I thought it time to give a status report, since some misinformation seems to be floating around lately.

I swapped out my 2002 3.15 A4 carrier with a new 3.42 purchased new from LAPD (Shawn is great!). And being the cheap guy that I am, I did the swap myself and retained the stock TC too!
With this mild winter we are having this season, I have taken the Vette out more than I thought I would be able to. Since the carrier swap I have put 750 miles on the beast. It's been a combination of short trips, 2 hour highway cruises, and plenty of WOT too :)

I did absolutelty no reprograming and still have:

* an accurate speedometer
* no shifting "oddities" whatsoever
* no error codes

I have summized that this specific mod (3.15 to 3.42 with factory TC) may be the only one where you can completely escape the PCM reprograming.

I do see a difference in the A4 shifting, though; but only at full acceleration. WOT shifts are now happening @ 5900 to 6000rpm. I now can break the tires loose from a stop much easier than before. I am sure if I would have opted for a higher stall TC, from-the-stop burnouts would be ungodly wild :)
I also get a pleasant little chip of the tires from a WOT 1 to 2 shift that I never had before.

When taking off at partial acceleration, there is no "strangeness" to the shifting patterns. It all seems just like it was before. But I do feel a thrust increase, in any gear, no matter if I am driving easy or hard. You can sense the engine having to work less to accelerate the car; and the SOTP feel is unmistakeable... and a grin maker :D

I am still thinking about doing either some type of PCM reprog or shift kit; because like all others on CF... I want more ! :) I would like harder shifts and elimination of all torque management, or at least some lessening of it.

Since I am a DIY type, does anyone know if ther TransGo shift kit requires removal of the transmission? Back in the late 70's, I installed an automatic shift kit myself, in a Nova SS-350. All you need do "back then" was to remove the tranny oil pan and the valve body (which did not require the pulling of the tranny). The new plate was instaled into the valve body and one or two holes enlarged. Is the C5 different in this regards?

 

Thanks for that info - it will help if I decide to do the same!


:cheers:

 

Shift kit install is like any other and can be done in your garage/driveway. The only gripe I had w/transgo kit is that there were no written instructions-you get a video instead. I dont have a tv/vcr in the garage :rolleyes: The only way to remove torque management is w/custom programming/ ls1edit. Torque management on a stock trans is a good thing.

 

gotcha! Thanks.