It’s a universal truth that car guys love working on their cars. Usually, whether it’s upgrading the stereo, bolting on a few engine upgrades, or even some minor body repair, gearheads would rather enjoy the work themselves rather than pay someone else to do it.
But if there is one area of the car that gives most car guys the nervous sweats, it’s the automatic transmission. It may not be voodoo, black magic or any other kind of mystical art, but the complexity of the automatic transmission is enough to send most guys to the yellow pages in search of a transmission shop to do the work for them.
But that’s about to change with the new TCI® Transmission Control Unit (Part #
377500) that is the most user-friendly on the market and works with a multitude of different models.
 Stanley Poff of TCI® |
“This is essentially an evolution of the first generation transmission control unit module that we’ve had for a while now. It was a good unit and dependable; we’ve just improved it with the new version to be a lot easier to use,” says Stanley Poff from TCI®. “It combines a lot of versatility and tuneability with ease of use so that even the novice can get complete control out of his transmission with a minimum of headaches. This transmission control unit is completely programmable. You can set all kinds of parameters to your specific situation, including when you upshift, when you downshift, converter lockup and a lot of other things. It retains a lot of the features people liked best in the old transmission control unit, but this one just makes everything easier.”
Although you might think an OEM transmission control unit will work fine for most applications, the truth in many instances is an upgraded unit can be very beneficial. Poff says that the TCI® Transmission Control Unit is popular for many different applications. For instance, with modern engine technology and big block crate engines easily available, many car builders are finding that their stock transmissions simply cannot handle the horsepower and torque they’ve added. When upgrading to a stronger transmission, using an aftermarket TCU can greatly aid the process of getting your new engine package and new transmission working together seamlessly. The TCI® Transmission Control Unit can also make life a lot easier when trying to mate an engine and transmission that weren’t originally designed to go together from the factory. That’s something an OEM transmission control unit simply isn’t designed to do.
This is especially true if you want to combine the convenience of efficiency of a modern automatic transmission, complete with electronic controls – and don’t forget the advantage of overdrive – with a carbureted engine. Stock transmission control units made for modern transmissions have no provisions for working with carburetors. But Poff says that can easily be fixed by using their transmission control unit along with a TCI® Throttle Position Sensor to tell the transmission exactly what the engine is doing. TCI® is one of the few companies producing such a package for enthusiasts looking to upgrade the driveline in their classic cars to produce a better, more dependable ride, while still keeping the classic look of their engine with a carburetor.
Speaking of customizing your car to your needs, Poff adds that the TCI® Transmission Control Unit is infinitely adjustable to help give you the ride you are looking for. “The transmission control unit comes with a cable and everything you need to plug it right into your laptop. The software wizard is also provided, so you can load it right up into your computer. The program guides you by asking a series of questions, instead of the old style where you have to manually input all the information into all the correct places.
“Then the software downloads all that information into the transmission control unit and it is stored there in the unit’s memory. And the changes take place in real time! So if you want to experiment a bit with the settings you can have a buddy in the passenger seat while you drive the car. He can make changes on the laptop and you can feel them right away from the driver’s seat. You can also do data logging with it. And if you want a
paddle-shifter, it includes plugs so our paddle shifter will hook right up. With older systems, sometimes you were made to feel like you needed a couple of different engineering degrees, but with the new TCI® Transmission Control Unit, we’ve tried very hard to make it as easy-to-use as possible.”
 TCI® Touch Screen Dash/Datalogger |
Also, TCI® has just announced the introduction of new a product that will allow you to take things a step further. Instead of dragging out your laptop any time you want to make a tuning adjustment, the TCI® Touch Screen Dash/Data Logger (Part #
301417) quick and easy tuning adjustments to an array of components in your car – including your transmission. The XFI™ Touch Screen Dash/Data Logger is the first – and only – unit available that can bring together and display comprehensive information about your car or truck’s performance. You can not only make quick adjustments to such transmission parameters as shift points, but you can also bring that information together with readings from your fuel controller, MAP sensor, throttle position sensor or just about anything else to get the ultimate in performance from your car. And you can do it all from the driver’s seat!
This ease-of-use combined with quick adjustability also makes the new TCI® Transmission Control Unit a hit with those using their cars in street/strip applications. One of the unit’s most popular features is the ability to hold multiple settings in memory. So you can have docile settings for driving back and forth to work, and then flip a switch when you arrive at the drag strip for all-out performance.
“By having different settings saved in memory, you can flip a switch and instantly have a completely different car,” Poff says. “You can change the shift points, the line pressure, whatever you need. Plus, for the drag racer, the ease of tuning the unit means you can actually tune it right there at the track. For example, maybe you did a data logging run and decided that the transmission was shifting too quickly out of first gear. You see that it is set to shift from first to second gear at 6,200 rpm, so then you can quickly make the change to tell the transmission not to shift out of first until 6,400 rpm, hop in your car and make another run to see if it helped your time. If it works, then great. If it didn’t help, you can change it right back. This transmission control unit is all about giving you more options.”
One of the strengths of the new TCI® Transmission Control Unit is that it works with a multitude of different electronic transmissions. All that is required to switch from one to another is the correct wiring harness. As this story went to press, this was the most current list of transmissions the TCI® Transmission Control Unit would work with, but plans are in the works to add even more.
General Motors:
4L60E
4L65E
4L70E
4L80E
4L85E
Ford:
AODE
4R70W
E40D
4R100
Chrysler:
45RFE
545RFE
Purchase TCI® Transmission Control Unit Read About TCI® Paddle Shifter Submit a Tech Question to TCI® Visit TCI® Website
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