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Old 06-15-2016, 08:34 AM   #1
The_Bishop
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Some minor trans tuning...

After not doing much with my Camaro, I'm (sort of) getting back into it.

First up was swapping out the adjustable torque arm to one that plays nice with the lowered car. Success! No more floor board banging.

The last thing that was bugging me as I'm driving the car around more frequently was transmission tuning.

I tuned the trans via HP tuners prior to installing the Yank SS3600 torque converter and transgo kit in it. Previously it had a TCI 3500. Afterwards it had a few wrinkles that drove me nuts. The first was the torque converter lockup. It was harsh, especially so if you hit the brakes while decelerating, causing it to unlock, then re-lock on brake release. Honestly, it felt as if something was going to break. The second was the shifting from gear to gear, that became harsh as well. Made the car feel herky-jerky, especially around town.

Now, I can hear some of you rolling your eyes: "OMFG dude you must be getting old lol need to chirp tires on all shifts WTF is wrong with you"

Possibly, you're right. Maybe I'm getting old, but I like *refined* performance. Fast, but not harsh.

First up was the torque converter tuning. How do you tune a converter? Well, you don't... You adjust the torque converter lockup clutch.

I haven't looked at tuning in a *long* time. When I originally tuned my car, the 'conventional wisdom' was with an aftermarket converter was to set the TCC duty cycle to 'Max 100' and 'Min 90' to avoid lockup slippage. With budget converters this is probably the way to go. With the Yank 3600 I put in the car, this was a recipe for jerky lockup engagement, especially on re-engagement after hitting the brakes. Did a little digging around on HP tuners and discovered that you do indeed set the max to 100, the min table is where you can adjust the 'feel' of the lock. I ended up at 65%. No TCC slip and it's a lot more civilized now.

The second issue with the shift harshness was a little easier. I started with the factory shift pressure tables.

The procedure I used is from a guy named RussK on HPTuners forum, and it works pretty well. Ended up with firm, crisp shifts but not harsh.

Start with the factory shift pressure table. Set the 0 ft-lb column to 0, and the 640 ft-lb column to 40. Highlight the whole table and click the 'Interpolate between horizontal bounds' button. The trans pressure table will now have 0 in the 0 ft-lb incrementally up to 40 in the 640 cells. Highlight the whole table and hit copy.

Now, hit undo until you're back at the factory table. Highlight the whole table and hit the 'paste special - add' option. The software will automatically clamp the max value to 96 (That's the highest value possible for the table).

Toyed around with the tables that control how quickly the transmission shifts gears. The 1-2 shift is pretty easy; the 4l60e goes 1-2 without any drama. The stock time-to-shift is .450 of a second and increases to .550 at the higher power outputs. I have mine set to .400 across the board and everything works well there. The shift is quick and crisp without being harsh.

2-3 is a little trickier. The 4l60e has to disengage the 2nd gear band while engaging the 3rd clutch. If you set this shift time too fast, it'll drag the 2nd band while engaging the 3rd gear clutch and bind up the trans. This can't be good for the hard parts, so some restraint is needed. Stock is .575. For my setup, .525 seemed to be the sweet spot for a quick shift without any bind.

3-4 is less complicated internally. Stock time is .500 across the board. I set it to .450. I'm happy with the quality of the shift there, and there isn't much to be gained by going any quicker.

Keep in mind that this is with a TransGo shift kit in the trans, although similar settings should be an improvement in the stock setup.

Edit: I pasted in an earlier version of what I typed, now corrected.
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I can appreciate a dream but this person needed some real friends.

Last edited by The_Bishop; 06-15-2016 at 09:48 AM.
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Old 06-15-2016, 10:21 AM   #2
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Very nice, its a great feeling when you finally address minor issues that completely change the feel of whatever you are working on.

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Old 06-15-2016, 11:23 AM   #3
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Now it's time to post a video of it chirping tires under each shift!

I played around with the trans tuning on my G8's A6. All of the pro tuners I used made the shifts way too harsh. The trans didn't seem to mind and it never gave me a problem but I knew there had to be a happy medium. I spent a lot of time messing with the trans tune and finally got it right where I wanted it. Crisp shifts without being overly harsh (read - "head knock to motherfing break yo neck"). Then I sold the car 3 months later lol.
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Old 06-15-2016, 02:18 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6 View Post
Now it's time to post a video of it chirping tires under each shift!

I played around with the trans tuning on my G8's A6. All of the pro tuners I used made the shifts way too harsh. The trans didn't seem to mind and it never gave me a problem but I knew there had to be a happy medium. I spent a lot of time messing with the trans tune and finally got it right where I wanted it. Crisp shifts without being overly harsh (read - "head knock to motherfing break yo neck"). Then I sold the car 3 months later lol.
One of my biggest pet peeves is overly harsh shifting 6Ls, and the harder/harsher is faster and better bro mentality
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Old 06-15-2016, 04:03 PM   #5
Jersey Mike
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Good on you, Keith! Maybe I'm getting old too, but I totally get your sentiment.

You can screw around with mine next!

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Bishop View Post
After not doing much with my Camaro, I'm (sort of) getting back into it.

First up was swapping out the adjustable torque arm to one that plays nice with the lowered car. Success! No more floor board banging.

The last thing that was bugging me as I'm driving the car around more frequently was transmission tuning.

I tuned the trans via HP tuners prior to installing the Yank SS3600 torque converter and transgo kit in it. Previously it had a TCI 3500. Afterwards it had a few wrinkles that drove me nuts. The first was the torque converter lockup. It was harsh, especially so if you hit the brakes while decelerating, causing it to unlock, then re-lock on brake release. Honestly, it felt as if something was going to break. The second was the shifting from gear to gear, that became harsh as well. Made the car feel herky-jerky, especially around town.

Now, I can hear some of you rolling your eyes: "OMFG dude you must be getting old lol need to chirp tires on all shifts WTF is wrong with you"

Possibly, you're right. Maybe I'm getting old, but I like *refined* performance. Fast, but not harsh.

First up was the torque converter tuning. How do you tune a converter? Well, you don't... You adjust the torque converter lockup clutch.

I haven't looked at tuning in a *long* time. When I originally tuned my car, the 'conventional wisdom' was with an aftermarket converter was to set the TCC duty cycle to 'Max 100' and 'Min 90' to avoid lockup slippage. With budget converters this is probably the way to go. With the Yank 3600 I put in the car, this was a recipe for jerky lockup engagement, especially on re-engagement after hitting the brakes. Did a little digging around on HP tuners and discovered that you do indeed set the max to 100, the min table is where you can adjust the 'feel' of the lock. I ended up at 65%. No TCC slip and it's a lot more civilized now.

The second issue with the shift harshness was a little easier. I started with the factory shift pressure tables.

The procedure I used is from a guy named RussK on HPTuners forum, and it works pretty well. Ended up with firm, crisp shifts but not harsh.

Start with the factory shift pressure table. Set the 0 ft-lb column to 0, and the 640 ft-lb column to 40. Highlight the whole table and click the 'Interpolate between horizontal bounds' button. The trans pressure table will now have 0 in the 0 ft-lb incrementally up to 40 in the 640 cells. Highlight the whole table and hit copy.

Now, hit undo until you're back at the factory table. Highlight the whole table and hit the 'paste special - add' option. The software will automatically clamp the max value to 96 (That's the highest value possible for the table).

Toyed around with the tables that control how quickly the transmission shifts gears. The 1-2 shift is pretty easy; the 4l60e goes 1-2 without any drama. The stock time-to-shift is .450 of a second and increases to .550 at the higher power outputs. I have mine set to .400 across the board and everything works well there. The shift is quick and crisp without being harsh.

2-3 is a little trickier. The 4l60e has to disengage the 2nd gear band while engaging the 3rd clutch. If you set this shift time too fast, it'll drag the 2nd band while engaging the 3rd gear clutch and bind up the trans. This can't be good for the hard parts, so some restraint is needed. Stock is .575. For my setup, .525 seemed to be the sweet spot for a quick shift without any bind.

3-4 is less complicated internally. Stock time is .500 across the board. I set it to .450. I'm happy with the quality of the shift there, and there isn't much to be gained by going any quicker.

Keep in mind that this is with a TransGo shift kit in the trans, although similar settings should be an improvement in the stock setup.

Edit: I pasted in an earlier version of what I typed, now corrected.
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Good. He microwaved my phone 6 years ago, i hope his intake erupts.
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Old 06-15-2016, 04:53 PM   #6
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Hah! If you had any idea how long I had to stare at the laptop and wonder aloud to myself "How / Why did I do that?!" you'd hit me with a hammer if I got near the OBD2 port.
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1998 Z-28 - SLP lid - Ported TB - LS6 Intake - Dynatech SS headers/Catted Y - Magnaflow Exh - 3.42 - Yank SS3600 - UMI weld-in subframe connectors, Adj LCA, Adj PHB, Q1A TA - Bolt-in Relocation Brackets - Strano springs - Koni shocks - 17" C6Z06 wheels - 326HP/335ft-lbs - 12.35 @ 110.41

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6 View Post
I can appreciate a dream but this person needed some real friends.
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Old 06-15-2016, 05:14 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LS1ow View Post
Good. He microwaved my phone 6 years ago, i hope his intake erupts.
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