2004 Thunderbird Shift RPMs

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Bird52

Bird52

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Jun 18, 2017
Thunderbird Year
2004
What's a normal rpm for a heavy throttle second to third shift?
Mine shifts at 6500 when in D5.
Thanks for any answers.
 
I'm sure someone will know exact RPM shifts occur at full throttle

I believe all gears shift automatically at about the same max RPM

I also believe they auto-shift even when using slap shift? I use it a lot and believe it will auto shift at a set RPM as a protection
While I don't push it to max often, it has auto-shifted on me in slap-shift but I was not watching to see the RPMs at the time

You have me curious - I may try it in each gear to see where it shifts on it's own
 
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IIRC my 2002 upshifts at about 6,500 RPM with WOT (Wide Open Throttle); seems normal and the redline for the '02 engine; the more powerful later engines are prob the same... I'm sure the shift points are electronically controlled and very consistent.
 
Bird52 said:
What's a normal rpm for a heavy throttle second to third shift?
Mine shifts at 6500 when in D5.
Thanks for any answers.
Click to expand...
2004 Tbird. I don't know that answer, but i do know that the best power curve is around 4,000 rpm. Whenever i'm racing anyone, i switch to manual shifting and i shift to next gear at 4,000 rpm, this seems to deliver the best performance and fastest speed. When car was new, i raced much more often, beat vettes, porches, challengers, etc from 0-60 mph. They all, of course had to go to 80+ to prove something, but i beat them up to that point and backed off, i don't need a ticket.
 
Well I went for a spirited ride this morning and I can tell you that the maximum 2002 shift RPM in automatic with wide open throttle was very close to 6,300 RPM in all gears. And its true that many (most?) cars' torque curve doesn't peak at the maximum shift RPM... If you look at the '02 TBird spec sheet, max torque is at 4,300 RPM. The '02 dash tach doesn't have an actual red line indicated; I assume this is because the electronics are going to shift before the car is damaged regardless of whether its automatic or you are doing the "slap" shifting; D1...D5, etc...

Curb weight is nearly 3,800 lbs (not light cars); a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds (according to Edmunds 2004 specs); a C6 Corvette base motor is 400 hp and it weighs 3,200 lbs 0-60 in 4.8 seconds - by the time the TBird hits 50 mph in nearly 5 seconds; the vette has hit close to 65 mph.

So if you're beating a Corvette in a retro bird you're running nitro... I'm just sayin'...
 
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if your shifting at 4,000 RPM you only have 225 HP , at 6,000 RPM you have 280HP. after 6,200 RPM HP drops

this is 2003 - 2005 engine rating
the 2002 is a real dog at only 252 HP @ 6,100 RPM.
 

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Let's say at 4,000 rpm, i shift, all i know is that's constantly moving and gaining speed without any lag. It may be at 5k-6k by the time i shift, but that's my target. Thanks for the info, that's good to know.
 
Spec sheet on my 2004 was 290hp, i remember telling the sales rep that sounded whimpy, and he said you don't need any more power than that. I disagreed. I put the K&N cold air intake on it, and it says it is a 17hp improvement. I know it sounds a lot more sporty, as you can hear the engine breathing.
 
Frankie the Fink said:
Well I went for a spirited ride this morning and I can tell you that the maximum 2002 shift RPM in automatic with wide open throttle was very close to 6,300 RPM in all gears. And its true that many (most?) cars' torque curve doesn't peak at the maximum shift RPM... If you look at the '02 TBird spec sheet, max torque is at 4,300 RPM. The '02 dash tach doesn't have an actual red line indicated; I assume this is because the electronics are going to shift before the car is damaged regardless of whether its automatic or you are doing the "slap" shifting; D1...D5, etc...

Curb weight is nearly 3,800 lbs (not light cars); a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds (according to Edmunds 2004 specs); a C6 Corvette base motor is 400 hp and it weighs 3,200 lbs 0-60 in 4.8 seconds - by the time the TBird hits 50 mph in nearly 5 seconds; the vette has hit close to 65 mph.

So if you're beating a Corvette in a retro bird you're running nitro... I'm just sayin'...
Click to expand...
I beat almost every car I ran against for the first 2 years, maybe my reaction time is better, but when these cars were new, seemed everyone wanted to race.
 
Shift points can be loosened with a programmer. Did it to mine while on chassis dyno. Used a SCT-X4.
 
My short answer to shift points is...IDK. My 03 Bird is now 17 years young. I've had it all 17 years. Curently have 92k on it.
My personal pov is that if you're mashing the throttle from a standing start...you must know how to do your own repairs.
Me? I now drive in the right lane...carefully, slowly. I can't afford any more repairs. I had extended warranties up until
this year.
 
Truth be told idk. Leaving the car in 5-speed auto I’ll feel the gears change around the 3,000-3,500rpm Mark cruising around town. While I understand the fundamentals of driving stick, I have zero practice doing so and don’t want to tear up my trans playing with the select shift to find out. I did test it a couple times and I accelerated fine but in decelerating it still feels wrong.
 
Many people that may use the manual transmission shifting option to downshift may be doing it at certain RPMs that make it seem like an abrupt rise in engine speed and drag on the drivetrain. Its most likely fine but can seem disconcerting. Folks that grew up driving a straight stick will have no such problem.
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I think there are enough computer "nannies" in the TBird's computer to keep an errant driver from grenading the car - but I wouldn't push things too far personally.

Frankly, my 2002 automatic shift points seem odd and jerky at times (18,000 mile car) but I write it off as an idiosyncrasy of the design and don't dwell on it.
 
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I was also mistaken on the automatic shifting. In D5 all my shifts happen around 2500-3000 rpm, should I look into tinkering with my ratios with my tuner?
 
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