Clarification....Autostick vs. Range Select

BTurk · #1 07-28-2005, 05:33 PM

I have done a lot of reading in this site and there is a lot of discussion about the Autostick transmission. I love it as much as everyone else, I had a Stratus R/T Sedan with it and loved to drive it. It also does well in the Pacifica although it seems slower to respond but anyway....

To clarify, while it is still called as Autostick, what you are getting in your LX vehicles is a slightly different system of the same "manumatic" transmission. This different system is known, at least within Chrysler as Range Select. It operates a bit differently. In Autostick you select which gear you want the transmission to be in and the computer shifts accordingly. In Range Select, you are not picking the gear, but rather selecting the gears that the computer has to choose from. So when you are in "3" on range select you essentially have a 3 speed transmission. This system will feel the same way when upshifting under acceleration because if you're getting near redline in a 1-spd transmission and all of sudden tell the computer that it has a second gear, it will up shift. It does however feel very awkward when downshifting as the computer catches up. (Range Select is, coincidentally from the German side of DC)

I am curious, since they are still calling it Autostick, has anyone out there, owned a car with Autostick and then purchased a LX with range select, noticed a difference in the operation?

nickoman01 · #2 07-28-2005, 06:48 PM

i don't quite get the difference. could you try to dumb it down a little. i had it in my Pacifica, and it was fun, but like you said it was slow. and why call it the other thing when every day we go on autostick is becoming more recognized.

BTurk · #3 07-28-2005, 07:13 PM

Sorry if it got confusing Nick....both systems are being sold as Autostick, in other words, a stratus and a charger both have autostick, but they operate differently. The system in the charger is referred to as "Range Select" within chrysler. Here's the lehman's version of the two systems

Autostick - Pick a gear and the computer will stay in that gear until either a) the user switches or b) it's dummy-proofing measures kick in.

Range Select - The number you select with the stick changes the range of gears that the computer can choose from (e.g. in "3" The computer can choose between 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear freely, but cannot use 4th and 5th) so while you are in "3" your car may at times actually be in 2nd gear. I don't know why they changed it, it makes "downshifts" really delayed and awkward, because your in 4th gear and all of a sudden you tell the computer that it can only use 1-3, it has to then figure out which gear to go into.

Does that help at all?

nickoman01 · #4 07-28-2005, 08:16 PM

yeah a ton. thanks bro. is there a dumb ass proof system on range select.

BTurk · #5 07-29-2005, 11:51 AM

Yeah I'm pretty sure there are, things like if you don't shift and the engine is stuck at redline for a certain period of time it will shift up on it's own...

DFWDaytona · #6 09-27-2005, 05:58 AM

When I accellerate with the stick in "1" and hit it hard, it upshifts to 2, then 3 with very little - if any delays compared to when it is in "D". This is in a Daytona.
The downshifts aren't the same or as quick as in a manual transmission, but it is still fun to race around in the 1st 3 gears. Leaving the car in "2" at 40 works fine - the engine just revs higher than normal. Makes for quick and easy passing though! No downshift delay. I had a C5 a few years ago with an automatic. This tranny is MUCH more fun!