I was considering buying the BergWerks first gear module. It looked like a good idea, and the company and product are well thought of, but the module cost a little more than I wanted to pay. So, I cloned it, using stuff I had around the house! Of course, the contents of my house may differ somewhat from the contents of your house. I'm fairly certain that what I did is in principle similar to BergWerks but my algorithm is different (I don't see the value of 2-1 downshift, but I may update the firmware later).
While doing this, I noticed that my 1st gear didn't seem to work at all, and worse, I would blow fuses when shifting into B. Solution: cut/reroute solenoid wire trapped and shorted between transmission and transmission pan (great work by MB dealership for the previous owner).
I mounted a Chicago Ace key and a mil-spec pilot lamp (lit with a blue LED) on the console. The lamp has a built in iris so that you can mechanically dim it at night with a 1/2 turn. The key is kind of redundant, because no one else drives my car! It is visible in the day with the top down.
Starting in first gear is a subtle improvement until you need the speed. Then, it's not so subtle. However, I'm almost certain that my gas mileage has dropped a bit (but I may be enjoying the performance more, so I'm putting more pedal into it, so it's hard to say).
I don't intend to build any more of these (liability reasons, among other things), but I thoroughly enjoyed this project. A symbiosis of my two favorite hobbies!
08-05-2004, 10:14 PM
Linear Mode
