What are good shift points?

**JoshuaGrooms83** · 06-25-2008, 02:30 PM

Heres the deal,
I have a hypertech power tuner. I have an 98 TA A4. Stock Drivetrian for now.
Right now im shifting stock.
Whats the best Shift point ranges for both speed and RPM?

**adam3566** · 07-25-2008, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by JoshuaGrooms83

Heres the deal,
I have a hypertech power tuner. I have an 98 TA A4. Stock Drivetrian for now.
Right now im shifting stock.
Whats the best Shift point ranges for both speed and RPM?

Do yourself a favor and get rid of that P.O.S handhelp programmer and get it tuned. You will thank yourself after getting it tuned. Those programmers are terrible.

**JoshuaGrooms83** · 07-25-2008, 01:52 PM

ok, i was thinking about that too. For now though, what r good points.

**adam3566** · 07-27-2008, 10:05 AM

I wouldn't bump it up anymore than 200 rpms. Your factory settings are there for a reason.

**thearborbarber** · 07-27-2008, 04:53 PM

I run 6000 rpm shift points. You will want to first check to see what your car's shift points actually are. I data logged my car's factory shifts and the 1-2 shift was 6100rpm and 2-3 shift was 6300rpm. I tweaked the shift setting and now have consistent 6000rpm shifts.

**MR NOS** · 08-26-2008, 11:23 AM

but in which rpm do you shift in each gear in stock A4 ?

**adam3566** · 08-26-2008, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by MR NOS

but in which rpm do you shift in each gear in stock A4 ?

Should only be put your foot through the floor in an A4. The computers shift it at that point for safety. Unless you got work done, I wouldn't mess with a thing.

**Too Fast** · 08-26-2008, 02:07 PM

I got .25 and ~1.2 MPH shifting my AT '98 manually, just before it bumped against the 6200 fuel cutoff. If it shifted by itself it would shift about 5700. I never data logged it, but manually shifting it got my 2.73 geared car in the 13.70s at 101.x, sometimes 102.x.

**adam3566** · 08-26-2008, 02:33 PM

Yeah and your tranny will be going out on you too. Shifting and A4 is almost a proven fact that you will run slower than letting the computer shift.

**Too Fast** · 08-27-2008, 02:59 AM

^^^Manually shifting your trans won't hurt it. My car (the '98) went faster if I manually shifted it, every time. I've driven automatics in quite a few different cars, manually shifted them all, and never damaged them. Why do you say this will ruin it?

And if you let the PCM shift it, it may make the car more consistent but unless it is programmed to shift where you want it to, the stock shift points are too conservative.

**MR NOS** · 08-27-2008, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by Too Fast

^^^Manually shifting your trans won't hurt it. My car (the '98) went faster if I manually shifted it, every time. I've driven automatics in quite a few different cars, manually shifted them all, and never damaged them. Why do you say this will ruin it?

And if you let the PCM shift it, it may make the car more consistent but unless it is programmed to shift where you want it to, the stock shift points are too conservative.

i agree with you

manually shifting makes differents
i have tried it my self over drive kills the car in some gears

**shady milkman** · 08-27-2008, 02:58 PM

ehhh actually shift points vary on shift firmness ect..manually shifting autos is not a good idea period..solely on the fact that they shift sloppy when manually shifted...the comment about stock shift points are too conservative is bogus..when the car is in WOT the shift points are completely diff. and not conservative..not to mention if you like bending pushrods..then you push that car farther up without fine tunning shift parameters ect in the pcm.

**shady milkman** · 08-27-2008, 03:05 PM

if your shifting faster manually then the computer..then you need to get your trans checked out.

**Too Fast** · 08-27-2008, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by shady milkman

ehhh actually shift points vary on shift firmness ect..manually shifting autos is not a good idea period..solely on the fact that they shift sloppy when manually shifted...the comment about stock shift points are too conservative is bogus..when the car is in WOT the shift points are completely diff. and not conservative..not to mention if you like bending pushrods..then you push that car farther up without fine tunning shift parameters ect in the pcm.

Shady, what do you base this on? If your foot is to the floor, it already tells the PCM to shift the trans as firmly as it can anyway. My stock 1998 TA would shift itself about 5600 RPM when I left it in drive. I could manually hold it in gear until about 6000, then I would put it in the next higher gear and the shift itself happened just before or right at the 6200 rev-limiter. If you are careful by not bumping the rev-limiter much you won't bend any pushrods and will see a quicker ET at the drag strip. That was my experience in the '98 I had for 4 years.

BTW, saw your pic and you are not blacker than Wesley Snipes LOL!!!

**adam3566** · 08-27-2008, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Too Fast

Shady, what do you base this on? If your foot is to the floor, it already tells the PCM to shift the trans as firmly as it can anyway. My stock 1998 TA would shift itself about 5600 RPM when I left it in drive. I could manually hold it in gear until about 6000, then I would put it in the next higher gear and the shift itself happened just before or right at the 6200 rev-limiter. If you are careful by not bumping the rev-limiter much you won't bend any pushrods and will see a quicker ET at the drag strip. That was my experience in the '98 I had for 4 years.

BTW, saw your pic and you are not blacker than Wesley Snipes LOL!!!

Ask any car person on here or at the track and they will tell you the same thing that me and shady are trying to tell you. Keep manually shifting and you will come back with your tail between your legs. As stated if your car is running faster when your manually shifting an A4 you have tranny problems.

**Too Fast** · 08-28-2008, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by adam3566

Ask any car person on here or at the track and they will tell you the same thing that me and shady are trying to tell you. Keep manually shifting and you will come back with your tail between your legs. As stated if your car is running faster when your manually shifting an A4 you have tranny problems.

So you are saying with the stock shift points, in my case about 5700, when I manually held it to just before redline to get a higher RPM shift, that I had transmission problems already.

Please explain what the difference is between reprogramming your PCM to shift at 6100 vs. shifting it manually at that RPM, and how it hurts the transmission.

**mark21742** · 08-28-2008, 05:20 AM

+1 for Shadeymilkman
with HP tuners I went in and zeroed out my shift times, moved all parameters to performance wot, and set all shift rpm points to 6,000....its down right violent lol....there is no possible way you could ever think about shifting faster manually than my computer does... and my computer shifts at Exactly 6,000 rpm's every time.

As for shortening tranny life, ive run the goat like this for six months every day as a daily driver a have no sign of added wear other than the bit of rubber that might get left behind on a part throttle shift from 1st to 2nd, then 2nd to 3rd, and 3rd to drive

**mark21742** · 08-28-2008, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by Too Fast

So you are saying with the stock shift points, in my case about 5700, when I manually held it to just before redline to get a higher RPM shift, that I had transmission problems already.

Please explain what the difference is between reprogramming your PCM to shift at 6100 vs. shifting it manually at that RPM, and how it hurts the transmission.

the main problem is tha delay time in your seeing the rpm you want, then completeing the shift, on a stock valve train you are hitting valve float territory at 6,200 rpm plus your starting to make less power after 6,000 rpm, and you can easily climb up into those rpm's before your able to react and shift.... not trying to say its just you, trust me, i cant respond that quick either

**Too Fast** · 08-28-2008, 01:11 PM

Ok then, my point still stands. If you have a stock calibration on your PCM (say 5700 RPM WOT shifts in my case), you are not hurting anything by manually shifting and having the shift occur just before the fuel cut-off. I never said it will shift faster by manually shifting, I said by raising your shift point our cars almost always get a quicker ET, not a faster shift. You have to anticipate how long the delay is when you move it from 1st to 2nd etc. for the actual shift to occur, and adust accordingly.

**shady milkman** · 08-28-2008, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by Too Fast

Shady, what do you base this on? If your foot is to the floor, it already tells the PCM to shift the trans as firmly as it can anyway. My stock 1998 TA would shift itself about 5600 RPM when I left it in drive. I could manually hold it in gear until about 6000, then I would put it in the next higher gear and the shift itself happened just before or right at the 6200 rev-limiter. If you are careful by not bumping the rev-limiter much you won't bend any pushrods and will see a quicker ET at the drag strip. That was my experience in the '98 I had for 4 years.

BTW, saw your pic and you are not blacker than Wesley Snipes LOL!!!

its a reference to my car.