re manual shift bigots in article c o nh su news cso uiuc edu mchaffee dcl nxt michael t chaffee writes w r t performance converter lockup is purely irrelevant the lockup only occurs at light throttle settings and serves only to improve mpg mind you a converter clutch does a lovely job of improving mpg but the additional mechanical advantage of the converter gives you more acceleration vs locked converter clutch than its inherent losses take away the transmission in my car contradicts both your assertions i get much stronger acceleration if i let the convertor lockup which i can induce by briefly lifting off then quickly but not too quickly to trigger a kickdown applying throttle above rpms the convertor will never unlock it would kickdown first who says there s no skill involved in driving an automatic i think of it as the throttle and shifter combined into a single pedal with my car i can pretty much influence its shifting patterns with my right foot while having both hands to steer eliot
