2G Auto Options

[Tyler Davis]

Hey guys,

So I was just looking for some guidance as far as what you would do in my situation. I just put in a built auto (kiggly clutches, shift kit, pressure mods, welded diff, basic stuff) and precision 3800-4200 stall converter and now the TCU is not having a great time anymore, it doesn’t ever go into overdrive and randomly downshifts into first when I’m going 50mph and I would rather not do that haha. Would the forced four shift box or the actual smart TCM be more logical? Or are there other options? I do mostly street driving and am looking for close to stock driving styles out of the car, and do I have to hack up my harness for both of those? Thanks!

 

[Car Cannibal]

You might need someone to look at your TCU board to see if you have any capacitor issues.

The 2 trans Solenoid wires get told by the TCU which ones are on or off and the result is which gear you're in so something is telling them to drop into 1st which is brutal at 50mph. Make sure you have a rev limiter set to a safe number.

VSS signal is good and reading accurately on dash?

The nice thing about the shift box is you tell the Solenoids which gear you want manually so this is a great option if your research leads to no answer you can find.

Kiggly Manumatic is another option though the Forced Four boxes can do much more.

 

[Tyler Davis]

You might need someone to look at your TCU board to see if you have any capacitor issues.

The 2 trans Solenoid wires get told by the TCU which ones are on or off and the result is which gear you're in so something is telling them to drop into 1st which is brutal at 50mph. Make sure you have a rev limiter set to a safe number.

VSS signal is good and reading accurately on dash?

The nice thing about the shift box is you tell the Solenoids which gear you want manually so this is a great option if your research leads to no answer you can find.

Kiggly Manumatic is another option though the Forced Four boxes can do much more.

Yeah those downshifts are brutal it quickly just drops 2 gears and sends me into the dash haha. I haven’t driven it much since I don’t want to hurt the new trans but it has done it twice, both times coming after I let off the throttle after doing a light pull

speed sensor seems to be working atleast from what I see on the dash

And the car does see mainly street driving, can you use a shift box/smart TCM long term just driving regularly? I didn’t know if the full pressure shifts would do any damage in the long run or not

 

[Car Cannibal]

Shifts with 100% line pressure are actually great, no clutches slipping, it's just jarring for most people. I'll take 100% full pressure with 160 auto trans temps for of clutch life over soft shifts and getting grilled by the trans builder.

 

[Tyler Davis]

Shifts with 100% line pressure are actually great, no clutches slipping, it's just jarring for most people. I'll take 100% full pressure with 160 auto trans temps for of clutch life over soft shifts and getting grilled by the trans builder.

I just ordered a smart 150 tcm so hopefully it isn’t a horribly complicated process to set up/tune, I know the wiring will be a little annoying but atleast I’ll have more control

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

It's not hard. I kept my original TCU harness ends, but don't run the factory TCU. I tapped into the wires needed, behind the connector and soldered in the needed wires.
12+
12-
VSS
RPM
Solenoid A
Solenoid B
And for 2g's, there is a converter lockup
You can add a display, which I did but it shows you what gear with no extra wiring that I can think of. You program it with a laptop, and luckily, now, they come with a set of shift maps included. Way back when I got mine, I had to figure out how to make shift maps.
It's not hard.

 

[Tyler Davis]

It's not hard. I kept my original TCU harness ends, but don't run the factory TCU. I tapped into the wires needed, behind the connector and soldered in the needed wires.
12+
12-
VSS
RPM
Solenoid A
Solenoid B
And for 2g's, there is a converter lockup
You can add a display, which I did but it shows you what gear with no extra wiring that I can think of. You program it with a laptop, and luckily, now, they come with a set of shift maps included. Way back when I got mine, I had to figure out how to make shift maps.
It's not hard.

Sweet sounds easy enough! Thanks again Marty! It seemed like a lot of guys like to retain the stock TCU but I don’t really want to so that’s reassuring that you don’t use it.

 

[Bud92gsx]

Personally if I were to to it again with an auto..id go straight to a shift box..I have not used the tcu mod.. so please tag me if you post any vids using it.. @1990TSIAWDTALON as well I would live to see this in action pleaseeeeeee..

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Bud, I gotta get that new mainshaft into the auto car then I can go throw down. Give me a little more time, I'm retiring from work, so I can have time to WORK on all these dam cars,

 

[Tyler Davis]

Just wanted to update and say problem seems to be figured out after switching out the valvebody, thank you guys for the help! Smart tcm also works great!

 

[Bud92gsx]

Bud, I gotta get that new mainshaft into the auto car then I can go throw down. Give me a little more time, I'm retiring from work, so I can have time to WORK on all these dam cars,

Helllllll yesss brother..I'll be waiting for a Marty update on the old you toob.

Just wanted to update and say problem seems to be figured out after switching out the valvebody, thank you guys for the help! Smart tcm also works great!

You did get a shift box? Forced 4? You can also wire in evo X paddle shifters.. might wanna look Into that too.

 

[Tyler Davis]

Helllllll yesss brother..I'll be waiting for a Marty update on the old you toob.

You did get a shift box? Forced 4? You can also wire in evo X paddle shifters.. might wanna look Into that too.

Yeah I bought the forced four smart tcm 150, I do want to do either some kind of paddle shifters or the 3g shifter but for now I’m just using the handheld in hopes this thing will make it out to the shootout in a couple weeks