Improving First gear technique

[alex62390]

Originally Posted by Squishynoise

What is Tom's Tune?

I'm not too concerned with red light racing so much, but I don't like that there is a lack of response in first.

And this is leading to something I've been thinking about in terms of what I want from the car.

If I were going to start modifying the car for performance the most important factors in performance for me are handling and responsiveness. Top end speed isn't that important. Cornering and out of turn acceleration are important.

Also passing speed.
A situation today where I was getting boxed in on the highway and in fifth gear 70 mph around 4500 rpms I put the pedal down so I could jump in front of a chevy impala with a wobbly emergency tire that was trying to pass me on the right. I didn't want that guy beside me or in front of me with that tire wobbling like a top.
Well I put the peddle down and got nothing but a steady and smooth vroom increase that was rather slow.
I didn't like that. It made me mad. I could have easily gotten around that guy in my expedition, but not the focus.
I know there is a difference between a V8 triton and an inline 4 2.0 liter.

But the focus can fit inside the expedition if you take out all the seats LOL.
Since the focus is so lite, I was expecting it to be more responsive.

So was that primarily a transmission issue you think? Or the Differential mainly?
Cause I've looked over changing the differential. For $1000.00 it's not a cheap mod, but if it evens out the wheel power and makes energy transfer more direct then it might the most important first step for me.

New stage 3 clutch and flywheel would probably be next after the differential.

More than horsepower I might want to consider how to increase or improve the transfer of the power I do have more efficiently.

Stage 3 clutch should allow me to put more rpms on the transfer right, what do they call that, the "put weight"? Is that it?

Toms tune is basically new software for the ECU. It will improve the engine management.

Acceleration in 5th at 4500 should be steady smooth and swift. I can accelerate around a car in 5th without any issues. Your Expedition automatically down shifts 1 or 2 gears when you floor it. The higher RPM might make it feel like its faster, but i doubt it actually is. Try dropping to 4th, you'll be out of there pretty quick. It does not sound like there is a transmission, or differential issue. A LSD (limited slip diff) will help with the cornering ability. A new flywheel will lighten the rotating mass of the engine, allowing it to rev up quicker and loose less power spinning the weight. I don't understand your last sentence.

[tukaniSVT]

Originally Posted by BobOfTheFuture

You've got this backwards, the heavier the flywheel, the easier it is to start from a stop.

Mass tends to stay in motion and all that.

Did I? ... hmm ... I've told other. But anyways. I stuck with the Stock when I changed up my transmission parts (blew it in a flood we had).

Didn't want to get that loud chatter that Aftermarket makes.

Back to the OP and shifting to pass the Wobble tire car ... yeah, changing gears to a gear that pushes past 4500 in the stock format is the way to pass.

I would look into a High-flo cat or Off-road pipe(if your law allows this one) to give you some umph in the upper range more.

-Ray-

[BobOfTheFuture]

Yep, Think about it, if you get a heavy flywheel spinning, then put a load that tries to stop it- the drivetrain via clutch, the heavy flywheel will put more motion into the drivetrain before it (and the engine) stops. The lighter the flywheel, the lighter the rotable assy of the engine and the more rpm needed to make up the difference. Sadly, this is the drawback of light weight flywheels. Same goes for when climbing shorter hills at parkway speeds.

-Redacted-

[alex62390]

Originally Posted by BobOfTheFuture

May I politely suggest you learn up a bit on power curves, and what the power curve looks like on the SVT?

Let my reiterate- the powerband I suggested is at the highest point of the tq curve, and the ratios are designed to make optimal use of this. Once you learn this, every time you hear someone complain how 3rd gear is too short, you can smirk to yourself, because you know better.

I was attempting to say, the noise of the expedition at higher RPM might make it feel like its going faster then it actually is. My idea has little to do with actual power and more to do with perceived acceleration.

if i am driving legally down the highway, 5th is usually plenty to pass a car. I am not trying to race just 5 -10 mph more is plenty.

[BobOfTheFuture]

Welp, I am talking about accel that has been checked, personally by me, with a G meter. And Is backed by all the science and graphs i posted up a few posts^^

And again, 5th ofcourse is plenty... so can 6th depending on the gap you have. His explanation didnt seem like he could be leisurely about it. And if it was a different situation, say passing on a 2 lane road, 5th could kill ya.

But hey ofcourse either way works, but the same could be said about picking the stairs while trying to get to the top of the Empire state building. One way is quick efficient and safer, one is less so.

[alex62390]

You have an Expedition to compare to your SVT? I was coming back to edit my previous post, to ensure that i specify, i was referring to the acceleration of the expedition compared to the SVT. so i will restate in a different way to see if i can make my point more clearly.

The Expedition he was using for comparison is an automatic, therefore it automatically down shifts 1 or 2 gears. SO, then the engine spins faster (aka higher rpm), generating more noise. The SVT on the other hand is a manual, it does not down shift. The noise of the Expedition might make it sound and feel like it accelerates faster then the SVT. I doubt the Expedition is actually faster then the SVT. My dads expedition was a pig, and much slower then the Yukon he has now. There, i hope this is clearer. I really dislike being misunderstood.

No shit the SVT is faster accelerating at higher RPM, it has more power there. Not at all what i was getting at in any way.

[BobOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by alex62390

You have an Expedition to compare to your SVT? I was coming back to edit my previous post, to ensure that i specify, i was referring to the acceleration of the expedition compared to the SVT. so i will restate in a different way to see if i can make my point more clearly.

The Expedition he was using for comparison is an automatic, therefore it automatically down shifts 1 or 2 gears. SO, then the engine spins faster (aka higher rpm), generating more noise. The SVT on the other hand is a manual, it does not down shift. The noise of the Expedition might make it sound and feel like it accelerates faster then the SVT. I doubt the Expedition is actually faster then the SVT. My dads expedition was a pig, and much slower then the Yukon he has now. There, i hope this is clearer. I really dislike being misunderstood.

No shit the SVT is faster accelerating at higher RPM, it has more power there. Not at all what i was getting at in any way.

Totally looked like you were telling me that the proper gear just made more noise and didnt speed things up. Sorry, but that wasnt clear at all, but thanks for making it so.

I agreed with you, but I dont belive he was selecting the proper gear.

[alex62390]

Originally Posted by BobOfTheFuture

Totally looked like you were telling me that the proper gear just made more noise and didnt speed things up. Sorry, but that wasnt clear at all, but thanks for making it so.

I agreed with you, but I dont belive he was selecting the proper gear.

Oh, i'm sorry, glad we cleared that up. Now back to the original topic.

[MichSVT]

3000-3200 rpm = best launch
4th gear passing is solid, 5th is ok

The car is still a lot more fun to just take on on-ramps and curves than anything else!

[GodLovesUgly]

all the technical mumbo jumbo aside..
at the beginning of this years autox season i had platinum sparks (can't remember the brand) and my launch really sucked. so i simply got some Motorcraft copper cores and it helped dramatically.. Gap them to .60 IIRC and you will notice a difference, at least i did. it's the least expensive way to improve it other than learning how to let the clutch out right. i rev to about 3.5k-4k and let the clutch out slower than i normally would and it hooks up fine. don't expect a to chirp the tires like a duratec focus, i'm lucky to get them to yell launching from 4k but that doesn't mean it's not a faster launch.