Paddle shift Mark VIII

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stevo1111

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First, I sold my Mark VIII a few months ago, bought a SAAB and sob every day. it has ZERO BALLS. At the very least, it got me through winter storms here in CT. Anyway, I could always buy a mustang this spring, but the Mark VIII has an allure that you can't get enough of. Kind of like the casino, always taking your money and leaving you wishing... but anyway. I really want the ability to hold the car in a gear at will and effectively control gear selection.

For general discussion.

Paddle shift system. Yes, you are not reading wrong. I have built so many many little nifty test rigs lately that I had a marvelous idea. It would not be hard to craft up a little device to move the gear select on an automatic car in a way that would be repeatable and nearly instant. Rigging up a device similar to the paddles you find on a gallardo or an R8 would make the Mark VIII feel like, well, a big boy ride. The device would be repeatable and precise, things that the human condition eliminate. Trying to shift through that gear select by hand was torture.

The real issue, in my opinion, is building a 4R70W to consistently take high RPM downshifts. Also, ripping it through turns and auto X would require holding it in a lower gear that WILL get burnt up according to some people I've been talking with.

Any ideas?

Steve
 
do it and try it lol...my old roommate was thinking of attempting something with his crown vic but the 4r70w's reliability stopped him because hes on his 2nd and needs a 3rd...the 3rd is actually the 1st one that hes rebuilding. i've
seen some "kits" like this

http://twistmachine.com/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&gclid=CPb26cbs5JgCFQO5GgodGh9vcA

but it runs about $1600...for that price (hell even less if you know where to get parts and do the work yourself) you could have a real manual tranny. i've looked into a manual tranny swap and i can get the parts for just under a grand to do it. i'm fairly new to the mark viii though so i think some pros should chime in, but if you can do it for cheaper then a manual swap then i think it'd be a cool idea.
 
There is a kit out there to make the cruise buttons work as paddle shifters...

With the tuning software available you can make the trans shift like you are talking about wanting it too....
 
Like Tic Tac said you could swap a real manual in there thoes are alot of fun. but if you really want to do the paddle shifters i would get a high proformance 4r70 they sell some that can take 500+HP but they come at a high price. you could also try a 4r70 out of a 2000 and up mustang or even a F150 i think. But if i were you i would get a real manual a t56 or t45. T45's can be bought as low as $300 on ebay and a complete manual swap can be done for under a grand but thats just my 2 cents :rolleyes:
 
if I was going to do all of that work I would put one of those triptronic trannies in from an LS
 
I don't even care about going fast really. The stock Mark VIII was enough for me. I could put a t56 in it, buy a stickshift car or get a car with paddle shifts, but where is the sense of adventure. If I wanted that, I could buy a 5spd mustang or get a saab with the paddle shift. I could probably build the actual device for like $200. An old computer, a stepper motor, a drive and a linear actuator would put you in play.

I just missed a $400 Mark VIII. If I can find one, or a thunderbird, I wouldn't mind trying it out and popping the transmission. Then you all will have more parts :) .

Could a 2000+ mustang trans hold up to downshifts? By this I mean, shifting down to let the revs go up, a moment of hesitation, then WOT.
 
stevo1111 said:
I don't even care about going fast really. The stock Mark VIII was enough for me. I could put a t56 in it, buy a stickshift car or get a car with paddle shifts, but where is the sense of adventure. If I wanted that, I could buy a 5spd mustang or get a saab with the paddle shift. I could probably build the actual device for like $200. An old computer, a stepper motor, a drive and a linear actuator would put you in play.

I just missed a $400 Mark VIII. If I can find one, or a thunderbird, I wouldn't mind trying it out and popping the transmission. Then you all will have more parts :) .

Could a 2000+ mustang trans hold up to downshifts? By this I mean, shifting down to let the revs go up, a moment of hesitation, then WOT.
Click to expand...

If you know what your doing go for it. it would be cool to see a mark with paddle shifters. as for a the mustang trans i was just throwing that out there so don't quote me on that one. i do know that you have a much better chance of them holding up longer then a marks trans. i would go on a mustang forum and ask them how much that trans can take they would know more then us.
 
I know it can take some abuse, otherwise the two in my two mark viiis wouldn't have made. However, they did.

Still wondering, can I tune to trans to change gear without any physical movement of the selector.
 
I have vowed to not spend more then 10k on a daily driver, knocking the SHO out of the picture. It doesn't perform well enough to put into the sports car region. So, I'll just save up and buy an Audi R8. :D

Those of you with stick shift mark viiis, how much does it wake the car up?
 
stevo1111 said:
I have vowed to not spend more then 10k on a daily driver, knocking the SHO out of the picture. It doesn't perform well enough to put into the sports car region. So, I'll just save up and buy an Audi R8. :D

Those of you with stick shift mark viiis, how much does it wake the car up?
Click to expand...

i think a manual really wakes it up. i have a t56 and 4:10's and it has some serious power if i could got back thow i think i would have gotten 3.73's cuz 1st gear is really short (like 10mph at just over 1500RPM) defenitly feels like a 13 sec car as soon as the dragstrip opens's i will go see how fast she really is.
 
stevo1111 said:
Hmm, so the trans can be electronically controlled gear to gear?
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4R70W Paddle shift: Yes. The Baumman TCS is one controller that can manage the 4R70W trans. It has a paddle shifter mode too which you could adapt physical paddle shifters to.

5R55S, N, W Paddle shift: If you want to setup a paddle shift system based around the 5R55 series Ford transmissions then don't go with a 5R55S or N out of an LS because the bellhousing is different from your DOHC 4v 4.6 engine. Go with a 5R55W transmission out of a 02-05 Ford Explorer w/ 4.6 V8. Same modular engine (though 2v not 4v heads) and the trans is in the same series as the others. You can control these standalone with paddle shifter option with the PTCS transmission controller. Be forewarned though that the PTCS controller is lightyears harder to tune for these transmissions but also has pretty much limitless options. I would not recommend the 5R55W swap w/ PTCS controller for anyone but the most dedicated and knowledgeable modder. The reason I know it is hard is because a close personal friend has been the primary development mule/tuner for the PTCS controllers on the 5R series Ford transmissions for over a year now. Still an option possibly worth mentioning to some.





kustomizingkid said:
The 4r70w isn't that weak... it can take some abuse...
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Absolutely correct. A stocker 4R70W tranny in well maintained condition will hold 450rwhp all day long with a shift kit and extra aux. trans cooler. Built 4R's have withstood 800+rwhp.
 
I am going to look into the Baumman system. I bought a shift kit from them for my AOD and never ended up putting it in. It's still sitting on my shelf.

As for the 4-2 killer, I put my old car through that more then I would like to mention. With a paddle system however and 4.10 gears, I hope I wouldn't run out of gears 1-3. Running 2nd out with the stock gear is more then enough for me with the way these cars are at speed. One word, SCARY.

0-60 in a Mark VIII :)
0-60 in a saab 900s :mad:

115 in a Mark VIII :eek: quiver.. poop pants
115 in a saab 900s :shifty: strangely stable.
 
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