transmisson tuning

[hayabusa]

I absoulte hate my auto trannny. what is a mod i can do to this. The only i could find would be thee mms pcm. But i don't want all the other stuff it comes with. ( I have to drive an hour to my college, when i'm going in a year). So ireally can't afford higher octane. So anyone know some mods. or is the pcm still my best bet.

[VanishingImage]

not a whole lot of stuff you can do with an auto tranny. The only thing I can think of is the B&M shift kits. It has new plates that you put in that firm up the shifts,a little easier on the the tranny then some other shift kits out there.

The PCM is proll your best bet. Plus you can have them tuned for the gas you can afford. I think Milzy is the one to talk to about the 3400/3100 stuff

[Bart001]

What Tranny do you have? I know the 4T60E is rated to handle up to 280foot-lbs....
And with our tranny, even thou its auto... I know a guy that does trannies...... you'll pay for it.... but he does Killer work... Last time I talked to him about it... he said he'll do machining on certain parts... then add extra highper parts, instead of 6 clutch plates he'll put in 8.. He can modify the valve body, Strong shifting solenods, that hold on better and faster... Heavy duty bands...
needless to say, he'll make it so if you go turbo with 30psi or spray it with 150hp, the tranny with HOLD.....
For those of you in Ontario.. Warlaock Transmission in Simco
just incase you wanna ask yourself...The owner is Chirs

[MantaGreen97]

What exactly do you hate about the transmission? The 4T60 is a pretty competent automatic transmission and for a 97 car there is little to complain about regarding the trans IMO. It might not have command shift or 6 speeds as is the norm today, but hey it's 10 years later now too.

Reprogrammed PCM will get you firmer shifts at lower throttle openings than usually required to get those firmer shifts, and you'll get more agressive downshifting opening the throttle, so that's a good option, as Ryan noted.

You could get the trans rebuilt so as to be beefier as above and even have an LSD put on there but if you can't afford premium gas you definitely can't afford that, LOL.

[eric99gt]

Only option is a tuner of somesort. Either DHP powertuner or HP tuners.

[DomestikDemon]

One of my buddies from school (who I havent seen in a while) has this old beat-ass Honda Accord. It's an automatic, but instead of a slap-shift, he has this thing where it stays in the gear he puts it in...eg he can downshift into 1st at 90 mph, not that he would, but the tranny will shift into whatever gear is selected. Or a 3rd gear start-out is possible.

I was never an expert on automatics, but isnt what Im describing just an aftermarket shift body? If Im not mistaken, slap shifters in Chevelles and whatnot use this sort of thing...with some $$$ and time, I bet its possible to fabricate a shift body for the GA. Have fun that though.....

BTW- I could be wrong and it does nothing but f*ck with the solenoids, which if thats the case, disregard everything I just said.

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by DomestikDemon
One of my buddies from school (who I havent seen in a while) has this old beat-ass Honda Accord. It's an automatic, but instead of a slap-shift, he has this thing where it stays in the gear he puts it in...eg he can downshift into 1st at 90 mph, not that he would, but the tranny will shift into whatever gear is selected. Or a 3rd gear start-out is possible.

Your Grand Am will do the same. However unlike stupid Honda lol, GM at least put protection on 1st gear. You can't go down into first over a certain speed. Also if you put the lever in 1 and go to redline it will shift in to 2nd. However if you want to be stupid you can bounce the rev limiter in 2 or pull the shifter into 2 above the speed where you should ever go into 2.

I doubt a 3rd gear start out is possible. I could be wrong, but how does he know it's in 3rd gear? My cousin used to have an old 89 Accord, and I don't remember any such behaviour. I was damn surprised it had a 4 spd auto though, LOL.

Originally posted by DomestikDemon
I was never an expert on automatics, but isnt what Im describing just an aftermarket shift body? If Im not mistaken, slap shifters in Chevelles and whatnot use this sort of thing...with some $$$ and time, I bet its possible to fabricate a shift body for the GA. Have fun that though.....
You know I'm not sure either, but modern-day command shift autos are mainly all-electronic. You select the gear with the up/down or side/side motion and the computer does the rest. Some of them lie, BTW, LOL. Nissan lies.

Other companies if you try to shift into a higher gear before it will let you it just doesn't shift, Mazda is smart enough to actually flash the gear indicator at you to tell you "hey you're not fast enough/slow enough for that, I'm not doing it!" LOL.

Nissan cars though you can start moving and keep hitting upshift and you can get it to show you that you're in "6" but you're still in 2nd, LOL. Stupid Nissan. Also Nissan will not let you have a snow start in like 2nd gear either--which makes one hell of a pain in the auto 350Zs, believe me. If you're stopped it just stays in 1 no matter what you do :(

[CARS GONE WILD]

yea lol, same thing for my mom's pacifica, it has auto shift, but that's crap cause it does pretty much what mantagreen's 350z does. why would manufacturers put that option in a car if it's useless? its so stupid

[gectek]

ok first off you are not talking about a performance valve body, it is called a manual valve body, where you tell the valves which way to go. also the 4t60 can be modified very well to accept alot of power and put out very good shifts, one is tuning, the others are performance clutches and bands from Raybestos or another company, raybestos does the eagle red clutches, and also a higher stall converter from maybe transtar would be a good upgrade, since stock is usually very low you get a good boost with that. and usually the shift kits are not spacer plates, but they give you a die to put over the original spacer plate and drill out the holes and maybe insert new springs and check balls...also i know on the 99+ ga's with teh 4t40/45, they will not upshift if you keep it in 1st, they will stay in first until the rev limiter, or until you smoke the tranny or the engine if you have the rev limiter removed. i am not so sure about the 4t6x e trans though, and some of them use the vacuum modulator to control the line pressure, so you can also use an adjustable one from B&M or some other places have them, sometimes ur local auto parts store can tell u about them.

also starting a car out in third gear is very unadviseable due to the stress it puts on both engine and trans by bogging them down and making them heat up and them losing the mechanical advantage to make the transition from torque multiplication to speed output

also slap shifters are usually used on hydraulically controlled transmissions, not the newer electronic, and they are just like the manual valve bodies...just almost like an air shfter does. the valve bodies are very complicated and to "fab" one would be an outrageous cost to justify for just a little more ump in the giddy up.

also yes the tuners will help, but you need to upgrade your tranny with better parts before you do that, it can accelerate your damage/problems more. but you can also look at gears for your 4t60, in the form of both the chain drive and the final drive, which are both easy to get out of a donor 4t60.

also with the tap shift functions, the valve bodies and solenoids are designed to take the extra abuse and are alot different than the older transmissions. what they do is just change the solenoids to go off on at your command, to an extent. they have built in safeguards to protect the trans also. but adding one of those options is again way too costly to justify. if you want manual gears, shift your auto manually, if you want more fun out of your trans, go like the RWD does, Gears and stall converter. even though it is a FWD platform doesnt mean you cant do that.

just some thoughts

[dandragonrage]

I don't see how you can afford to do anything to your trans/pcm if you can't afford higher octane gas. Nor do I see what being in college has to do with it.

Get a job.

[TDRDevelopment]

You could do the old vacuum modulator swap. Your 4t60e should still have a vacuum modulator to provide the tranny with a load signal from the engine. Basically all GM transmissions have the same general type of modulator but they're different sizes based on engine displacement. Since GM V8's create more vacuum the modulator diaphrams are smaller. So, if you put a V8 modulator in your 4t60e with a V6, it will give it a false high load signal and increase the mainline pressure of the tranny. Therefore it will give you firmer shifts. If you get an adjustable modulator you can crank it up and really get some snappy shifts. This is a far cheaper mod and much easier than a B&M kit, and achieves the same thing. It will also improve your down shifts. I did this with my 97 GA GT. When I get a 2-1 down shift it will damn near rip the wheel out my hands if I'm not hanging on. But you can tone it down too so it's not so aggressive. The other good thing is that it's modulated, so it doesn't shift aggressivley until you step into it. Check out the pic of the difference. It also adds higher clamping force on the clutches and bands to keep it from slipping.

[CeeMatt]

I'm sorry I know this subject is a little old but its better to add to an old one than start a new one...

With such a kick, would using a v8's vacuum modulator cause strain to the transmission? I do sometimes step on the gas a little too hard. :)

[TDRDevelopment]

It shouldn't affect anything inside the trans. It only boosts the line pressure inside the trans to make shifts more snappier. Normally your trans will run about 90 psi of line pressure and the new modulator shouldn't bring it higher than 150 psi. It should take it no prob, I mean in reverse the trans switches to about 280 psi, So it can handle 150. On;y thing to really worry about is CV shafts. I've had this mod on my car for over a year with shafts that have 100k, no breakage so far.

[CeeMatt]

Thanks a lot...one more thing i forgot to ask though...what tranny or car should i mention when i'm trying to get one of those modulators?

[Blackhawk]

He said they are basically universal for the transmissions, so ask for one that can handle 150 or so in the forward gears.

[pontiac3100]

"would using a v8's vacuum modulator cause strain to the transmission?"

dude this tranny WAS USED in v8 caddys earlier, and lumina/monte carlo 3.4dohc's.

as for the accord tranny...it's second i used to own one(and an acura).
you put it in two it goes in (on the acura it was ecu controlled).

and chrysler auto-stick you could put it in 3rd gear and it'll go into that gear at low speeds... thats stupid.

imo the 4t60e is a damn good tranny.
shoot every since i took care of that bogging issue man she squels them tires, and sometimes when shifting from 1st to 2nd she chirps and to when she down shifts....lol!

to get the vacuum modulator like that ask for a caddy seville sls.

[DomestikDemon]

That doesnt work on a 99+ does it? I though ours were all 100% electronic....

[GatorGA]

You guys can do what you want but persoanlly I wouldn't do ANYTHING to your tansmission (except change the fluid, of course) unless you have the money in the bank to replace it.

[TDRDevelopment]

I can't remember which tranny that the modulator I have came from. I'll have to go root around in the parts store. If you pop your old one out and take it to a parts store I'm sure they can help you out if they are good. Try and print out the picture above, that will help. And also DomestikDemon was correct, this will not work on a 99+ they are all electronic. But I am currently working on a shift kit for those along with a push button shift control module for the 96-98 4t60e's. If you have a 99+ and are looking for a snappier shift you can try switching over to Type F fluid. It exceeds all Dexron standards. It just doesn't have friction modifiers in it like Dexrons which means it has more of a bite. Type F is the same stuff as B&M Trick Shift, but cheaper. I am running Castrol Type F right now and it works pretty sweet.

[CeeMatt]

I got one...the name brand is STANDARD and the model number is TM57. It looks exactly like the one in the pic. How hard is this to install? Do i go in through the engine bay or underneath? I have a Haynes manual but the pics don't help much on the location. Also, is it necessary to remove the modulator valve too? It said something about sticking a magnet in there to pull out the valve.

[CeeMatt]

I gotta say nevermind to the location of it...I see it down there. I just need to know if i do need to use a magnet to bring the modulator valve. Is it right there at the entrance of the hole? Is that the endpiece of the modulator that they're talking about? I don't want to try it until I know everything. I sound like such a rookie :p.

[TDRDevelopment]

no need to pull out the modulator valve. just pop out the old modulator and pop the new one in. but before you do that, on the end of the new modulator where you hook up the vacuum hose, there is a very small screw down inside the fitting on the modulator. turn that screw clockwise all the way in and then back it out one turn. then you can put the modulator back in and hook up the vacuum hose. that screw adjusts the firmness of your shifts. if it shifts to hard for you, take the modulator back out and back the screw out until you have it where you want it.

[gectek]

well those wont work on the 4t45 trans or any of the newer 4t40e trans either, they dont use vacuum at all

[TDRDevelopment]

That is correct. I am working on a shift kit for the 99+ cars with the 4t40e's and 4t45e's along with a push button shift module for the 4t60e's and 4t65e's that will allow absolute manual control of the gears. Also it will offer no protection like the factory pcm, so if you down shift to 1st at 70mph, something will break. It will be a pretty basic controller mainly used for racing purposes. I've had a few requests for something like this from several people so I'm gonna build them.

[coupe]

This thread is to funny, cant afford higher octane but wants to upgrade the trans.

[gectek]

maybe im not getting why a person would want a push button shift mode for the 4t45 trans, all u have to do is move the shifter to 1,2,3 or d...and a shift kit for the trans...good luck on that also, there are already about 3 shift kits for the 4t6x trans

[TDRDevelopment]

Actually I am building the push button for the 4t6x. The shift kit is for the 4t4x. I have two guys who want the push button, one is going to use it for road racing and the other for drag racing. Also if you use the gear selector the pcm can override you decision by triggering different solenoids to protect itself. The module will eliminate the pcm's control over the trans.

[gectek]

no it wont not on the 4t4x trans, u stay in that gear all the way to the rev limiter, if you remove that rev limiter then itll stay there until u blow either the engine or the trans, or shift

[TDRDevelopment]

Well I guess I don't have to worry about building controllers for the 4t4x's.

[gectek]

it will be interesting to see what you can come up with for the shift kits though, if you need spare spacer plates or anything let me know i have a few

[GatorGA]

I'd be interested to see how long someone's tansmission lasts after they install one of these.

[gectek]

well the people that want the buttons and everything, they are using them for racing, so they arent really looking for a 100k mi trans really IMO

[TDRDevelopment]

I put the modulator mod in my trans with new type f fluid. I've been driving it hard for over a year with no problems and my trans has 119k on it. It snaps gears pretty hard too. I haven't had any problems with it. Seems pretty reliable. I'd like to make something similar in reliability for the 4t4x's. But I just gotta sit down and study the hydraulic schematics and solenoid sequences.

[gectek]

i have all that info and every schematic if you need it...

[TDRDevelopment]

No I got em. Thanks though. My buddy owns a trans shop in Lansing called Enhanced Performance. I pretty much have free reign of the place. We've got all the factory manuals for pretty much everything.

[CeeMatt]

I'm replying late to everything today...

Well I installed it...and its a big difference. I turned it counterclockwise 1 1/2 turn and it has quite a kick. I'm tempted to bring it down to 1 though. I like the snap.