VT 5 Litre Auto shift points

[Jim HX]

Hi all,

I have a 99 VT Berlina wagon with factory 5 Litre Automatic. I have owned this for about a year, and am starting to get sick of the shift points in the auto. It will not shift into 4th until 70km/h and then it is very quick to shift back to third. it is still quick to drop gears (and unlock the torque converter) at 100 - 110 km/h at the slightest sign of a hill etc. at first I though that it was somehow stuck in PWR mode, but it is even worse in PWR. It is also more touchy on cruise, and when it drops back to 3rd it is extreemly slow to go back to 4th (sometimes have to disengage cruise, wait for it to grab 4th and then resume cruise). I have heard of Holden fitting a so called "tow chip" as an option, but don't know if this is true.
I have a mate with a VT SS 5 Litre, and his car shifts normal. Also my old VR Caprice almost never kicked down for hills, onlt if I planted the right foot.

Any Ideas??

Thanks,

Jim

[Mirkz]

my VT SS does the same at 70kmh. Will go to 4th and then back to 3rd quite easily etc if dropping under 70kmh.
hitting my PWR button makes it shift at about 75-80kmh instead.
Sometimes when on those long 70kmh roads, I'll just leave it in 3rd rather than D.
Can't stand the shifting back and forth sometimes, and I personally think it should shift at 75 standard, I don't like the ratio much in my car, always feels like it's shifting too early.

[Jim HX]

Yeah my mate who had a VT SS said he had taken it to holden to get the shift points set back to the factory defaults, as he reckoned that they went back to the 70 kph settings over time.

I went to the local holden dealer and the service manager had no idea what I was talking about. I probably would have had more luck talking to one of the mechanics...

[chargedvx6]

Yeah my mate who had a VT SS said he had taken it to holden to get the shift points set back to the factory defaults, as he reckoned that they went back to the 70 kph settings over time.

I went to the local holden dealer and the service manager had no idea what I was talking about. I probably would have had more luck talking to one of the mechanics...

The service manager had no idea what you were talking about because it's not possible. The shift points are set in the tune and they remain the same until someone actually retunes the ecu shift points. If your mate got the shift points set back to standard chances are he was dreaming. Holden standard procedure for any ecu fault (i.e. shift settings not working) would be a replacement ecu at a cost of around $1600 lmao

[lufkin]

this is from my service manual, not sure if its what your looking for but it may help

[Jim HX]

Thanks Lufkin,

Looks like it is shifting as per the factory specs. I much prefered the shift points in the VR that I had...

Cheers

[karlos]

You want it in 3rd at 60kmh/r as the torque convertor is locked up(just,does it at 58-59kmh/r),this aids fuel economy aswell.

Unless Im in a 80 zone it stays in 3rd on the shifter for me.Convertor doesnt lock up until 80kmh/r in 4th.