I had a quick poke around but nothing stood out specifically on the 380 ... Just wondering about the auto trans .. mine doesnt seem to change smoothly .. it kinda hesitates ever so slightly before changing (not under load). And when changing down from 4th to 3rd sometimes it changes back with a jolt (like if you would knock it back to 1st whilst moving). Does anyone else have this? Should i pull the battery for 15minutes and do the whole reset computer thingy and let it relearn?

Cheers

I can concur with the downshift jolt thing. It was something that took me by surprise - none of the previous cars I've tried had ever had that problem.

As for the upshift problem, I think that it was noted you could make it smoother if you change the intake system.

Mine changes smooth up & down through the gears, although I have a lot of mods now & the whole drivability has changed (for the better that is), drops down quicker even on light load. I used to have to give it a good bootfull to wake the gearbox up.

Mine changes smooth up & down through the gears, although I have a lot of mods now & the whole drivability has changed (for the better that is), drops down quicker even on light load. I used to have to give it a good bootfull to wake the gearbox up.
Same, just the a small delay in tippy mode upchanging,which has been consistent thru my mods.

I reckon what the auto equipped 380's do is either...

A- Retard the ignition momentarily to reduce engine power so as not to produce a harsh shift.

B- Close the throttle butterfly slightly and quickly as apart of torque limiting to keep the transmission alive and reduce shift shock.

C- A bit of both A & B

I don't think the actual pause during the shift comes from the transmission...

^^^

That sounds right to me.

It's amazing that the 380 auto is so competitive from the standing start. When you factor in Type 40's explanantion and then realise that the gap over 400m between auto and manual from various mags appears to be only .3 sec.... they've done a good job with it.

Certainly the 380 auto is much better than the Magna equivalent.


Another question for Type 40;

What happens when you change from light throttle to heavier acceleration and the transmission sounds like it's changing down but isn't (i.e. after it sounds like it's changed you put it into tippy and it's still in fifth)? Is this the lock up torque converter coming in?

What happens when you change from light throttle to heavier acceleration and the transmission sounds like it's changing down but isn't (i.e. after it sounds like it's changed you put it into tippy and it's still in fifth)? Is this the lock up torque converter coming in?
That sounds like the converter unlocking. It will probably gain about 400 RPM or so. Just tell people you have a 6 speed auto! lol

So all this strange changing is normal? The other i came up to a roundabout and out my foot down a little and is hesitated like it was gonna stall but didnt. This auto box is really strange. i wish it would show you what gear its in when D is selected.

Would it be a good idea to reset the computer anyways since the car probably learnt from the previous drivers style?

Just fang the bejesus out of it if you want it to learn a more aggressive shift pattern. I wouldn't worry about resetting the ECU.

So all this strange changing is normal? The other i came up to a roundabout and out my foot down a little and is hesitated like it was gonna stall but didnt. This auto box is really strange. i wish it would show you what gear its in when D is selected.


Sounds like grandma used to drive it to church on Sundays!!

The faster a transmission changes, the more joltly and clunky it'll feel. The 6 speed that Ford uses learns shifting patterns, just like your INVECS II boxes. It'll shift aggressively if you've trained it to, or it'll be nice and sedate if you're easy.

An ECU reset might help out. Another thing to look at is the condition of the transmission fluid; if it's dirty, the box will be a bit rough.