Planet Soarer: Shift Kit, Cooler, ECT/NORM & Line Pressure. November 2003 by Peter Scott The Soarer auto transmission is a typical Lexus luxury item - very smooth. The ECU retards the engine timing during a shift so that there is less torque going through the trans as is glides between shifts - you can hardly feel them. The disadvantage for performance driving is that the change is quite slow - especially the 1st to 2nd change when under full power.
The trans slurs from gear to gear. For a hotted up twin turbo the engine can pop while waiting for the trans to change as the engine winds back the timing during the change. No problems in the V8 like this but the change is still slow and time is lost during the change. Not so with a shift kit. A shift kit is a modified valve body that lives inside the transmission. Now that all sounds very aggressive, but for normal driving the trans is still acceptably smooth - the harshness of the shifts can be tuned somewhat by changing the line pressure - a simple cable adjustment. The Shift Kit MV Automatics: Soarer Central: Working- 1jz mod path for mods section. Okay, ive been looking into ECU upgrade paths for auto 1JZ's and the greddy emanage blue looks like a worthy contender for tuneability. Prices are as low as $450 for the base unit with main harness, and about $560 express delivered with ignition and injector harnesses.
This is all you need to have a solution that not only allows adjustment of fuel mixtures as the S-AFC unit does, but also allows adjustment of ignition advance and retard allowing you to make the most of the mods you've performed. The greddy allows adjustment of fuel and ignition via 16x16 grid maps, where fuel and ignition advance can be incremented or decremented in one percent steps verse the throttle position at custom RPM intervals. This means fuel savings across the board and potentially more power across the board - not simply when under full throttle.
The SAFC units dont allow such detailed adjustments (only 8x2 points in 500rpm increments). Another useful feature is being able to set your own RPM limiter. Silicone Hose, Auto Fittings, Intercooler Kit, Radiator Kit, Oil Cooler Kit - Autobahn88 UK Shop. United Kingdom)