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Shift Enhancements for Your Automatic
Kick the slush out of your slushbox
Jim Brightly / autoMedia.com
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Other aftermarket kits permit shifting manually at non-factory-spec speeds. For example, most stock automatic transmissions refuse to downshift to First gear above 15 mph, and they automatically upshift at predetermined speeds no matter what gear the transmission happens to be in. Certain aftermarket kits allow the driver to hold the transmission in First gear indefinitely, which is a definite asset while towing a trailer or moving heavy loads downhill.
Shift-enhancement kits are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. To recap, these performance products will extend transmission life, can improve mileage (if your right foot doesn't overpower the gains) and will certainly increase the vehicle's "fun factor." Best of all, many of these upgrades can be adjusted to your specific style of driving. For an overview of how to install an internal improver, see "700R4 Shift Kit" elsewhere on this site. The photos here show how easy it is to add a switch-activated computer-recalibrator kit; other systems either replace the entire computer with a reprogrammed unit or just the computer's chip.
Resources
Art Carr Performance Products, www.artcarr.com
B&M Racing, www.bmracing.com
Copyright autoMedia.com 2000-2009
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Shift-point recalibrators are available for many popular computer-controlled transmissions. Units are available that alter shift points either through vacuum-controlled modulator circuits or electrically (like the one shown here).
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Per the kit's instructions, disconnect the battery's negative cable, locate the vehicle's computer and unplug the specified harness.
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Find a convenient, within-reach mounting location for the control switch. This one has three settings: stock, firm shifts and even-firmer shifts.
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Mount the switch (this kit uses Velcro) and route the wires to the computer.
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This owner decided to solder the switch's two wires to the computer's transmission-control wires as identified in the instructions instead of using the kit's crimp-on connectors.
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