Shifting A4 yourself?

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May 17, 2003 | 09:29 PM

Aheash

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Melting Slicks

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Shifting A4 yourself?

Just curious... I liked using the whole "autostick" thing on my previous car, and the A4 'Vettes have the option of keeping the tranny in 1, 2, 3, or D as far as gear goes. Is there any harm done in using this to shift yourself even though it isn't meant to do it? I mean, if I'm passing someone on a rural two laner, is it okay to manually put the tranny into 3rd w/ the gear selector instead of keeping it in D and punching it? Or going from D to 2nd at around 50 mph or so? And upshifting?

Okay to do?

May 17, 2003 | 09:38 PM

Mean Green

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From: D*ck ina Box

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St. Jude Donor '03-'04

Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (Polaris)

Probably ok, but will probably shorten the life of the tranny.....that said, I tend to ride around town in 3rd and highway in d

You won't be able to shift faster than the tranny anyway and if you need the power, put her to the floor and let the her rip :reddevil .....and good tuning can really help the A4 shifting characteristics :D

May 17, 2003 | 09:42 PM

vstella

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From: Coral Springs Florida

Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (Polaris)

I downshift AND upshift at will all the time everyday!! It's the only way to get the full potential from your car's performance...BUT..I have a TRANSGO shift kit which is probably the best bang for thebuck mod available for the A4.. :yesnod: I wouldn't try that with the stock transmission without any modifications to the valve body..The 4L60E is a notorious sklushbox that will eventually disapoint you..I KNOW..see my homepage for details on my transmission rebuild about a year ago..Get the Transgo!! :thumbs:

More info here...http://www.txchange.com/transgo.htm

May 17, 2003 | 10:58 PM

Aheash

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Melting Slicks

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Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (vstella)

Other than curiousity, there's only a couple reasons why I'd like to do this.

In passing someone, if I just nail the throttle at around 50, 55 mph, the trans is gonna shift to the end / nearing the end of second gear. What I would rather do sometimes is be able to hit the gas to only get max acceleration in third rather than downshifting to second like that, so basically, is it okay to go from D to 3rd and go near WOT to get more accel in that gear at that speed than you can get from doing that in D alone?

Forgot... the other reason would be starting in first from a stop just for the hell of it.

And thanks, guys.

[Modified by Polaris, 10:01 PM 5/17/2003]

May 18, 2003 | 07:52 AM

i_york

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From: UK

Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (Polaris)

Quote:

What I would rather do sometimes is be able to hit the gas to only get max acceleration in third rather than downshifting to second like that, so basically, is it okay to go from D to 3rd and go near WOT to get more accel in that gear at that speed than you can get from doing that in D alone?

Forgot... the other reason would be starting in first from a stop just for the hell of it.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm SURE that if you nail it in 3rd, the tranny will downshift to the lowest gear it can (same as if it was in 'D'). The only thing it won't do, is change-up into OD.

Regarding starting-off in 1st, this is the default behaviour with the tranny in 'D' anyway. The only change you can make to this is to start-off in 2nd - the tranny will STAY in 2nd and won't even downshift if you nail it.

I agree, however, that it would be nice to have a device that would hold 3rd-gear so that it wouldn't downshift under ANY circumstances. Although TransGo offer this option on other trannys, I don't THINK the 4L60E shiftkit includes that option.

Anyone wanna chime-in here? Maybe Vince 'TransGo' Stella can answer that one?! I'm sure that guy has shares in TransGo!!! :jester

:cheers:

[Modified by i_york, 12:53 PM 5/18/2003]

May 18, 2003 | 08:48 AM

vstella

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From: Coral Springs Florida

Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (i_york)

Quote:

...I agree, however, that it would be nice to have a device that would hold 3rd-gear so that it wouldn't downshift under ANY circumstances. Although TransGo offer this option on other trannys, I don't THINK the 4L60E shiftkit includes that option.

Anyone wanna chime-in here? Maybe Vince 'TransGo' Stella can answer that one?! 'm sure that guy has shares in TransGo!!! :jester ...i_york

It WILL hold the gear as long as you want!! :thumbs:..and thanks for the compliment but NO..I am NOT on the TRANSGO payroll..I just believe in the product and have shared my experiences with my C5 brethren here on the forum..So far ..nobody has been disapointed!! :thumbs:

[Modified by vstella, 8:48 AM 5/18/2003]

May 18, 2003 | 11:54 PM

WhiteC5Vette

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From: SE Idaho

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Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (Polaris)

I do it quite often, on the hilly, curvy mountain roads in TN and NC, but like you, I also have an '03, and the '03 has a beefier trans than previous years. In '03, GM started putting the 4L65E versus 4L60E used in previous years. More hardened parts, some bushings replaced with bearings, and some revisions to the clutch plates and drums.

May 19, 2003 | 12:09 AM

NIGHTMARE...2001

Burning Brakes

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From: BF Egypt Tx

Re: Shifting A4 yourself? (i_york)

I guess I'm missing something here...why "nail it", unless you want the most from doing so, by downshifting. :confused:
I dunno...maybe I'm stuck in third here... :lol: :jester