Hey guys, recently purchased a 1998 Z28 A4 that has an ls6 intake, headers, and SLP exhaust. Seller also said it has a single tune but could not tell me where or what program did the tune. Car runs fantastic on the street, but took it to the strip and under WOT the 1>2 shift was delayed and harsh, took 2nd gear to around 6500 rpm and the car did not shift until I lifted off the throttle. How can I find out what the tune settings are and is there any way I can lower the shift points/firmness of the shift without going back to a factory tune? Not looking for max performance, just want a softer setup built for consistency and bracket racing.. Thanks in advance!!

 

Open the tune in HPTuners (assuming it isn't tuner locked). Adjust the shift points.

Softer shifts are NOT for consistency or bracket racing. Quicker, firmer, more reliable shifts are what you want there.

 

I don't have HPTuners yet, as I am simply trying to figure out what my tune is, because I don't know where it came from. If whoever did the tune set my shift points/trans pressure to max then it would make me think that the trans is fine because it is doing what is asked of it. But for a 1/4 mile bracket race application, I certainly don't want to to be ripping 6800 RPM before it shifts round after round. I am just trying to tame the car down a bit. Is my best bet to maybe just buy a stock ecm and start from scratch?

 

6800rpm shifts on a stock cam would probably be slowing you down... You sure the cam is stock? Even 6500rpms is high for stock, 6200rpms is the stock fuel cutoff.

HELL NO. You spend all the money on a stock ECU only for it to be throwing codes left and right from having headers, missing the EGR valve since you have an LS6 intake on a 98 car, and whatever else is going on with the car so you would need a retune anyway, so you are paying for the ECU and a tune vs just paying for a retune. You just need to either find a reputable tuner shop or someone with hptuners to adjust the tune or buy the software your self and adjust it.

 

Honestly not sure about the cam at this point, but I do know that there was no fuel cutoff/revlimiter at 6200rpm. The 1>2 shift happened at around 6300rpm and the 2>3 shift didn't happen until I rolled off the throttle at around 6500 and climbing. What is the max shift rpm that you can set on HPTuners? Just trying to make sure the car is doing what is asked of it and that the issue isn't elsewhere..

 

The only way to know what's going on is to download the existing tune and compare it to the stock tune. That means you will have to buy a tuning suite or bring it to someone who has one. The most satisfactory solution is to bring it to a dyno tuner so you'll find out what's really going on. Then adjust things to where you want them for best performance.

 

Does the exhaust sound choppy at all? If not maybe its an LS6 cam. I just checked the max RPM allowed per hptuners, its 12,500rpms, either way your high shift points are definitely not stock, not that its a bad thing though. I don't have experience tuning an auto but I do remember from reading it can be tricky getting shift points right and its not as simple as just setting a shift point with a drop down menu.