Shift kit??

I was told to invest in a shift kit and trasmission reprogramming for my A/T celica if i could find one. I was told it would be better for my tranny...oh yes and he mentioned a little thing about it allowing me to beat manual cars on a straight away :smokin: . Everything Celica had one that bombed and broke the poor guy's car. Does anyone know of any others? I have an 89 GT

GF

I was told to invest in a shift kit and trasmission reprogramming for my A/T celica if i could find one. I was told it would be better for my tranny...oh yes and he mentioned a little thing about it allowing me to beat manual cars on a straight away :smokin: . Everything Celica had one that bombed and broke the poor guy's car. Does anyone know of any others? I have an 89 GT

GF

It would be cheaper to swap a 5speed tranny in. IMO the shift kit wouldn't even be as fast as a properly driven 5speed in a celica because of the low amount of power. I could see the shift kit coming in handy on faster cars like built LS1's etc.

People do say a shift kit will extend the life of any auto transmission by lessening the amount of slippage between shifts thereby decreasing the amount of heat buildup and wear on the clutches. Another highly recommended thing for any auto tranny is an external transmission oil cooler, these can be had pretty cheap and are easy to install.

interesting on the cooler. Where and how much if you don't mind. First and foremeost i want my car to be as cheap as possible. But, in the future, literally, i'm trying to make a chameleon- a car that looks like a regular commuter car, which it is first and foremost, and then at a few switch flicks, becomes a modest racer that can hold its own. Air ride, an programmable ECU, and a carputer to control everything is on the list and in the works. I'm doing eveyrhting mysef to increase my mechanical proficiency, which is already high enough that i've done most things myself for this car, though its my first, and save big $$$$. I dunno, i would really like the programmable features of the shift kit; i'll relearn to drive manual one day (taught on a friend's car). For now, shift kit all the way since its a project:-)

thanks BTW, keep the info coming. I go to a research university, i thrive on info;-)

Any good auto parts store should have them, if not there, then certainly a transmission shop would. Up here in Canada, Canadian Tire has them from 75 to about 120 bucks, Canadian of course. I've never installed one myself, but it looks easy enough. Get the biggest cooler you can afford and fit into your car. Of course, you'll need some extra fluid, so after the cooler is installed it would be a good time to replace the transmission fliter, and if your wallet will allow, use some synthetic fluid in the tranny. Mobil 1 ATF seems to be a good choice, it's reasonably priced (for a synthetic fluid) and is easily available.

hehe, i'll wait for the paying internship place to call me back... I need to buy a new alt so...it can wait...Thanks alot though:-). if you have any other ideas, keep em coming.