Slow Acceleration On First Gear

[Ing J.Andersson]

Hallo. Don't know if this really are a problem. Maybe the car should behave like this. Anyhow this is my question/problem:

Have a 94 LS400 and when accelerates it feels much slower on the first gear then on the second one. Actually it pulls really hard on the second gear so the engine seams to be fine. Haven't clocked it serious 0-100 (km/h) but with my arm watch I got around 9 seconds. I friend that tried the car was talking about that i could be a problem with the stator. Could he be right? Or is this normal? And finally does anybody have some good and not to expansive tips to increase the 0-100 (km/h) time?

[bazgtr]

Hallo. Don't know if this really are a problem. Maybe the car should behave like this. Anyhow this is my question/problem:

Have a 94 LS400 and when accelerates it feels much slower on the first gear then on the second one. Actually it pulls really hard on the second gear so the engine seams to be fine. Haven't clocked it serious 0-100 (km/h) but with my arm watch I got around 9 seconds. I friend that tried the car was talking about that i could be a problem with the stator. Could he be right? Or is this normal? And finally does anybody have some good and not to expansive tips to increase the 0-100 (km/h) time?

The first and second gears are for braking not doing 0-60 times. When you are in D drive and doing about 70 and flick the gear stick to 2 postition you get engine breaking to help slow this big car and if thats not enough to stop you then flick it to 1st postion for even more engine breaking at around 30mph or less.

To pull away quick just select the power button and shove the pedal to the floor with a double motion, This will then give you good accelaration. Some good tyres will ahel along with strut braces for faster corning. Wider alloys with more rubber helps, But at the end of the day it's a luxury car not a sports car.

You can get some air intakes and supercharger kit for 400 horsepower, It's about £3500 UK pounds for the kit.

[TigerFish]

Hallo. Don't know if this really are a problem. Maybe the car should behave like this. Anyhow this is my question/problem:

Have a 94 LS400 and when accelerates it feels much slower on the first gear then on the second one. Actually it pulls really hard on the second gear so the engine seams to be fine. Haven't clocked it serious 0-100 (km/h) but with my arm watch I got around 9 seconds. I friend that tried the car was talking about that i could be a problem with the stator. Could he be right? Or is this normal? And finally does anybody have some good and not to expansive tips to increase the 0-100 (km/h) time?

The first and second gears are for braking not doing 0-60 times. When you are in D drive and doing about 70 and flick the gear stick to 2 postition you get engine breaking to help slow this big car and if thats not enough to stop you then flick it to 1st postion for even more engine breaking at around 30mph or less.

To pull away quick just select the power button and shove the pedal to the floor with a double motion, This will then give you good accelaration. Some good tyres will ahel along with strut braces for faster corning. Wider alloys with more rubber helps, But at the end of the day it's a luxury car not a sports car.

You can get some air intakes and supercharger kit for 400 horsepower, It's about £3500 UK pounds for the kit.

Maybe I misunderstand but.... In D it will still use first gear first, followed by second etc and the original poster is referring to slow pickup in first gear and getting better power once it changes to second?? So he is wondering if he has a problem with first gear??

I though the 0-100km/h for the LS400 was quicker than the GS300 so I would say 9 seconds seems a bit slow. However, no idea what the problem might be other than maybe a fluid change is in order for the gearbox.

[Matrixabc]

I do notice that if the engine was cold it would restrict the power you can get out of it, a bit like having it in snow mode. but once warmed, and in PWR mode from the lights it would pull smoothly through all the gears. I would have thought it was more likely to be the intelligence behind the gear box and engine management system. also remember you have an adaptive box so it will learn how you drive, so if you drive light footedly for 99% of the time, it will be sluggish to change gear, but in Kick down it should go flat out.

just to add, I have noticed it slow on take of if the traction control has come in when setting off

[TigerFish]

also remember you have an adaptive box so it will learn how you drive,

That is true as long as you are not in PWR mode.

[Ing J.Andersson]

Thanks for all your answers. It's looks like my car works fine after all. I just missed that the throttle has a "kick down" position. Found it today. In my defense, you really had to push hard on the throttle to activate it. And yes, the car performs really well now.

[Haylands]

Hi

Under normal driving conditions you should not use the gear selector to change to a lower gear for engine braking, the gearbox is not designed for such use. It will wear the clutch bands and overheat the fluid if you do it often.

If you are driving down a very steep hill you can select a lower gear at the top and not allow the car to change up to the higher gears to reduce your speed.

Very recent automatics do change down to provide engine braking when you back off and the hill is so steep that the car starts to run away but they are uprated and can take the abuse.

To make your autobox live a long time, leave it in drive and use your brakes to slow down.... new front pads are much cheaper than a transmission...

Pete

[Matrixabc]

So to Clarify

• When In PWR mode the traction control does not work?
  
• when going down a hill you should not change down a gear and load the transmission it is best to change on the flat before the hill?
  

with regard to the "KickDown" check the floor mats are not obstructing the button which is located under the accelerator.

[Haylands]

So to Clarify

• When In PWR mode the traction control does not work?
  
• when going down a hill you should not change down a gear and load the transmission it is best to change on the flat before the hill?
  

with regard to the "KickDown" check the floor mats are not obstructing the button which is located under the accelerator.

Hi

His is a 94 and didn't have traction unless it’s a Celsior, PWR mode does not affect VSC in your car (LS430)

You can change to a lower gear on steep hills but don't use it to brake the car, i.e. slow it down, use it to keep the speed low... if that makes sense... Your 430 will change down anyway if the speed increases and you are not touching the accelerator... well mine does anyway.

Don't think even the early 400's had a button under the pedal, I think it was on the throttle linkage further down stream. Your 430's pedal is just a variable resistor switch and not physically connected to anything, that’s how it backs off when the wheels start spinning and you've got your foot down.

Pete