Speed Calibrator on The Mark

mlschultz

Registered
Does anyone have experience with a Speed Cal? What do you think of it?

Aric ordered a Speed Cal for The Mark, to try and dial in the transmission's WOT shifting issue it has. I only notice this at the drag strip. Not really a street problem since all the drama happens during WOT, and I am never in it long enough on the street to notice it.

I have 410 gears, and two different size tires on the car - 255/35/18 front t1r street tires and 265/40/18 rear drag radials. I have the white 410 speedo gear in the car now, but Aric is going to put back the stock 327 speedo gear in the car when he tries the Speed Cal.

Lately what happens at the track is the 1-2 shift is fine around 7150 rpm, then not sure about the rpm, but it short shifts the 2-3, then down shifts back to 2nd and takes it up to about 7k like it should and then goes to 3rd. He currently has the torque converter unlocked during WOT until he can figure out the shifting.

Whatever is going on, it messes with the traction control and the speedometer inside the car. After a run, I have a check traction control error on the message center, and the speedometer needle bounces up and down - 20mph range, at whatever speed I go. Turning the car off and back on fixes that.

lol He has never had this problem with any of the cars he has built. Just mine... So, I think it might have something to do with all the extra electronic crap Lincoln put in this car, and it does not like all the changes made and is fighting Aric to the bitter end.

Anyone else have this kind of issue? Jerry W. has looked at the trans tune, and all is good there, so this is like a last resort to see if it will go away. :)
 
Mike, I believe you will find that your wheel speed sensor is in the front axle of your Gen ll car, so the tranny gear is really not relative as the program can make adjustments for the correction. Could a bad speed sensor be the problem? Short shifting out of first is a good thing for traction purposes, but I would see no reason to short shift second gear. I would get back to Eric as there has to be some adjustment he needs to make on the shift schedule program. This is just my observation as I used the correct tranny gear and LIdio established the shift schedule, remember I have Gen l. Hope you are able to track down the problem, and let us know what you find.
 
Last edited:
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9700/5.0.0.296 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

I have the speedcal on my '93 with stock speedo gear running 4.30s. I had to play with the settings a bit to tweak it to accurately reflect the actual speed indicated via GPS. It does what it's supposed to do for my application.
 
I've used a Speedcal in my Cobra since they came out, good unit. I actually had a little to do with testing the extended range version.

However, changing the VSS gear in my Gen II was one of the worst things I've ever done.

The Gen II speedometer is driven though the ABS controller from the front wheel ABS sensor.

Once you've changed the N/V value in the tune file, it rescales the shift tables. Also changing the VSS gear just confuses the PCM.

I'd make sure that the "Base N/V of Vehicle" value was changed (mine's set to 50) along with the "NV Product" (mine's at 500) value.
 
I don't think speedcall will fix your shifts.
For example I have 4.10 gears and stock speedo gear and My shifts at WOT are fine.
Maybe your trans is the problem? or Tune? .
My car has similar mods to yours and it shifts just fine at WOT without speedcal or speedo gear.
 
Mike, I believe you will find that your wheel speed sensor is in the front axle of your Gen ll car, so the tranny gear is really not relative as the program can make adjustments for the correction. Could a bad speed sensor be the problem? Short shifting out of first is a good thing for traction purposes, but I would see no reason to short shift second gear. I would get back to Eric as there has to be some adjustment he needs to make on the shift schedule program. This is just my observation as I used the correct tranny gear and LIdio established the shift schedule, remember I have Gen l. Hope you are able to track down the problem, and let us know what you find.

Thanks for the info, Charlie.



Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9700/5.0.0.296 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

I have the speedcal on my '93 with stock speedo gear running 4.30s. I had to play with the settings a bit to tweak it to accurately reflect the actual speed indicated via GPS. It does what it's supposed to do for my application.

Thanks JP. Glad to hear it is working for you.



I've used a Speedcal in my Cobra since they came out, good unit. I actually had a little to do with testing the extended range version.

However, changing the VSS gear in my Gen II was one of the worst things I've ever done.

The Gen II speedometer is driven though the ABS controller from the front wheel ABS sensor.

Once you've changed the N/V value in the tune file, it rescales the shift tables. Also changing the VSS gear just confuses the PCM.

I'd make sure that the "Base N/V of Vehicle" value was changed (mine's set to 50) along with the "NV Product" (mine's at 500) value.

Thanks for the info, Doug. I will pass the info on to Aric.





I don't think speedcall will fix your shifts.
For example I have 4.10 gears and stock speedo gear and My shifts at WOT are fine.
Maybe your trans is the problem? or Tune? .
My car has similar mods to yours and it shifts just fine at WOT without speedcal or speedo gear.



Thanks, Mike. After reading all the replies, it seems that the VSS gear should be returned to stock, and then see what we got, and go from there.

I agree with you, that our cars are very close in mods, and it is good to hear you do not have this issue. If I recall correctly, you have a stock 98 trans in your car, and probably a jmod? And the only thing done to your trans tune is your tuner just raised your shift points and tc lock up? Anything else done to the trans tune that you know of? Is your ABS still working? Mine has had issues for a year or two, and I wonder if that might play into it somehow.

If all else fails, maybe I could have Aric call your tuner to see what is different between your shift tune and mine? lol I am willing to do just about anything to get this fixed. :)
 
That's correct Mike I only have J mod for 450hp and Tune on Stock Trans.
Other then this I have Different torque converter then you and 2 trans coolers but this has nothing to do with your shifts.
My ABS and TC Workes fine with out any Issues.
Do you turn off your TC at the track or you leave it on.
I always have to drive with the TC OFF as I have different tire sizes(front and back) and if I leave my TC On at higher speeds it thinks my wheels are spinning and it turns ON and you havo to stop the car to turn it off as it won't turn off at higher speeds.

If your tune is good I think it maybe ABS,TC related problem.
Did you guys try to datalog the car at the race track, What happens with timing when it upshifts to 3rd and downshifts right back to second gear.
BTW this is my tuner
Loganmotorsports.com
or direct to the tuner
dewayne@loganmotorsports.com
 
Thanks for the info, Mike. I will let Aric know. As soon as he has everything together, he is going to fix this thing. :)

I turn the tc and od off - at least when I remember to lol, when racing at the track. Aric data logged it last year at the track, but we did not discuss any results.

Lately, since I put the drag radials on, I have been turning the tc off when driving around. I get the check tc message, and the speedo needle starts to bounce if I leave the tc on.
 
Lately, since I put the drag radials on, I have been turning the tc off when driving around. I get the check tc message, and the speedo needle starts to bounce if I leave the tc on.

That sure sounds like an ABS module, sensor, or wiring issue......
 
I have replaced everything associated with the ABS except for the sensors. They are hard to come by - a 98 Mark sensor can only be used, and they are like gold if you can find them. Dealers said they have been long gone for some time now, so I will have to use a recycled part.

Ryan called today, and said the Ford Racing Speed Cal for automatic transmissions he ordered is on backorder until next March. So, looks like this fiasco will continue into another year of funky shifting at the track. lol the funny thing about it, even with the extra shifts, it did manage to consistently run four 7.9's out of four runs at the 1/8th mile track last month. :cool:
 
You're being jerked around Mike, just an unbiased opinion. Order the DM speedcal and be done with it. You shouldn't need one in the first place though. Something weird is happening with the speed pick up in this car. Wiring or module, like DLF said.
 
Yep Jeremi, No doubt, they have been dancing around with the WOT weird shifting issues for the past couple years now. Like I said, this crap only happens at the track, so it is not a pain in the ass every time I start the car. At the track though, it does get under my skin, and Aric assured me he will fix it. I just posted this thread to see if anyone has experience with a speed cal on a Mark to learn more about it. And I got some great info too. :)

The speedometer problem first happened when I put the 28" slicks on last year at the track, and went away when I put the street tires back on. Then reappeared just recently when I replaced the old 285/35 rear street tires with the new 265/40 drag radials that are on the car now. I intend to take off the front 255/35's and replace them with a tire closer in circumference to the 265/40 DR's. I hope that should fix the speedometer needle hop, along with going back to the stock 3.27 VSS speedo gear. We will see... :)
 
Aric spent the day data logging The Mark on Wednesday. Disclaimer - I did not take notes when I spoke with him, and I am typing this from memory, so this is my interpretation of what he said.

He put the stock 327 VSS speedo gear back in the car, and verified all the stuff in the tune that all you guys suggested he look at, and then proceeded to beat the crap out of the car lol :) . The day ended with the serp belt popped off, cutting the Vortech oil line, and The Mark being trailered back to the shop.

He said he got two good runs in, where the shifts occurred when commanded. The common thread between those two runs - the car hooked all through first and second gear with no spin. The other runs were the same as usual with tire spin: 1,2,3,2,3. He can see the spikes when it happens while monitoring on the lap top. There are three speeds he is data logging on the lap top: Front wheel speed, transmission speed, and rear wheel speed.

He is still working on the car, and is looking to try some tires on the front that match the size of the rear circumference to eliminate whatever that was causing out of the equation, because the speedometer needle is still jumping. More to come... :)
 
OK Here is the final diagnosis on the mysterious shifting issue that has had Aric chasing it for some time now. He data logged the crap out of the car, and has concluded the tune is fine. He made some minor tweeks, but the problem actually lies with not being able to hook the tires.

He has in one log, where he launched the car with violent spin, that commanded shifting early, and when it finally hooks, it commands a downshift because of slower wheel speed - like it should. He kept the logger going and brought the car to a stop and launched it again, only this time, it hooked. Bam, bam, bam, and the car went through the gears perfect. He was able to duplicate this test a couple times, and is convinced the tune is doing what it was designed to do.

The new front tires that now matched the circumference of the rear drag radials, fixed the bouncing speedo needle, and the stock 327 speedo gear is back in the car.

I should pick up the car tomorrow or Saturday, whenever he has JC detail it for me.

Now the big test will be when I take the car to the track, whenever this daggum rain stays away for a weekend. :)


I finally had Ryan print off a copy of The Marks final dyno sheet, with the new T-Trim and 3.33 pulley. This is with the neutered street tune and big pulley that I asked them to do, to keep it way way safe. This is the tune that is in the car now. One of the nicest graphs I have seen with 0 smoothing. Aric is my hero... :)

DSC02435.JPG
 
He has in one log, where he launched the car with violent spin, that commanded shifting early, and when it finally hooks, it commands a downshift because of slower wheel speed - like it should.

One of the nicest graphs I have seen with 0 smoothing. Aric is my hero... :)

I've gotten my speedo up over 100mph while spinning the tires in the rain...I was actually only going about 25mph when I let off and the tires hooked up...

I have no doubts about the tune or the graph, but it could also look smooth if the software did not take very much data. But with your setup, the power figures don't lie...one of the most powerful centrifugal setups I've ever seen on a Mark...
 
Thanks, Guys :) My honest opinion, any more power in this car is a waste, without doing some serious suspension mods to help get that power to the ground without blowing the tires off the car first.

I don't have a clue about dyno software, but I have seen some real jagged lines especially up top of the rpm range on some dyno sheets. From what I understand, you will usually see them jagged lines more pronounced when the car is on a banzai pull going for for the all important bragging numbers :)
 
Back
Top