Shifting in "Auto" cars

miker
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CarAudio.com Veteran
So.. I have an old BMW w/ and automatic tran.. What I want to know is, why are the RPM's it shifts at variable??? Like sometimes I will get it up to 6k rpms, then it shifts down to about 4k, then it will shift down again at about 5k... But allot of the time it usually goes up to about 3.5k-4k... then shifts out of 1st....

Why would it be doing this?

Also the car "red-lines" at 6.5k-7.5k.. It's not "bad" for the car to get up into that range for a split second is it?

Just something to note.. It's not b/c the car is cold.. I'm talking about yimes when it is fully warmed up.

 
trannys work off pressure...depending on the pressure thats building up, it will either shift early, or shift late. barley on the gas, means a light early shift. WOT, means a hard later shift. and everything in between.

now im going to assume the OP already knew this, and is wondering why it shifts at 3k and then a 5k even though you keep the throttle in the same position? im pretty sure the OP is a little brighter than assuming it will shift at the same rpm regardless of throttle guys...

 
trannys work off pressure...depending on the pressure thats building up, it will either shift early, or shift late. barley on the gas, means a light early shift. WOT, means a hard later shift. and everything in between.
now im going to assume the OP already knew this, and is wondering why it shifts at 3k and then a 5k even though you keep the throttle in the same position? im pretty sure the OP is a little brighter than assuming it will shift at the same rpm regardless of throttle guys...
Thank you:)

Yes. I am wondering why it shifts at different RPMs w/ the same amount of pressure (roughly)

 
Thank you:)
Yes. I am wondering why it shifts at different RPMs w/ the same amount of pressure (roughly)
how old of a car are we talking about? is it possible the ****** is electronically controlled? maybe the sensor is giving bad pressure values which is causing unstable shifting.

not to familiar with bmw's at all really though.

 
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miker

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