Fast GTO

I went to the Nordschleife for the first time today and was manually down shifting to 3rd and 2nd when dipping into turns.



I was just wondering how detrimental this would be to the trans considering the RPM's shoot to 4-5K and I am planning on pushing the 390/400 rwhp mark.

Would a shift kit prolong the life of my trans?

Fast GTO

Yeah, from doing a search it looks like I shouldn't do this on a regular basis.

.........

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't recommend it. I was told that actually just leaving it in 2nd is what some people do, but I wonder how well you can do being limited to one gear.

koolrayz

iTrader: (26)

I believe doing that burns up the over run clutches

OldSchoolFormula

Are the overrun cluctches affected if you just leave it in 2nd? Its hard to negotiate good mountain roads when all the damn A4 wants to do is go into OD. Leaving it in 2nd is waaaay nicer to keep in the powerband.

TJ

iTrader: (10)

youre gonna fry it.
be safe.

OldSchoolFormula

Alright. So the overruns are engages when just leaving it in second then, or are they only engaged when actually downshifting to match revs of the output shaft with the motor? I see that some guys like to leave it in second during autocross runs.

Guess I need to look for a 6 speed.

Daez

Well, you could keep it in third(D), and it wont shift into OD, if OD is the problem.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Keeping it in 2nd and 3rd is going to keep your overrun clutches engaged, but that doesn't mean it's going to burn them up. Ensuring adequate fluid flow to the clutches and keeping the fluid cool are the key to keeping your tranny alive. Yes, the Transgo will help - especially with the enlarged fluid feed holes in the separator plate - and don't forget a tranny cooler.

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

bottomline...a4 shifting

OldSchoolFormula

Its not so much shifting, its trying to prevent the damn thing from doing so. I'll take a look at a big tranny cooler and the shift kit if I can be assured it won't kill the transmission. Either way, I hate the way the LS1 4L60's shift. Talk about a slushbox.

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

Stock, yeah. But there is much you can do about that

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I posted a thread a few years ago "I hate my A4." Now I LOVE it. It's not stock anymore.

PBA

When road racing, and you are going to manually shift the gears, you will need to blip the throttle on down shifts (like double clutching a manual transmission) as soon as the transmission rpm's match the engines (almost immediate) you can let off of the throttle to start the deceleration in the chosen gear. If you do it this way, you should not have any problems here. I would add the larger boost valve at a minimum, or the modified Trans-Go Performance Shift kit. You will need a large external cooler, and go with very good oil here. I have seen Monolec 7500 do very well in 4L60E's when road racing.

04BlackSilverado

iTrader: (6)

I know on the trucks we have "Tow Haul Mode" which changes all the shifting points and requirements when we hit the button. It keeps the trans in gear longer for towing, but I love it for tooling around on the street. You can have completely different shift tables for regular and "tow mode". I think just what your looking for. not sure if the car PCM's have this, or if it is in the trans computer.

This may be worth looking into, but I do know that shifting from 4th to 2nd to pass is bad, and manually downshifting is bad.

Good luck, I don't really know too much about the car programming or trans controller, sorry.

onebadblackz

iTrader: (1)

I fried mine doing this

BlackZ28629

iTrader: (8)

Yeah... I used to run the mess outta my 700R4 in my 87' w/ a B&M shift kit; manually shifting and downshifting.....It was bulletproof, I tell ya...until the whole car was stolen Fun while it lasted, though....The 700R4 and the 4L60E are just about the same thing internally. I wouldnt go manually shifting it like crazy though;especially if it is your daily driver! I guess it just depends on the condition and how well you take care of it.

OldSchoolFormula

I'm not really looking to manually shift it, rather just stick it in second and leave it there. With the 3.08's that gives me a pretty good range of speed to play with up in the hiils. I know downshifting hard is bad for the transmissions as the overrun clucthes have to slip a lot, I just dont know how bad it is to leave it in a single gear.

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

im sure over a amount of time it would burn that gear out...ive never heard of anyone actually just leaving it in one gear, but i really dont think it can be done for any long amount of time

BlackZ28629

iTrader: (8)

what he said^^^^^