VX L67 wont stay in 4th at 80kmh? Mechanic says it's normal.. how to fix this?

[Rooney69]

I've got a 2002 VX L67 and when driving around at any other speed it is fine,

BUT when trying to sit on 80km/h the car goes from 1600-1700rpm to 2000-2100rpm and jumps down to 3rd gear.

A auto trans specialist looked at it, called Holden, ran his computer diagnostics and called me back saying it was 100% fine,

and that the car was designed to change down to 3rd at 80 and that it's all in my head, wtf do I do? it's so frustrating.


I have a exhaust and it just goes up and down and up and down all bloody morning driving to work because of the kick down..

What could I upgrade/replace to fix this, like something that stops the car from changing to 3rd at 80?

Sorry if this is really noob like and basic but I'm not exactly a pro. I'm willing to spend anywhere up to $1200 to fix this issue..

 

[Immortality]

It is how the L67 engines (or in this case the transmissions) are tuned. If it really bothers you get one of the guys on the forum to do a chip tune for you to alter the trans shift points/TCC lock/unlock to suit (looking at maybe $100 for a chip tune depending on who's doing it).

Another alternative is to change the diff gears which will move the shift points and you will get a improvement in acceleration/enjoyment factor too but is a lot more costly.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

If you are driving at 80kph or under, just leave the trans in 3rd gear. You might have a slight increase in fuel consumption, but you will find it much more comfortable to drive because the car won't gather speed every time you go down a slight hill, and you won't have the problem with the trans shifting from 3rd to 4th and back again. 4th gear is an overdrive which is mainly designed to be used at over 80kph. I have always used 3rd gear in the trans on my Commodores around the city (non-freeway).

 

[Towcar]

I remember my boss had a brand new XU6 and sent it back as it did the same thing and drove him nuts, Holden had it back so many times and then came back and said it was normal.

He ended up with an SS LS1 and was much happier.

 

[Immortality]

TBH it's fairly damn stupid when you think about it as 80km/h is a standard posted speed limit so it's really stupid to put shift points around that speed.

I altered mine so at low loads it stays in 3rd a bit longer and keeps the converter locked so although it pulls the revs down a touch there is no converter slip and it feels like it pulls/accelerates much better

I'd suggest picking up a new MACE 69mm TB and tune to suit as this will alter the shift point and make the throttle more responsive.

 

[WHCapriceHBD]

Its how they are, particularly more so with the L67 and normal V6 engines.

The SS and cars with the V8 don't do this, because they have more torque and are able to pull 80kmh in 4th in the auto no worries as they burble over quite happily.

The little L67 and V6 have less power/torque and so the transmission computer will kick it down to 3rd at around the 80kmh mark, to increase engine revs, and keep the little engine pulling along on song. The problem is, 80kmh is a common speed limit, so its very annoying in the real world. Thanks Holden.

If you step back for a moment and think (and this will upset a lot of people so I apologize) the L67 engine makes 171ish flywheel Kw and 375Nm in a mid size car that weighs 1500-1600kg.

Now weigh that in against say a (shudder) Ford BA Falcon, base model taxi spec car (as they are also fairly common and a six cyl) these are 182Kw and 380Nm in a 1600kg car without a supercharger or any form of boost at all.

The little L67 is not really *that* powerful by modern standards despite even having a supercharger, and so the trans calibration is trying to help it pull the weight of the VX body along by shifting down to keep the engine in the right powerband. The naturally aspirated V6s are the same again or worse.

I test drove an L67 Statesman before I purchased my current LS car. I know the kickdown point you're talking about. Everyone is right when they say either swap out the woeful diff gears (sleepy 3.08:1 for the majority of non-HSV automatic cars) or have the transmission computer shift point calibration altered electronically, so it doesn't do it.

 

[Immortality]

Its how they are, particularly more so with the L67 and normal V6 engines.

The SS and cars with the V8 don't do this, because they have more torque and are able to pull 80kmh in 4th in the auto no worries as they burble over quite happily.

The little L67 and V6 have less power/torque and so the transmission computer will kick it down to 3rd at around the 80kmh mark, to increase engine revs, and keep the little engine pulling along on song. The problem is, 80kmh is a common speed limit, so its very annoying in the real world. Thanks Holden.

If you step back for a moment and think (and this will upset a lot of people so I apologize) the L67 engine makes 171ish flywheel Kw and 375Nm in a mid size car that weighs 1500-1600kg.

Now weigh that in against say a (shudder) Ford BA Falcon, base model taxi spec car (as they are also fairly common and a six cyl) these are 182Kw and 380Nm in a 1600kg car without a supercharger or any form of boost at all.

The little L67 is not really *that* powerful by modern standards despite even having a supercharger, and so the trans calibration is trying to help it pull the weight of the VX body along by shifting down to keep the engine in the right powerband. The naturally aspirated V6s are the same again or worse.

I test drove an L67 Statesman before I purchased my current LS car. I know the kickdown point you're talking about. Everyone is right when they say either swap out the woeful diff gears (sleepy 3.08:1 for the majority of non-HSV automatic cars) or have the transmission computer shift point calibration altered electronically, so it doesn't do it.

Kinda but not. The standard V6 will drop into 4th at about 60km/h but the L67 is a bit different because if you think about it, it is really just a low compression ecotec V6 when it is not on boost (so to speak). It is only the L67's that will hold on in 3rd longer. I actually changed our old ecotec to do the same as Holden are so bloody keen to get into top gear even when it isn't advantageous.

For some stupid reason Holden ran the L67's in a de-tuned state from what the same engine put out in the US, although they may only make 375Nm standard they will produce much more torque at a lower rpm than the standard V6 when on boost but when you are just cruising about as you do probably 85% of the time driving you aren't actually making use of the little huffer mounted on top of the engine. With a few little tweaks to remove the restrictions on the intake these little engines perform much better than what you got from Holden (sadly). When we got our L67 the first comment from my missus was " this thing has terrible throttle" with instructions to "fix it"......

Yes those ford 6's made good power and torque but having been in some they don't seem to make good use of it.