The way I launch at the track is my foot on the brake (pretty hard), mash the gas to the floor (100%), and almost instantly release the brake. This results in about a 2400rpm launch and fairly consistent 2.1 60 foots. I barely chirp a tire and honestly, it feels kind of slow initially and then it pulls pretty strongly above 3000rpms. I can't say my car has any real bog, but it does feel a bit slow off the line because there's no drama. There's something about RWD launching that makes it feel slower than it really is. I remember that even 1.9 60 foots in my old 94 Z28 felt a bit slow.

I've noticed the responsiveness in the 04.5+ feel just about as bad.

When I drive, I always leave the my car manual mode. Since I have an 03, I simply leave the car in 4 to cruise around town. When I get above 50mph, manually shift to 5. The reason I leave it in MM is because if I need a downshift, I've found it far quicker to go WOT and manually select the gear I need. Leaving it in 4 at speeds around 35-40mph, allows the car to actually have plenty of acceleration needed for a 35-50mph shot. The unlocking of TC is impressively quick.

I had Gord's wires on my 5AT for about 3 weeks and I noticed no change at all. Apparently I'm in the minority though.

 

Once you realize that the 03 doesn't have a true manual mode, it becomes clear why it lags. "3" on the display is a 3-speed automatic that shifts when it pleases. "2" is a 2-speed automatic that shifts when it pleases, etc. You can't make it upshift. You can only fool yourself by allowing it into the next gear right about the time it would like to go there anyway.

The newer cars have a better mode for manual operation.

I'd like to hear more about this TCU flash. I've been told that to get the newer shift mode, you have to swap out the entire transmission, because the newer TCU/transmission aren't compatible with the older ones.

 

If I select 1, I can manually shift and hold any gear and the response is pretty good. If I'm at a light and I need to get around someone, put the tranny in 1, lay in to the gas up to 5000-5500rpms, hit up to 2, and the response is nearly instant. Same with the 2-3 and such. At the track, I let the car shift itself on the 1-2 (shifts right at 6600rpms) and then I manually shift the 2-3 at 6400-6500rpms which makes the tranny excute the shift at ~6700rpms and then I hold 3rd. If I let the tranny shift itself on the 2-3 and 3-4, it shifts too early and it would kill my times.

 

I think my 05X rear overall gear ratio is different than the RWD cars, but 3rd gear on mine winds out at 97-98 mph at around 7100 rpms at the track - right when I am going over the line. If my car gets any faster than it is (14.7 at 96-97 I believe, it will require a shift to 4th, which will definitely suck. I posted my 05X track results a couple weeks ago, and MM cut 3 tenths off my time just leaving it in drive because the tranny would shift 100-200 rpms sooner than I could wind out each gear.

 

at cruising i shift at 3-4k and most of the time when im in MM i shift at WOT