The 68-RFE is plagued by small clutch packs, weak hard parts, constant slip torque converter lock-up, and inadequate line pressure. Typically, these issues can result in the failure of the stock transmission with only a mild tune or heavy trailer. The Co-Pilot® Tow Edition addresses these concerns.
The Co-Pilot consists of a controller, harness and secondary electronics box. The harness plugs into the main transmission connector on the valve body and is completely plug and play for easy installation. The controller mounts in the cab, and allows the driver to view critical transmission and engine inputs such as line pressure, and both commanded and actual engine load. Viewing the different sensor inputs is as easy as pressing the up or down arrows. These changes can be made on-the-fly or with the vehicle stopped. The secondary electronics box is mounted to the drivers side frame and requires no cutting or fitting.
The Co-Pilot controls line pressure, clutch timing and more aggressively applies the converter clutch under high torque situations. Line pressure is limited in a stock 68-RFE to 160 PSI. Unfortunately, this is not nearly enough to reliably prevent clutch slippage above 400hp. The Co-Pilot reads boost pressure and throttle position to quickly take control of line pressure when it is needed. However, when the vehicle is driven lightly, line pressure is near stock for comfortable shifts. This is all done automatically in the controller. Line pressure is increased dramatically with the addition of an ATS Valve Body Full Pressure Enable Kit. This kit is already installed on any 68-RFE transmission built in-house at ATS, and can also be installed on a stock transmission to safely allow line pressure to increase up to 270 PSI. While the installation of the kit isn't necessary, it will increase the performance of the Co-Pilot to its fullest potential. We recommend installing one of our modified valve bodies to fully address all of the internal hydraulic issues with the 68-RFE valve body.
The Co-Pilot has a huge advantage over TCM programing on 2013 and newer trucks because of the way the factory TCM is designed. When the higher line pressure modifications are done to the valve body on a 2013+ truck, aftermarket TCM tuning that is used will cause a radical pressure variation that spikes line pressure causing many problems. For this reason you will find TCM tuning is less desirable on these newer trucks. When TCM tuning is used, the tuners do not allow for full line pressure increases. The ATS Co-Pilot, utilizing its dynamic closed loop control addresses this with an averaging circuit that provides a very smooth and controllable line pressure rise up to 270PSI. Clutch timing is programmed into the Co-Pilot and crucial to clutch pack life. On any 68-RFE transmission, clutch timing is optimized to reduce wear on clutch packs, efficiently transfer power and increase reliability. The torque converter lock-up apply on a stock 68-RFE leaves a lot to be desired. The factory TCM will command lock-up at a very low speed when at light throttle, this causes a sluggish condition, low boost and poor drivability. The ATS 68RFE Co-Pilot will more firmly lock the converter clutch during apply, this allows the inherent torque of the Cummins engine to be used for improved efficiency and performance.
Modes Available in Co-Pilot:
Setting 1 (down or all the way to the right) This mode shows you TPS position. No lights = 0% and 5 lights = 100%
Setting 2 (one position from far right) This mode shows you what the boost sensor sees. No Lights = 0 PSI boost and 5 lights = 40 PSI boost
Setting 3 (two positions from the right) This mode shows you actual transmission line pressure. No lights = 100 PSI line pressure and 5 lights = 260 PSI line pressure.
