Allison tranny tuning

[Whippled 496]

Hello, everyone. I just recently purchased EFILive so i can start tuning my truck myself. I have downloaded the DEMO and have been fooling around with it for a month or so trying to familiarize myself with all the tables and such. My old tuner (who also used EFILive) was generous with info, so i understand a little bit about PCM tuning, but nothing about the tranny tuning. I expect to have my cable here on Friday and my Wideband in the following Friday. One of the things i am most excited about it the ability to program my Allison trany. I have found virtually nothing at all as far as info on doing this. Is there any info, hints, or suggestions that i can do to get started with making changes to the Allison TCM? As you can see in my signature I have an 8.1L Chevy with Allison trany and its supercharged with the 2.3L Whipple @7psi. I am looking for anything i can do to help out the longevity of the Allison through custom tuning the TCM. I realize hardware upgrades would be more helpful, but i only drive the truck 100 miles a month or so and dont really step on it to often. Just looking for some info or suggestions on getting some better shifts and or better performance out of the Allison.

Thanks,
Jimmie

[Trippin]

Does your trans do anything now that you don't like?

[Whippled 496]

Does your trans do anything now that you don't like?

Don't like? Well, I would like for it to shift a little later in the RPM's in the 3-4 and 4-5 shifts. However, I was really looking to see if there was anything i could do in the tuning that would help the performance of the trany. But no, there is nothing that really bothers me i guess, just looking to make small improvements if there was room to make them.

[Whippled 496]

Guess its gonna be trial and error...:)

[Trippin]

Basically you can alter the shift points via rpm and mph. You may also alter when the converter locks up.

Their are tables for clutch apply and release times. The Allison LCT 1000 has 5 sets of clutches. It takes two applied at the same time for vehicle motion. C1 - C5. 3 clutches applied at the same time equals burnt clutches or broken parts. So be careful.

C1 + C5 = 1st gear
C1 + C4 = 2nd gear
C1 + C3 = 3rd gear
C1 + C2 = 4th gear
C2 + C3 = 5th gear

If your trans is slipping into each gear rather than a crisp shift, you may want to start by recording the current tap cells and then resetting them. This will result in some very funky shifts until the adapts learn. The best thing is to record the taps when the trans is shifting exactly the way you want, then you can set it to these in the future. After that you could play with the apply and release tables.

Tailor it to the way you want to drive and race.


As far as making the trans last longer using EFILive, no, your going to need some hard parts for that. See Suncoast or ATS for those types of parts.

Hope this helps.

[Whippled 496]

Very good info, thank you Trippin.

[Whippled 496]

okay, so I have spent the last few days getting familiar with the program. Setting up dash pages, gauges, PID's, and MAPs. I have been logging like crazy and will have my Wideband in this weekend as well as my 2 bar MAP sensor. I plan on setting up a custom OS with the new 2 bar so that should be nice.

Back to the Allison for a second. All I have done so far with the Allison is read the TCM, then look over all the different parameters available for adjusting. Looking at the tables, it seems that the TOW/HAUL mode has a completely different set of adjutments seperate from the standard shift patterns. I guess this is obvious, but i am just reitterating i suppose. I was wondering this........Can i set up the TOW/HAUL mode to not actually act like a TOW/HAUL mode and act more like a nice firm shift pattern for when i go to the track or whatever and just leave the standard shift pattern alone? When and If i have to TOW something i can always reflash, but i was wondering if i can set up TOW/HAUL anyway i like and not have it effect the standard shifting paterns when not in TOW/HAUL?

[Trippin]

Yes. :D

[joecar]

TOW/HAUL = tow/haul own butt down track in lowest E.T. :D

And reflashing only takes about 30 seconds or less. :cheers:

[Whippled 496]

Yes. :D


great, Thank you.

[Whippled 496]

I was always under the impression that the Allison trany had its own torque management aside from the PCM. I see where you can reduce the TM in the PCM, but i do not see a parameter for it in the Allison TCM when i open the file. Can someone tell me if there is a parameter for that in the TCM and if so, where is it?

Thanks

[Whippled 496]

So i have been trying to make very minor changes lately in the TCM to try and remove some torque management but for the life of me can not figure out where they should be made. There are tables in the Allison TCM tune file that specifically reference "torque reduction mode" but i have no idea where to adjust this. Look at D5081, D5083, D5085, D5087, etc., they all refernce "TRQ Red Mode". Where is this mode enabled or disabled? Where is is adjusted? If the 8.1L PCM does not communicate with the TCM as the Dmax's do, how are they working together to command torque reduction? I am seeing my timing during shifts go from 14* down to -8*. These shifts are killing me, not to mention it feels like someone is lifting my rear wheels off the ground everytime it shifts.

I have made adjustements in my PCM file at tables B1901, B6609, B6614, and B6611 with no positive results. I realize these tables are in areas that dont specifically pertain to the equipment on my truck, but I still have no clear answer on whether changes made in my traction control section or transmission sections of the PCM file will have any effect on my truck equipped with the Allison. I dont know why i even have a transmission section (or why its not just grey'ed out) in my PCM tune if i have a seperate "tunable" TCM for the Allison. I wish Paul could chime in here with some answers or let me know if the next release of EFILive this month is going to include some updates for Allison tuning.

Thanks,
Jimmie

[Whippled 496]

I think I am the only one here with an 8.1L and an Allison...:)

[Trippin]

I think I am the only one here with an 8.1L and an Allison...:)

I thought I made that clear once before. :D


I wish I could offer something that would help. :frown:

[Whippled 496]

I thought I made that clear once before. :D


Yea, you did :wave: . I was just hoping that possibly the one/ones who actually developed the software or reverse engineered the TCM programming could lend some knowledge or info as to what makes this sucker tick. There has to be some info out there somewhere regarding the 8.1L/Allison combo's or the programming wouldn't exist. At least thats what i keep telling myself..........:nixweiss: Do you know if there is anything new with the allison programming in the 7.3.3 release?

[Whippled 496]

Well, got the TM figured out, turns out its table B6605 in the "traction control" section. I reduced the entire table by about 25% and it made a big difference in the shifts. Its only dropping off about 5* now instead of 10*. Whats odd is its the E80 fuel% chart, whats up with that? Maybe its labeled wrong, not sure. Anyway, thats the table to pull the torque management out of the Allison with the 8.1L

[GMPX]

I know I recently told someone this :nixweiss:

Cheers,
Ross

[Whippled 496]

I know I recently told someone this :nixweiss:

Cheers,
Ross


LOL, sorry Ross for not giving you and Paul the deserved Kudo's. You are correct, but i cant seem to remember which one of you it was that told me to try a few of those traction control tables. Maybe you can change that table title in the next update to something like, "THIS IS THE ALLISON TABLE TO REDUCE TM". :D

[GMPX]

Sorry, you took that the wrong way, my comment was more along the lines of, was it you that we had been dealing with via Email? We get a lot of Emails and PM's, it's pretty easy to loose track of who is who when we all use these forum names that make no sense :)

Cheers,
Ross

[trudynosports]

I plan on setting up a custom OS with the new 2 bar so that should be nice.

It WILL be very nice. I've done several SD tunes on Whippled 5.3's and 6.0's. They respond so much better to the SD tune with the correct hardware and the Whipple piggy back ECU thrown in the garbage!

[Whippled 496]

It WILL be very nice. I've done several SD tunes on Whippled 5.3's and 6.0's. They respond so much better to the SD tune with the correct hardware and the Whipple piggy back ECU thrown in the garbage!

I already have the larger injectors (no piggy back system). I also have the 2bar sensor sitting on the bench in the garage. Just a matter of understanding how to set it all up. I have been told there may be some issues with the 2003 FI 2bar OS, I am waiting to see if he works themout.