# SaFe AuToMaTiC LaUnCh???



## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

Now.. I know how horribly bad slamming a revved engine from Neutral to Drive in an Automatic Tranny is.. and I would never personally attempt this

Yesterday when I was messing around, I noticed that if I put my car into 1st Gear.... it seems to Accelerate alot faster, then put it into 2nd once my RPM reaches a desirable amount (or speed), and then eventually Drive, it accelerated alot quicker.. 
If I lay off of the gas in 1st or 2nd having the RPM running about 4300RPM the engine slows the car down, and the RPM's slwly drop, but if I step on the gas when the RPM's are still kinda high, it accelerates a hell of alot faster and it sounds kinda cool.

Instead of having my car in Drive and stepping on the gas which accelerates really, really slow, 
is it SAFE to start off in 1st gear, then shift to 2nd and then Drive in an Automatic??


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## samk (Feb 26, 2003)

automatic transmissions aren't made to shift gears at such high rpms. that's what a clutch is for. don't expect your tranny to last too long. my friend blew out his transmission doing that. it wouldn't go into gear anymore, and it costed him $3000 to replace.


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## maxpower559 (Sep 6, 2002)

as samk said...thats no good for a 4spd auto. but its very kool if you never drove a 5spd. its gonna mess up your tranny in no time. my cousin did that to his accord alot, its not a transmission for a 4spd auto made in the 60's so it gets beat to $hit alot faster, but he ended up killing is transmission about 1 year after racing it....the odometer read 80,000and his trans cost $1500, do you think its worth it?


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## nitestridar (Jun 29, 2002)

PrOxLaMuS©,

get a tranny cooler... you can find one on ebay for about $25
get a torque converter and you will be straight. I have been shifting my auto 1/2/D for two years now and tranny is still strong as ever...


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

i'm with selrider99 on this one. i've been doing the same thing for about 4 years and i don't have any tranny problems. nuetral popping it is bad. 

what makes you guys think that it's bad to change gears at high rpm in an auto? that doesn't make any sense. isn't that what a torque converter is for? i agree with that it's bad to neutral pop it but that doesn't have anything to do with changing gears as you're going down the road.


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

it over revs it and the line pressure in the transmission is too high when you're up in the rpms.


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## idon (Jan 27, 2003)

The best thing for an automatic launch is a tranny brake


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

a whaa??


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## UpChuck (Jul 20, 2002)

Im guessing holding the brake with your left while giving gas with your right. But i dont know. Ive never heard of "tranny braking" Ive never driven an automatic.


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

James said:


> *it over revs it and the line pressure in the transmission is too high when you're up in the rpms. *


line pressure in the transmission? what? is this fact or just your guess-opinion?


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2003)

SNO you are absolutly, positively the Dumbest guy i have ever seen post on the board. Of corse there is line pressure in the tranny. how do you think tranny fluid gets all the way from the transmission to the fluid cooler and back?????? You really need to look shit up before you post some dumb shit like you just did.


you are not the most absorbant tampon in the box are you SNO????


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

sno said:


> *line pressure in the transmission? what? is this fact or just your guess-opinion? *


Um... well yeah in the transmission, valve body to be specific. the stock pump in the transmission does not support a very high pressure and the clutches will not hold with the same amount of force causing them to burn. that's why Level 10 does valve body upgrades and and rebuilds the clutches and puts in a (don't know if it's larger) pump that can handle the pressures of high rpm shifts.


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## BIGBULS (Sep 24, 2002)

OK....you all sound like a bunch of bickering morons.

1st, yes, you CAN shift the transmission manually. It does NOT wear out anything internally any faster than letting it wind up in Drive and do it's normal high rpm shift. Why do you think these slots are available on the gear selector in the first place? Decoration? BUT, just like an engine, winding the tranny out does accelerate wear somewhat....just not as bad as you guys have been saying.

So, for best performance (straight-line), you put the selector in "1", left foot on brake and floor the accelerator while holding the car with the brake. This will pre-load the transmission against the torque convertor, and the engine should sit right at the stall speed (around 2500rpm). When you are ready to go, slide you foot off the brake and keep the accelerator floored (don't brake torque for long, as it builds heat fast). When you reach your desired rpm (redline for a GA16DE racing), shift the lever into "2". You might have to experiment a bit, as some autos have a lag between when you slot the lever foward, and when the shift actually occurs. You want to time it so the engine doesn't overrev. Do the same thing in "2", and slot it into "D"......having the "OD" on or off doesn't matter because the transmission should lock out 4th gear under full throttle, and 3rd is long enough to get you to your governor.

You can also select the lower gears for passing etc. if you don't want to wait for the tranny to downshift......for instance, "2" is great for getting that initial punch when trying to pass slow moving traffic on the highway. You should also lock out "OD" when driving around town at speeds below 45-50mph. This locks out 4th gear, which eliminates one of the shifts the transmission is doing, and therefore cuts down heat. The "OD" lockout button is also usful for when you are up in the mountains to stop the transmission from hunting between 3rd and 4th gears.

Remember, manually shifting an automatic isn't any worse at all as far as racing is concerned, and using the different selector positions is alright, as long as you do it correctly (ie, don't go cruising around at high rpm all the time just cause it sounds cool). Also, as others have said.....it's a VERY good idea to get an auxilary transmission cooler. They WILL add life to your transmission.


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

BIGBULS said:


> *1st, yes, you CAN shift the transmission manually. It does NOT wear out anything internally any faster than letting it wind up in Drive and do it's normal high rpm shift. Why do you think these slots are available on the gear selector in the first place? Decoration? BUT, just like an engine, winding the tranny out does accelerate wear somewhat....just not as bad as you guys have been saying.
> *


I never said anything to the contrary.


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## nitestridar (Jun 29, 2002)

James said:


> *I never said anything to the contrary. *



Me either....


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

It's in my experience that manually shifting an auto is actually better for the transmission (just not near redline). If you're driving normally the shift time between gears is shorter when you manually shift than when you let the car shift for you. When you cut down on the shift time you save wear on your transmission as well, benefits include faster acceleration. 

When I was overseas a lot of the taxis do shift their autos manually. I think it's better on gas though I've never tried it long enough to see!


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

selrider99 said:


> *Me either.... *


really I only saw one person losing their temper in this thread... well two now. I didn't really see anyone 'bickering'.


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## nitestridar (Jun 29, 2002)

my brother-in-law has a 96gxe he used to N drop.....twice a week ... no lie... the tranny was gone at 45k... he is lucky it made it that far... 

Btw anyone looking for tranny cooler you can pickup one on ebay for about $25.00... I am also thinking of going to synthetic tranny fluid as well... 

does anyone know if this will cause a problem with a tranny with 29k on it? 



Rob


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

I went to synthetic at 75k miles. No problem so far, I have a tranny cooler as well. We'll see what happens when the turbo goes in next month!


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## BIGBULS (Sep 24, 2002)

Actually, you two were about the only ones making any kind of sense.

I just hate it when people reply with something not particularly correct, and someone else comes in, bashes the first post, and then posts more incorrect crap.......it becomes a shitfest.

Hence the bickering morons part.

Maybe I just a bit too cranky


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

Other than E-Bay where can I get an Auxilary Transmission Cooler for my GA16DE?

What companies would be the best.. and on average how much would they cost?

Are Tranny Coolers... easy to install and do they require alot of mainentance??


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## BORNGEARHEAD (Apr 30, 2002)

Any auto parts store has universal ones.


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## sunnysentra (Jul 24, 2002)

I used to tranny brake the thing. I pushed hard on the brake and hit the gas until it could only hold the car to 3500 rpm. I didn't do it well and never got better times out of it though. A line lock is the best thing. You raise the RPM and then let it go. Similar situation are in the lever trannys. They have a button that holds the tranny and stall speed high and then hit the button and off you go. Extreme drag racing here, pro-modified alcohol cars use these.


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## B132nr (Jul 20, 2002)

I shift my auto all the time, then when I had to get a new engine the engine temp would start to rise up and I mean the needle would hit the "H". I am not sure if its my thermostat (I think its stuck open) yet cause I haven't got around to installing it. But when I had my old motor I never had a problem. I know that when I shift my auto it gets hot cause that is the only time it does get hot , then when I leave it in drive it runs alot cooler until I start to shift it. I also think for some reason that its putting more pressure on the engine cause it didnt start to overheat for a weak or 2 and I dont over rev it either.


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## 91SR20DE (Nov 25, 2002)

Well, I used to manually shift my '96 Saab 900, it had 1-2-3-D, it held a gear untill redline. As for the launch, I brake torqued it till about 2500(which also built up my boost, and let it rip. You should be able to brake torque yours too, but the revs I'm not sure on, my car had a 2500 stall from the factory, your might be a little different. I STRONGLY recommend having a tight front end if you plan to use this method, things like ball joints and whatnots seem to take a shit alot faster if they're already on they're way out. I have a video of me launching it at the track, email if you want to see.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2003)

I maybe wrong (wouldn't be the first time) but I think some of you may have trans brake confused with brake torquing a car. I had a 79 Trans Am with a TH-350 trans with a trans brake. It held line pressure against the 1st gear and Reverse clutches when engaged so you could rev the engine to stall speed without relying on your car's brakes for holding power. When you released the trans brake the line pressure is let off the Reverse valve and 1st gear takes off like a rocket.


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

say what?
Reverse Clutch and Trans Brake.....
im lost


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

The transbrake pretty much does the same thing as brake torquing except your tranny doesn't burn up (cept the clutches!) in the process! you can keep your foot on the gas and your car won't move forward until you disengage the transbrake, then you take off!


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

what the hell is a "transbrake".
All I know, is that I have a Gas Pedal, Brake Pedal and an E-Brake.

Wow... I don't know anything about my car...


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## subblink (Jul 31, 2002)

what does GVW mean for Tranny coolers, and what else should i look for in a Transmission cooler?


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## subblink (Jul 31, 2002)

Never mind about the GVW, i figured that out, but for a 94 sentra, what would you say is the best size and place to mount it?


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

explain what a GVW is.. so everyone knows


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## nitestridar (Jun 29, 2002)

IIRC....gross vehicle weight....


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

hehe.,.... thnx


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