Firmer Shifts from removing resistor
 

I was doing a little reasearch on available aftermarket performance parts in my area and I stumbled upon this "shift kit" mod.

http://www.smallcar.com/svx/tsk.htm

Basically, if I understand this correctly, by removing this resistor located next to the battery you cause the transmission line pressure to stay constant and result in firmer shifts.

Has anyone purchased and or tried this?
Any speculations?

It's a popular mod. Only downside is that if you drive with your gear selector in '3' or '2', downshifts become really harsh. If you keep it in 'D' there still nice and buttery smooth though...

I did this mod on my car shortly after I got it in late April:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...etkd/17530.jpg

-Chike

Mine shifts way too slow otherwise flare included. Mine stays disconnected till I can afford to join the 5 or 6 MT club

that's why the smallcar shift kit was created. it works good.

I've removed the resistor on my car as well. I love it! The shifts are far more quicker, making you feel a nice little lunge. This definitely helps keep the tranny temp down and reduces wear and tear, since there's less transition time. Later, I installed the shift kit from smallcar. It is very nice for lower speeds, which unfortunately is most of my driving.

As I never drive in '3' or '2', the $50 shift kit is useless to me...

-Chike

You could even say it works well.

the shiftkit has the benefit of reducing the gear hunting on decelleration (don't know if that's a problem with the resistor disco or not, never tried just a straight disco.)

i drive in '3' alot in the summer around town if i'm not going above 55mph. it seems to hold the gears longer, and that's one less gear the tranny has to shift to (and create heat.)

don't be correctin' my engrish n'at, you jagoff. :D

Thats what Happened to me when I did a full Disco, Granted, in D, the shifts are great! However the shifts felt alittle TOO firm... and with me still having an Original Tranny, it bothered me...

Then I was driving downtown, shifted into 3rd... and It wouldnt find 2nd for the life of it... I parked, reconnected, and no more problems in 3rd.

I have REALY been thinking of grabing the Small Car shift kit just to make the shifts firmer without the gear hunting of the Resistor Disconnect.

that's what is nice about the smallcar kit - the firmness is adjustable - make them as hard as you like. my tranny shifted buttery smooth before i installed it which was cool, but that smoothness means.....HEAT!

Over the past weekend I actually had the opportunity to drive an SVX w/ the SmallCar shift kit installed. I can agree w/ the owner of that car that I drove very recently and nsm484 that mentioned that it made the shifts allmost too firm. While driving the equipped car Saturday RPM's would climb and then when you reach the expected shift point you get a sudden *CLUNK* accompanied by a lunge. I liked the lunge but the clunk was equaly concerning.

If the kit from smallcar is adjustable I would be sold on it as I would not want any type of "funny business" such as gear hunting. The ability to control how firm between a little stiffer than w/o to very firm for aggressive driving would be a major benifit in my eyes.

However I am skeptical on how it is adjusted. Is this an on or off type of thing or is it variable?

It acts as a solenoid. The adjustment that everyone is speaking of is based on manifold vacuum. You can make the shift kit sensitive or insensitive to the manifold vacuum by adjusting a small hex-type (or allan-type) screw inside the kit. If the pressure is correct (based on the setting of the screw), the kit will allow the resistor to perform it's function (softening the shift). If the pressure is not correct, the kit will disengage the resistor (thus quickening the shift).

I have one installed, and it truly does eliminate the gear hunting at low speeds. If I press on the gas enough and the kit quickens the shifting, I will get a little bit of a clunk as well. I'm coming to understand that this is not the work of the kit, but most likely a failing tranny mount.

Thread revival!
 

Out of concern of voiding the warranty I recieved for my tranny rebuild, I chose to just try the straight disconnect.

I unplugged the resistor yesterday morning and drove the car around all day enjoying lagless firmer shifting. I must say that I was pleased w/ the results of this mod and I found the shifts not to be too firm for my liking.

However, this morning and since when I turn on the car I am getting a tanny fault indication w/ the POWER light blinking 16 times. I do know that this is related to the tranny and how to pull codes using self diagnostics, but I would like to know if anyone else that has gone w/ the straight disconnect method also gets the blinking POWER light on start up.

Thanks!

That happens to me too. I didnt know that it indicated tranny fault. Now im getting scared...