V-10 RPMs and when to Down Shift

[89sandman]

Just picked up a 03 Flair 34 foot with the V-10 and we have some 6% grades where I live and was wondering at what rpm's you guys are shifting down at. I was letting it get down to 2-2200 before I hit the overdrive button to off, this kicks the rpms back up to about 3300-3500. Then I would feather up on the gas to keep it from revving any higher. Also was wondering what rpm's you cruise on the freeway, mine seemed to hum along at about 2400-2500.

[Waiter21]

Mine is around 2300rpm for about 62 mph in OD

Sounds like what I do.

When I'm going up the hills, I'll pop it out of OD just so its not constantly jumping in-out-in-out of OD. It will maintain 62 on the cruise control with 3300-3500 rpm. Probably aggravates me more than the tranny. If its a steep climb, I'll drop it down a gear, same reason, so it won't be constantly shifting. I then need to drop out of Cruise control and just go with the flow of 18 wheelers.

I rarely have the gas pedal all the way to the floor. If it needs to be on the floor, I probably need a lower gear.

I've read a lot of good reports about the 5-star software tune updates that will correct for a lot of this. Maybe next year.

[Johndale]

Do the 5 star tuning and you will be very happy.


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[89sandman]

Think mine must have the updates because it didn't hunt for gears, just had to push way down on the pedal to kick it down, farther than I ever go. That's why I started shifting by hand. I'm with you waiter21 unless something unusual happens I never go more than maybe 3/4 throttle. Exhaust gaskets are a terrible job

[Waiter21]

The 5-star souds like it would solve some of my concerns (not really concerns). going up a long hill with CC on, it will slow down a little then the OD will drop out, it will pick up the speed a little and the OD will shift back in.

Like I say its probably more annoying to me than the tranny, A 5-star is on my wish list.

http://www.5startuning.com/product-category/rv-tuners/

[Sweetbriar]

Got a newer coach but on a long climb I want to keep the RPMs over 3000. Want the water pump pushing as much coolant thru the engine as possible. If the traffic is heavy I'll hang with the truckers at a low speed but still with the RPMs up in the 3000 range if possible.

[TeJay]

I've read nothing but positive reports regarding the 5-Star tune. That's on my wish list as well. Most of the positive reports involve the shifting issues that most don't like about the transmission, constant searching for a different gear, down shifting, high revving of engine etc, etc.

I did get the scan gauge and have it mounted so the wire comes through the dash and I'll probably build it into the dash when we get back home. The Scan Gauge is great because when you are on the pulls up the hills you can monitor the Transmission fluid and coolant temps instantly. You can monitor 6 items at once and can change what you want to monitor very easily while driving.

When you install the Tune you plug into the OBDII connector, install, then plug the scan gauge back into the connector.

TeJay

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Think mine must have the updates because it didn't hunt for gears, just had to push way down on the pedal to kick it down, farther than I ever go. That's why I started shifting by hand. I'm with you waiter21 unless something unusual happens I never go more than maybe 3/4 throttle. Exhaust gaskets are a terrible job

you have a different trans ... that problem started with the late 06 4speed with the 4 gear under drive people call it a 5 speed but in reality its a 3 speed with 2 overdrives.. that why it trys to shift from 5th down to 3rd and skip the 3rd gear over drive... kinda goofy huh...

the trans you have is better iMO be cause the gear spread is better...

and you can hold it in the 1 to 1 gear

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

Got a newer coach but on a long climb I want to keep the RPMs over 3000. Want the water pump pushing as much coolant thru the engine as possible. If the traffic is heavy I'll hang with the truckers at a low speed but still with the RPMs up in the 3000 range if possible.

that's a smart way to do it because you are at peak torque and spinning the fan faster..

I've always done the banks full kit,,, broader torque band and less restriction on the exhaust side... so 2200-2500 worked good..

[Mark Kovalsky]

Originally Posted by LVRVLUVR

you have a different trans ... that problem started with the late 06 4speed with the 4 gear under drive people call it a 5 speed but in reality its a 3 speed with 2 overdrives.. that why it trys to shift from 5th down to 3rd and skip the 3rd gear over drive... kinda goofy huh...

That would be goofy...if it were correct, but it isn't.

The transmission in an '06 would be the 5R110 TorqShift.

Here are the ratios:
3.11:1
2.2:1
1.54:1
1:1
0.71:1

Do you see two overdrives? I don't. It is a five speed transmission. Count those ratios, there are five of them. If you don't want to count overdrive as a ratio, then let's not count underdrive, either. That means it is a one speed direct drive (1:1) transmission with one overdrive and three underdrives. In other words, a five speed transmission.

[TeJay]

I'm not an expert on the Ford transmission but this I know concerning many, many car and truck transmissions.

The industry went to something TCL or torque converter lock up. It appeared in many vehicle gear selectors as "D" Drive or "D" Shadow drive. The second D had a black box around it. In one you had no TCL in the other you did. Around 40 MPH you would feel the tranny down shift. You thought it was an overdrive but it was just the solenoid locking up the TQ and eliminating the slippage that was always present. When you touched the brake it went back into standard slippage mode. Locking up the torque converter gave you better fuel mileage.

Here's the kicker. Most even the industry started calling it an OVERDRIVE. It is not an over drive just locking up the converter. When it engaged it did sound, feel and appear to be an overdrive but it isn't.

Years ago we had some cars that did have another set of gears and it was correctly called an overdrive. Many of today's vehicles shift gears a lot and some may actually have overdrives or just clutch packs locking up different sets of planetary gears to give us different shifting and drive patterns. As most trucks are demonstrating as they design 9 and 10 speed automatics that's how they are getting the good (better) fuel mileage out of these beasts. Most or all of them are solenoid shifting controlled by a computer.

My Nephew is an engineer at the Ford plant in Detroit. He is currently setting up the lines to produce the newest 9 or 10 speed F-150 tranny.
He knows the tranny but admits that they are very complicated and not to many doing the work actually understand the total workings of these new machines. I'm very careful when talking about these transmissions. They are nothing like what I studied and worked on during my teaching career.

TeJay

[Mark Kovalsky]

Originally Posted by TeJay

I'm not an expert on the Ford transmission but this I know concerning many, many car and truck transmissions.

I am an expert on Ford transmissions.

You have mixed a lot of fact and fiction. Let's separate them.

Originally Posted by TeJay

The industry went to something TCL or torque converter lock up. It appeared in many vehicle gear selectors as "D" Drive or "D" Shadow drive. The second D had a black box around it. In one you had no TCL in the other you did.

Wrong.

One allowed the shift into the highest gear, which had a ratio of less than 1:1. By definition, this is overdrive. Many, if not all of these transmissions had torque converter lockup in third gear (1:1 ratio) and overdrive.

Originally Posted by TeJay

Around 40 MPH you would feel the tranny down shift.

You meant upshift, not downshift. Downshift would make the engine spin faster. Just correcting the terminology...

Originally Posted by TeJay

You thought it was an overdrive but it was just the solenoid locking up the TQ and eliminating the slippage that was always present. When you touched the brake it went back into standard slippage mode. Locking up the torque converter gave you better fuel mileage.

All true.

Originally Posted by TeJay

Here's the kicker. Most even the industry started calling it an OVERDRIVE. It is not an over drive just locking up the converter. When it engaged it did sound, feel and appear to be an overdrive but it isn't.

Nobody in the industry started calling it overdrive. Many people who know nothing about transmissions started calling it overdrive.

Originally Posted by TeJay

Years ago we had some cars that did have another set of gears and it was correctly called an overdrive. Many of today's vehicles shift gears a lot and some may actually have overdrives or just clutch packs locking up different sets of planetary gears to give us different shifting and drive patterns. As most trucks are demonstrating as they design 9 and 10 speed automatics that's how they are getting the good (better) fuel mileage out of these beasts. Most or all of them are solenoid shifting controlled by a computer.

It is just about impossible to find a modern automatic that does not have at least one overdrive ratio. For example, the Ford 6R140 transmission in their heavy duty trucks has two overdrive ratios AND torque converter lockup.

Originally Posted by TeJay

My Nephew is an engineer at the Ford plant in Detroit. He is currently setting up the lines to produce the newest 9 or 10 speed F-150 tranny.
He knows the tranny but admits that they are very complicated and not to many doing the work actually understand the total workings of these new machines. I'm very careful when talking about these transmissions. They are nothing like what I studied and worked on during my teaching career.

TeJay

An automatic transmission is the single most complicated subassembly in a motor vehicle. It has become far more complicated in the last couple decades.

[tderonne]

As long as we are talking facts (thanks Mark) it's worth noting the E4OD/4R100 gear ratios.

They are:

2.71:1
1.54:1
1:1
0.71:1

What's that you say? You have seen most of those numbers in this thread? You have:

The 5R110 TorqShift.

Here are the ratios:
3.11:1
2.2:1
1.54:1
1:1
0.71:1

Note that the top three ratios are the same. The calibrations are unique to each, so the upshift and downshift patterns may differ, but the top ratios are the same. These are the ones you use driving down the highway and up hills.

As for a 5/3 shift, the RPM would more than double when that happens. If you were cruising along in 5th at 2500 RPM, and it did a 5/3 shift, the RPM would be near 6000 RPM! (2500*1.54/.71 = 5422 plus some torque converter slip). That's past the fuel cutoff.

[Mark Kovalsky]

And that's why the computer wouldn't allow that shift to happen.