Well if the weather is good I'll get to run her on the 1/4mile on the weekend.

Then I'll be able to tell you which is better... before redline, at redline or in the red zone, for accel.

Also I noticed on the other thread the guy padgett was helping... his tach might be off... that might be my issue as well.

Mine pulls harder when I shift it manually.. but that'* because my tranny slips when in auto.. for some reason??? Anyways, IMO I let the tranny governor kick in, then shift, because when it goes into the next gear, it starts pulling again, although there isn't quite as good of a pull at redline.. it'* still there at 2nd.. i've never red lined 3rd.. but I don't think I want to be going 100ish either.. because that scared the crap out of me last time!

IMO.. I don't think the electronic is such a good idea. I think our cars are who they are, because of their lack of engine/tranny electrical. I don't think i'd like my car as much, if I had all these electronics.

Merlin 91/97: You won't be able to shift in the red, the transmission governor will kick in before then. I think mine kicks in at 5200, but my tach was jumping like a 3 year old who ate a 10lb back of sugar. I will have to test it all tomorrow to confirm [tach jumping is fixed]. I think shifting at 5000rpm will yield the best results.. but I could be wrong [wouldn't be the first time ].


-justin

Torque peak on the "C" is at 2000 rpm (for best mpg at Cruise with a 55 mph National speed limit). Think the hp peaks around 4800-5k but torque is dropping fast by then. This very flat torque curve is why you get no real sensation of accelleration. Most cars build torque with rpm so as the revs climb you can feel it going faster. With the 3800 it is going as fast as it can the whole time and tends to surprise people when they look down because the sensation is not there.

Reminds me of the B-52. To go up, you do not raise the nose, is more like an elevator, is just there all of a sudden.

The tranny governor? You mean the Rev limiter? You're going to send theh transmission into frag heaven doing that. Ask SSEi95 about his manual shifting + his tranny on his garage floor with the hole in the side Your tranny will not slip any different no matter where the selector is.

A 93 Tourus weighs 3100 lbs and the 88-91 Bonneville weighs 3300 to 3400 lbs. Not even close to 700lbs heavier. I never understand why so many people think Bonnys are that heavy, there not. Maybe a 2K plus Bonneville is over 3700lbs but the H bodies and deffinaly the 1st gens are not even close. Heck, my 93' Olds 88 weighs 3428lbs and my fully loaded supercharged LSS weighs 3540lbs.

That'* where Straitor got the impression that manually shifting is bad. There is a tranny governor.. I swear there is, because at redline the engine goes back to 5k, then back to red, 5k, and does this about every second, slow, but its the governor. My car is old, and stupid, there is no rev-limiter.. just a fuel pump shut off at some crazy redline rpm [can't remember it at the moment]. Yes, there is a difference between having it on OD, and shifting it manually.. why? good question, but I KNOW there is a difference. I also don't have 1st gear in auto [don't know why on that account either], so I just go for the manual shifting. How does manually shifting an auto, damage the tranny?


-justin

frankly,i dont see how manual shifting would damage it. all you are doing in manual mode is telling the tranny what the highest gear u want it to use. as long as u do it reasonably, and dont kill the tranny, i dont see any problem. but simply remember that having to do this may be a warning sign of what is to come. i took the bonneville out for tests today. the torque converter test thing came up to 2600 rpm, and the 0-60 was 11.90 with a pedal shift at 5300 rpm out of first gear, while running over the rumble strips on the side of the highway for the first 20 mph. then i proceeded home with caution as some guy called the cops on me for wreckless driving ( im assuming) ( i cut him off cuz i was gonna miss my exit, didnt even have to hit his brakes< cry me a river >)

11.9, sounds right enough.

I've never seen faster speeds by shifting manually.

also, the newer cars (don't know what year it started) but on my car I can leave the selector in 1st and you can keep the pedal to the floor and once it gets to around 5,900 RPM it shifts into 2nd gear even though you have the shifter in 1st.

That happend in 96/97 with GM vehicles. Ford came later, I believe. what is your redline? 5,900 to me is bye bye engine rpm.


-justin