Select Shift Transmission

[Birthday Bird]

In a few weeks my wife and I will be asking the Dealer to place our order. This will allow for Spring arrival. Hopefully the snow will be gone by then in this winter wonder land. The T-Bird will be a mutual birthday present as we both turn the BIG 50! Here is my question. Has anyone ordered the select shift transmission option. If so, do you like the manual shift capability. We currently have a Lincoln LS with the 5 speed auto which must be the same as the standard transmission for the Thunderbird. For $130 I don't know if it will be a good option or something I could of done without.

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Birthday Bird

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[tbird2003]

I have the Select-Shift Transmission (SST) on my 03 bird. While I've only have a few chances to drive the car, since the weather here in Ohio has been rather bad, I tried out the SST several times. The SST is a cross between a true manual and a full automatic. I call it the arcade mode. It's a lot like an arcade driving simulator. Once you get the hang of using it not to bad. For me it's more of a novelty as my daily drive is a Mustang GT with a manual 5-speed. The SST is no manual 5-speed.

From a stop you start out in first gear and with a slight nudge on the shifter you shift into the next gear. The car will then make the shift at the best point. This is most noticeable on the downshift. The car will not allow the SST to downshift when the RPM’s are too high

The SST makes for a slightly different driving experience. Is it worth $130? Well in the big picture $130 is a drop in the bucket when compared to the total cost. I hope my opinion helps in your choice.


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TBird2003
03 Torch Red with Perf. White Top and Full Red Accent
1996 4.6L Mustang GT Conv. with performance enhancements

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[joe166]

I have the SST on my Lincoln LS V8. It seemed like a really neat idea. An automatic stick shift! Just like the F-1 cars! I have had the car for two years. I have probably used it 4 or 5 times. The car accelerates better with the car in "D". For $130 I will probably get it but if I find a car I really like when I am ready to buy that does not have it, I don't think this will be a deal breaker. Once in a while I use it to downshift unobtrusively when my Valentine Radar Detector goes off, but for no other reason.

 

[saj]

I have a 2002 bird so can't speak first hand on Ford's system. My Chrysler 300M has an equivalent autostick system and the only thing I use it for is to hold the car in a lower gear going down hill. It is worth the $130, but if you're used to an automatic, it won't change your driving much.

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red/red/partial red

 

[cat380]

When in select shift the LS starts out in second gear. That is why the acceleration is not as good as in the drive mode. If you slow down in select mode and drop it in first before you stop completely it will go into first. I like the the TBird shift better as I use the fifth to fourth downshift to decelarate since it is just slight side way motion.
Ed Robbins
Triple Black 02 #4430

 

[beicholz]

I STRONGLY recommend this option. For $130 bucks, how can you lose? The option is on my '03, and I love it. I don't use it often, but when I do, it's great.

I love leaving it in 1st gear, and then "punching" it around 20 mph. With the '03's increased horsepower, you won't believe the acceleration.

If you're spending this much on a car, what's $130?

 

[joe166]

I know that the transmission starts in second when you are in select shift, but if you just floor it the transmission goes right down to 1st gear, so that is NOT the reason it is faster in the D position. The reason is the transmission optimizes the shift points more efficiently than the select shift. There are lots of posts on this transmission and the selectshift option in the Lincoln LS forum on Edmunds which from the beginning was frequented by Mark Kovalsky who was an engineer involved in the development of the LS transmission development and an invaluable resource. He now is working on truck transmissions for Ford, but still visits the forum and gives lots of answers to questions from LS owners about their transmissions and how to get the most out of them. A wonderful idea that Ford got their people to participate right from the top guy down to system designers and engineers monitored the LS site to try to answer questions. Wasn't that a refreshing idea? Too bad that guy is now gone from Ford and only a few of the people remain with the Lincoln LS program.

 

[tbird2003]

Originally posted by joe166:
I know that the transmission starts in second when you are in select shift, but if you just floor it the transmission goes right down to 1st gear, so that is NOT the reason it is faster in the D position. The reason is the transmission optimizes the shift points more efficiently than the select shift. There are lots of posts on this transmission and the selectshift option in the Lincoln LS forum on Edmunds which from the beginning was frequented by Mark Kovalsky who was an engineer involved in the development of the LS transmission development and an invaluable resource. He now is working on truck transmissions for Ford, but still visits the forum and gives lots of answers to questions from LS owners about their transmissions and how to get the most out of them. A wonderful idea that Ford got their people to participate right from the top guy down to system designers and engineers monitored the LS site to try to answer questions. Wasn't that a refreshing idea? Too bad that guy is now gone from Ford and only a few of the people remain with the Lincoln LS program.

Joe166,

The SST on the T-bird does start out first gear. I've checked twice since your last post. If at a standstill, I switch over to SST mode and the dash indicator starts out in first gear. I believe this to be an enchantment to the SST on the 03 T-Birds.

 

[joe166]

I was responding to the person that was inferring that the reason the LS was faster accelerating in D than in Select Shift was that in select shift the transmission in the LS started in second. While it does show second if the accelerator is pushed down (and if you are trying to be "fast", I assume you will push it down a lot) it immediately downshifts to first so that is not the reason for any difference.

I was unaware that the T-Bird starts out in first gear. They must have fixed their CAFE problems which was the reason given for the second gear starts in the LS. Sounds good.

 

[Exit32]

Just want to clarify confusion over 1st-gear vs 2nd-gear starts with the SST shifter. The 2000-2002 Lincoln LS started in 2nd gear when using SST mode (even though the driver "requested" 1st gear). However, the new 2003 LS and the 2003 T-Bird now enable 1st-gear starts in SST mode. FYI, the transmission itself has been significantly improved for the 2003 model-year on both cars.

 

[reicholz]

Hey VIP - What are the '03 transmission improvements, other than SelectShift?