HPP3 shift firmness.. INFORMED OPINIONS PLEASE!!!
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Long Island, NY
HPP3 shift firmness.. INFORMED OPINIONS PLEASE!!! right now i have 50% shift firmness increase programmed in with my hypertech....the converter just destroyed my shifts to the point where i coudlnt feel them at all anymore...now at part throttle the 1-2 shift is very noticeable and the 2-3 and 3-4 are light and just noticeable but seem more precise and positive then without the firmness in. at heavy throttle (almost wide open) all gears shift with a pretty good jolt that feels kinda good without being kidney-shaking or anything.(sorry its hard to explain since there isnt exactly a scale i can use to convey my point.)
my question is that i HAVE heard the electronic shift improvers can damage the trans over time....is there any hard evidence to this??? and if its conditional, what are the circumstances where it would be good or bad for the trans....it feels better (feels like the shifts are quicker with less slippage).
i probably will eventually put a mild shift kit in the tranny itself and take the hypertech out, but im FLAT BROKE at the moment....the trans has about 3500 miles on it and only about 500 with the shift firmness programmed in.
is it ok in anyone's opinion to make a couple passes with the trans this way for the time being????
any input would be appreciated...i blew my trans up 3500 miles ago (obviously) and ive had some kind of automotive hypochondria ever since.....i always worry about the trans breaking everytime i step into the throttle....part of me is saying that a brand new 4L65E with a brand new converter should be able to withstand some abuse for awhile but i still worry about it constantly.....is this hypertech thing gonna hurt the trans if i beat on it a little???? (haven't gone WOT even once since i programmed it in.)
my question is that i HAVE heard the electronic shift improvers can damage the trans over time....is there any hard evidence to this??? and if its conditional, what are the circumstances where it would be good or bad for the trans....it feels better (feels like the shifts are quicker with less slippage).
i probably will eventually put a mild shift kit in the tranny itself and take the hypertech out, but im FLAT BROKE at the moment....the trans has about 3500 miles on it and only about 500 with the shift firmness programmed in.
is it ok in anyone's opinion to make a couple passes with the trans this way for the time being????
any input would be appreciated...i blew my trans up 3500 miles ago (obviously) and ive had some kind of automotive hypochondria ever since.....i always worry about the trans breaking everytime i step into the throttle....part of me is saying that a brand new 4L65E with a brand new converter should be able to withstand some abuse for awhile but i still worry about it constantly.....is this hypertech thing gonna hurt the trans if i beat on it a little???? (haven't gone WOT even once since i programmed it in.)
I've had my shift firmness at 100% for about 45k miles now w/ no problems. However I just put a converter in and I don't know what to do with it. I've dropped it down to 75 for the time being. I'll probably go down to 25 just to be safe. I'd like to here some more educated opinions than my own on this also.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Long Island, NY
Originally Posted by 2xLS1
It has always been my understanding that the HPP shift settings were only for part throttle shifting and that at WOT, the PCM will command 100% anyway.
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 170
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From: Ft. Worth, TX
The shift firmness applies to all throttle positions. I ran 100% and a trans-go shift kit for about a year or more with no problems. I will admit that the trans-go installation was not on the firmest setting. After having a shop install my trans-go kit and being disappointed with the improvement, I decided to add the 100% firmness to it also and it had just the right feel to it. I'm pretty hard on it and often shift it manually (just to hear the tires chirp), and it still feels good. I've got LS1 edit tuning on it now along with a new converter that I didn't have before so I think my tuner set the firmness back to normal (not sure) but it still shifts pretty firm and the tranny still feels solid as a rock. I only have about 35k miles on my car, but it does have about 20 track passes on it.
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I'm in the same boat so far. I put 100% with the stock trans at 18k miles and a Vig 3200 and it's at 21k now and fluid is clean and trans is fine.
Somebody needs to say " I had a perfect trans and after using 100% programmed it blew up in 10,000 miles!)
I havenever heard that.
I only hear "don't do it because it's bad"
My trans builder now has mine apart putting all the goodies in because I went heads/cam/intake, he says the thing is like new inside.
He also recommended that a shift kit do the shifting rather than line pressueby programming. Reasoning is the firmnessshouldcome from not just fluid pressure but increased band contact, larger fluid capacity, etc. Just raising line pressure in theory IS not what we should do.
No answer there, right
Somebody needs to say " I had a perfect trans and after using 100% programmed it blew up in 10,000 miles!)
I havenever heard that.
I only hear "don't do it because it's bad"
My trans builder now has mine apart putting all the goodies in because I went heads/cam/intake, he says the thing is like new inside.
He also recommended that a shift kit do the shifting rather than line pressueby programming. Reasoning is the firmnessshouldcome from not just fluid pressure but increased band contact, larger fluid capacity, etc. Just raising line pressure in theory IS not what we should do.
No answer there, right
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I would leave it at 50%. A high stall converter does not reduce shift firmness; it only transmits less snap, so you perceive it to be less firm. I have never seen any proof that increased shift firmness reduces your ET for LS1 F-Body's, so why take a risk?
BTW, the makers of HPP3 claimed there was an increase in pressure at WOT (This was a couple years ago; pre-LS1Edit days). You can increase pressure at WOT with LS1Edit, so the HPP3 may have some impact.
BTW, the makers of HPP3 claimed there was an increase in pressure at WOT (This was a couple years ago; pre-LS1Edit days). You can increase pressure at WOT with LS1Edit, so the HPP3 may have some impact.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 362
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From: fairfax, va
i'm researching this too, here's an opinion from a shop that deals with only Fbodies.....and they do alot too.
http://www.fbodycentral.com/forum/sh...ighlight=shift
(don't flame me, i don't know **** from shinola...just copying & pasting...well actually i do, shinola don't smell as bad)
"Install with cooler is $225. We dont usually recommend a shift kit for anything other than a slipping trans. More than once a fully working transmission will break a forward drumor some other hard part with a shift kit.
Its a balance the harder you shift the clutch packs live longer, but you break hard parts. Have it shift too soft and hard parts wont be stressed but the clutches can burn up. In short if the tranny is shifting fine do you want to firm up the shifts and risk breaking something, what kind of condition is the trans in currently?
Shift kit install I dont know how much that would be."
http://www.fbodycentral.com/forum/sh...ighlight=shift
(don't flame me, i don't know **** from shinola...just copying & pasting...well actually i do, shinola don't smell as bad)
"Install with cooler is $225. We dont usually recommend a shift kit for anything other than a slipping trans. More than once a fully working transmission will break a forward drumor some other hard part with a shift kit.
Its a balance the harder you shift the clutch packs live longer, but you break hard parts. Have it shift too soft and hard parts wont be stressed but the clutches can burn up. In short if the tranny is shifting fine do you want to firm up the shifts and risk breaking something, what kind of condition is the trans in currently?
Shift kit install I dont know how much that would be."
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 9,246
Likes: 3
From: Troy, AL
If the HPP3 increases WOT shift firmness then it's to such a small degree that it's not perceptable. I did it for a little while a few years ago. Part throttle was VERY noticable (harsher but not necessarily that much quicker) and WOT seemed identical to stock so far as I could tell. Nothing like a shift kit.
I ran mine at 75% and never noticed a difference at WOT, only at part throttle. Like Colonel said, it only firms up the shifts, not make them faster. I took off the HPP3 and had the car tuned with LS1edit for quicker shifts (no increase in line pressure) and it now rips second gear and shifts much firmer.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Long Island, NY
Originally Posted by Colonel
Directly? Ok....maybe. Seriously, no one can tell you that. Many people have problems and some never do. Don't ask me why.
Seriously, no one can tell you that. Many people have problems and some never do. Don't ask me why. DeepBluez - excessive line pressure can cause premature front pump failure. The pump on the LS1 A4's is different than the LT1-equipped cars (so I have been told by some who have rebuilt these trannies before) The B&M Shiftplus operates on the same principal (high increase of line pressure) and was almost immediately frowned upon after the LS1 was put in the f-body due to this problem. The question should be; do you want to take a chance on something that really doesn't do anything worthwhile? I would ditch the HPP3.
