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Old May 12, 2008 | 11:47 PM
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Default Automatic Transmission Tuning

After driving my automatic Corvette for a while now I notice that it seems hesitant to down shift when entering corners quickly and so I come out of the corner in the wrong gear and feeling quite slugish. Is there any kind of programming that can be done to the transmission to change it's behavior as far as down shifting goes?
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Old May 13, 2008 | 12:48 AM
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How many miles????.....If you have 50K or more try a fluid and filter change...along with a complete flush of the system....
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Old May 13, 2008 | 12:51 AM
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Originally Posted by aug1516
After driving my automatic Corvette for a while now I notice that it seems hesitant to down shift when entering corners quickly and so I come out of the corner in the wrong gear and feeling quite slugish. Is there any kind of programming that can be done to the transmission to change it's behavior as far as down shifting goes?
I dont know any tuners in your area but any tuner worth his salt can tune your tranny, that being said if there is a problem just a tune will probably not do you any good...
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Old May 13, 2008 | 12:53 AM
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I notice the same problem and like you I find it frustrating. I normally downshift manually for a series of bends to keep more control over the shift points.

In my case its not mileage related. Its always been that way and I've only got 39k. Not ready for a flush just yet.
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Old May 13, 2008 | 01:37 AM
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I had mine tuned by a CF member. We moved all of the upshift points higher up the RPM band. We moved all of the downshift points further down the RPM band. Shortened the shift times to .25 sec. Now it feels like a sports car. When I'm just cruisin' down the street all I need to do is push the loud pedal ~1/4". It immediately downshifts and off I go. This is also true when exiting a turn. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone with an A4 do this.
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Old May 13, 2008 | 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Bluefire
I had mine tuned by a CF member. We moved all of the upshift points higher up the RPM band. We moved all of the downshift points further down the RPM band. Shortened the shift times to .25 sec. Now it feels like a sports car. When I'm just cruisin' down the street all I need to do is push the loud pedal ~1/4". It immediately downshifts and off I go. This is also true when exiting a turn. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone with an A4 do this.
How much should a guy expect to pay for this work? Change your in- city mpg?
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Old May 13, 2008 | 10:10 PM
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I will certainly have to look into some of the modifications you mentioned Bluefire. If I may ask, who tuned your transmission on the forum?
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Old May 13, 2008 | 10:54 PM
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Originally Posted by aug1516
I will certainly have to look into some of the modifications you mentioned Bluefire. If I may ask, who tuned your transmission on the forum?
Besides the alterations mentioned above, you can also raise the tranny operating pressure.
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Old May 13, 2008 | 10:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Bluefire
I had mine tuned by a CF member. We moved all of the upshift points higher up the RPM band. We moved all of the downshift points further down the RPM band. Shortened the shift times to .25 sec. Now it feels like a sports car. When I'm just cruisin' down the street all I need to do is push the loud pedal ~1/4". It immediately downshifts and off I go. This is also true when exiting a turn. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone with an A4 do this.
MPG drop must not have been pretty at all....=/
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Old May 14, 2008 | 04:30 AM
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Originally Posted by waunavet
How much should a guy expect to pay for this work? Change your in- city mpg?
I'm not sure. A friend did mine. He dosen't do it for a living and I'm sure I got a reduced rate. I didn't notice any change my mpg after the trans tune. The 3:42's and the 2800 stall dropped me to ~16 mpg in the city. That was done quite a while before the trans tune.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 04:32 AM
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Originally Posted by aug1516
I will certainly have to look into some of the modifications you mentioned Bluefire. If I may ask, who tuned your transmission on the forum?
It was Scoundrl.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 04:35 AM
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Originally Posted by tiojames
Besides the alterations mentioned above, you can also raise the tranny operating pressure.
Trans temp didn't raise much. It has been ~205. I will say if I start to track it, I will probably need to install a trans cooler.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 12:49 PM
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You might look into a Transgo shift kit. Made a world of difference.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 01:01 PM
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My preformance chip helped my trans shifts greatly in my 98.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:21 PM
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I did Transgo shift kit. tuner did quicker shift time & raised the pressure 3/4, it's a slide to the right on the predator.
Works fantastic, now I just need to install the nitrous someday.
.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:25 PM
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I suggest a full dyno tune by a pro. I have a '98 A4 car with 80k mi. I went from 283 rwhp to 312 rwhp & 321 tq. Shifts are very positive and there in NO hesitation when the accelerator is depressed. You won't be dissapointed.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by MagRedConv
I suggest a full dyno tune by a pro. I have a '98 A4 car with 80k mi. I went from 283 rwhp to 312 rwhp & 321 tq. Shifts are very positive and there in NO hesitation when the accelerator is depressed. You won't be dissapointed.
I had my engine dyno tuned by a professional. The trans tune was added to it by a friend that spent quite a while tuning his own A4.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:58 PM
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I was going to post a new thread but figure I'll try here for an answer first.

If I do a a gear and converter swap, can I reprogram everything I need to program myself with a Predator or another hand help programmer? I don't know who I can trust with my car anymore.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Rob01C5
I was going to post a new thread but figure I'll try here for an answer first.

If I do a a gear and converter swap, can I reprogram everything I need to program myself with a Predator or another hand help programmer? I don't know who I can trust with my car anymore.
I don't know about the Predator as I used an HPTuner set. You will need to program in the new gear ratio. The HPTuner we used automatically changed the shift points (slightly more aggressive) when the new 3:42 gear ratio was entered. HTH
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