Does the A9L computer retard timing between shifts?

The a9l does not retard timing between shifts or does other computers bewteen 89-92. The 93-95 do have a retard function.

Speedy, are you sure that the '93 puters have tip-in retard?

As said, the A9L does not kill spark during shifts (the tip-in retard was introduced to extend the life of drivetrain components).

Good luck.

matthiasj said:

but isnt that why everyone powershifts?

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Ha Ha Matt

I remember your birthday thread from not too long ago so I know your age and can safely say this ...........................

Peeps been power shifting way before you were even born

Believe it or not ...... there were no pcm's back then

You power shift to save time shifting thus ... a lower ET

You're correct about no spark retard if you power shift!

Now a Days .......... you power shift and blow your t5

Grady

The 93Cobra does and looking at my ROM files the regular 93 5.0 computer does also. 93 Cobra has a 15 degree retard and the 93 5.0 has a 10 degree. 94-95 both have a 15 degree retard. The ROM files for the 94-95 also show Automatics having a 15 degree retard at WOT shifts.

speedytang said:

The 93Cobra does and looking at my ROM files the regular 93 5.0 computer does also. 93 Cobra has a 15 degree retard and the 93 5.0 has a 10 degree. 94-95 both have a 15 degree retard. The ROM files for the 94-95 also show Automatics having a 15 degree retard at WOT shifts.

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This goes against everything I have read. If you can, please provide more info about how the fox puter accomplishes this.

I would note that the SN 5.0L puters have different retard specs for autos vs sticks (no blanket statements can be made for both).

In the ROM location for timing under idle advance it shows taking out timing(-10,-15) on the 93-95 computers and on the listing I have from 92-86 the Rom location is blank. The old Hypertech chip would remove the negative timing numbers and entered zero in those locations. I have old print outs from when a engineer I worked with reverse engineered the data from the computers and printed out the hexadecimal and he figured all kind of stuff out and burned service chips to raise the rpm limiter and other tricks for the time in the 90's. I just happen to have the timing section high lited and also have a section high lited that he found a way to add a electric fan to the a9l computer and using it to switch the fan on and off using the temperature switch. Most of the printout is hard to read now after 15 years but can make out some of it.

matthiasj said:

well that is very intresting. The guy i was talking to it about, said that they make a "power harness" for our cars, which pretty much is pluggin in the A9L computer, for more Hp...he said i could get like 10-15 from it. Is this in any way true, or would it be more of a SOTP difference because of no timing being cut...

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That sounds a bit like a PIH kit to me.

If so, those are normally used to tune issues, not as something to get a few ponies. One has to do things like sourcing fan control, BAP sensor and some other small stuff. It would be better IMHO to tune the existing computer. (Said another way, you should be able to tune your existing processor to maximize power without needing to go backwards a step with the fox processor).

Just MHO.

Most of you will know who Mike Wesley is - no body knows the EEC better I'd venture to say - here is a quote from Mike's article "EEC vs EEC".........

Another thing the '94 - '95 cars do with spark is retarding it during a shift. The automatic cars REALLY pull out the timing, but the 5spd cars do it also. Inside the 5spd EEC calibration is a thing called Tip-in Retard. Any time the throttle is moved from a more closed position to a more open position, it can pull out some timing. When you shift a 5spd car, most people lift off the gas during the shift. The EEC senses this, and when you push on the gas again it pulls some timing out. The older EEC didn't have this 'feature'. You lose more torque during a shift on a '94 - '95 car than a '93 or older car. Why did Ford do this?? We think warranty. Ford had to replace a zillion T-5's in the older cars. A lot of them broke due to overshifting and power shifting, but a lot of them broke as a result of too much transient torque. If you could reduce the torque output of the engine during a shift, the transient torque would be lower. The trans wouldn't break as easily, and thus the Tip-in Retard was born. How much timing is pulled out during a shift varies, but it can pull out as much as 15 degrees. There is not much you can do to 'fix' this except by re-calibrating the EEC.

The '94 - '95 automatic cars have a torque modulation strategy installed in them to vary spark during shifts. When the EEC thinks it's time to change gears, it can pull out massive amounts of timing so the shift is nice and smooth. As far as we know there are two reasons for this. First is warranty. The AODE trans is not all that strong in stock form. By reducing the torque during shifts, you can extend its life. Second is shift feel. For some reason Ford doesn't want you to 'feel' the car shift.