[Shawnski]

No problem man!! I talked to Torrie at Unleashed too and he can update your tune for launching in 2nd so the car doesn't automatically try to downshift to 1st when brake boosting on the line as well.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I’m running Livernois now but planning to buy Unleashed over the off-season. Yet another reason to switch!

 

[LeVeL]

I'm stock so manually shifting would be terrible for me, given how slow the 2-3 shift is.

 

[Shawnski]

I didn’t manual shift it with the paddles for those runs. (The paddle shift function in these cars is just shameful really) When it’s in manual mode it will automatically upshift at redline (after an almost imperceptibly brief moment of over rev). I’ve read lots of guys posts about how it will skip gears in some circumstances when driven that way on the street and I took a chance it wouldn’t do that under WOT. Which it didn’t, luckily. It was still off .2-.4 from where it typically runs low 12.40s

 

[LeVeL]

Mine bounced off the rev limiter recently and wouldn't shift up on its own in manual mode. I could've sworn it used to do it but maybe not (again, I'm stock). Need to try it again and see.

 

[LeVeL]

What do you guys run for tire pressures at the strip?

 

[Shawnski]

I’m on 245/40ZR19 Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 all-season tires with 85% tread. I run 44 psi for daily driving, but I’ll drop to 38 to race.
I see lots of guys monkey with their street tires all night and I’m pretty sure it’s only good for working off nerves. Same thing with doing huge burnouts on street tires - they’re specifically designed to shed heat, and burnouts just waste treadlife. Unless you’re on those $400 a piece ultra high perf Michelin Pilot Sports or some other high end stuff I don’t see a burnout helping and the sidewalls on those tires are so stiff, dropping pressure is a very limited method to gain any traction. Frankly, I never felt that my car/traction/weight transfer/horsepower equation was that much affected by the tire pressure, especially running deep-tread all-season tires.
If I had DOT drag radials then I’d have to get serious about tire pressures.

 

[Just Bob]

Torrie and I worked on tweaking the tune in early summer to be able to start in 2nd. Colin told me it was possible and it took us about 7 tune revisions to make it work well. Others have tweaked their tunes to do it also. It takes .1-.15 seconds to do the 1-2 shift so that’s the time you can save by starting in 2nd.

 

[metroplex]

Torrie and I worked on tweaking the tune in early summer to be able to start in 2nd. Colin told me it was possible and it took us about 7 tune revisions to make it work well. Others have tweaked their tunes to do it also. It takes .1-.15 seconds to do the 1-2 shift so that’s the time you can save by starting in 2nd.

That's what I say about the 8Fxx on the Edge ST and the 10R60 on the Explorer ST. Those transmissions have 1 or 2 really short gears that are totally unnecessary with the 2.7/3.0 EcoBoost engines (respectively). However, the 1st gear ratio on the 6F55 should help acceleration since traction is not a problem.

 

[metroplex]

Mine bounced off the rev limiter recently and wouldn't shift up on its own in manual mode. I could've sworn it used to do it but maybe not (again, I'm stock). Need to try it again and see.

As long as you put it into Sport mode and NOT click it down into 1st, it should auto shift up. It's only when you're in sport mode and manually downshift into 1st gear that you'll bang into the limiter. When I accidentally do that I immediately upshift to 2nd using the paddles (or button on my Explorer) because by the time that manual upshift command reaches the hamster in the PCM/TCM it will be shifting before you hit the limiter. I discovered this issue with my 2014 SHO and could never figure out how to tune this out. So for drag racing, I just leave it in Sport mode and let it do its thing.

My understanding is that GM's trans tuning department is light years ahead of Ford's, so the GM 10L90 (Ford 10R80) on the Camaro ZL1 was tuned so that its manually commanded shifts were as fast as the McLaren's DCT shifts. Meanwhile, Ford's 10R80 either doesn't shift right or shifts just OK - and needs a lot of tuning work. Watching an onboard track footage of the ZL1 automatic, you'd think it had a Ferrari tuned DCT and not a GM tuned version of Ford's transmission.

 

[Engineer]

As long as you put it into Sport mode and NOT click it down into 1st, it should auto shift up. It's only when you're in sport mode and manually downshift into 1st gear that you'll bang into the limiter. When I accidentally do that I immediately upshift to 2nd using the paddles (or button on my Explorer) because by the time that manual upshift command reaches the hamster in the PCM/TCM it will be shifting before you hit the limiter. I discovered this issue with my 2014 SHO and could never figure out how to tune this out. So for drag racing, I just leave it in Sport mode and let it do its thing.

My understanding is that GM's trans tuning department is light years ahead of Ford's, so the GM 10L90 (Ford 10R80) on the Camaro ZL1 was tuned so that its manually commanded shifts were as fast as the McLaren's DCT shifts. Meanwhile, Ford's 10R80 either doesn't shift right or shifts just OK - and needs a lot of tuning work. Watching an onboard track footage of the ZL1 automatic, you'd think it had a Ferrari tuned DCT and not a GM tuned version of Ford's transmission.

Makes me wonder what kind of PSI they're running on those 10L90s. I think our 6F55 runs around 250PSI stock right? I think Ford just really puts a premium on smoothness over responsiveness. One thing I've considered on my FFS is raising that up a little, if I can ever get my MVPI2 to see vehicle power.

 

[Engineer]

Another thing is it'd be really nice if there were dual maps (Sport/Drive) so we could up the PSI on the tranny in Sport and have it normal or whatever in Drive. But everything I've seen says there's only one map.

 

[Shawnski]

Makes me wonder what kind of PSI they're running on those 10L90s. I think our 6F55 runs around 250PSI stock right? I think Ford just really puts a premium on smoothness over responsiveness. One thing I've considered on my FFS is raising that up a little, if I can ever get my MVPI2 to see vehicle power.

I spoke to a Ford vehicle engineer once who told me that every time Ford calibrates an automatic transmission and throttle response for performance they get huge customer feedback complaining that the transmission is “clunky” or “jerky”. That was what was behind the “smart transmission algorithm” that was supposed to “learn how you drive and adjust”. We had a 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer AWD that had that feature, and when I took it over as a daily driver from my wife, it was a slug. A month of 90 mile round trip commuting and it absolutely was shifting differently.

I suppose GM drivers don’t complain about hard shifts because they are just glad their transmission is shifting at all, and welcome the feel of something actually working on their vehicles.

 

[Engineer]

I spoke to a Ford vehicle engineer once who told me that every time Ford calibrates an automatic transmission and throttle response for performance they get huge customer feedback complaining that the transmission is “clunky” or “jerky”. That was what was behind the “smart transmission algorithm” that was supposed to “learn how you drive and adjust”. We had a 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer AWD that had that feature, and when I took it over as a daily driver from my wife, it was a slug. A month of 90 mile round trip commuting and it absolutely was shifting differently.

I suppose GM drivers don’t complain about hard shifts because they are just glad their transmission is shifting at all, and welcome the feel of something actually working on their vehicles.

It's funny you mention that because:
1. I have a brother-in-law who still gives me the "Fix Or Repair Daily" line (he still hates my little Fusion makes more power than his Magnum V8-powered RAM truck). But in my experience, Fords have been very reliable.
2. My wife and I shared my old '16 Fusion for a while and when she drove it, it would shift like a slug for a while after, then wake up again once I'd driven it for a while.
3. If I have to drive behind my wife, which I do sometimes (I'm always behind her if we both have to drive somewhere), same deal. My FFS will start shifting slow again, then wake up after I've gotten a chance to drive it normally again.

This, despite the fact that I've heard the primary purpose of that learning algorithm is transmission lifespan, more so than pleasing the driver. But there's no question in my mind that it adapts to your driving style. I have no idea if the GM cars do that or not, but the Fords definitely do.

 

[metroplex]

The adaptive stuff is also on the GM transmissions. They use a separate transmission control module so when I flash a new tune it basically does it twice, once for the PCM and another for the TCM. On their version of the 6F35 and 6F55, there's no sport mode. Instead there is a performance shift mode that engages when you do some aggressive cornering and driving and it comes on. I don't see a way to tune that but their strategy is very different from Ford. But the adaptive is mainly to compensate for wear, not so much driving style. I find that once you flash a new tune it takes a week or more before the shifts feel normal.

 

[Oxford]

I just went for my second time this past wed. I've been slowly improving my 60' and launching the car.

I'm stock too. I turn TC off and keep it in sport. Usually at the track with 1/4 tank.

After stage I pretty much wait until the first yellow lights up before I'm on the accelerator. Don't let it go over 2.5k and send it on green. Plan on going again tonight because cooler weather. Should be able to run a 13.7 like the car mags say.

See below: car 034 (yes I know I got smoked lol).

View attachment 27058

Thanks for posting this. I don't know if you improved your time yet, but It was nice comparing to my run. I ran a 8.70 with a 1.911 60ft time at 79.6mph in the 1/8th. You can definitely hit 13.6 with that! Did you improve your times yet since this post?

 

[Brandon2G]

Thanks for posting this. I don't know if you improved your time yet, but It was nice comparing to my run. I ran a 8.70 with a 1.911 60ft time at 79.6mph in the 1/8th. You can definitely hit 13.6 with that! Did you improve your times yet since this post?

I was able to go one more time before they closed for the season. Hopefully next season I'll have some time to get up there and do a few more runs. I definitely think there might be a tenth or 2 left on the 1/4.

Edit: I'm car 153.

 

[LeVeL]

I can now confirm that when I'm in Sport mode and manual shift my stock car a) will upshift if I'm at WOT, b) will NOT upshift if I'm anything less than WOT and it'll bang the rev limiter.

 

[Shawnski]

That guy in the right lane had a 13.44 at 119.42 mph?!?!

 

[maydk65]

Right lane, Reaction time wasn't too bad, but I bet he was spinning his tires alot. He made up for it though.

 

[01Cobra]

That guy in the right lane had a 13.44 at 119.42 mph?!?!

I did 11.3 @ 130mph in the Cobra. These things happen.