What is automatic transmission tuning and why is it done

Many car owners are engaged in engine chip tuning. The reasons can be very different: for example, an increase in torque in order to be able to “break from a traffic light” or quickly and safely overtake some long road train on the track. But not everyone is aware that changes in the programming of the engine ECU will not give a full result if the electronic modernization of the “machine” is not carried out.


How does it work in practice? Let's say the driver "drowns in a slipper", demanding to immediately give out the maximum number of revolutions, for example, 200 N * m per wheel. The engine ECU “accordingly”, but here the box electronics come into play, which limits the request to, for example, 150 N * m, “motivating” this by the fact that if the “request” is fulfilled, it will simply fall apart. In addition to improving the accelerating dynamics of a car, automatic transmission tuning can be carried out for other reasons. Box improvement is needed for:

✅ factory bug fixes
✅ increase the speed of switching from one gear to another
✅ increase the smoothness of the ride and eliminate jerks, twitches
✅ elimination of artificial speed limiters
✅ prevent overheating of the box
✅ improved lubrication of automatic transmission elements

Often, manufacturers do not bother when they put the same box on different cars. An example is the 09G unit installed on the Skoda Octavia. On it, the machine works fine, but on the VW Polo with jolts. There are several types of tuning that affect a particular automatic transmission system.


It should be noted right away that the full tuning procedure is quite complicated, requiring a laptop, special software, tools, and experience. First, it is worth considering the technical options for tuning.

Modernization of the lubrication system

It consists in installing additional filters that produce a more thorough cleaning of the oil. Thanks to such an operation, it remains clean for a long time, you can change it later, i.e., the cost of buying a new composition will be less.


It is clear that such a procedure will not affect the dynamics of the car and speed in any way, except indirectly.

Improving the automatic transmission cooling system

The box, due to the force of friction, constantly heats up. This is especially true for vehicles operating in difficult road conditions. Insufficient cooling can lead to deformation of the unit and its failure. To prevent such a development of events, car owners put a special separate radiator in front of the main one. Sometimes they use an additional fan, a temperature sensor.


When you decide to connect an additional radiator, the question will arise before you - how to integrate it into the automatic transmission: put it before the factory system or after? It is recommended to use the first option. In this case, the oil in the automatic transmission will give off excess heat. In the lower tank, the lubricant, depending on the situation, will warm up to operating temperature or, conversely, cool to it.


If an additional radiator is installed after the factory cooling system of the box, the temperature of the liquid in it may drop to non-working. And this is fraught with premature wear of the parts of the unit. The above types of tuning are most often done for:

✅ cars with high mileage and old automatic transmission
✅ sports cars moving in extreme conditions when fast cooling of the box is required
✅ cars in which, for one reason or another, the automatic transmission constantly overheats

An additional radiator should be installed slightly below the bumper line. It is advisable to use a thermostat.

Chip tuning

What will be needed to carry it out? Intervention in the electronics of an automatic transmission involves the use of suitable firmware (software). At the same time, if you download it from the Internet, no one will guarantee that it is working. If you want to do chiptuning yourself, you will also need a bunch of adapters to connect to the car system. Further steps:

✅ first, turning on the ignition, test the box using the Flasher program (or any other diagnostic program) to identify possible errors
✅ fix them and run the firmware on the laptop
✅ wait until the process of upgrading the electronic unit of the unit is completed
✅ turn off the ignition and start the engine after five minutes
✅ test the electronic unit again for errors

When they appear, the procedure will have to be repeated again. If everything is in order, test the box while driving.

How to do chip tuning: independently or in a service

Yes, you can find the necessary software on the Internet yourself, buy the necessary adapters with wires, read the theory and understand the system. But independent chip tuning of the box is fraught with many risks. Subsequently, this can lead, at best, to a rapid reduction in the life of the unit, at worst, to its breakdown. If you turn to professionals, the cost of work at a conventional service station can cost 3-5 thousand rubles.


But still, the best option is to visit "your" dealer or a well-established tuning studio. Here, prices can already start at 10 thousand rubles. In addition to the actual firmware, specialists will also perform related operations:

✅ diagnose automatic transmission
✅ will carry out the next maintenance
✅ wash the lines inside the box
✅ adapt transmission elements
✅ carry out other procedures that positively affect the performance of the automatic transmission

What will the car owner get after the chip tuning of the automatic transmission? There are both positive and negative points.

pros

The main one is an increase in the dynamics of the car, which will become noticeably faster. The box will be more “responsive”, that is, it will instantly respond to switching. The electronics will work to the fullest - at the automatic transmission factory they are set to the average operating mode.


If the procedure is carried out correctly, the toxicity of exhaust gases will decrease, and fuel consumption will decrease.

Cons

The main troubles can await those who decide to do this business on their own. The main risk is the wrong choice of firmware, which is fraught with failure of the computer. Then the advantages listed above will smoothly turn into their opposite: fuel consumption, toxicity will increase, acceleration dynamics will drop, etc. But even if you do chip tuning by specialists, there will also be disadvantages:

✅ the cost of the procedure is high (not for everyone, of course)
✅ you will lose the right to warranty repairs from an authorized dealer
✅ the operational life of the box will decrease

The factory settings are not random: setting the average parameters provides the best balance between the life of the car and its performance. Changing the balance will inevitably lead to a reduction in the resource, both the box and the machine.

Conclusions

If you decide to chip-tun the box, it is better to do it in a specialized studio, service. When the procedures are completed, there will surely be a desire to “trample the slipper”: what did I pay money for? Simply put, the machine will begin to be operated not carefully and economically. For the pleasure of experiencing powerful dynamics, you will have to pay with a reduction in the gearbox resource. Therefore, for the vast majority, the procedure makes sense only in the case of factory "jambs". So each car owner decides for himself what is “more interesting” for him.