so i get to thinking, being the college student I have the oppertunity to ride in many differnt cars, everthing from my friends Benz, to a Explorer, a Sable, and a Century. I find it interesting how my car and the buick really have a noticeable WOT 1-2 shift, the car dosent slam into gear but, in other words a GOOD firm shift for both cars my 3800 and the buicks 3100. Now the other cars mentioned, they all have smooth WOT 1-2 shifts, i have noticed that the other cars actually seem to take a really long time, drop the RPMs ( i mean the tone of the engine changes along with the tach) and then shift. It almost seems as the other cars almost go into N for a second then slowly get into gear, on the other hand out cars just shift into gear. I am wondering if anyone else has driven other cars that take a really long time to shift compared to the 60-E

could this be a reason that our trans gets killed, I know that most engines dont make the kinda torque that we have but could this be a factor , and then again i could be crazy

any thoughts, or insights

96 and up Explorers have more torque than us I believe, but they also weigh more. I dont notice any jump in the tranny compared to our cars. 92 Lumina I drove didnt jump either, but the engine was a little preppy. Couple Rangers I driven also just kind of smoothly transitioned. Ok, just about everything besides this car had a nice shift, except for a manual Wrangler I drove, lol. Even my old Taurus and Jimmy didnt shift as hard as these do.

Allot of modern cars (esp luxury) will retard the ign timing and do all sorts of things to make the shifts a transparent as possible. very true on lexus,BMW, MB, audi etc you name it...
besides with solenoid/computer controlled shifts the PCM can do anything it wants LOL

in my buds 04 jetta 1.8T i honestly cant feel the 1-2 shift even though i know its coming..

ya my friend has a 1.8T GLS stick, so that dosent count

when i had my armada, for being a heavy suv being over 5500lbs the drivetrain was unmatched, whenever it changed gears you didnt feel anything, from 1st to 4th was smooth as silk. with the bonnie, specially in 2 gear you can feel the shift from 2rd to 3th, you would think the shifts in general would be smoother, oh well cant have it all i guess

no im saying that I love the feel of the shift, i would never give it up, Im just wondering if that is what leads to all the 60 and 65 problems

i disagree with the whole BMWs shift smoothly thing.. must be in the wrong beemer lol.. basically im sure what makes them seem like they shift weak is because of the lack of line pressure in the tranny.. plain and simple.. this is why from what ive noticed you can buy an upgraded tranny at the higher end manufacturers idk.. Ive driven in plenty beemers, benz, porsche, not a real pasta rocket though lol.. they all shift crazy too me but they all have upgraded trannys,like,, SMG2... but ya i have a stage 5 shift kit in my beasst shifts hard like really hard into second and i havnt had a single problem with it since.. it even chirps the tires and leaves rubber at wot in 2nd and 3rd lol the caprice has a 4L60-E basically the same thing as the bonne.. faster shifting=less wear on clutches yes..
later