I purchased an auto fd a few months ago and have always had problems accelerating under 2K RPM. Past 2K, acceleration is fine and the car hauls ***. The acceleration is so lame that I am nervous turning across traffic in an intersection. My mechanic says it's probably the auto tranny, which makes sense, but before I commit to an auto to manual swap are there any other suggestions? Do all auto fds accelerate this slow before 2K RPM?

 

Many motors in general (rotaries especially) make poor power below 2K rpm. Going to a manual would allow you to downshift to jump up in the rpm band, however, any automatic should kick down a gear or two with enough throttle input.

 

use the hold feature.

 

i think its either the tranny or some other prob, kuzz i dont know bout you guys but my stcok fd with low compression motor made good low end power, the tiny primary starts to spool at low rpm's, i would have power probs a little below 2,000, but nothing so weak its uncomfortable to drive in daily traffic. i really dont know much about cars, but possibly your auto tranny is not downshifting when its supposed to, like when you hit the gas more than a little bit, or possibly the primary turbo has a problem? i dunno

 

whats the hold feature?

 

if you drive in D the car starts in second gear. Try driving around in S when your in the city. I think that should start you out in 1st gear. If you wanted to start out in first for sure just put it in 1. That will keep the tranny in 1st and 2nd gear. My fd auto sucks until it gets up in the rpm's too in D. So don't worry too much. The hold button is on the shifter and it "holds" the transmission in what evergear you press it in. I you shift to 1st and press the hold button you can control when the car shifts by shifting it up yourself.

Also where are you from in MN Madboost? I'm coming home to MN at the end of the month and I don't know where any of the spots are to hang out and show off cars are anymore.

 

It may be that the Hold feature IS engaged(?). Thus starting acceleration/movement from a complete start in 2nd gear. An Auto FD will exhibit a little "lag" from a dead start, but it should gain rpms/HP rather quickly once it hits 1500rpm.

 

The hold feature isn't engaged while I am driving normally (I tried starting out in D with hold and it was twice as bad). Just to make sure I was starting out in first, I turned hold on, put the car in 1, and floored it. The exact same problem occurred. It was like the car just had no power then after 2K RPM it just took off. This is a big problem because it takes almost three seconds to move from 1K to 2K RPM. This can't be right. Do you think my transmission is messed up?

 

My Fd Auto sucks to 2,000 RPM's and it it slightly modded.

 

ok first of all when in hold mode d is your 3rd gear which is why your accelaration was even worse.Try starting out in 1 in hold mode.Thats your first gear and s is your second gear.D is third gear and pressing the hold mode again while in d will release hold so you can go into your 4th gear.There you go.Let us know whats up.But just to let you know im also having accelaration issues even with hold mode and I already have 3 mods.Intake,catback and downpipe.Im thinking its the tranny getting ready to take a ****.Theres quite a few solenoids in the tranny that can malfunction therefore robbing accelaration.

 

What are you boosting between 1K-2K? I don't think it's your tranny. Sounds like it's the infamous Auto Turbo Lag! You should feel it pull strong right after 2K in WOT.

 

Check your A/F ratio and see if the O2 sensor has gone crappy and delivering too much fuel.

 

Word!

 

I couldnt figure out the HOLD button trick till I read Yetisoldier's explanation. THanks!

 

Only if the HOLD button is down. If you are in "D" without HOLD, then the car will shift normally (1-2-3-4).

As for the slow launches... Here's a little write-up I did a while back:


First off, work on your launch technique. Intuitively, one will think, "It's AUTOMATIC! All I do is stomp the accelerator, right?" Wrong. Ever notice that the car has almost no power when you stomp the accelerator? If you gradually depress the accelerater, then you will get a much faster launch. A great AT (Automatic Transmission) launch requires both practice and know-how. Listen up.


This is just about the fastest way to launch the AT FD.

- Put the transmission selector in the "L" position.
- Activate the Hold feature by pressing the Hold button on the top of the transmission selector.
- Press FIRMLY on the brake with your left foot.
- Carefully depress the accelerator with your right foot until you just about reach your stall speed. Your stall speed will likely be at or above 2500rpm. If you don't know what the stall speed is, scroll down to the end of this post. You are now doing what is called "Brake Torquing". You will hear creaking sounds as your revs increase. This is normal. Don't do this for longer peroids of time (1 minute MAX!), because you are drastically raising the temperature of your transmission fluid.
- When the light turns green, release the break, but DO NOT stomp the accelerator. GRADUALLY depress the accelerator as your car gains speed. You should not reach WOT (Wide Open Throttle - accelerator fully depressed) until about 5000rpm.
- At 6500rpm press the Hold button again to disable the hold feature and allow the car to shift automatically.


--- STALL SPEED ---
This is the maximum rate at which your TC (Torque Converter) can spin while your brakes are locked. The stock AT FD TC usually stalls the engine anywhere between 2500rpm and 3000rpm. Stall speed is affected by temperature, TC design, TC condition, ECU, and probably other stuff. You can find your stall speed by brake torquing until the engine seems like it is struggling to run (i.e. it seems like the engine is on the brink of stalling). Try not to stall your engine.

 

I have a solution for it!

 

My roommate has an auto FD and it is absolutely lethargic below 2k. Something is wrong with the torque converter because the stall speed is about 800-1k rpm, not 2800-3000 like it should be. Check to see if your stall speed is where it should be, it may be a problem with the TC or wiring. I'll be digging into my first auto tranny as soon as I get my new motor in and running. Always another project!

 

mine is at about 1800 - 2000 rpms.Sluggish as well in the low rpms.
And what solution are you talking about ejmack?