Colorado Yeti
Member
First, I absolutely hate automatic transmissions. They suck for a multitude of reasons, but the primary reason is that it takes away the control of the driver over the drivetrain. One of the best features of manual transmission is torque braking, which applies the resistance of the engine to the wheels which greatly aids in controlled vehicle braking especially in mountainous, icy or off road situations. At least automatic transmissions offer the ability to shift down to a lower gear which does help with torque braking, although in a lesser degree than a vehicle with a manual transmission.
So what the hell is up with the Tahoe???? There is a noticeable lag period when you let off the gas in a lower gear to when torque braking from the engine actually kicks in. This sucks in icy / snowy conditions when you need that instant feedback of torque braking to help maintain control of the vehicle, especially if you are going down a hill. The lag is about 4-5 seconds and it feels as if the computer is telling the engine to rev at a higher RPM after you let off the gas instead of letting the engine go back to a normal idle speed. Is there anyway to bypass this feature on the computer or a chip upgrade that eliminates this terrible behavior?
If you don't believe me, take your Tahoe out on a road about 50 mph in 2nd gear and let off the gas. You will feel it coast for about 4-5 seconds before the engine starts slowing down the vehicle. This is maddening! I would be curious if this is just on my 99 2-door Tahoe or if this occurs on all Tahoes. I understand that many of you don't live in mountainous or snowy areas so maybe this doesn't bug the crap out of most of you.
If I could rip out the automatic out of my Tahoe and install a NV-4500 granny 5-speed manual, I would do it in a second. That said, this is the first vehicle that I have owned with a automatic tranny so I don't know any different.
So what the hell is up with the Tahoe???? There is a noticeable lag period when you let off the gas in a lower gear to when torque braking from the engine actually kicks in. This sucks in icy / snowy conditions when you need that instant feedback of torque braking to help maintain control of the vehicle, especially if you are going down a hill. The lag is about 4-5 seconds and it feels as if the computer is telling the engine to rev at a higher RPM after you let off the gas instead of letting the engine go back to a normal idle speed. Is there anyway to bypass this feature on the computer or a chip upgrade that eliminates this terrible behavior?
If you don't believe me, take your Tahoe out on a road about 50 mph in 2nd gear and let off the gas. You will feel it coast for about 4-5 seconds before the engine starts slowing down the vehicle. This is maddening! I would be curious if this is just on my 99 2-door Tahoe or if this occurs on all Tahoes. I understand that many of you don't live in mountainous or snowy areas so maybe this doesn't bug the crap out of most of you.
If I could rip out the automatic out of my Tahoe and install a NV-4500 granny 5-speed manual, I would do it in a second. That said, this is the first vehicle that I have owned with a automatic tranny so I don't know any different.
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