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Need help with tuning my automatic shift points???

5K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  Insane 
#1 ·
i bought a sf flash tuner for my 2000 ford focus zx3 2.0 zetec... Its pretty self explanitory but my car is shifting hard now.... is this normal??? it has some settings about shift pressure if im not mistaken but idk the optimal pressure??? can anybody help me??? and whats the best other settings to run .... spark timing ect???? thanks
 
#2 ·
^^ Yes it is normal for it to shift harder. From what I understand I don't think anyone will tell you anything about the timing of spark. Your best bet is to buy someones tune. Tom will give a tune for 125 I believe. Maybe free updates as long as you stay n/a?
 
#3 ·
Thanks man that helps me out.... should i mess with the shift pressure or no??? and it has a performance tune already programmed in i just want to make a couple adjustments, if i have to, to make it the best that this tuner can give me for right now then mybe later i can get a little better tune from tom ive heard on here his tunes are really good...
 
#4 ·
go ahead and play with shift pressure. But dont go too firm, you can blow out your front oil seal. (learned this one the hard way a while back)

do not go ahead and play with spark and fuel, unless you know what you are doing.
 
#5 ·
okay man thanks for your help ..... how much is the most it will take not trying to replace a front oil seal??....lol
 
#6 ·
its hard to say because the x3/xcal2 makes changes in percent relative to the base tune. So if I told you I used to run 20% in 1-2, 20% 2-3 and 15% 3-4 it wouldnt mean a thing because my base tune was different from yours.

basically if it sounds like its hurting the trans, it probably is.

You should feel a nice firm tug during a shift, if it actually slams into the next gear then i say that is too much to run on the street.
 
#8 ·
well when i accelerate pretty hard it chirps second(squeals the tire when going into second).... so id say it is a firm tug lol ill try decrease some of the pressure between 1-2 that should do the trick because i looked at the tuner and it is reading my car with o% through all gears .....thanks for you alls help ill keep you posted im going to head out nd try decreaseing the pressure.....
 
#10 ·
Wait so it's safe to have the pressure up so much that the auto chirps going into second gear?
 
#11 ·
Sure. Just watch for that front oil seal that Illinipo talked about. I mean you don't want to go too much but increasing line pressure in automatics actually helps with longevity of the friction devices in the transmission. It won't be as comfortable as you will feel the shifts much more but the less slipping of the friction devices the better. Just don't go crazy with it.
 
#12 ·
thank you all again... i set my 1-2 up 5% and its still chirping at high rpms :) but its not jerking like it was in lower rpms because i guess a little more pressure is what it needed to lubricate the devices a little better to make it shift little bit smoother .... i also bumped my 2-3 to 10% and 3-4 10% but like jetrinka said "It won't be as comfortable as you will feel the shifts much more but the less slipping of the friction devices the better. Just don't go crazy with it." thanks again guys for the help
 
#13 ·
I do hope when I get Toms tune it chirps the tires. Oh, what a happy day that would be!
 
#14 ·
hey i was thinking about getting that programmer. i have an auto too. is it worth it? i know the shifts points are noticable but do you notice a performance increase? what other mods do you have to your car?
 
#15 ·
I cant floor first period when it rains like i use to be able to. FYI i have the goodyear eagle ds-g3 tires so traction in wet is very good..
 
#16 ·
My tuner (not Tom) says that the factory shift pressure range has a max/min on it and he seldom has to go beyond the max factory setting. He set up my Escape and the 1-2 shift is pretty firm. He tries to stay in the factory range so that Ford can't say that the tune caused a problem that they wouldn't cover under warranty.
 
#17 ·
does it actually make the auto feel more of a sports car???? i know i hate how it shifts now, i like the idea of chirping into second ;-) does it still do that for you?
 
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