Transmission control

[Jackpine]

Hi Ford Guy -

I'm going to try to answer you "inline". You've got a bit of it right.

Originally Posted by Ford Guy

Hey guys

This is my first post. I'm trying to decide if the Gryphon is the programer for me and I have a few questions. I hear a lot of talk about shift firmness.
How is this controlled?

On the Gryphon, Bill controls how shifts feel by adjusting torque reduction, line pressure and "delay". You can further adjust how "firm" the shift feels by making small adjustments to delay (not line pressure). The delay is a time in milliseconds between clutch release and new clutch lockup during a shift. If the delay is set at 450 ms, as an example, an adjustment of +10 on the Gryphon will reduce that delay by 10%, or to about 405 ms.

I read in the FAQ section about shift points, delays and pressure. Does this refer to three separate adjustments?

Yes - but the delay and pressure adjustments effect the "feel", while the shift points control where the shift occurs.

I have an '03 FX4 5.4

Shift points - I assume this refers to when the transmission shifts. I think the shift points are OK

Normal, part throttle shift points are controlled by both speed and throttle opening (engine load). If the load is light, the shift up happens at a lower speed and vice versa. You can actually adjust these slightly on the Gryphon if you want to. Bill can of course make more drastic adjustments when he writes a tune.

Delays - I think that this may be what I want to adjust but I'm not sure what delays deal with. I want the TC to lock up immediately with no delay after the shift.

No, you really don't. That would but terrible stress on the mechanicals in the driveline during a WOT shift. You may want to reduce the delay, and Bill does this as part of a custom tune (the canned tunes do this too). As I said earlier though, you can adjust them yourself even further. I have not touched this adjustment, because I think Bill has it "dialed" in perfectly.

Pressure - I want the TC to remain locked with moderately heavy throttle, right now it hops out of luckup as soon as a light throttle is introduced. Does pressure control this?

No - Pressure effects how quickly the clutches can lock, not how the TC behaves. I agree that Ford designs the TC to unlock too quickly under light load. Bill can adjust this in a custom tune. And, you can make further small adjustments to it yourself. I have done that because like you, I felt that the transmission was downshifting too quickly under light load and the TC was unlocking too quickly. Some day, when I have the money, I'll ask Bill to make some changes to my tunes to include these adjustments.

I want a reasonably firm shift with an immediate torque converter lockup with the TC remaining locked until I apply enough throttle to shift to a lower gear if this is possible.

I don't know if you can get EXACTLY what you are asking for here, or even if you really want that, but, as I've said, these parameters CAN be adjusted. Much of "custom tuning" does exactly that - it eliminates the "slippy", "grandpa" style shifting that Ford thought we all wanted (so we don't spill our coffee). But, I think you actually DO want the TC to unlock BEFORE the transmission downshifts, because that may be all that is necessary if the power demand is "light". You really don't want them happening at the same time.

Will a programer do what I want? Originally I was looking at the Xcal 3 but Jack (jack & Janet) suggested the Gryphon might be better (give me more control). Which unit would be better at controling the transmission?

Bill can answer that, since he sells and programs both units.

Ford Guy

Glad to have you with us!

- Jack