Boosted Falcon

Does anyone drive their auto 4 speed box as manual? I am asking because I just throw the wagon into drive and press it down the 1/4? Is it hard to do?Is there any problem?

Not sure what you're asking there.
I often switch gears manually in my auto though.
Its good, just hold the gears until it feels like it's reaching the end of the main power band then change up.
Auto FTL

Yeah stav, I've shifted both manually and in D

You've got a shift kit yeah? If so it won't lag/over-rev when changing at WOT. My BA shifter lags at 200rpm tops at WOT (with 4.11s... would be less so with std diff gears as the car revs up slower obviously).

I got my best time shifting manually but I think that was more-so luck, I probably slightly over-rev down the strip due to my heads/cam/intake setup being not much chop up top. If you know where your peak power is made, and you have a shift-kitted auto, manually shift *just* before you hit the peak power point, or even just after so you land in the "sweet spot" torque/power area again in the next gear.

Gearing down manually can fuk the sprag clutch thingy that helps autos engine-brake, but I DGAF with my car

i used to do it all the time but since my inhibitor switch is on its way out i just use power mode now coz it kicks down great.

Yeah manual shift my auto all the time, up shift and downshift, not sure how good it is for the 'box, but like commando i dgaf, if it breaks, just a good excuse to chuck a manual in

Just to clarify for other readers, stav is talking about manual shifting down the 1/4 mile. Not everyday driving.

Ahh yes... i knew that *goes and hides*

I found with a stock setup it was better to leave it in Power mode and Drive. But I used to downshift all the time and give the throttle a blip to match the revs so it shifted down smoothly. Sprag clutch didn't seem to wear out doing it that way.

I found with a stock setup it was better to leave it in Power mode and Drive. But I used to downshift all the time and give the throttle a blip to match the revs so it shifted down smoothly. Sprag clutch didn't seem to wear out doing it that way.

i recommend installing a shift kit if you havnt already, shifting up through the gears is fine, but try not to downshift, as someone said above it fucks your box nicely, after all it is an auto.

My car was quicker if i held the gears, but my gear shifts arnt where i'd want them anyway, car shifts closer to 5000rpm, i'd rather a shift at 5500rpm.

EFFalcon wrote:My car was quicker if i held the gears, but my gear shifts arnt where i'd want them anyway, car shifts closer to 5000rpm, i'd rather a shift at 5500rpm.

My last EL used to do that. I can't remember what I did to fix it, but it was either changing ECU's or changing the speedo gear.

^^^ Probably a either way would help there

I got rid of my shift kit because the car used to chip so hard sideways that it lost time and also blew the rear main gearbox seal. I have got 6200rpm of rev range so I just want to use it.I may get a shift light and play with that. My last box used to flare up when I tried to shift manually and wondered what you guys think. If the auto box can bang into the next gear then the car should go faster...youd think..

mine has an au ts50 stage 2 shift kitted auto with 2000 stally

i manual shift often when dragging and hooning.

i have a B and M mega shifter with ratchet shifting wich also give it more kick.

How does the ratchet shifter give it more kick?

stav, what kind of shift kit did you have, an electronic one or a mechanical one? Maybe a moderate mechanical kit would do the trick, you don't want to cook your box with slow slurred shifts

it used a cable to change the gears, normal shifter is just metal linkages

not sure exactly how, when its in ratchet mode and i start off in first if im going hard and tap it into second gear

takes about a second or so, then it changes, dunno it holds in it a gear then like kicks it. duno hard to explain but my first test run with the shifter it definetly felt like it was shifting harder.

mechanical shift kits work best, i dont like electronic. i guess my mega shifter is designed to work with a shift kit.

My BA shifter uses a cable too, although it makes no difference on how hard/firm/quick the auto changes gears. The only "feel" difference I think would be how sloppy or tight the shifter itself is (depending on how well setup the cable is... or whether the metal linkages in a std shifter have had their bushes flogged out from heaps of use)

I'd say for actual shift quality it's your shift kit doing the magic, not your shifter.

probably, my auto has a really good shift kit through it.

any my mega shifter is brand new so cable it tight,

ebgt302 wrote:probably, my auto has a really good shift kit through it.

any my mega shifter is brand new so cable it tight,

I thought of a mega shifter for the wagon purely for good looks.I didnt know they would do anything for performance.What should I be looking for in a shifter? is there a few we can fit in or is there just one type for ours? the flare i describe is actually more of a lag like yours when I upshift. My first gear is very strong ...I drove a v8 gt ba the other day and can honestly say that my wagon felt like it pulled alot harder even if I am slower..If I can use the torque by driving manual and getting around the lag as I shift up the 14.2 should drop a tenth or 2.

As far as I'm aware the Mega Shifter is like a mechanical version of a BA shifter: it does exactly the same thing as a std T-bar, except you don't have the risk of getting overzealous and slamming past D into N, or worse, R

What exactly do you mean by your box flares between gears? Does it rev like it's slipping heaps, or is it just laggy due to having no shiftkit? Before I'd fitted my shiftkit my auto would lag by up to 800rpm, I found that tipping the shifter at 5000rpm WOT meant an actual gearchange at 5800rpm. As mentioned in a previous post, fitting a mild shift kit dropped this to 200rpm tops (coupled with 4.11s which means the car revs up quicker... with no shift kit I'd guess it would've lagged by 1000rpm).

If you want to shift manually with no shift kit, shift earlier than you want to, that way by the time the box has made up it's mind to change gears, you've shifted at the "correct" RPM. Or, get an electronic or mechanical shift kit again & shift a lot closer to your desired RPM. You don't need a bullshit get-the-car-skating shiftkit, just something moderate that cuts out all the lag/"flare"

haha yeah mega shifters look cool but they are pretty hard to fit.

im still looking for some one that makes a bracket to fit au boxes.

the cable was the right size and there pretty universal, but my one only came with brackets for holden turbo 350 400 and 700

and it came with brackets for fmx and c6 - c10

also had chrysler 727 braket, it had a ford 4 speed auto for a mustang tho and it was very different.

i managed to make up a bracket that kind of works but it cant get park all the time.

they do look great tho, i will try n get a photo of mine up.

Commando wrote:As far as I'm aware the Mega Shifter is like a mechanical version of a BA shifter: it does exactly the same thing as a std T-bar, except you don't have the risk of getting overzealous and slamming past D into N, or worse, R

What exactly do you mean by your box flares between gears? Does it rev like it's slipping heaps, or is it just laggy due to having no shiftkit? Before I'd fitted my shiftkit my auto would lag by up to 800rpm, I found that tipping the shifter at 5000rpm WOT meant an actual gearchange at 5800rpm. As mentioned in a previous post, fitting a mild shift kit dropped this to 200rpm tops (coupled with 4.11s which means the car revs up quicker... with no shift kit I'd guess it would've lagged by 1000rpm).

If you want to shift manually with no shift kit, shift earlier than you want to, that way by the time the box has made up it's mind to change gears, you've shifted at the "correct" RPM. Or, get an electronic or mechanical shift kit again & shift a lot closer to your desired RPM. You don't need a bullshit get-the-car-skating shiftkit, just something moderate that cuts out all the lag/"flare"

Flares may be the wrong word for it.It lags the change over.I feel that i risk over revving it. It sounds like its pretty normal for a car to rev a few hundred rpm after shifting the lever manually.I wonder if I can make it shift more precisely.Perhaps I should enquire for a mechanical shift kit.Im not overly enthused by the electronic versions.

yeh i reken mechanical are the way to go.

stage 2 :0

Well, either a cheap mild electronic shift kit, or a mild mechanical shift kit (better than electric) will do that for you. Tell the trans specialist exactly what you want, something which will eliminate lag but won't cause the tail to jump 1m to the left

yeah mine sux in the rain can be real dangerous

Mine has an adjustable s5 solenoid.From what I have heard this is what is needed for firmer shifts.Wouldnt it be awesome to have an automatic changing gears when we want it to?

Being pretty handy with electronics the easiest way for me would be to make an adjustable electronic shift kit.

ebgt302 - yet you're suggesting a "Stage 2"?

stav - fordmods should have something to help you out with electronic shift kits

Id like to think that I can do a range of things...the boxes are fully controlled by electronics anyway..

Commando wrote:ebgt302 - yet you're suggesting a "Stage 2"?

stav - fordmods should have something to help you out with electronic shift kits

he hasnt got as much horse power as me so stage 2 wont be dangerous in the wet.

ebgt302, do you know how the shift kits work? A CFI EA can be dangerous in the wet with a decent shift kit... It ramps up the oil pressure due to the resistors changing the signal values.

Stav, get a very mild ("stage 1" or mildest electronic) shift kit sorted out for your box, as I said you only want it to reduce lag, not get the arse out of shape.

na course mate i wouldnt have a clue, thats why my car is faster then yours ?

you really dont like me do ya?

i was offering my opnion, but no my opnion isnt correct do it your way.

wtf? All I'm doing is correcting your incorrect claims mate. If I said nothing about your "stage 2" comment, and stav goes out & invests in a "Stage 2" shift kit, then find his wagon kicks its arse out again, then he's out of pocket thanks to your incorrect claim.

wtf x 2? what does your car being faster than mine have to do with how little you know about these cars? compare apples with apples mate FFS.

I don't like you now.

haha good i didnt like you at all.

Commando wrote:Stav, get a very mild ("stage 1" or mildest electronic) shift kit sorted out for your box, as I said you only want it to reduce lag, not get the arse out of shape.

I agree.Going sideways slows the car

lol @ ebgt302.

The problem with electronic shift kits is they only increase the S5 pressure, which is only part of the shift in a BTR. The BTR also opens one solenoid then closes another to shift gear, and the timing of the two are very important in regards to shift feel/speed. The BTR factory manual lists what solenoids do what for each gearshift, I don't have it on hand ATM.

What would be the way to go is to have an adjustable TCU, or in your case Stav, change the settings in the ECU (can this already be done) to improve the shift time as well as line pressure. Fueltronics (Martin Donnon's old company) used to make these in the early 90's, they're the ones featured in a Street Machine mag, there's scans of the article floating around on the net. Unfortunately they're nowhere to be found now, and Donnon is too busy with TT Gen3's these days.

One of the bad things about the BTR (Well actually Ford's 'tuning') is the line pressure doesn't increase over 70% throttle, so a shift at 70% will be just as hard/soft as one at WOT. The only way to fix that is with TCU/ECU mods.

But then again, what would I know, my EF has ran a fastest of 15.4.

lol @ quoting Street Machine Aaron

ebgt302 wrote:na course mate i wouldnt have a clue, thats why my car is faster then yours ?

you really dont like me do ya?

i was offering my opnion, but no my opnion isnt correct do it your way.

Holy shit, space cadet much?

Your EB apparently runs 13.7 @ 106MPH with "less than 200kw at the wheels" even though it usually runs low 14's as you put it. I call BS, as far as i'm concerned Commando's EB is quicker than your's since all you seem to do is run your mouth and not provide and real proof of anything.

Since when does having a quick car dictate knowlege?

Nup, mine's not quicker, no matter how questionable the 13.7@106 is