manually shifting an auto and launch q
 

most of my cars have been manuals... i prefer them but sometimes beggars cant be choosers...
my question is this:
is it "bad" for your tranny if you manually (or as i call "walk") shift your transmission. i mostly do it 2>1 for a turn and sometimes 1>2 just to shift at the right point for a good, hard shift.
is this bad???? i know in most cars, yes, but ive heard the man. tranny in our cars are actually very solid and this shouldnt be a problem...

secondly... being an auto, i know neutral drops will kill a tranny; what recourse is there for a good solid launch??
the best i can get is right foot on brake, rpm=1000; as soon as light changes just drop and pop at the same time...... is this bad for the tranny as well???
and is it worth it?

i dont rele know 2 much about it...but i would think that anything thats gonna cause extra strain wont be good for it...but dont think that its gonna cause any more damage than say a brake stand would...as for if its worth it i havent rele tried it but i would imagine that it would launch a bit faster so give it a few trys with and without and see what the difference is

Your best bet with an auto would be to just stomp it on green. If you really feel the need to shift yourself, then you could always get a programmer and adjust the shift points.

yea, tuner is in the list of "stuff i want".... but baby is in the list of "stuff i have no say so over"... so, yea, i can just cut up my credit and debit card now. lol

brakestand..... that sounds reallllyyyyyy bad for your rear brakes....
isnt that also called "power braking"???
basically you just floor it while holding the brakes???

just punching the gas on green really isnt that impressive.... ive had civics stay beside be untill about 25..... kinda embarrassing....lol

The ford tranny is a POS. DO NOT manually shift it. If anything buy a chip/tuner and have the shift setting adjusted.

Race wise ..... Just hold the brake all the way to the floor and rev. Your brakes should hold atleast 1500rpms. It all just depends on what brakes you have, how good condition they are. If your worried about the brakes not holding but a line lock kit from jeg

Remember your driving an auto v6 vert .... its not gonna impress many people especially civics etc.....

what about the downshifts??? 2>1?
btw, welcome!
make sure to post up somewhere introducing yourself!
:-D and some pics!

Haha yeah I will. Been around awhile talking with R3d, just havent had a chance to introduce myself.


Let the tranny do it itself. Its smarter then you think(suprisingly). What kind of driving are you trying to do? That will help me answer you Q's better

The 4R70W is a very solid tranny and has a lot of potential, if you know what you're doing. Increasing line pressure (making it shift harder) via chip/ tuner is bad for the tranny. If you want it to shift harder/ faster then the best thing to do is the JMod.

The ONLY time I ever shift my auto is when Im going down hill and I dont want to rid the brakes. Otherwise, it stays in drive. With the stock converter just floor it when the light turns. When you get a higher stalling converter then its a good idea to brake stall it.

It has a lot of potential yes, but the quickest/easiest fix for the POS slushbox is a shift kit or chip. Ive got a 96 v6 with a shift kit at 185,000mi(stock motor and tranny) and the tranny runs perefect to this day. Never have had any problems with it.

Gawd no, dont use a chip or programmer to do that yer gonna cause undo stress on the tranny

get either a shift kit or do a J-mod to firm up the shifts.

best bet is j-mod, set that tranny back to its origional engineered specs.

EDIT: oh yah what r3d said

Considering all semi-auto trans are just regular autos shifted manually and the fact that the old muscle cars w/ the Hurst His/Her shifter was the same thing, there's nothing wrong w/ shifting manually. In fact, that's what most racers do. Just get a good shifter first so that you don't go into reverse while shifting. Also, if you worry about your rear brakes, get a line lock which is a solenoid that keeps the brake pressure on the front brakes while having no pressure on the rear. The Hurst Roll Control is one the best out there. For shifters, B&M and Hurst both make great pieces, just don't expect it to be a complete bolt in or to keep your center console the same way.

Eh... i cant speak for the hold hust shifters, but the 04 auto is terrible at that. lol.

I raced my buddys prelude once, figured i would use the manu-shift and it took the car about 6 seconds between disengaging the 1st gear and engaging the 2nd gear, i lost the race cause 6 seconds of no throttle has a tendancy to allow even a VW bus to overtake you, and i never heared the end of it.

maybe i wasnt doing right, but ive tried 4-5 times and eventully just gave up on it, the tranny seems to know when to shift and does it quick enough.

I used to "manually" shift my auto, especially the 3>2 downshift. To make this story short and quick; a few months later I had a good excuse to get a t56 6-speed.

like others have said with the stock stall converter just go brake to gas. As far as shifting goes, if you want to be able to shift it up and down get a transgo or b&m shift kit + a b&m shifter and go to town.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z8HluOwkOa8 here is a video.

btw, I have tried the 2-1 downshift and I seriously thought my car was going to leave the tranny on the road, since then I just leave it a drive.

That seems like a pretty cool upgrade for auto's, make it alittle funner. How much do those kind of kits go for?

I think the shifter is somewhere around ~200 and the shift kit maybe ~125. Not really sure though. A tranny cooler would also do some good with this, just to help keep it cooler since you would be causing it to upshift and downshift with a little bit more force, I would imagine.

Here is the shift kit from transgo, summit racing also carries them:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRANS...spagenameZWDVW
B&M's version:
http://www.bmracing.com/index.php?id...t=12&subcat=21

and the shifter
http://www.bmracing.com/index.php?id...bcat=1&pid=356

The transgo has a rep of being one of the worst. If you want a shift kit then do the JMod, otherwise leave it alone. The auto tranny shifts faster when you leave it in drive compared to when you shift it manually. So again, let the computer do the work, do the JMod, install a tranny cooler, and get a converter when the car is ready for it.

well even if the transgo is crap, is the B&M better? Plus isn't the j-mod just part of a shift kit really, it doesn't include all that comes in a full shift kit? I am really shooting in the dark here, and could use the info also.

wow, thanks for all the info guys!
btw, im not trying to impress anyone or race anyone.... i just like to accelerate.... :-D
ive read alot of good stuff bout the jmod, that will be "added to the list" lol

you should only do that if you have a manual valve body... which you don't

The JMod is basically just modifying the stock tranny. You dont need to install any parts. Just drill some holes in the plate, remove some springs, and you're done. It was created by one of the guys who helped design the 4R70W (Jerry).

I have heard awesome thing's about the J-mod. What effect will it have on the daily driver? The average speed limit I see in my town is approx 50. The tranny already seems unsure at that speed , kinda like it's in between gears. Lotta kick-down and coast kinda stuff. How can it help or hurt? I also agree to let the computer shift for you. Every time I shift it there is a delay in the actual shift time. Just stomp the damn gas at the green light!! Never has failed me yet!!

Your tranny will shift harder and faster, thats basically it. You will definitely feel it while sitting in the car. My girlfriend hates it, but I dont mind it. Then again, I dont mind a DD with stage 2 cams, LT's without cats, Corbeau seats etc. So it depends on how you like the ride to be.