1. Why does the transmission feel funny when I get on the throttle hard? It feels like the torque convertor is locking up prematurely between 3000 and 4000 rpm. Is this normal? I have 300 miles on it.
2. In first gear (I keep it in OD all the time) it only makes 6 pounds of boost by the gauge. In second gear it gets to about 8 pounds. Is this correct? I've heard that they should make 8 all the time and some are higher?
Thanks and I guess my paperwork from SVT will be here within 60 days?
PS - I just put a K+N panel filter in it. Does this help with the boost?
Any other tips yall can give me?
Thanks again, and sorry for all the questions!
I love this truck!
Ryan

 

Welcome aboard.
1. not sure someone else can help(come on guys)
2. Not sure on your situation. I know when i put the hammer down it jumps to 9lbs and stays ther tell i let off! I have heard to K&N panels do help some. On the paper work i had to wait about almost 6 months, they wait till production goes out and then sends them out at random.
Tips:
Get a Filter/Chip combo. Your not gona make alot of improvment with the exaust. Its almost for sound with LITTLE e.t gains. I have heard it dose help the trap speed tho.

 

Most make 10-12 pounds of boost. Take it back to the dealership. Somethings wrong.
noelvm

 

Ryan2KRedL,

5 days old is a little young to be owning & driving a powerful truck like this, don't ya think? j/k

Welcome to the board!

Lightning boost gages are known to be terribly inaccurate. The chip & cylindrical filter combo is the way to go to improve your L's performance. They will help out your boost and shifting.
Do not hold your breath waiting for the SVT paperwork to arrive!

Later,
Jake...

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2000 Black Lightning
NLOC #476
PSP full meal deal
Level 10 shift kit
SnugLid
BedRug
Wet Okole seat covers
AIM 2" rear drop

13.870 @ 100.52 stock

jacobs@revealed.net

 

Those gauges are inaccurate. Mine is like yours to the opposite degree. It pegs easily even though my Phantom shows 8 PSI on a hot day and as high as 10 PSI on a cool day.

------------------
Red '00 Lightning,
Adopted 4/19/00,
Power Surge Performance enhanced,
Sound effects provided by Flowmaster,
13.701@100.81

 

As far as the 6 lbs of boost thing. Nothing is wrong. Give it some time to break in. Mine did the same thing. Now it pegs at 10psi. The motor is still tight and is not operating at full capacity yet. If it still does it at 3000 miles, then take it to the dealer. Congrats on your new ride!

 

Ditto to the advice of Baby Jake and 2000Black. It will take a solid 2500-3000 miles for your motor to break in and start to really run, and the best bang for the buck mods you can make are a cone filter and chip.

 

Hey all! I am new to this board so bare with me! I just bought my Lightning last week and it only has 400 miles on it. My boost is showing the exact same thing. When I nail it it jumps immediately to 6psi and once the engine hits higher rpms it makes it way to 8psi. I was curious about this as well. My L is also stock.

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Sam Cooper
2000 L White
ryteous@hotmail.com

 

I don't believe owners of stock L's are allowed on this board LOL
Give that bolt a few thousand miles and it will give you all the boost you'll need.

 

Hey guys, don't worry about the boost gauge, the factory one is almost a gimmick. My 00 has always pegged the boost gauge, almost as easily as it drops the gas gauge. However, it is noticably stronger now with 3K miles on it. Right off the lot it would only spin the tires if you really romped on it. Now it will spin them from a 20 mph roll for several feet.
As far as the transmission locking up prematurely, that's a sign that the accelerator isn't down far enough! Jus' kidding, but I can tell you that this is the weirdest shifting tranny I've ever driven. Full throttle shifts won't even bark the tires, but if I back off the gas just before it shifts, then bang it to the floor just as it upshifts, it will lay a good patch of rubber. Running on 4 cylinders ain't cool in a V8. My primary reason for getting a chip will be to fix the tranny shift logic, and to keep all 8 cyls during shifts; the power increase is just icing on the cake.
One thing that kinda freaks me out is the way the torque converter slowly locks up between 50-60 mph if I'm accelerating moderately. The rpm will stay the same, but the speedo continues to go up. With careful modulation I can hold it at about 2K rpm from 50 to almost 70 mph. It's almost like having a continuously variable tranny.

 

I was thinking the same thing. This transmission is incredibly sensitive to throttle inputs and varies significantly in how it performs more than any vehicle I've owned. It seems to shift most forcefully if I let off the throttle right before the shift point. BANG! My head snaps back. Can't wait to launch a sandwich into my buddy's face at just the right moment...

 

ralleyone,

You let friends eat in your Lightning? Blasphemy.

What can I say. I let my 3 year old son bounce around in there at first. Then I woke up. Now my Denali is his tree fort, his rescue behicle {sic}, and his airplane.

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2000 Red Lightning Born 3-8-00 / Delivered 3-22-00
22% Window Tint, Clear Corners, MPulse LoPro Tonneau, AIM 2" Drop Shackles, Bed Rug, PSP Filter Kit, Other Goodies

2000 Red Trans Am Ram Air WS6, 6 Speed - Delivered 2-15-00 - Awesome Looking Car

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