View Poll Results: Do you manually shift your stock tranny/converter A4?
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 118. You may not vote on this poll
How many manually shift their stock tranny A4 cars?
07-18-2009, 10:03 AM
#1
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How many manually shift their stock tranny A4 cars? Getting a lot of people telling me that there are some advantages to shifting their autos. For example to keep in in third when racing (eliminates down shifting I think) or to hold a gear longer *(for roll racing etc). Or simply just shifting 1,2,3 in sequence and back down again. I can post various links to information stating that these cars can be manually shifted of the showroom floor and in some cases can be an improvement over letting the pcm decide every factor.
sixth paragraph down:
http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicl...g12059702.html
That is just one link I could find quickly. But there is more documentation out there (reliable and reputable) on this subject but this one I found quickly just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about and to reassure people that I'm not off my stick (no play on words intended, even though I truly am now off the stick with this new A4)
EDIT: For the third option I meant UPSHIFTING not DOWNSHIFTING. OOOps. My bad there lol.
sixth paragraph down:
http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicl...g12059702.html
That is just one link I could find quickly. But there is more documentation out there (reliable and reputable) on this subject but this one I found quickly just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about and to reassure people that I'm not off my stick (no play on words intended, even though I truly am now off the stick with this new A4)
EDIT: For the third option I meant UPSHIFTING not DOWNSHIFTING. OOOps. My bad there lol.
Last edited by oddwraith; 07-21-2009 at 09:37 PM.
07-19-2009, 03:09 AM
#4
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i kinda had this conversation with my dad the other day. he says it wont be "bad" on it if you just do it rarely when you race or something.
But to do it in any way regularly it will hurt it. its an automatic and is not ment to be a manual. yes the 1,2,3, are there but just remember its not a manual.
But to do it in any way regularly it will hurt it. its an automatic and is not ment to be a manual. yes the 1,2,3, are there but just remember its not a manual.
07-19-2009, 11:08 AM
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Well I think the big thing is just don't shift it in a way that the car wouldn't do it itself safely. I mean if I manually drop from 3 to 2 I just make sure I'm on the throttle and keep close attention to the rpms. As far as upshifting, manually holding it in a specific gear will yield good results (ie: roll racing) but don't hold it there forever (extreme heat issues) and then when you take off (especially from your dead spot between 35-45mph) you can not worry about it NOT downshifting. Upshifting (as in going 1-2-3-D) manually is not a problem either. From what I understand as long as you are on the throttle when you do it it keeps everthing shifting the way it should (in the upshifting case: the pcm will dicate when the car shifts anyways-so if you go from 2-3 too soon it will wait until optimal conditions before it actually shifts. There are some definite advantages in manually shifting (ie: find your cars best shift points for quarter ets-and then set you computer to utilize those points on it's own). Good way to optimize shift points for a specific purpose (quarter mile etc) with any given setup to get the most out of your power curve. That's how I see it. Someone chime in if I'm wrong here but I'm pretty sure of this after some pretty thorough conversations with some of the tranny guys on here. Show me the light if I have my head up my *** Because I see no downside to shifting manually (if done correctly-don't be an idiot about it) and can even help you zero in your optimal shift points for your specific car (what works for you and your setup) and the exhaust notes alone are fantastic! I can't see this grenading the 4l60e imo. Just don't go down shifting while being off the throttle. JUst think, would you car NORMALLY downshift while off the throttle? NO! So make sure you treat it the way it would treat itself if you're going to do it. Again, these are just my opinions from exp. and research and I don't advocate doing something if you know nothing about it. Thanks for all the replies guys, keep 'em coming. 
Because I see no downside to shifting manually (if done correctly-don't be an idiot about it) and can even help you zero in your optimal shift points for your specific car (what works for you and your setup) and the exhaust notes alone are fantastic! I can't see this grenading the 4l60e imo. Just don't go down shifting while being off the throttle. JUst think, would you car NORMALLY downshift while off the throttle? NO! So make sure you treat it the way it would treat itself if you're going to do it. Again, these are just my opinions from exp. and research and I don't advocate doing something if you know nothing about it. Thanks for all the replies guys, keep 'em coming.
07-19-2009, 01:02 PM
#7
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I went went from 12.8 to 12.6 by shifting manually
Yea, but you can reprogram it to shift where you want. Then you and your computer can agree on shift points and live happy together.
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07-19-2009, 01:12 PM
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I hold second for roll races, and I hold second for burnouts at the track to avoid the 1/2 shift while in the waterbox. Other then that i leave it the hell alone. 
07-20-2009, 08:36 AM
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I actually tried it again yesterday and it's actually quite effective on a roll 
Just gotta be careful not to do anything beyond the limits of what the pcm would do and beyond what the tranny is made to take. I still need supporting evidence of this damaging anyones tranny (when done properly) for me to totally stop doing this. I only do it once in a blue moon anyways, but man is it nice to hear the exhaust. This way you can be lazy when you want or more actively involved when you feel like it. Open for suggestions and reliable info. "cheers" Looks like most people steer clear of this aspect of the 4l60e.
Just gotta be careful not to do anything beyond the limits of what the pcm would do and beyond what the tranny is made to take. I still need supporting evidence of this damaging anyones tranny (when done properly) for me to totally stop doing this. I only do it once in a blue moon anyways, but man is it nice to hear the exhaust. This way you can be lazy when you want or more actively involved when you feel like it. Open for suggestions and reliable info. "cheers" Looks like most people steer clear of this aspect of the 4l60e.
07-20-2009, 11:42 AM
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I'd like to see this poll grow, because I think this is a widely misunderstood aspect of our A4 cars. I'd like to see how many do it and how their trannys hold out. Post up and vote guys.
07-20-2009, 12:40 PM
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The only times I downshift manually is going from OD down to D. I do start out in 1 on occasion and upshift manually. So I'm not going to say its bad to do either but the way I look at it is it's an auto for a reason and if you do it too long anythings possible. Now throw a shift kit or transpak of sorts in there and it's a different story.
07-20-2009, 04:58 PM
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Hold it in third to avoid downshifting? At certain speeds it should downshift all the way to first, even with it in third. What do you mean by that?
I think the poll options are limited.
They should be:
No, never I'm a ***** and don't want to break anything.
No, I can't. I always screw up and go all the way up to reverse.
Yes, I do it to make use of the rpm between upshift rpm and fuel cutoff.
Yes, I do it just because I want to.
I think the poll options are limited.
They should be:
No, never I'm a ***** and don't want to break anything.
No, I can't. I always screw up and go all the way up to reverse.
Yes, I do it to make use of the rpm between upshift rpm and fuel cutoff.
Yes, I do it just because I want to.
07-20-2009, 06:05 PM
#16
I shift 1-2 manually on the street in case I have to feather the wheelspin in first. I dont want it to dump into second if I have to manage throttle on a launch which is usually always the case with a 4,200 stall. On the track I usually hook good enough to let the trans work for me.
07-20-2009, 06:17 PM
#17
i didn't vote because there's no "other" box. only time i manually shift is 1-2 at the beginning of autox, or if i'm coming up on some nice turns, just drop it into 2nd so i can be at high rpm and not have it upshift on me.
07-20-2009, 08:01 PM
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I haven't done it. However if your racing for E.T. you dont want to manually shift it because you want to get as close to the same 1/4 mile time as you can every time. You want to just let the car do what it does. I usualy just leave the tranny in 3.