Auto transmission upgrades or shift kits?
 

Does anyone know of any upgrades possible for our auto trannies? I've got an 03 with the Autostick feature, and while it makes it a little easier to keep the RPM's in the proper range and stops the tranny from having to hunt for gears based on throttle inputs, the shifts are really slow. I've searched for some info on the tranny and haven't come up with much, Roddimus didn't think the tranny was electronically controlled, but I believe it is. Reasons for this being: (1) when in Autostick mode, the tranny WILL override you around redline and if you come to a complete stop, (2) the 99-00 1.6 and 1.8 tranny model # is FN4A-EL, the EL probably stands for "electronic" as the older models were just FN4A, and (3) when in the Autostick mode, there is no way the position of the shifter can dictate what gear your in by a direct connection via a linkage, so there has to be a solenoid somewhere that controls the shifts. I guess this also applies to no. 1 since the Autostick can override you as well.

Rod, maybe you can talk to the guys at Wagner about this in regard to the AEM tuner. You might ask if it can even be used on an auto tranny car as quite a few of the cars listed on AEM's site specify M/T only.

It's electronically controlled. Since the FN4A-EL and 4F27E are similar (or maybe the same?), you might have some luck checking out the parts for the Ford Focus.

Here's a nice article to get your mouth watering: http://www.musclemustangfastfords.co...cus/index.html

According to Edwin's FAQ, we also use the FN4A-EL in our 2.0's. That Focus article was pretty good, although it sounds like it would be probably be in the $1500-2000 range at the least, and they still didn't really seem to know what they're doing considering the problems they ran into with the ECU overriding them. Maybe my car is just destined to shift slow.... (damn my wife for not driving stick!!!:rant: )

Their problem was with the torque convertor. A shift kit will effect line pressure. I did more research on this tonight. . . expect a ~$100 solution soon.

You will be "The MAN" if you do!:D Let me know what you find, I'm very interested in it.

so the auto-stick trannys ARE electronic?!?! If so I need to contact my friends at Wagner and see what we can do about having the AEM ecu control it. I don't think it's been tested for tranny functions yet, but I know the AEM is capable.

This is good news.

The trannies are the same it appears, be it AutoStick or not. They simply change the shifter mechanism to give you more control over the shifts.

wow, I'd like to talk with the guys and see what we can do about adding an e-shift kit to the AEM ecu. This would probably be the single best thing you coiuld ever do to an auto protege! Get rid of the crappy OEM ecu AND improve the sluggish the tranny.