Community Member Credit: JIME

This mod forces the transmission to shift at FULL Line Pressure at all times the switch is on. A WOT (Wide Open Throttle) switch is best suited for this purpose because the part throttle shifts are extremely harsh and could damage the transmission.

The drop resistor mod disconnects the dropping resistor in the transmission control circuit. This forces the transmission to run a maximum line pressure. This makes the shifts VERY hard. Even an otherwise stock car will chirp the tires on the 1-2 shift with this mod.

The downside is that part-throttle shifts are very jerky. The solution is to wire a Wide Open Throttle (WOT) switch that disconnects the resistor only at full throttle.

Reference Info:

The line pressure is varied according to throttle opening, RPM etc so that the more power you put down the more pressure is produced so that theoretically the shift time remains the same.

The more HP you put out the slower the trans will shift if you don’t increase the line pressure, so they have designed it to be suitable for 95% of the driving public.

What I am trying to do is have maximum line pressure at WOT ONLY, I like the way it shifts under normal operation, thats why I don’t have a VB mod. Maximum line pressure gives the fastest shift possible and saves the clutches from burning unecessarily. However I don’t want maximum line pressure at part throttle as the shifts are very jerky because the engine is only putting out very little HP.

The stock design does not put out maximum line pressure at WOT and the Drop Resistor Mod does.”

Installation Pics

Ok here is where the drop resistor is located. Front side of the drivers side strut tower.

There is a connector with two wires attached to the resistor. The electrical drawing of the drop resistor looks like this. You must cut one of the wires, doesn’t matter which one but cut it at least 2 or 3 inches from the connector so you have room to strip and connect to it.

Strip a small section on either end of the wire you just cut and attach a wire to each end by soldering or use a connector. Run the two wires to a switch. Either a WOT micro switch (preferably) as per the picture or a manual switch.

I have a small L bracket I made that attaches it to the intake manifold bolt closest to the throttle body.

Keep adjusting the switch position until the throttle hits it just before or when it hits the WOT position. It is imperative that this switch be a Normally Closed (NC) switch so the circuit is always made until you hit WOT at which point it opens and effectively disconnects the drop resistor from the circuit.

You can do the same thing by running the two wires to the cabin and hooking to manual switch (5 amp rating or higher) but I much prefer the WOT switch because you never have to worry about turning it on or off. You have enough to think about when racing without another stupid switch to turn on and off.

The micro switch I use is rated at 10 amps and I got it from an appliance shop where it is used in a microwave.
Most switches of this type are Normally Open (NO) and this will NOT work.