Shift shock is the jolt felt when transmission changes gear. This jerk or shock feeling is observed in lower gear shift (i.e 1-2 or 2-3) and not in higher gears shift (i.e 5-6 or 6-7). What is the reason for such behavior.
Shift shock is not specific to automatic transmission, and can happen even in a vehicle with manual transmission, mainly when the driver shifts to lower gears too early or if the lower gears have a relatively higher gear ration than what is actually required.
Therefore, if the AT is tuned to downshift earlier, the shift shocks are felt, because there is a sudden reduction in the speed, and a corresponding increase in the torque output from the transmission.
Could be something to do with the fact that there is a greater torque in the lower gears, greater torque leads to greater energy created in the gear train and usually the engine is operating higher up the rev range, nearer the peak torque and power.
- Badges
- Science topic