questions going a4 to th400
questions going a4 to th400 4l60 finally puked itself. I want to do a 400 swap over the winter just want to see how I should have the trans set up. I am also doing heads/cam over the winter so I'm hoping to run bottom 11s. I have an s60 rear with a locker and 4.10's is it a bad idea to run a transbrake and locker? I have also seen the jw ls ultra bell didn't know if it worth the money or just deal with the missing bellhousing bolts. Thanks in advance for the help
I'm not really sure which way I want to go right now. At face value a beefy 400 is about $1000 cheaper than a built 4l60 but then I'll need a new converter and crossmember get my new driveshaft shortened and the speedometer conversion stuff. I drive it on the street around 100-150 miles a month april til november. One of the main reasons I was looking to the 400 is because of reliabilty with a brake when I do race it but with a little more searching I've found some posts with guys running a brake in the 4l60
Right now it's bolt on's only so not making much power planning to do heads and cam over the winter and shooting for low 11's then eventually a stroker and probably low 10's
Mine went out about a month ago and I was dead set on going 400. After looking at everything that has to be done, I decided just to go with a Performabuilt lvl2. In my eyes, the only way anyone would need a 400 is if the car stayed stirctly to the track. Besides, performabuilt offers a no questions asked 2 year warranty and then a base for rebuild after that. They are pretty much daring you to run the **** out of it.. Depends where you drive it also. If it's just around on the streets less than 40mph then you'll be ok. I sometimes leave my A4 in 3 while putting around town and don't notice a difference vs. D as it barely has a chance to hit OD and even then, 3rd gear is not bad at 40mph. But if I were to leave it in 3 while going on the highway, it would be very noticeable as I would be running 3200rpm at 70mph and that's very noticeable sound wise.
If you do a lot of highway driving I think it's going to be a pain in the *** to cruise around the speed limit at 4000rpm.
If you do a lot of highway driving I think it's going to be a pain in the *** to cruise around the speed limit at 4000rpm.
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A th400 with 4:10 gears will suck on the highway.
My buddy had this same setup and at 60 mph he was pushing 4,000 rpms. He ended up running this setup all of about 2-3k miles before he spun a rod bearing in his LS1. He drove the car alot, and it was mixed city and highway driving. Not all just 1 kind. But the highway driving is what wore his engine out. He now has 3:23's and loves them. He can cruise at around 70-75 mph @ 3200-3500 rpm and it's nowhere near the gas hog it was either.
**Just something to think about. I've even seen people suck their oil pans dry and seize engines b/c of oil starving the crank/main/rod bearings. Basically at 4k rpm's your pumping so much oil to the top of the engine, Sometimes there isn't enough time for oil to return to the pan, and therefore The bottom end gets oil starved. This mainly happens on Extended long highway drives where rpm's are 4k+ though.
IMHO, I'd go with a Built 4L60e Transmission from 1 of the sponsors. Like RPM...
They have pushed the limits of the 4l60e and so far have had great results with them. They really do know their stuff, and offer hands down the best product on the market In My Oppinion.
FWIW, A 4l60e will keep any daily driver habits the car has. Put a th400 in it, and stay on the city streets. You most likely will HATE the highway cruising from then on.
Good Luck OP!
My buddy had this same setup and at 60 mph he was pushing 4,000 rpms. He ended up running this setup all of about 2-3k miles before he spun a rod bearing in his LS1. He drove the car alot, and it was mixed city and highway driving. Not all just 1 kind. But the highway driving is what wore his engine out. He now has 3:23's and loves them. He can cruise at around 70-75 mph @ 3200-3500 rpm and it's nowhere near the gas hog it was either.
**Just something to think about. I've even seen people suck their oil pans dry and seize engines b/c of oil starving the crank/main/rod bearings. Basically at 4k rpm's your pumping so much oil to the top of the engine, Sometimes there isn't enough time for oil to return to the pan, and therefore The bottom end gets oil starved. This mainly happens on Extended long highway drives where rpm's are 4k+ though.
IMHO, I'd go with a Built 4L60e Transmission from 1 of the sponsors. Like RPM...
They have pushed the limits of the 4l60e and so far have had great results with them. They really do know their stuff, and offer hands down the best product on the market In My Oppinion.
FWIW, A 4l60e will keep any daily driver habits the car has. Put a th400 in it, and stay on the city streets. You most likely will HATE the highway cruising from then on.
Good Luck OP!
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Verdad Gallardo Thanks for the help guys I've been going back and forth with my future plans, so I pulled the trans out last weekenend and had the car towed to my storage garage while I figure out what I'm doing. I am really leaning toward going with a 4l60 from one of our sponsors. I have already talked to Carl at crp about new brakes and afcos and I'got a set of 5.3 heads I was going to get ported over the winter so it looks like I'm going to be real busy come spring
well after 5 4l60s and one from a sponser i went to a th400 and i couldnt be happier with the piece of mind i have now. i dd mines and its not to bad with 373 and a 28inch tall tire yea the rpms are a litttle higher but if u beat on ur car like i do mines u might want to go with one. i just hate i didnt listen to my tuner on day one when i started modding my car bc the first thing he told me was to swith to the 400 but i was hard headed and wanted my od and after literally thousands of dollars later i wish i would have listen!
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Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Frozen Tundra, WI
If you want an OD tranny that can handle the power, try Extreme Automatics. I don't think you will be disappointed. No one else builds a 200-4R rated for 1000hp (that I know of). Their 4L60 is rated for 700hp. The 4L80 can take over 1000hp and is 800hp rated in Stage 1. I think they build 65's too.
Last edited by Paul57; Nov 23, 2011 at 01:00 AM.
My dad and I just about finished up his nova so it looks like my car will start seeing more track use than street next year. The only street driving will probably be to and from work less than a mile away so I might just step up to the 400. I can have a stronger tranny built for nearly half the money with a trans brake and the left over money can go towards the swap parts, converter,driveshaft, etc.
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 859
Likes: 2
From: Frozen Tundra, WI
no its not my daily its just a nice weather ride that I would like to race more, I'm doing heads & cam also over the winter and hope to hit high tens by the end of next season
If its just a nice weather car then go for it. Mine is a nice weather car as well, but still want to be able to drive 40 or 50 miles across town for some car shows so thats why I went with the 4l80.
to 95killerz yes im running a rmvb and its a ptc converter and trans. To me its not that bad and my i drive to work is 30 miles one way hwy driving but my converter is on the tight side bc it was oringinally in a ls2 stroker and he had a 200 on it. so im doing around 2900rpm at 65
A 4l80 sure would be nice it just seems like they are all pretty expensive, I understand the whole you get what you pay for I just don't know if it's worth the extra money for it to shift into overdrive once a year if that