I have painfully come to realize that with the Tansgo valve body upgrade, you will never get rid of the 2-3rd hard shift. I had the Transgo kit installed with my turbos and the 2-3rd shift got harder and harder over time. It got to where it felt like someone was rear-ending me when it shifted. After about 30k miles, it was so bad, I had to get my entire transmission rebuilt. $6,000 later, I got my G back, and I can still feel the 2-3rd hard shift. The problem was not fixed, just masked. I am at the point where I probably have to buy a new factory valve body just to get the transmission to shift normal. I would NOT recommend a Transgo valve body upgrade for a daily driver. I spoke to Transgo and they said they were aware of the problem and there was no fix. They have terrible customer service and had no interest in helping me. If anyone has ever been through this nightmare and knows a solution, I would love to hear it.

 

Good to know about your experience, Boggess, thanks for posting.

 

Ouch!! Sorry to hear.. Never heard of anyone with problems with the transgo before..

 

I don't mind hard shifts, but is the 2-3 shift harder than the other shifts? Besides the discomfort, is there any mechanical or design problem with the kit?

 

I'm sorry you're going through this. Honestly though, I think you had either installation error or incorrect AT fluid levels. I've daily driven my supercharged coupe with transgo kit for over 15k miles and have not had any problems with the kit. You get hard shifts when you drive aggressively, and slightly more noticeable than stock shifts when you drive normal.

 

bigc, do you just drive your 5AT coupe in normal drive or do you use the manual-matic?

 

Interesting, I wonder if the turbo adds to this issue. I was getting ready to do this mod, but I am not FI. I was going to do this mod because i read that it help extend the life of your transmission.

 

Does it shift hard even if you have it in manumatic and shift at a low rpm from 2nd to 3rd???

 

Who installed your Transgo?

 

i'd say 80% in drive / 20% in manual mode now that i'm up in Norcal. Was 50/50 in socal (better roads )
specialty-z in Chatsworth, CA (san fernando valley). very good guys there.

 

I thought you had it done in the Bay area, I need to find a good reputable shop in NorCal to do the install.

 

Other then the obvious of being able to somewhat control your car's shifting when you're a boosted 5AT, does it hinder your tranny in anyway to just leave it in drive?

I've been reading FI forums back and forth and it just seems to be a mix of people who only drive in manual-matic and others leaving it in drive. No real hard evidence has been provided that leaving it in drive will hinder your tranny though, so I'm just trying to figure what the issue is before I start piecing together my Vortech.

 

nah, i had the transgo installed two weeks before i installed the supercharger. if i were looking for someone to help self-install a kit up here, I'd PM g35papa. also, kevin (xx7sephiroth7xx) and evan (elayman) have installed the kit as well.
Our 5AT shifts pretty quick on its own, but when going WOT & boosted, you want to make sure you're in the right gear (ie not too high of a gear). So, if i know i'm going to get on the car, i keep it in manual mode. I know what you mean though about hearing conflicting opinions.

 

I don't mind hard shifts either, as long as it occurs across all gears consistently. The hard shift with the Transgo VB upgrade happens only in 2nd-3rd when accelerating a little faster than normal. If the shifting was firm across all gears at that level of acceleration, it would not be an issue. However, when I am driving "normal" and all gears are smooth except the clunk from 2nd-3rd, to me this is a problem.

As far as mechanical issues go, the 2nd-3rd shift gets harder and harder with time, and I had to get my transmission rebuilt within 30k miles. I suspect if I do not buy a new VB (another $1000), I will be rebuilding my transmission again in the near future...but I am not sure how the new stock VB will interact with the built transmission??? I may need to check out a different VB upgrade. I guess the only alternate is a Stillen VB. Looks like I will end up with a $10k transmission when all is said and done. Maybe I should have bought a GT-R.

 

I've never had a problem with my Transgo and I DD my G.