[apalrd]

There are very few teams who autoshift well. Very very very few. Some try it, most implementations are quite poor, it requires a LOT of calibrations to be perfect for it to actually make a difference. In fact, in simulation, a shift time of a few hundred ms is enough to make auto upshift on accel not worth it from a performance perspective (it is still good from an energy analysis perspective).

-When we previously ran shift schedulers (and we looked at the design of Chrysler automatic transmission software and talked to experts on this way way back when we started auto shifting), we would upshift rather low, around 60-75% of the top speed in that gear, due to the time it takes to shift.

-We ran several different downshift points based on throttles, anywhere from 8fps (higher than the 'redline' in low) to 2fps. The high speed downshifts were triggered by decelration ('kickdown' shift for torque), and the low speed downshifts were triggered by low speed ('coastdown' shift to prepare for a future launch).

-If you graph your acceleration curves vs velocity, you will see a clear point where it is better to accelerate in high vs low. If you look at the velocity of that point, then set the upshift point 1fps or so lower, it is pretty close to the optimal shift point.

-We never do an upshift unless the throttles are relatively high, we never do a coastdown unless the throttles are low, and we never do a kickdown unless the throttles are high.
-We never shift when turning
-We never autoshift less than 500ms after any shift (auto or manual).


Usually, for FRC shifts with dog or ball shifters, as there aren't any wear parts and a dog failure is unlikely, we do not attempt any torque drop during a shift. Servo shifters do require it for power on shifts, but pneumatics do not.