If you add a Shift Kit to an Auto tranny it makes it shift faster right? Does it get anywhere near a manual?

[Noriaki]

If you add a Shift Kit to an Auto tranny it makes it shift faster right? Does it get anywhere near a manual?

 

[ISAslot]

Many take the overlapping out of the gear changes. This can actually help prolong the transmission. I don't know if it will get too much faster, but it will hit harder when it engages. That's what my shift kid did anyway. Do you mean when the auto shifts, or just the time it takes to get into gear?

 

[Noriaki]

I'm sort of trying to understand what a shift kit does....really.

 

[Sluggo]

A shift kit more or less takes out the built in slop out of the shift. The slop is built in to make the auto a little more civilized and more comfortable overall ride. They could just make it to snap into every gear, but most automatic buyers would not care for that.

I remember reading a review for a Rolls-Royce years ago, the reviewer raved about never being able to tell when the car shifted, without listening very carefully for the sounds from the motor.

 

[Noriaki]

Ok so the shift kit makes it snap into gear.

But does that make the overall shift (significantly) quicker?

 

[Pacfanweb]

A shift kit basically eliminates the slippage between shifts. The built-in slippage is what makes autos smooth shifting, kind of like riding a clutch out slowly between shifts.
It accomplishes 2 main things: It makes the trans shift faster, thereby saving wasted time.
It also helps trans durability, since the slippage is eliminated.
A third cool thing it does is make your tires chirp going from 1st to 2nd.

As far as making an auto car run the same as a manual, no, a shift kit won't do that. That's not always a bad thing on some cars....I've seen auto cars that were actually faster than the same car with a stick.

 

[Sluggo]

It makes the actual time spent shifting gears shorter, so I guess it speeds up the process.

 

[PG]

A shift kit will firm up the shifts by making them happen faster. There is less clutch slippage, and the trans could have a longer life.
Some shift kits can also change the rpm where the shifts happen. This could give you much better performance, but it could hurt your fuel economy.

 

[Noriaki]

<< A third cool thing it does is make your tires chirp going from 1st to 2nd. >>

LOL!

Ok..well what I'm really trying to ask is this:
In a drag race, off the stop light or a true quarter mile, will a shift kit make your car faster?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Noriaki: Not that you could tell in the seat of your pants. You might see a hundredth or two gain in the 1/4 mile, but mostly the shift kit makes you more consistent and saves excess wear on the tranny.
Now if the car you put the shift kit in had a super slippomatic that you couldn't even feel shifting, then you might feel some difference, however, most autos these days are firmer shifting than in the past.

 

[ISAslot]

Shift kits change springs, check balls, and gaskets to change how the shifting occurs. On normal factory cars they overlap the gears so that the driver doesn't feel the shifts. Many shift kits are referred to as shift improvement kits, and they take a bit of that overlapping out, so you get into the gear quicker; in the sense that you are not in two gears at once for as long. The racing shift kits get progressively more aggressive. Some are at the point where you must manually shift to get into the next gear. Many of these racing setups take away much of the coast-down engine braking, increasing brake wear and can be dangerous on long hills. The shift improvement kits are the best for street cars. They improve performance a bit, give you a firm engage, and prolong the life of the transmission.

edit: Bah, I've got to learn to type faster.

 

[Valhalla1]

a shift kit is not generally a &quot;go-faster&quot; mod, its a mod for guys who want the auto to shift harder, and give you tire chirp on shift. can't come close to a manual shifting hard though, in a stock LS1 Camaro you can chirp the tires on the 1-2, 2-3, and sometimes even the 3-4 shift. with an auto with stock torque converter and just a shift kit, I don't think even the 2-3 shift will chirp.

also most I've seen are adjustable to various degrees of firmness of shifts from smooth cruising to teeth-jolting


me - I prefer a manual.. can burn the tires between shifts even when half throttle, its all in the firmness of the shift.

 

[Noriaki]

Ok
bottom line
Auto's suck

So why the heck does the Chrysler Prowler come auto-only???

It's got a 253HP engine, that's plenty for a 2800lb car, it's even got IRS...but why oh why is it only auto?

PS: It even comes in Orange! (Best Colour Ever!)

 

[ISAslot]

Autos can multiply low RPM torque to a higher level than you could get with a manual. Plus many times autos can shift faster than someone can manually shift, but this depends on the setup. Autos do/can slip more, but still many racers use them.

 

[Asif]

 

[Rickten]

what is it called if it has both manual and auto trans in it? I've never actually seen this anyone have a link to a picture of what one of these would look like.

 

[Fubak]

Slap-stick

I'm putting a slap-stick in my Mustang ASAP. I have a C4 Cruise-O-Matic right now and I'm ready to get a racing tranny

 

[Noriaki]

both?
i don't think it's possible to have two transmissions....

You can have tip tronic transmissions which are autos with a tip mode where you can decide when to shift but it still shifts like an auto.

There are also Semi-autos. Which is essentially a manual gearbox but it has a bunch of hydraulics slapped on to actually move the gears for you (very expensive, as of now i think only ferrari uses them in a road car).

 

[Windogg]

BMW ain't too bad right now.

Drive it in regular &quot;D&quot; and the shift is very conservative and smooth.
Drive it in &quot;D Sport&quot; and the transmission will hold to around redline where power is at it's peak. Very harsh and noisy
Drive in &quot;M&quot; and you shift yourself

Still plenty fast to dust a startled riceburner.

 

[Pacfanweb]

<<Plus many times autos can shift faster than someone can manually shift, but this depends on the setup. Autos do/can slip more, but still many racers use them.>>

Actually, an auto will always shift faster than anyone can with a clutch.

As far as racers using them, 99.9% of drag racing cars use automatics. A racing automatic with a high stall speed converter is comparable if not faster than the same car with a stick. They are also much more consistent than sticks, and have less breakage.
Go to a weekend bracket race at your local dragstrip, and you'll be able to count the number of stick cars on one hand.