A340e maual shift kit

[brett_celicacoupe]

im considering making a manual shift kit for the a340e.

so far these are the features that i think would be worth having.

- up shift and downshift button inputs. ie for some paddles on the steering wheel
- switchable modes to go between manual and ecu controlled shifting
- gear number display on a seven-segment digit display
- TC auto lockup (would compare gear selescted, vehicle speed and engine rpm). and possibly a override switch to lock it up when desired by the driver?

a possible thing that could be setup would be to have the gear change automatically in manual mode at a predefined input engine RPM (or/and vehicle speed for that matter)

it would be good if other people could tell me what would be worth having on one. like if you have one now and wish you had a certain feature.


and here is a couple questions about the workings of the gearbox.

1. what happens to the 2 solenoids when reverse is selected? i suspect it would easiest to just revert to auto controlled shifting when R is selected.

2. in factory spec, does the TC lockup when relative shaft RPM between crank and auto input spline equals less then a percentage? 3% perhaps?

3. what happens if the TC is locked when engine is reving and the car is barely moving (worst case scenario)? mega damage?

if there is significant interest i may be able to make a few kits

info appreciated


cheers,

Brett

[RA35GT]

G'Day mate,

I've also thought about making one of these controllers (got as far as a flowchart and writing code for the individual modules etc etc...unfortunately that is as far as i have got because i dont have as much time to tinker with toys nowadays )

I was also going to use my controller to simulate the engine computer (i.e. to generate Idl, L1,L2,L3 and the OD enable output, by monitoring the tps and water temp) to allow the use of an aftermarket engine computer with the separate trans ecu. I was also going to allow switching between the factory ECT and full manual control.

A failsafe in manual mode would be to monitor the vehicle speed and if a downshift would result in an overrev to delay or ignore a downshift request. Similarly with other functions like Lockup, you wouldnt want to have lockup engaged when the car is stopped, or at low speeds (the right speed would be dependent on the gear its in), you also wouldnt allow Lock Up or Overdrive when the engine is cold. Essentially you would do the same the factory does except for controlling the shifts.

I also thought of a "drag" function whereby the controller would shift at pre-specified shift points, much like your suggestion. Similarly with the seven segment display, i was going to use another smaller (standalone) unit to do this, it would be connected to the solenoids themselves so that you could see what gear your in while in either auto or manual modes, lock up function would be displayed by use of the decimal point. Being standalone it could also be sold separately...

Autoshop101.com has some really good technical articles regarding toyotas. Here is the PDF for the ECT. http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h16.pdf

It essentially describes how the factory system works and is what I was basing my control strategy on.

Rudi

[mrshin]

1. Nothing, just don't apply power to them and all is well. You'd have your box such that it wouldn't work unless the shifter was in 'D' anyway.

2. Depends on which factory spec, but main thing is not to allow it to engage when there is too much load on the engine.

3. Depends how much... i.e. you can stall the engine similiar to a manual car with the clutch, but used properly the clutch should prove no problem. Include functions to make sure that the clutch can't engage below a certain speed, and also to allow it to disengage as soon as the brakes are touched.

Without moving the gearshift itself though, you still don't get engine braking...

[Sciflyer]

Already been done

http://www.latentsolutions.com/products.html

The new version 4 of the Suprastick. The SSv4 is a fully programmable standalone transmission computer, complete with two 120 point automatic shift tables. It is compatible with all versions of the A34x transmission that have manual line pressure control. This includes models from Toyota (1992 and older Supra), Lexus (Early model Soarers), Jeep and Volvo. Detailed wiring schematics are available for the Toyota and some Lexus vehicles. Click the link above for more details.

[brett_celicacoupe]

7MGTE MX73; awesome reply. it definately sounds like you looked right into it. put foward some good points that i hadnt considered. will be helpful when i start designing

mrshin: thanks for that. i also re-read the mkIII supra TSRM last night (30 odd pages) and nutted most of that out.

Already been done

http://www.latentsolutions.com/products.html

like fuck i would pay $350+ for a controller.

if people are paying 350 for them then i could make them and sell them at half the price



hmmmm.... now to start making a prototype.

[thechuckster]

K-dog on one of the lexus forms (and maybe here?) was making a sequential controller for A340e ... not sure if it's still a go. His had nothing fancy like low-engine/road speed disable of TC lockup, shift patterns, etc.

[brett_celicacoupe]

hopefully nothing like this then

http://toymods.net/forums/showthread...ual+auto+shift


ill make a better one

[thechuckster]

am not sure - kdog had a login on the old forum - not sure if he still visits here. Sideshow bought and fitted some of his kits.

[brett_celicacoupe]

yeh i looked at the lextreme forums and read his documentation.

its simple enough but doesnt have any failsafe's or fancys.

ive just started doing some flowcharts for my design now

[sideshow]

i bought afew og kdogs units
they work well

if you can makje them for half the price go ahead

you will prob eventually see how long it takes to get them perfect

testing has to be done to make the unit perfect and also work on multiple systems

no system out there can change between the std ecu to do auto shifting and then a full manual shift

suprastick has its own auto shifting

if you can make it so theres a switch to go form full manaul

then full auto(controlled by the factory toyota ecu) would be easier and nicer

[brett_celicacoupe]

no system out there can change between the std ecu to do auto shifting and then a full manual shift

suprastick has its own auto shifting

if you can make it so theres a switch to go form full manaul

then full auto(controlled by the factory toyota ecu) would be easier and nicer

this is one thing i hope to integrate


it will also have a 'smart' control of the TC lockup. preventing lockup when engine is cold, TPS is open significantly, brake is depressed OR TPS idle contacts are closed.

another thing is automatic 1st gear select when the car slows to about 1km/hr

also, a failsafe to prevent downshifting and over revving the engine

the downside is that it would need extra wiring to piggyback off some of the ECU sensors

[thechuckster]

plus i think you have the engine braking issue to deal with?

[brett_celicacoupe]

not sure what you mean..... elaborate.


i know what it is but what has it got to do with what im doing?

[sideshow]

with kdogs unit or any unit where the gear shifter stays in d or 3 position

when u electronically change gears and the shifter stays in d or 3 then when u downshit using the buttons or paddles the engine wont selct the lower gear unless u have the throttle open abit so its like hittin a false neutral

if u downshift and dont touch the thriottle it just rolls in no gear

on the other hand

if u move the gear shifter from 3 to 2 then it will select 2nd and the revs rise and the car slows down

there is no perfect way to do this unless u want to go manual

the best way would be to make a super heavy duty solenoid setup that actually moves the leaver on the gbox but by then its prob cheaper to go manual

at the end of it i would rather spend money gettin a shift kit thru the auto valve body first

then try get the shift kit to control when to change gears

[brett_celicacoupe]

with kdogs unit or any unit where the gear shifter stays in d or 3 position

when u electronically change gears and the shifter stays in d or 3 then when u downshit using the buttons or paddles the engine wont selct the lower gear unless u have the throttle open abit so its like hittin a false neutral

if u downshift and dont touch the thriottle it just rolls in no gear

so people would want engine braking when you downshift instead of just coasting??


i didnt think kdogs kit relied on a TPS voltage to downshift. so does that mean the 'kickdown cable' is responsible for it not downshifting, but rather coasting??