streetknight2

iTrader: (10)

Car is the fox mustang in my sig. Its a track only car. Bracket raced 1/8 mile almost exclusively. Currently it has a TH350 with 4.10 gears. The car 60's 1.47-1.49 usually off foot brake. wanting to go to a trans brake setup which I hear isn't reliable in a 350. I don't mind changing gears in the rear. Just don't wanna lose et

SnIpEz

iTrader: (4)

Don't see any sig, but you don't have to go with a Glide. You could still do a TH400 and have a very reliable brake setup.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

400's like to destroy the 2nd gear sprag if you peddle it even a little bit....you can go spragless...but its expensive
if you build it to handle any real power then it really needs to be a FMVB...and they like to tear **** up if you try to downshift at any speed higher than a crawl...




I vote on getting a glide...
well proven, holds up to a lot more power than you are throwing at it
and will go faster than a TH400 with the right converter in it.

SnIpEz

iTrader: (4)

What? I've built 400's that have had the 34 element sprag last at 1000 hp. You can also use a 36 element super drum, which will be MORE than overkill. If you're referring to the 400 roller clutch style intermediate sprag, then sure, that would probably fail after awhile. 16 element? Same thing. 34 or 36? Not so much. I have yet to ever see a broken 36 element sprag aside from one guy who lied about his application and was jumping sand dunes in a truck and managed to get sand scattered throughout the transmission.

Spragless would not be ideal for his application.

Who says it needs to be a FMVB to handle any real power? Again, I've built TH400s that are holding 1500hp+ that still retain full automatic shifting.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

as far as I understand....which is limited...
this little snippet describes the issue I'm talking about..


I've had 3 friends that have destroyed the 2nd gear sprag on a built 400.....the 2nd gear sprag was one of the upgrades they all did... I could not tell you more exact details because I dont know them...


and I have lots of friends with TH400's that have been built to handle power, that have all pulled it out multiple times for various reasons and had to send it in for repairs...

none of my friends with Glides have had to pull them out for repairs....
not saying it wont break.... Just saying that it is holding up better for the people I know.

Jake's Performance

iTrader: (2)

Stating that a TH400 sprag WILL fail with any power or if you pedal the car is ill informed at best.

Doesn't seem to be a problem for any of my customers, even at the 1200+ HP range.
Tim has been running this unit for over 2 years.

8.1x at almost 170 mph in a 3600 lb car.

Obviously the sprag isn't that weak.

Sprags do fail. There are several reasons.
First and foremost is probably an uninformed operator who doesn't do burnouts properly. Short and simple, do the burnout in 3rd gear, DON'T do a WOT 1-2 shift during the burnout.

2nd is improperly calibrated valve body design.

3rd is issues with the build. Improper prep, out of spec parts, too much endplay. At elevated power leves there are things that can be done to help the sprag even further.

There are many factors that affect sprag life.

A PowerGlide is an excellent unit in certain combos. You don't hear about sprag failures in a Glide because the don't have one. The do however have a band that is a common failure point. Pump stator's spinning out, weak planetary carriers, weak stock shafts and clutch hub.
A decent Glide contains MANY aftermarket parts to live at even modest power levels (700-800 HP) that a TH400 doesn't need.

In a foxbody Mustang for dedicated 1/8th mile, a think a decent Glide would be a good choice, but it will cost more than a TH400 and converter build will be more critical.

FTICONVERTERS

iTrader: (3)

Let me chime in. We manufacture the most winning bracket race converters and trans in the country.. 1 word GLIDE!!!!!

Every race that paid more than $50,000.00 this year was won with an FTI converter and most with an FTI glide as well.

Greg

carlsonauto

What kind of horsepower/torque does your car make? What does it weigh? Its pretty hard to give an accurate recommendation without that info. I assume its pretty light since its a fox body and if thats the case its pretty easy to make a glide work well but if you dont have enough power going from a 3 speed to a 2 speed will hurt your ET even in a light car. I have a customer that runs high 10's low 11's pretty consistently with a th350 and a brake in a full body camaro (so guessing around 32-3300lbs??) Im not going to tell you that is the way to go but it is doable depending upon your power level weight and burnout habits. That particular unit is also a transmission thats on our bench broken more often than I would like it to be and surprisingly less than I think it should be. That being said switching to a th400 may or may not hurt your et as well. The th400 has bigger parts and therefore is much stronger but it does take more power to get those big heavy parts moving (although not tons). The th400 also has a higher first gear and depending upon the application it could help or hurt your combination. Both the th400 and glide can be made to handle whatever you can throw at them but it does come at a cost. A BONE STOCK glide is "junk" in the performace world wheras a TH400 is pretty stout. Toss a few hundred bucks at a glide and it will run with a stock TH400 all day long in most applications. The th350 can be made to handle modest power in a light car depending how crazy you want to get throwing your hard earned $$ at a transmission that at the end of the day will have limits no matter what is done to it. I am personally a fan of the glide but to tell you that you need a glide without knowing what the full application is would be pretty hard...

FTICONVERTERS

iTrader: (3)

Carlson, Well being that the consumer stated that he would change rear gears and knowing that the car weighs less than 3200 unless it has a boom boom gigantic stereo in it. I would recomend a glide because he can get the most trans for his money and the most consistency need to turn on win lights. The customer stated that this is a BRACKET car. I would want to know the entire combo if a converter change is needed to make it PRINT tickets.

Greg

carlsonauto

Gear change or not at 3200 lbs (that hasnt beep posted anywhere that I have seen) if he doesnt have enough power for 2 gears it will go slower. I have been on the a$$ chewing end of "why does my car go slower with this tranny you said I needed" He clearly stated that he does not want to "lose et".... If the car makes 350 hp I dont care what gears you put in it its going to lose et without 3 speeds.. (all things being equal like footbrake/transbrake) There is not enough information present to give an accurate recommendation in my OPINION... That all I am saying. That being said for a drag car I prefer a glide over anything else unless there is some special reason that a 3 speed is needed/wanted.

streetknight2

iTrader: (10)

OK guys. The car weighs 3050 with me in it. The car makes 437rwhp/375rwtq thru the 8" PTC which flashes to 5200. I shift the car at 6800 on passes. Car runs 6.60's - 6.70's usually. Definitely don't wanna hurt ET. I actually would like to pick the car up to 6.50 that way I could run 6.50 and 7.0 index.

fast89stang

iTrader: (2)

good then you can sell me the 5200...lol

carlsonauto

awe crap I missed the 1/8 mile thing.... I would go with a glide for sure. not a lot of need for 3 gears when you are playing with 660 feet. I would expect a gear change will be in order as well..... I would be very surprised if the brake alone doesnt get your et where you want to be.

Blackpanther99

iTrader: (8)

Glide will suit you better bud.

streetknight2

iTrader: (10)

I think I also may want to put some spray on the car at some point. I think a glide would definitely be better suited there. The car isn't real violent now on the launch but I believe with some spray the 1-2 shift would come so quick. I already bump the limiter from time to time on motor.