I got the Gryphon installed today and it did make a nice improvement in the feel of the truck. I'm only running the canned tunes at the moment but intend to upgrade to custom tunes as soon as I figure out what's going on. After I installed it I loaded up level 2 and drove home for lunch to get a bite to eat and I noticed the shifting was much harder than I thought it should be. My wife has an '09 GT (automatic) and it has very firm shifts but not "jerky" shifts. Under normal acceleration shift 1-2 is not bad, shift 2-3 is very jerky, and shift 3-4 is somewhat jerky. I was able to make it a little better by adjusting the shift firmness down to -10 on shift 1-2, -15 on shift 2-3, and -15 on shift 3-4. It was still shifting much firmer than the GT so I went down to -15, -23, and -20 (much lower than I thought it should be) and it threw some kind of "torque" code. After adjusting the settings I put it in drive, eased into the throttle and as soon as the truck started moving it shuttered and threw a code. Previously I had an Xcal3 tuned by VMP and we could never get the shifting just right in it either -- it was acting in an identical manner. I do know the difference between a firm shift/jerky shift and I'm definitely experiencing jerky shifts. Anybody have a similar problem or have any input?

The other issue happens when I'm barely moving. I can hear this squealing/whistling noise but as soon as I start moving at any speed (over 3-4 mph) it'll go away. I have not heard the belt squeal during a hard up-shift as of now but I haven't really nailed the throttle yet because I'm not comfortable with the way my truck is shifting right now.

I have not contacted PHP about this yet because I know Corey or Bill will eventually see this thread and reply then -- I know they are extremely busy and I hate to bombard them with phone calls especially considering the fact that my truck is still running and getting me from point A to point B...... it's just not perfect yet.

Any help/advice/opinions?

 

Yuk! No advice at all! :o

When you adjust shift firmness, you're either reducing or increasing the delay between clutch release and lockup between the former gears and the next set of gears. By selecting a negative value, you should have increased this delay and gotten a "softer shift".

Are you talking about a WOT shift here or a normal, part throttle shift? I remember thinking the WOT shift seemed too harsh when I first got my Edge (now converted to a Gryphon), but I kind of got used to it. The part throttle shifts feel fine to me.

I used to talk wi****lly about a 69 Mercury with a C6 transmission that had silky smooth shifts - felt like that thing shifted without any effort at all. I've never had a vehicle like that before or since.

Are you happier with the "factory" shift feel? I'm sure Bill can crank that back into any custom tune you get from him if you tell him that's what you want.

I think you DO need to bring this to their attention. I'd use the PHP forum for this. Bill may or may not see your post here.

The "whistling" may be due to your CAI. Bill can adjust for that too.

- Jack

 

Jack,
Thanks for the help and insight. The jerky shifts are happening during normal, part throttle acceleration. I'm not sure about WOT acceleration because like I said..... I'm not comfortable going WOT with it at this point. My truck shifts firmer than my brother's '07 Lariat 4x4 in stock form so it may just be something with my truck. I do want the shifts to be somewhat firmer than stock because all that "smooth" shifting (or slipping) is hard on the transmission in the long run but I don't want it to shift so hard that it jerks me around while driving.

 

Understand -

It may be an anomaly with your particular PCM's HEX code. There are so many variations on the programs stored in all the PCMs that I'm surprised any tuner can keep track of them all and tune for each iteration. Yours IS a fairly new PCM, (with a fairly new program). I think it's something you need to talk to Bill about.

Try calling him. I know it might be hard to connect, but just keep trying. Once you get through, I think he might be able to perform miracles.

- Jack

 

Hey 08FX4,

We'll be in the office all day tomorrow. I know with the number of phone calls we receive, it's sometimes hard to get through, so if you can't reach us during the day, drop me another e-mail (Yes! I got the first one! ), and I'll have Billy give you a call tomorrow evening to chat. What I'd do until you can talk to him is just run your programmer in Level 1 so you don't have to hassle with the shifting issues.

 

Just an update......

I talked to both Bill and Corey today and they both seem like very nice people. After talking with Bill I guess it's just something with my particular HEX code so in the meantime I'm going to run on level 0 (stock tune) until he has a chance to complete my custom tunes. Bill agreed that my truck should not be jerky when shifting and he seemed very confident that he could work through the hard shifting issue -- now I guess it's time to wait and see!

Thanks for the help Corey. So far customer service has been top notch!

 

You're very welcome.