Newbie Questions; Hope you can help

[Svashtar]

Hello all! First post, and hope you will excuse my ignorance and help me out with a couple of questions I have.

Just bought an '03 MM in black, with all the options as far as I know. Was going to get the '04 for the traction control and newer stereo, but was very surprised to find both those options on this car already. Also, the price seemed very good compared to an '04, which is to be expected. I pick the car up next week. Don't know if this is the A or B model.

I'm not the pure speed guru some of you guys appear to be (I mean, whether I can blow off the line and do 0-60 in the fastest time and wipe out every Corvette in existence is not THE most important thing to me! :) ), but I do want to address some of the OD shifting problems I have heard about and do whatever logical tweaks you guys can suggest.

SO, after doing some research and learning just enough to be dangerous, I think my car would benefit from a 4:10 gear change and a performance chip. (?) 90% of my driving is commute, and although I wouldn't mind a faster take-off I am not interested in smoking the tires or getting the absolute best possible horses out of the car. But when I'm on the freeway and want to pass someone, I want to do it NOW, and not a fraction of a second later while the tranny decides what to do.

Do you have any other suggestions? I think this will work for me to start with anyway, but all the shops listed on site are back east. Does anyone know of a reliable place out in CA that could do that work?

Thanks to all of your for any info. I have aleady ordered some sill panels and stuff I found in the links to this site, but really wanted to get this performance improvement stuff addressed first.

BTW, if I am not competing as it appears some of you guys are, would you still recommend some of the other mods I have seen mentioned?

Thanks again, and I appreciate your help.

Regards,

Norm

[Marauderman]

Norm--Although I'm on the East coast--you should let all know where exactly you are located so we all can help you better--.....and make this a part of your member name/loc...see "preferences" for this...

Anyway--by doing this it will help alot of folks , possibiley near you contact you faster ..we are all over the US, and alot in Ca....so talk to us about where your located my friend and WELCOME aboard..........Your grin has just begun!!...........Tom

[Svashtar]

Tom:


Doh! :stupid: My bad. Of course. Let me edit the profile. FYI, I am in Salinas CA, and work in Monterey, in Central California.

Thanks,

Norm

[FiveO]

With 4:10 gears I got 20mpg on a 2000 mile trip back to MN from San Diego after purchasing my MM.

Good compromise overall. You'll get better mileage with the 3:55 stock gears...but less on take off.

Just my observations.

BTW: Welcome! :up:

[TAF]

Welcome aboard! :up:

There are lots of things that can help you with your shifting concerns...and frankly, if you are going to do a gear-swap...you'll need a chip to correct your speedo. I do know that there is a friendly dealer up in the Bay Area that has already done a Trilogy S/C install...and one of the guys from the dealer there is a member here...but, I can't think of his name. Meanwhile, someone here will help with that.

BTW...you live in a BEAUTIFUL area there..I've played a LOT of golf on that gorgeous Peninsula over the years....:rock:

[Svashtar]

FiveO:

Thanks! 20 mpg is better than I had hoped. If they would just get the da*&ed MTBE or whatever it is out of the gas out here, I know the car would do even better. My previous vehicle lost 4 mpg when they started using that stuff.

Regards,

Norm

[Svashtar]

Welcome aboard! :up:

There are lots of things that can help you with your shifting concerns...and frankly, if you are going to do a gear-swap...you'll need a chip to correct your speedo. I do know that there is a friendly dealer up in the Bay Area that has already done a Trilogy S/C install...and one of the guys from the dealer there is a member here...but, I can't think of his name. Meanwhile, someone here will help with that.

BTW...you live in a BEAUTIFUL area there..I've played a LOT of golf on that gorgeous Peninsula over the years....:rock:
Thanks TAF! I lived in the supposed "garden spot of the world" for 20 years, Sonoma County, CA, and it WAS pretty until 150,000 other folks moved in. However, this has it beat hands down, and the weather is great.

I haven't got into Golf, but this is the place for it. (Something like 17 courses around here?!) However I do fly down here as a hobby and get to see most of this pretty country from the air, and it is pretty incredible.

I hope I'll be able to get some contact info for someone who could do the performance upgrade work. I don't mind driving 4-5 hours even as long as whoever is doing the work knows what they are doing and is committed to a quality job.

Thanks again.

Norm

[valleyman]

I did the 4.10 and chip in my car and there is no other way to put it: it makes it a different car. That annoying tendency of the transmission to lag and hunt for gears is compeletly gone. I used the Reinhart chip and installed it myself. I'd never done one before and it wasn't that hard. My gears were put in by a Fresno shop that does nothing but differential work. They're called Fearless Gear and they do excellent work.

[Svashtar]

I did the 4.10 and chip in my car and there is no other way to put it: it makes it a different car. That annoying tendency of the transmission to lag and hunt for gears is compeletly gone. I used the Reinhart chip and installed it myself. I'd never done one before and it wasn't that hard. My gears were put in by a Fresno shop that does nothing but differential work. They're called Fearless Gear and they do excellent work.
Thank you! Can you tell me how long it took them to do the gear change? I mean is it a two day task, or something that can be done fairly quickly?

Regards,

Norm

[valleyman]

It took the better part of a day to do the labor. PM me and I'll give you all the details. Also since you're so close, my MM has the rear sway bar, Mac&Zack control arms, metal matrix drive shaft, Reinhart level II transmission and engine cooling mod, underdrive pullies, and Stallion torque converter. If you're thinking of adding any of these and want to drive (read "pound") a car that actually has them first (and has to run on California gas), let me know.

[Dan]

Norm,

Drive the car a while before swapping gears. I use the OD off button on the shifter to make quicker shifts on the highway. It is actually quite fast. If I need to go lower I just shift it.

If you want your auto tranny to read your mind you need to send it a stronger signal and give it some body language by manually shifting it for the right gear at the right time.

Best,

Dan

[tsn1]

Hi Svashtar,
I too just bought an '03 MM. I have heard that there is a good dealership in Santa Rosa. Hansel Ford has been mentioned a few times as a good source of service. I commute in my car as well, so I will only be making moderate changes to the exhaust, intake etc. Are you going to the Monterey Historics or the Pebble Beach Concours? If you are, a friend and myself are going to be there friday and saturday. If you are planning to go, email me so we can compare cars, tell stories (lies) etc.
Tom

Hello all! First post, and hope you will excuse my ignorance and help me out with a couple of questions I have.

Just bought an '03 MM in black, with all the options as far as I know. Was going to get the '04 for the traction control and newer stereo, but was very surprised to find both those options on this car already. Also, the price seemed very good compared to an '04, which is to be expected. I pick the car up next week. Don't know if this is the A or B model.

I'm not the pure speed guru some of you guys appear to be (I mean, whether I can blow off the line and do 0-60 in the fastest time and wipe out every Corvette in existence is not THE most important thing to me! :) ), but I do want to address some of the OD shifting problems I have heard about and do whatever logical tweaks you guys can suggest.

SO, after doing some research and learning just enough to be dangerous, I think my car would benefit from a 4:10 gear change and a performance chip. (?) 90% of my driving is commute, and although I wouldn't mind a faster take-off I am not interested in smoking the tires or getting the absolute best possible horses out of the car. But when I'm on the freeway and want to pass someone, I want to do it NOW, and not a fraction of a second later while the tranny decides what to do.

Do you have any other suggestions? I think this will work for me to start with anyway, but all the shops listed on site are back east. Does anyone know of a reliable place out in CA that could do that work?

Thanks to all of your for any info. I have aleady ordered some sill panels and stuff I found in the links to this site, but really wanted to get this performance improvement stuff addressed first.

BTW, if I am not competing as it appears some of you guys are, would you still recommend some of the other mods I have seen mentioned?

Thanks again, and I appreciate your help.

Regards,

Norm

[Patrick]

Welcome And as you can tell so far thier is alot help here!!! Just keep browsing the threads and you find even More!!!! :up: :up: :up:

[Svashtar]

Hi Svashtar,
I too just bought an '03 MM. I have heard that there is a good dealership in Santa Rosa. Hansel Ford has been mentioned a few times as a good source of service. I commute in my car as well, so I will only be making moderate changes to the exhaust, intake etc. Are you going to the Monterey Historics or the Pebble Beach Concours? If you are, a friend and myself are going to be there friday and saturday. If you are planning to go, email me so we can compare cars, tell stories (lies) etc.
TomHey Tom, I know Hansel Ford from when I lived up in SR, and it makes sense that they would do good work. They have been around for a long time. I bought my just swapped 12 year old Toyota P/U from Hansel Toyota in Petaluma in '92, and actually was one of their very first customers in that building.

I usually don't go to the Monterey car shows, as they are too rich for my blood, but hey I would be glad to meet you guys there and would really like to see your cars. I can't pickup mine for another 7 days or so when my final financing clears. To tell you the truth, I am 10 minutes from Monterey from my work, but have no idea when those shows are. Later this summer, or THIS Friday and Saturday? Let me know and I'll arrange to meet you guys.

Later!

Norm

[Svashtar]

Norm,

Drive the car a while before swapping gears. I use the OD off button on the shifter to make quicker shifts on the highway. It is actually quite fast. If I need to go lower I just shift it.

If you want your auto tranny to read your mind you need to send it a stronger signal and give it some body language by manually shifting it for the right gear at the right time.

Best,

Dan
Dan, thanks for the advice. Did you change the chip, or just leave it stock? Now for the dumb question; I have heard of leaving OD off to speed things up, but what do you mean, "just shift it"? Do you mean you put the OD back on, or that you manually shift the automatic into a lower gear? 'Nother dumb one: isn't that hard on the tranny? So, when you want to slow down fast you just click from D to first?

I have read other folks saying the same thing as you, I'm just trying to envision how you would manually shift an automatic transmission. I guess I wasn't taught well on an auto; I have always driven with a clutch, and with an auto I have always left it in Drive, unless I had to go up a steep hill or something. I never have switched into first or second and driven the car on straight and level that way, I am sorry to say!

Thanks again for your information.

Norm

[Sactown]

Hitchhiker has been very pleased with Hansel. Read his thread for more details.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11156&highlight=santa+rosa

Nice to see another CA member. Welcome!

As far as engine mods go, I'm holding out for a Trilogy S/C, waiting for it to become CA smog legal. Then I'm sure I'll add other stuff too (exaust, water pump, and others). But quite frankly the car is a joy to drive as is. I can pass most cars fine on 2 lane roads and freeways, thats where it has lots of its stock power. It's no monster off the line...that's where it sucks. But once it's going it picks up fast. As far as shifting goes, I'm sure there is lots of room for improvement, but I basically keep the OD off in the city and click it on when I get on the freeway. It likes to slip into OD as soon as it can, and when there, it can take it a while to wake up and down shift if you want to get up and go on the quick.

Lots of info on this site, a great bunch of people. Enjoy the new ride!