Originally Posted by Brent
It wasn't the transmission adapting to my driving style since I had my car for over a year prior.
My supercharger clutch first starting failing when I was doing 50 - 60 MPH so I first thought that it was the IC pump since a pump failure had the same results per the forum. After a couple of days the clutch failed completely. Now when it failed while cruising I would floor the pedal but the car would not or only very slowly accelerate. The clutch failed one time when going up a hill and I was able to maintain my current speed with no problem - I just couldn't accelerate. I also had no problem accelerating from a stop when the clutch failed.
There are a couple of things at play here. One of course is the adapting transmission. Another is that the supercharger doesn't engage until 2500 RPM or thereabouts. So when you are cruising on the highway and hit the gas a little, it's possible that you are still under 2500 RPM. Now I don't know if the ECU will engage the supercharger below 2500 if you stomp on the gas but from what I've noticed in my car is that it won't. A forum member also posted that there is a bit of a dead spot between 40 50 MPH so this could also account for the lack of acceleration.
Being below 2500 RPM pretty much puts the SRT-6 at the same power level of a NA Crossfire from a standstill. And I had no problem accelerating at the lower RPMs. So what I think is happening is that if a supercharger fails below 2500, the ECU doesn't know it and there is no restrictions put on the car. Above 2500 the ECU expects power but is not getting it so it goes into something like a limp mode. I could be way off base here but that's how the car seems to operate. Now when I used autostick when cruising with the dead supercharger my car came to life and accelerated briskly but not as powerfully as it did with a functioning supercharger.
The 6 will accelerate quicker with autostick unless you've trained your transmission to downshift as aggressively. Literally the only way to do this is to do the reset procedure and then drive like a maniac. The transmission will learn to downshift like crazy everytime your gas pedal is depressed ever so slightly.
You'll know when you have a supercharger clutch/IC pump failure. There is no mistaking the utter lack of power.
By the way, the 6 is my first auto transmission since high school 30 years ago so I've pretty much had to relearn how an auto works myself - especially with all the electronic controls and extra gears. I like it and don't miss a manual at all in my 6.