When to shift using SST

itsnotmydaddys

itsnotmydaddys

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2005
Messages
2,224
Reaction score
0
Location
Saint Louis
ive seen people write the rpms when u should shift up using the sst what about down shifting. when i shift into 2nd going about 15 mph it jerks REAL bad. can someone post when u should up shift and down shift. also i was driving in 1st for a while today and didmt notice, i thought the ls didnt have a 1st in the SST. thanks
 
I shift at all sorts of points and never had it jerk unless I down shift to early did that once and brought the car side ways.

Do you have any engagement issues when shifting to reverse or delays when it upshifts in auto?
 
Do you have any engagement issues when shifting to reverse or delays when it upshifts in auto?[/QUOTE]

yes, when i reverse it takes a couple seconds to engage. is this a problem that should be covered under my waranty?
 
Indeed it is. The solenoid pack and valve body should be replaced. I went through 3 solenoid packs and on the forth one they finally fixed it by replacing the valve body along with the solenoid pack. Things have been great every since.

How many miles are on your car and what year is it?
 
sweet if they give you any trouble you might be able to get an AWA, after warranty adjustment, they give two of them if the car is under 75k miles. Basically it is two freebie fixes.

I had been through two solenoid packs by the time I hit the 50k mark.
 
so should i go up there and tell them to find out whats wrong and fix it. i dont want to be fckd with the bill or have to paythe 70 dollar fee for them just to look at the ls
 
I would report the problem. Let them know about all of the shifting issues. You might even want to call ahead first and ask if they have handled issues like this in the past try to bait them to see if they know what needs to be replaced.

I would play like you have been yanked around by other dealers who were incapable of producing results and before you bring it in you want to make sure they are experienced. Maybe even call in and ask for the name of the lead tech and see if you can speak with him.

I did the same thing, when I went dealer shopping on the 4th repair, but went in person to speak with them. we spoke for about 30 minutes thanked them for their time and left. I returned 3 days later after speaking with two other dealers.

The fact is that something is not working properly so clearly state the problem not what you think needs to be fixed. When they call you about the repair work that needs to be done note what parts and service they recommend and question them on it.

If they only mention one part then is your opportunity to check on the 2nd part.
 
My OOW (out of warrenty) 2000 LS8 also shifts violently into 2nd while in SST mode.

Doesn't bother me though, I only go as far as 3rd for downshifting.

My car was OOW when I bought it though so it wouldn't have mattered.
 
I find that I have to wait a long time for both the upshifts and downshifts in sst mode that is what is very frustrating. I have a 02 LS that I bought off a family members lease in december at which time it had a whopping 12,000 miles. I kid you not though it shifts slower than my grand uncle on the old allied tractor.
It is so slow to shift that my wife (who would be perfectly comfortable with a crisp shifting automatice) complained and okayed my trans swap project.

Those slow shifts, with the long delay between when I command them and when they occur have made some moments in traffic harsh/jerky/clumbsy and more.
 
I went over to St Augustine to let Torrie work the SCT Flash on my LS to try to tighten it up some and he was able to adjust the shift time a little but it also had some negative effects at the same time.

I have had some bad moments in traffic with those delays as well. I hate it when it wont down shift when I know good and darn well it is within the revs to give it to me. It is like the car gets the temperment of a 2 years old that does not want to do as asked.
 
I dont mean to come off as an A$$ hole, but.... I take it none of you have ever driven a manual trans vehicle before? Now before you go "wait this guys is an idiot, this isnt a manual!?!" let me explain.

If you have EVER driven a manual trans vehilce before, and you attempt to down shift, or use "engine drag" you should know that in order to keep the vehile from "jerking" you have to match engine RPM with trans RPM. If your engine is spinning slower that your trans, then hell yes you will get a "jerk"! What else do you expect to have happen when you throw two rotating parts together that are rotating at different speeds.

Now, even with the torque converter to dampen this difference, The SST works the same way, if you are doing 35 mph... and for whatever reason you decide to slam the shifter into 2nd you need to tap the gas to get the ENGINE rpm to match the TRANS RPM. If you do not, you can cause seriouse drivetrain problems, or as one of you stated "have the tail end come out from under you" wich is VERY dangerous if you do not know how to control it.

Now with this being said you should be able to understand why there is a delay in down shifting..... the computer simply wants to give your vehicle time to slow down a bit so that the trans will be at least a little bit more in sync with the engine. Try matching RPMS and give it some practice and you realize how quickly the LS' SST can really shift.

I'm sorry if I came off as a d1ck in this post but you have to use a little common sense here.
 
I have had my car tuned with teh sct and I have seen the shifting firmed up when flashed to do so. Not certain if you were replying to me or not but I addressed the rev, aka rpm, of the egine. You could potentially spin a car out of controll if you shift down too early.

The fact is is that this transmission has some unnecessary latency in its shifting time and after seeing what an sctflash can do I am convinced it isn't user error. At the risk of sounding like you sounded, and I beg your pardon, yeah you can bet most of us have driven a manual transmission and know what to expect.
 
when you say the transmission is shifting slow, do you mean by a sec or is the delay a good 3-4 seconds? Mine is roughly a second, is that normal?

Also, since we are on the subject. Is it ok to shift when the car is rolling very slow, say when I shift from R to D5? Do I need to come to a complete stop everytime before I shift, for P I know thats a no brainer. I drove a manual for 5yrs so I'm getting back into maintaining an auto tranny again.

Chad
 
I would recommend coming to a complete stop; I imagine the torque converter would take some wear after continued use like this. I had delays that lasted linger than5 seconds when upshifting and upto 20 seconds from park to reverse and it kicked really hard when it engaged.
 
Why would you want to downshift with the SST? If you're using the SST to upshift........when you are slowing down, the car will go into a lower gear without you having to touch anything and you won't notice it either. It is so much easier than trying to "downshift"
 
DLS8K said:
Why would you want to downshift with the SST? If you're using the SST to upshift........when you are slowing down, the car will go into a lower gear without you having to touch anything and you won't notice it either. It is so much easier than trying to "downshift"
Click to expand...
Probably just to make it feel more like a standard transmisson....hey dls8k remember that problem I had with the scratch on my bumper well, I complained enough at the place I bought it from that they agreed to fix it for free! im bringing it in tomorrow morning :waving:
 
DLS8K said:
Why would you want to downshift with the SST? If you're using the SST to upshift........when you are slowing down, the car will go into a lower gear without you having to touch anything and you won't notice it either. It is so much easier than trying to "downshift"
Click to expand...


I think what they meant was when your cruising and suddenly want to punch the gas and go you would downshift and hit the gas to get the car in its powerband better.
 
stateproperty3423 said:
Probably just to make it feel more like a standard transmisson....hey dls8k remember that problem I had with the scratch on my bumper well, I complained enough at the place I bought it from that they agreed to fix it for free! im bringing it in tomorrow morning :waving:
Click to expand...
Good deal...........glad everything worked out for you.
 
DLS8K said:
Why would you want to downshift with the SST? If you're using the SST to upshift........when you are slowing down, the car will go into a lower gear without you having to touch anything and you won't notice it either. It is so much easier than trying to "downshift"
Click to expand...


My LS stays in 3rd, 4th or 5th if I do not down shift, 2nd to 1st is done by the car but if I do not down shift when coming to a stop it remains in the gear, 5,4, 3.

I down shift becasue I have to but more importantly because I like to.
 
mikepietras04 said:
I dont mean to come off as an A$$ hole, but.... I take it none of you have ever driven a manual trans vehicle before? Now before you go "wait this guys is an idiot, this isnt a manual!?!" let me explain.

If you have EVER driven a manual trans vehilce before, and you attempt to down shift, or use "engine drag" you should know that in order to keep the vehile from "jerking" you have to match engine RPM with trans RPM. If your engine is spinning slower that your trans, then hell yes you will get a "jerk"! What else do you expect to have happen when you throw two rotating parts together that are rotating at different speeds.

Now, even with the torque converter to dampen this difference, The SST works the same way, if you are doing 35 mph... and for whatever reason you decide to slam the shifter into 2nd you need to tap the gas to get the ENGINE rpm to match the TRANS RPM. If you do not, you can cause seriouse drivetrain problems, or as one of you stated "have the tail end come out from under you" wich is VERY dangerous if you do not know how to control it.

Now with this being said you should be able to understand why there is a delay in down shifting..... the computer simply wants to give your vehicle time to slow down a bit so that the trans will be at least a little bit more in sync with the engine. Try matching RPMS and give it some practice and you realize how quickly the LS' SST can really shift.

I'm sorry if I came off as a d1ck in this post but you have to use a little common sense here.
Click to expand...
except when the sst keeps learning to not downshift if you try to match revs. I command a downshift and 'if' the sst starts to downshift, I will blip the throttle to downshift. But currently the sst has decided that I have to be under 2000rpm before it will allow my LS trans to downshift, which is often 1500 or more rpm below where I wanted to downshift.
I down shift my manual trans mustang at 3000-3200 and I can match revs+ feather the clutch. I freely acknowledge that I use more of the engagement area of my clutch than most other drivers (primaril because I used to ride small motorcycles and little sports cars). I don't jerk my downshifts and my clutches last as long as anyonelses, but I do pull quite a few more rev's than the average driver.
 
eL eS said:
My LS stays in 3rd, 4th or 5th if I do not down shift, 2nd to 1st is done by the car but if I do not down shift when coming to a stop it remains in the gear, 5,4, 3.

I down shift becasue I have to but more importantly because I like to.
Click to expand...


Does anyone know if the Xcalibrator can reprogram the PCM where the LS trannies start out in 1st gear from a dead stop when in SST instead of 2nd? I would think that SST's purpose was for a more sportier shift feeling. With that having been said, what would possess the designers to make it start out in 2nd gear instead of 1st from a stop? So does anyone know if the PCM can be reprogrammed to change this to where some of us think it should be?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 89 (members: 0, guests: 89)
Back
Top