats the same sorta feeling you get with a shift kit for an auto either an ecu modifier or an aftermarket solenoid. you can ask anyone its fine for the transmission (not doing N->D drops) but shift kits.

yeh the whole point is to remove the delay between shifts - the overlap, with mine you floor it, it goes into 2nd instantly (may chirp depending on road surface) and accelerate away.

as for the ecu learning, all it learns is the best place to change gears rpm wise based on its knowledge and how hard your pushing it. it does not alter the duration of the shift, that is fixed. as for what it feels like well this is an example of how the "shift" feels like

i dont recommend doing this but it feels like this say if you put your car in N and reved it to say 1,500 - 1,800 and slammed it into drive thats the same sorta feeling you get with a shift kit for an auto either an ecu modifier or an aftermarket solenoid. you can ask anyone its fine for the transmission (not doing N->D drops) but shift kits.
Yeh thats what i thought, you get quicker shifts so faster acceleration, but you will feel the gear shifts more, this is why the auto box doesn't come stock with the quicker shifts, cuz normal drivers will just be like, wtf? why is my car jerking around.

I know a little mod for the 3rdgen guys for harder shifts, might kill the tranny might not, i never got a chance to try it

anyone intrested?

I know a little mod for the 3rdgen guys for harder shifts, might kill the tranny might not, i never got a chance to try it

anyone intrested?

lol I'd be interested if it might NOT kill the tranny! :bowrofl:

But maybe post it anyways?

This could be fun, but id only do it if your auto is on its way out
just turn the pressure up a bit for harder change's, thats basicly all they do in the commi's

i think we should look into developing a 3rd gen shift kit, does anyone have the knowelege or capability in doing so?

such a simple and straight forward mod possibly with a dial type switch so you can increase or decrease the harshness of the gear change... kinda like a dimmer switch on a light, rather then a 3 way switch (OFF/STAGE1/STAGE2).

i think we should look into developing a 3rd gen shift kit, does anyone have the knowelege or capability in doing so?

such a simple and straight forward mod possibly with a dial type switch so you can increase or decrease the harshness of the gear change... kinda like a dimmer switch on a light, rather then a 3 way switch (OFF/STAGE1/STAGE2).

now that sounds interesting... Or you could just get a manual lol

I think it's probably just a better idea to get a better gearbox anyways, not sure bout the durability of the current one if you were to thrash it.

i love the whole "just get a manual attitude.." :nuts:

i have a 96 TE with 107kms on the clock, I'm NOT giving this car up for a manual with 200kms on it thats 2 years younger :P

and i dont wanna spend 5k on a converson and a box :P :)

when i accelerate while getting out of a corner, the auto seems a bit funny, like a thud, u guys getting the same thing?

Probably caused by you not making the revs prior to the shift engaging - similar to a compression lock-up in a manual. As you tap down match the revs with your throttle at least 1000rpm more than what you were making before the downchange. Much smoother I guarantee! :D

they only reason its not standard is because no one would ever want that. cars are made in comfort in mind etc, oh yes you feel the shifts 1->2 very noticable (not over the top but nice), 2->3 tad firmer than stock (as your speed is quite high here cant feel it as much).

acceleration is very much improved due to removing most of the "overlap" when gears change. by driving a auto like a manual does not do ANYTHING AT ALL to remove the overlap / gear transisitions. the only thing it does do is change what rpm the gear will engage (as you shift it yourself). thats it. since my shift kit all i do is leave it in D i dont boither shifting up, my shifts (flooring it) are 5,000 - 5,500rpm anyway, shifting above or below that isnt really gonna do much. i only use the auto to downshift D->2 from 80km/h to save on brakes thats about it.

sounds perfect :)

when u gonna make a kit :D lol