Th400 or Glide
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Launching!
Joined: May 2012
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From: North Dakota
Th400 or Glide Just looking for opinions on what trans to run. Th400 or a Glide. Not sure what it weights yet but its heavy..
68 C10 truck with turbo LS motor. I still have 4:30 gears in it and will be swapping to 3:42?.
Truck will be mostly street driven with some track use. 700ish rwh.
68 C10 truck with turbo LS motor. I still have 4:30 gears in it and will be swapping to 3:42?.
Truck will be mostly street driven with some track use. 700ish rwh.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 249
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From: North Dakota
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2008
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Wont be long before you trash a stock gearset at that power level and weight imo. id do an aftermarket 1.80 gearset if your set on the glide route.
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why not... they were a standard issue in over a million cars straight off teh showroom floor... with a 1.76 gearset even...
I see no issues with a glide in a daily driver...
at 700 hp... I would prefer the glide over a th400, but if you are heavy, its gonna take just the right converter or its gonna be a turd
the 400 is a little more forgiving on the converter side, but you have to update the 2nd gear sprag, or go spragless or you will be doing a lot of repairs to it and you will be doing them often
and of course there always the 2 speed turbo 400, ...which is also an option and may be the best option for a heavy vehicle, they can be easily made to handle a lot of power as well
I see no issues with a glide in a daily driver...
at 700 hp... I would prefer the glide over a th400, but if you are heavy, its gonna take just the right converter or its gonna be a turd
the 400 is a little more forgiving on the converter side, but you have to update the 2nd gear sprag, or go spragless or you will be doing a lot of repairs to it and you will be doing them often
and of course there always the 2 speed turbo 400, ...which is also an option and may be the best option for a heavy vehicle, they can be easily made to handle a lot of power as well
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Never driven a fast car with a powerglide, only slow ones and they sucked, ie. '65 Impala SS. Stopped being interested in hi/lo options after Pole Position. On the other hand someone might be willing to trade inconvenience for longevity.
why not... they were a standard issue in over a million cars straight off teh showroom floor... with a 1.76 gearset even...
I see no issues with a glide in a daily driver...
at 700 hp... I would prefer the glide over a th400, but if you are heavy, its gonna take just the right converter or its gonna be a turd
the 400 is a little more forgiving on the converter side, but you have to update the 2nd gear sprag, or go spragless or you will be doing a lot of repairs to it and you will be doing them often
and of course there always the 2 speed turbo 400, ...which is also an option and may be the best option for a heavy vehicle, they can be easily made to handle a lot of power as well
I see no issues with a glide in a daily driver...
at 700 hp... I would prefer the glide over a th400, but if you are heavy, its gonna take just the right converter or its gonna be a turd
the 400 is a little more forgiving on the converter side, but you have to update the 2nd gear sprag, or go spragless or you will be doing a lot of repairs to it and you will be doing them often
and of course there always the 2 speed turbo 400, ...which is also an option and may be the best option for a heavy vehicle, they can be easily made to handle a lot of power as well
I've told you this already before, at 700 hp a TH400 would hardly be warmed up. The 34 element sprag that can be found from the factory in many 4L80Es can hold about 1000ish horsepower. The 36 element sprag is well suited for things above that, and spragless is definitely not always the answer. You will not always be doing repairs nor doing them often. Trust me. Or not. I don't really care, still doesn't change the fact.
Sorry, but I wouldn't. I'm honestly too spoiled by more modern luxuries like a 4L80E if I want big power and stock feel. I am VERY oriented at having a near stock experience while street driving, and a powerglide would not offer that.
That's just a matter of personal preference really, not for any mechanical related reasons, although if I had to I'd rather run a TH400 over a glide.
On The Tree
Joined: May 2010
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Sorry, but I wouldn't. I'm honestly too spoiled by more modern luxuries like a 4L80E if I want big power and stock feel. I am VERY oriented at having a near stock experience while street driving, and a powerglide would not offer that.
That's just a matter of personal preference really, not for any mechanical related reasons, although if I had to I'd rather run a TH400 over a glide.
I have a glide in my street car and it wouldn't work on the street if it had a different transmission. The way it is right now with the glide it hangs the tires on the street off the brake. Any more gear in 1st and it would simply blow the tires off.
Saying a glide is a bad street transmission for any car is a horrible generalization and makes you look pretty silly. There is no perfect one transmission for every vehicle out there. For every vehicle there is a transmission that would be perfort for it and for some that IS a glide, even on the street.
Maybe some folks like doing nothing but burning off expensive tires on the street and thats ok but myself personally and most of my customers like their cars to go fast..
With a 4l80 in my car it would have a 11.30 final gear ratio in 1st as opposed to the 8.20 that it has now. I would have to put 3.30 gears in my car to get close to that with a 4l80 and with 32 inch tall tires the top two gears would be useless and I would essentially have a bigger heavier fancier powerglide that cost a lot more money to get to hold a similar amount of power that a glide would when talking apples for apples in parts and functionality....
Ok rant complete....
Hey Jake. Was going to post just that, not the right choice for the OP's car given the mostly street statement. W/O od, 4.30 gear would suck on the highway. And the 3.42 with the glide would be frustrating.
Folks either don't understand the overall ratio in low gear, or just don't think about it. On a super hooking car you can certainly get away with more, but the PG will solve a lot of issues on small tire cars. You also have to consider the rpm range of the engine at the finish line vs. the rear gear.
I had to go from a 4.10 to a 3.73 in my Nova when I added the nitrous. I lost .05 in 60ft NA.
Ron
Folks either don't understand the overall ratio in low gear, or just don't think about it. On a super hooking car you can certainly get away with more, but the PG will solve a lot of issues on small tire cars. You also have to consider the rpm range of the engine at the finish line vs. the rear gear.
I had to go from a 4.10 to a 3.73 in my Nova when I added the nitrous. I lost .05 in 60ft NA.
Ron
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
To me the best part of newer drivetrains is being able to tune the transmission settings in the PCM. Getting the shift points right at all power levels when driving on the street makes the car really enjoyable. So my vote is also for a 4L80E.
