interceptor help

[paultvx]

I think I've got what's going on nailed down more... I think part of the problem is the way auto tranny and the Interceptor thinks.

Accelerating from dead stop or from moderate speeds the Interceptor does a pretty good job and smooths the shifts since the delay allows the tranny to carry more momentum in to the next gear and the line pressure increase creates more positive shifts.

However, lets say the VX is heading into a left (or right) turn where it would be heading uphill immediately after the turn, if you decelerate going into the corner and accelerate (or have to add gas in order to keep your speed heading up the hill) like you're suppose to... the tranny would downshift because of the extra accelerator input. The tranny thinks you want to accelerate so it downshifts. The problem here is the delay forces the tranny to shift late. The VX has lost speed and momentum in the duration and when it finally does downshift it does it harshly and since pedal input hasn't changed, once the shift has been made the VX jolts forward... kind of uneasy feeling when you're on a narrow winding backcountry road. It has the potential of upseting the truck's handling. The best way to describe is probably how it feels when you down shift a manual tranny without matching the RPM.

So... I'm wondering if the culprit is really not the line pressure setting but the amount to delay (too much)? Thoughts?

[Moncha]

Originally posted by paultvx
So... I'm wondering if the culprit is really not the line pressure setting but the amount to dealy (too much)? Thoughts?

Sounds good but I have to diagree.. don't get any of what you are talking about.. I drive the winding mountain roads of Colorado all the time and have never had the tranny shift unless I want it to and when it does, it does so smoothly. Even an abrubt downshift, like flooring it coming out of a curve never causes what you are describing.

[paultvx]

Well, the only reason I situated my Interceptor high up and out of the way of any heat sources and moving parts is because it has been so hyped up so much that I figured the recommended settings (full delay & 20%-30% line pressure) would've been just fine.

I am and have been active in several automotive forums. One thing I've noticed is that it's very difficult to obtain fair and impartial product reviews. It's hard to know for sure if a product is being supported because people spent their $ on it... or if it is because the product itself really is deserving of praise. Unbiased and analytical reviews are hard to come by... when they show up they're usually met with fierce resistance. I don't see what the big deal is in expressing dismay or less than full satisfaction for a product. If anything, that's one of the benefits of sharing information with an online forum such as this one.

Anyway... I'll turn down the line pressure even more... it's at 25% now, being at such a low setting already... I don't see how any setting between that and 0% would make any difference. Ultimately, it would be nice to have a "smart" Interceptor that doesn't treat upshifts and downshifts in the same manner. Better yet... it would be nice to alter/reprogram the control unit's values and do away with the piggyback Interceptor.

How many Interceptor owners here have 2001 VXs? What settings do you have on your Interceptor?

Spazz:

Putting too much thought into it? How else would one expect to solve problems without understanding exactly what the problem is? Beating something to death or abusing it until it breaks does not constitute problem solving! I'll stop thinking about it if you'll agree, in writing, to buy me a new tranny when mine breaks after heeding your advice of not "putting too much thought" into it. We'll just call it the USMC/Isuzu warranty. "Don't think. Just Do. We fix it when it's broke."

Seriously... You said you started from the middle (50%)... If I recall correctly, the line pressure pot goes from seven'o'clock to eleven'o'clock and there are a total of 8 hatch marks. In a seperate post (fairly recent) Tone said to not exceed 30% on 2001 models because the factory line pressure setting is higher for those made in that year than '00 and '99. Do you remember where you ended up?

[paultvx]

Originally posted by SPAZZ
Yes, I started from the middle with both settings...ended up turning line pressure setting down and shift delay up

So where did you end up on pressure? Like I said there's 8 notches on the pot.

Originally posted by SPAZZ you just like your VX I guess is just exceptionally........"UNIQUE".....

And that's not a personal attack/snipe?? If it bothers you so much why do it onto others??

Originally posted by SPAZZ Why would you even state that I put anything in writing for your choice of installing an Interceptor and your inability to figure out something so simple????

And that isn't a personal attack either? Hypocrite.

I'm not looking for instructions to install the POS. Just trying to fine tune it to get the bugs ironed out. The Interceptor is already installed. It's been installed for over a month. Is that so hard to understand?? Read my post a few more times. You either misread, misunderstood, or really should work on your reading comprehension skills.

I never asked you to put the installation instructions in writing. I was checking, sarcastically, to see if you'd agree to buy me a new tranny when mine fails (and put that agreement in writing) since you told me to not to think about the harsh downshift.

Since you totally missed it, I'll make things easy for you... have my posts in this thread ever been about installing the Interceptor? NO. Have my posts been about fine tuning the Interceptors adjustable values? YES. Was that too cryptic for you? Anyone else?

Like I said, it's already installed and I installed it myself... over a month ago! Read and understand... it's not that hard. What I said about the USMC/Isuzu warranty was a joke (didn't you read the "Seriously..."???) I made a joke and you jumped all over it with insinuating remarks like:

Originally posted by SPAZZ "not mechanically inclined..."
"don't hurt your brain too much on this..."
"your inability to figure out something so simple????"

Those ARE your words, not mine. Did someone say "childish"??

Why should this (discussion on Interceptor settings) be kept to email? I'm sure other people would find it useful to reference what others have set their Interceptors to. More references the better. It could save others time in dialing theirs in. Instead of providing useful info (like where you have your Interceptor set at) you wasted no time turning it into another one of your paranoid egotistical outbursts. Which aren't useful at all to anyone. You responded to my post (second to last post). So, in response, I asked you where exactly do you have yours set at... a question you never answered. If you don't know the answer, then fine... just say, "I don't remember." Just 3 words. Easy enough and there's no shame in that.

Two simple paragraphs and one simple question got you all twisted up. Man, some people are just too damn paranoid. Did they put you on some sort of experimental psych-agent program? you sure? are you really really sure? *chuckle*

FYI for all you 2001 owners, I received an email for someone who didn't have any luck getting the Interceptor to work in his. It appears that some '01s take well to this mod... while others don't. I wish that little tidbit had been disclosed as a side note when I was given the sales pitch. And, yes Spazz (now I know why you call yourself that), he did adjust it up and down untill the cows came home. Good grief...

[Moncha]

Would this be considered controversy ?

[paultvx]

Spazz... after all that gibberish you spewed you still haven't answered the one simple question (which is on- topic). Did someone say waste of space?

With notches or not... you should at least be able to tell if it's at 20%, 40%, 50% between minimum and maximum. If you don't know then you don't know.

You said you undertand that it's already installed, yet you continue to speak of installation procedures and you continute to say things like "I don't understand why it's so hard to install something so simple." No one ever said it's hard to install. No one ever said it can't be installed. What's your major malfunction? Not understanding it's not about installation, still?

Originally posted by SPAZZ I am far from a "hypocrite" as you spelled it.

FYI, "hypocrite" is spelled correctly. See http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hypocrite. See below for an illustration of the word's definition.

Originally posted by SPAZZ "I can be childish and shallow and I can attack you and your inabilities, but I choose not to."

Originally posted by SPAZZ "not mechanically inclined..."
"don't hurt your brain too much on this..."
"your inability to figure out something so simple????"

[AlaskaVX]

Spazz, in an earlier post you said that you needed to adjust the interceptor when your VX is running? is that true? Why? I just adjusted it threw it on and called it good.

[Tone]

Wow, another post gone bad! But is it good enough to film for release on Video?

Interceptor should not be this difficult to set! Install is by far the hardest part. 2 sets of instructions are included with it and there are arrows on the device itself for increasing or decreasing line pressure and delay, although they are opposite one another since they are the same pot on different ends of the circuit board.

Hard, abrupt shifting will ONLY be caused by too much line pressure, especially if it did not do it BEFORE the Interceptor was installed. ‘00/01s are more sensitive to line pressure increase as they appear to run a higher pressure from the factory so start out with a slight turn of the pressure pot to slightly increase it. If you had a hard shift (up or down) BEFORE you installed the Interceptor, this device will NOT fix that and will probably make it more noticeable. IF that is the case, you ought to have the tranny looked at by a professional and that probably means NOT the dealer.

Delay setting will NOT cause a hard shift and should be set at 100% delay for optimum use. It is very difficult to actually feel the delay but acceleration times will be improved. DELAY does NOT affect downshift ability or timing, only the lockup of the torque converter AFTER a shift has occurred.

[AlaskaVX]

Spazz, Tone, could either of you at least answer my question?

[paultvx]

Originally posted by Tone
Interceptor should not be this difficult to set! Install is by far the hardest part. 2 sets of instructions are included with it and there are arrows on the device itself for increasing or decreasing line pressure and delay, although they are opposite one another since they are the same pot on different ends of the circuit board.

I didn't say it was hard to set. The only difficulty in its installation or setup is access. I only wanted to see where others have theirs set to... amazingly, that wasn't understood. Tranny was fine before the Interceptor. With it, normal acceleration is fine. I did state that clearly.

BTW, there was no red wire with silver stripe as described in your instructions in my 2001.

I see no reason to keep the VX running while adjustments are made. It should work either way and shouldn't make any difference.

[AlaskaVX]

Originally posted by paultvx
I only wanted to see where others have theirs set to... amazingly, that wasn't understood.

No doubt, at least I understood you.

[technocoy]

and the entertainment! lol! as soon as i have the cash i'll be giving you a call, tone. do you offer two day delivery?

thanks again for all the help guys!

[SGT.BATGUANO]

paultvx

interceptor


paultvx spazz

me

[paultvx]

Kids.

[SGT.BATGUANO]

Hope you get it figured out. Dropping the line pressure sounds reasonable.

How much? Trial and error time.