Make AT stronger
Most people do well enough with better fluids, the stock fluid allows it to slip too much for shift comfort. Put in a Dex 3 or 6 based fluid, the favorite around here is Redline D4 if you want to go synthetic. Some people also mix in Type F fluid which has no friction modifiers, Redline Racing. It allows the trans to hold gear better and shift quicker causing less wear. Other than clutch wear the trans is enough for stock power. Also replace the pressure switches regularly and you should be problem free.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 161
Likes: 1
Most people do well enough with better fluids, the stock fluid allows it to slip too much for shift comfort. Put in a Dex 3 or 6 based fluid, the favorite around here is Redline D4 if you want to go synthetic. Some people also mix in Type F fluid which has no friction modifiers, Redline Racing. It allows the trans to hold gear better and shift quicker causing less wear. Other than clutch wear the trans is enough for stock power. Also replace the pressure switches regularly and you should be problem free.
I mean in the MT you build a stronger coupling
Is that possible with a AT?
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
I agree with 350, great summary!
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
06 Anthracite TL
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,997
Likes: 335
From: Myrtle Beach, SC as of 5/2016
I have a question for IHC:
-I did my switches when the car had about 50K on it- now it's at 88K and it runs fine. How often would you recommend changing the 3rd/4th gear switches?
Thanks for any information you have.
-I did my switches when the car had about 50K on it- now it's at 88K and it runs fine. How often would you recommend changing the 3rd/4th gear switches?
Thanks for any information you have.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
I would go by feel. If the shifts aren't crisp and quick and you feel a jerk when its shifting especially if the downshifts are harsh it's probably time to do it again. That's assuming your fluid is reasonably fresh. The biggest problem is the shift quality degrades so slowly that its hard to notice its gotten worse.
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2008 TL Type-S
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 93
Likes: 13
From: Newark, Delaware
I agree with 350, great summary!
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
Lol. That's right. You're probably the only person on this board that knows that. Not that it matters but I finally made the jump to a non lock converter but under full power it sometimes has less than 1% slip. Only problem is it makes tons of heat on the freeway.
:what:
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,461
Likes: 350
From: Hernando, MS
Not the only person....
I had a 200-4R with the BRF valve body out of a GN in my SBC powered RX-7. I had a good friend with multiple GN's. I remembered that he had done that mod to some of his cars. I used the stock RX-7 shifter in my car and wired the TCC solenoid to the overdrive button on the shifter. Its amazing the difference it made in trap speed on the track and in fuel mileage since it was such a lite car. I was getting 28-29 mpg in a daily driven car that would run low 11's in the 1/4.
2008 TL Type-S
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 93
Likes: 13
From: Newark, Delaware
I grew up with a really nice Buick collection lurking around the property, my dad bought a GN brand new in 87, in 90 GNX #352 showed up in a local dealership with 3500mi on it and he traded the GN in on it. Then he grabbed a GSX out of a museum in Minnesota and then a pair of Stg1's lol, I always preferred the Turbo6 though.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 161
Likes: 1
I agree with 350, great summary!
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
Meacura, you speak of a "stronger coupling", are you speaking of better efficiency, less heat and slip?
We have a torque converter which is a fluid coupling to allow the slip necessary to take off from a stop. The disadvantage is efficiency, obviously some of the power is going into heat and some to the hydraulic pump where in a manual almost 100% of the power goes to the transmission.
All modern automatic cars have lockup torque converters. There's a wet clutch inside that locks up once the car is moving fast enough. It's controlled by the ECU and some cars lock the converter very early on, some only lock it once you're up to speed and at a steady state cruise. This locking gives you the 100% coupling that a manual has. There's no more slippage, heat goes way down, mpg goes up.
The only way to improve efficiency would be to lock the converter earlier. The only way to do that is to wire a switch to the correct solenoid or change the programming, neither is easy or even doable. If the TL has a solenoid solely for the lockup clutch you can wire a switch that completes the ground. I've done this is my race car in the past and it's actually worth 4-5mph in the quarter mile. If I leave it locked on the street it sounds just like a manual transmission car except it shift too early because it's expecting the slip of the converter to raise rpms slightly and I've accidentally left it locked and killed the engine as soon as I took off from a redlight which is embarrassing.
In short, there's little you can do to improve the coupling. On the freeway at cruise you're 100% coupled by design. You know when you hit the gas just enough on the freeway that the rpms come up but it doesn't actually downshift from 5th to 4th, that's the converter unlocking. That extra shift feeling once it's already in 5th, that's the converter locking.
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