Has anyone heard of any type of ECU reflash to have the transmission on an automatic shift crisper? I have installed an AEM CAI and love the added power but now drive the car more aggressively and noticed that it takes a second or so to shift after I hit the paddle. Would love to make it like the old turbo 350 tranny with a shift kit and "chirp" into second and not waste time on the shift.
Thanks

 

Not gonna happen.

That's what the 6MT is for.

FWIW - watch the gear indicator number in the dash when you paddle shift the auto. The electronics recognize the "request" instantly. The engagement is where the lag is.

 

yah i noticed that too. theres a lag in the shifting itself, not the electronics. i wish i got the manual.

 

I've tested my car with the gtech pro rr... time and time again, shifting with the paddle shifter or the ss mode hand shifter... DID NOT outrun letting the tranny shift for you... with the paddle shifter I'd shift at or around 6500 rpms to avoid redline bang... in auto mode it came close to redline everytime (gtech pro has shift light, it looks like a xmas tree in auto mode)

 

So you're saying that if you've got the 5AT, just put it in "D", floor it and go?

 

I would trust dragstrip times. G-tech is worthless for acceleration. A few friends as well as myself have made passes at the track with the G-tech in our cars and it's all over the place compared to the real times and mph. It read 10mph high on trap speed and was over a second off. It may be faster in "D" but I would verify it at the track.

 

^ it will be all over the wall if you don't take the time to calibrate... as it was when I first got it... after a sit down with the manual I've been getting consisted readings from 0 to 60... 1/4 times have not been tested yet because NYC doesnt have a single stretch of road 1/4 long where I won't hit a bump or come in contact with a red light

 

Driving in Long Island, NY I didn't want to deal with manual tranny. There must be a way to modify either the tranny or the ECU. I'll research a little more. I can't believe that there can not be a mechanical way to mod the tranny.

 

You and me both. I came from the muscle car world and would gladly trade the super soft and long shifts for a little more crispness and longevity. I'm sure there's a "shift improver" kit for the valvebody but unfortunately, as far as I know, it requires removal of the transmission.

 

I've heard that a grounding kit can help make the shifts a bit quicker. If anybody knows anything more about it, add in.

 

Have you tried actually reseting the ECU itself? I remember reading in another thread for the UR pulley that the shifts got crisper when they reset the ECU cause the car adpated to the mods, but from what your saying the car knows the mod its the actual mechanics...but maybe its worth a shot if you havent already???

 

My shifts got a little firmer and quicker after a reset. Unfortunately, it "relearns" to shift crappy again over a few days time. I'm talking mostly about normal driving. I don't do enough wide open throttle to notice a difference.

 

I couldn't imagine driving in NYC. I'm used to wide open places and I think it would be instant panic attack if I tried to drive over there. I did drive in Greece though. Can't be a lot worse than that...

I wasn't clear in my other post. The G-techs were somewhat consistant but it wasn't close compared to the actual 1/4 times. I have no idea about 0-60 since the track doesn't measure it. I didn't set mine up but I had a guy from a local speed shop do it.

 

The paddles do lag a bit, this is due to all the sensors it has to verify before shifting so it does not do any damage to the motor.

For the best shifts, press the paddle about 300 RPM before redline. This will cause it to shift right around redline and keep optimal performance. If you keep the car in D, it will shift early and reduce performance.

 

The ECU is very complicated on the RL, and TL. It took about 4 years for hondata, a high end racing company that is respected, to even have a tester reflash for the S/C'ed TL's.

Mind you, this is a company that races vehicles and has all the power to do it.

 

The only way to do this is thru Honda's ECM programmer. Or Hondata. but i dont think Hondata is going to spend a lot of time into researching automatics.

I've messed with Ford Mustangs automatic shift points and changing shift pressures to make a firm and positive shift which actually is less wear on the trans, giving away some driver comfort of course, and made good decrease in 1/4mi time.

But with the Hondas, i'm still trying to get it figured out on the RSX auto. Mechanically, its race built by IPT, but ECM-wise, it still thinks its the stock auto which hinders the tranny's capability. Much like boosting an engine and not tuning it for boost.

i need access to the hardware to mess with it

 

Ading to what 06WDP-TL said, i found the link to a forum where this one guy 03dsm got his tranny from IPT and saw some improvements in shifting and what not.

Here's the link to the forum.... http://forums..com/showthread.php?t=401785

and here's the site to IPT - http://www.importperformancetrans.com/

 

where on LI are ya ??

the type s has a VERY Aggressive automatic, and you feel the shifts.... my cars got a good amount of work done to it, and i hate the tranny.... sometimes its fun, when i pull up at a light, downshfit to 1st and let it hit 4k rpm... sounds bad ass.. but when i drive in auto mode... and im going up or down a hill, its terrible... sometimes it jerks, doesnt shift right away, or holds too high of an RPM for a 3 or 4 seconds , until it decideds to shift (usually on hills) thats the gradelogic part of it

the regular base tl is definitely not as bad as the type S..

 

so wait on ss mode do you let off the gas... cuz if you floor it then shift at say 6500 rpms... it does some quirky shifting in the next gear... don't like it

I leave it in d and it shifts at 6500 rpms each time... never fails... still have no traction in first either way...

what I have learned to do is break torque... vsa on so it grabs in first... then take the vsa off so it doesn't cause 1st to 2nd shift to lag ... with vsa on in 1st you would have to cheat a little by letting off the break early

 

i get better traction walking in the snow wearing my Nike AF1's then i do in my Type S with stock MXM4

i raced a G35 today, and 1st gear my tires were all over the road, wheel hopping and screeching... its all good.. i still smoked him

 

^ lmfao... damn black... I hope you dumping those mxm4shitz asap

 

what performance mods have you done? isnt a G35 faster than a TL-S?

 

gee... let me think... it is easier to post what black doesn't have on his S than what he has... the only bolt on aside from an s/c he doesn't have is the jpipe... which is going on shortly

I chew up g37 and nismo z all day... but that belongs in the race forum

 

lol. once i get some rims, new tires will follow... dunlop or bridgestone


but getting back to the "transmission" mod

alot of you might not remember the whole "Dr. Evil" thing... alot of 2G TL/CL guys had gone through with it, as well as Lookinco... some guy offered to rebuild your torque converter in on order to do something to the tranny.. dont remember what... but it was obviously a mod, and it was NOT CHEAP!! (from what i recall)

i think lookinco might have been the only 3G TL'er to do it... i hope he jumps in

 

Probably a high stall convertor. It would be awesome assuming the car had the traction to match. I think it would really wake up the auto TLs and I wouldn't be surprised if it put it in manual territory.

 

You mean this:

Sticky: Dr. Evil Transmission failed, please sticky*

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/gateway-blows-150742/

 

With the TL, you do not have to let off the gas while using SS and Shifting. Stay on the gas and pull the + paddle at about 300 RPM before redline, that will improve perfomance.

If you leave it in drive, it will shift first gear at about 3k RPM in my car, even if it's too the floor. With SS on 2007+ model's, you can keep it up past 3k, on the 2006 and down TL's, you have no control over first gear.

 

Hey guys, yes I do have the Dr.Evil torque converter. I didn't send the whole tranny to have them rebuilt it. The stock tranny has been holding up fine so far under boost. However they did say the rebuild would make it bulletproof and make the shifts faster. However everything they do is mechanical. They won't be able to reprogram the computer to adjust the shifting. Also they won't be able to change any of the gear ratios.

What I have noticed is that the fins inside the rebuilt torque converter is much easier to spin then the stock one. I am not sure if that would contribute to any performance gain though.

As for shifting, I found the best way is to put it in L with VSA off. Brake torque before you launch but don't do that over a few seconds. When you reach around 6500rpm then shift from L to SS, then continue to shift through the gears. And yes, don't let go of the gas. Keep your foot on it.

 

cmeance... now you gonna go and have me do some passes... I am almost certain in d 1st has been extending passed 3k

 

07+ TLS > 04 TL

I have an 04 early build TL, and in 2004-2006 TL years, you have no control over first gear. you lucky guys in 2007-2008 TL's both base and Type S get control over all gears. BTW, come down to florida and we can do some passes...the back half of my subdivision is empty (land needs to be bought and built houses) and its about 1/2 mile of clean, level paved roads.

 

Has your car always shifted so early in first gear? With my foot to the floor in "D", it shifts at 6,500 as it does in every gear.

You do sort of have control over first. With it in low, mine will hit the revlimiter if I want it to. I'm just not comfortable shifting it from low to SS mode. Something about hitting reverse on accident doesn't sound too nice.

 

its always done that, but Ill reset the ECU and see if it still does that.

 

stock tranny is complete trash.

 

after i had Fujita CAI installed i had the same problem with my 05 nbp auto. it lagged, while in ss mode, to switch to next gear. I just had my UR pulley installed today and took it for a test drive on the local and the highway.. and let me say it gears much faster and with an ease.

 

That's pretty much impossible. Did you happen to disconnect the battery when you did the pulley? That would be why it shifted quicker.

 

lol, actually, i AM 03DSM-RSX on

yes, i have the IPT fully built trans. i bought a spare trans from a scrap yard and shipped it straight to them.

they did a high stall convertor for me to try first. i loved it, and then they went ahead and built the trans.

now, as said by lookinco, they can upgrade the mechanical parts, but not the ECM part of it. It needs to work together, which is why i stated earlier on why i'm trying to access the Honda ECM programmer. I have the built trans, but the ECM is preventing it from harder, faster shifts.

A high stall convertor is a worthwhile mod alone, most will be very happy with it. Now the company doing it is the main question.

IPT built me a solid trans that has held up so far. 30k miles with Amsoil ATF, 280whp/250wtq at 20psi with a small turbo. torque onset is very fast, and the trans has been holding fine. i'm currently building another motor for more HP/TQ and bigger turbo setup, still going to reuse this trans and see how far it can really go.

BUT, the guy i was working with at IPT no longer is there. And since then, IPT has pretty much left me in the dry about any updates and havent helped me with any new developments.

But again, high stall alone will work wonders, if u can find a reputable company.

 

The torque converter is great for launching the car in its powerban, it does not help in shifting. Modifying the valve body would be the easiest way to adjust the tranny to shift quicker, like the old chevy turbo 350 trannys, chirping 2nd and 3rd gears.

 

If you time 2nd-3rd gear shifts right in SS mode, you can land in the right powerband at the begining of 3rd gear (vtec). If you do it with the auto, you land just before. If you slip one second it'll bounce off the rev limiter though...

 

The problem is these cars adapt somehow. I would almost be worried that if I jacked up the line pressure that the computer wouldn't compensate for it somehow and end up burning up the transmission from clutch slippage

The other thing is the throttle is supposed to be closed during shifts on the auto to prevent wear. If you're heard one of these cars with exhaust or intake you can tell the throttle closes on shifts. Sort of a bandaid fix for a weak transmission but that's the reason why you will never get snappy shifts like the old (and good) TV cable/vacuum modulated transmissions.