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6 speed 4l80e w/ paddle shift?

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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 09:54 PM
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Default 6 speed 4l80e w/ paddle shift?

Thinking of a different direction for my 93 T/A. I have a 4 sp manual valve body 700r4 now but after experiencing a few paddle shift cars I'm wondering what is all involved in making this happen. The car is still controlled by its OEM prom based computer with a custom chip.
I track the car at Road America and the additional gears and paddle shift would definitely make this a different animal.
Anyone done this on an early LT1 4th gen? I have a 383 short block in my garage that would go in with this project, although I still haven't decided on what electronics will control the engine yet.

Thanks as I'm beginning to research this and my knowledge in this dept is limited.
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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 10:06 PM
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You mean 6L80?

There are actually several paddle shift conversions out there for it. Btw, if you're going to road race it, use an overflow and a BIG trans cooler, and you're set.

http://twistmachine.com/index.php?ma...products_id=39
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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by HexenLord
You mean 6L80?

There are actually several paddle shift conversions out there for it. Btw, if you're going to road race it, use an overflow and a BIG trans cooler, and you're set.

http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/8...or-6L80E-6L90E
Its got a huge B&M trans cooler on it now and an Autometer trans temp gauge.

...a 6l80, thanks for the heads up. So the 4l80 is the 4sp variant and the 6l80 is the 6sp?
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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 10:21 PM
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Yes that right. I also edited my post but apparently wasn't quick enough before you made a reply. I gave a direct link to the product website instead of the link where it was announced on pro-touring.
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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 11:01 PM
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Thanks much for the link. When downshifting, are there 'rules' for longevity such as no throttle blipping to rpm match ... or does the gear change alone pull up the rpms ? The paddle shift cars I've been in blip the throttle automatically on the downshift command.
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Old Dec 25, 2013 | 11:06 PM
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The paddleshift conversion link I sent you is for a plug and play conversion. It is simply a hub/paddles and a harness/controller. It doesn't change any transmission settings. It simply provides input signals to the transmission to force it to shift. Any other tuning/settings that you want changed in the transmission must be done with a separate controller.
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Old Dec 26, 2013 | 07:56 AM
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Works like a champ. We used it on the twin turbo 6.2L '69 camaro.
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Old Dec 27, 2013 | 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Heat Seeker WS6
Thinking of a different direction for my 93 T/A. I have a 4 sp manual valve body 700r4 now but after experiencing a few paddle shift cars I'm wondering what is all involved in making this happen. The car is still controlled by its OEM prom based computer with a custom chip.
I track the car at Road America and the additional gears and paddle shift would definitely make this a different animal.
Anyone done this on an early LT1 4th gen? I have a 383 short block in my garage that would go in with this project, although I still haven't decided on what electronics will control the engine yet.

Thanks as I'm beginning to research this and my knowledge in this dept is limited.

Originally Posted by Heat Seeker WS6
Its got a huge B&M trans cooler on it now and an Autometer trans temp gauge.

...a 6l80, thanks for the heads up. So the 4l80 is the 4sp variant and the 6l80 is the 6sp?
No...it is not the same type of transmission....very very different in how it works






I think you may have experienced a TCI 6x.. I have one...
it is a 4l80 chassis, with custom gears and a custom valve body
it uses the overdrive drums to get extra gears giving you 6 gears total
you basically have a 2.97/2.23/1.57/1.18/1.00/.75

or 1st, 1st with OD, 2nd, 2nd with OD, 3rd, 4th


it is NOT a 6l80....6l80's are junk and dont hold up well past 500 RWHP without serious mods and custom programming

the TCI 6x has a warranty good to 850 HP with no changes done to it, and a simple upgrade of the Clutch Hub and input shaft and they hold up to quite a bit more punsihment

the 6x can be paddle shifted/button shifted, or driven like a regular automatic(put it in Drive and go)


the 6x is great to drive....and helps out with your 1/4 mile times as well because of its close gear set and fast shifts.
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Old Dec 27, 2013 | 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by soundengineer
No...it is not the same type of transmission....very very different in how it works

I think you may have experienced a TCI 6x.. I have one...
it is a 4l80 chassis, with custom gears and a custom valve body
it uses the overdrive drums to get extra gears giving you 6 gears total
you basically have a 2.97/2.23/1.57/1.18/1.00/.75

or 1st, 1st with OD, 2nd, 2nd with OD, 3rd, 4th

it is NOT a 6l80....6l80's are junk and dont hold up well past 500 RWHP without serious mods and custom programming

the TCI 6x has a warranty good to 850 HP with no changes done to it, and a simple upgrade of the Clutch Hub and input shaft and they hold up to quite a bit more punsihment

the 6x can be paddle shifted/button shifted, or driven like a regular automatic(put it in Drive and go)

the 6x is great to drive....and helps out with your 1/4 mile times as well because of its close gear set and fast shifts.
Thanks for the info. I just called Jegs and they have the TCI 6x kit (PN 271-600-P) that includes new cooler, trans, paddle shift, harness & trans controller. I like how this tranny system works independently from whatever computer setup controls the engine and that supposedly nothing else is needed. I'll still want some sort of dash mounted gear indicator. Punishment at the track will be happening as it will be seeing over 150, full on braking and about 24 gear changes per lap.

That wasn't a 6X I used, it was on a few Ferraris I got my hands on. One was a 6 sp paddle, the other was a 7sp paddle. The experiences were unbelievable and so quickly made my car feel as though it's living in the stone age. So after directly comparing standard 6 speed vs my 4 sp manual valvebody vs paddle shift, for me the next direction for my car is pretty clear.

I also understand that I'll need a new trans crossmember and have the driveshaft shortened.

Assuming the motor & its mods don't change, does doing this trans conversion increase the car's top speed potential?
I haven't had the T/A dyno'd but it has TPiS AFR heads CC305 cam & usual stuff, but still a 350cu. Next step for the engine is the 383 shortblock in my garage, new cam and refreshing the heads & valvetrain.

The current tranny is starting to howl in 2nd when it gets hot, so this is all going to go down as a single project at this point.
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Old Dec 27, 2013 | 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Heat Seeker WS6
Thanks for the info. I just called Jegs and they have the TCI 6x kit (PN 271-600-P) that includes new cooler, trans, paddle shift, harness & trans controller. I like how this tranny system works independently from whatever computer setup controls the engine and that supposedly nothing else is needed. I'll still want some sort of dash mounted gear indicator. Punishment at the track will be happening as it will be seeing over 150, full on braking and about 24 gear changes per lap.

That wasn't a 6X I used, it was on a few Ferraris I got my hands on. One was a 6 sp paddle, the other was a 7sp paddle. The experiences were unbelievable and so quickly made my car feel as though it's living in the stone age. So after directly comparing standard 6 speed vs my 4 sp manual valvebody vs paddle shift, for me the next direction for my car is pretty clear.

I also understand that I'll need a new trans crossmember and have the driveshaft shortened.

Assuming the motor & its mods don't change, does doing this trans conversion increase the car's top speed potential?
I haven't had the T/A dyno'd but it has TPiS AFR heads CC305 cam & usual stuff, but still a 350cu. Next step for the engine is the 383 shortblock in my garage, new cam and refreshing the heads & valvetrain.

The current tranny is starting to howl in 2nd when it gets hot, so this is all going to go down as a single project at this point.
I you go with TCI 6x with paddle shift kit with indicator can be purchased from several different sources, at different prices, up to $1,000.00 off TCI price.

Now if you really want to track car, you might want to look into having 4L80e 6 speed built using Powertrain Control Solutions gears, paddles, TCM an engine braking valve body. I'm not sure if if controler will blip the throttle when down shifting or not.

http://www.powertraincontrolsolution...ed-Valve-Body/

Here is a video of TCI 6x being paddled becaused person shooting video didn't believe it would shift quick and have very little rpm lost between shifts.

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Old Dec 27, 2013 | 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by poorhousenext
I you go with TCI 6x with paddle shift kit with indicator can be purchased from several different sources, at different prices, up to $1,000.00 off TCI price.

Now if you really want to track car, you might want to look into having 4L80e 6 speed built using Powertrain Control Solutions gears, paddles, TCM an engine braking valve body. I'm not sure if if controler will blip the throttle when down shifting or not.
Good to know there's options out there. An engine braking valvebody would be beneficial. I like that Vette vid and will have to listen closer later on with better speakers.

to be blunt, it will be tracked like how I tracked this.....


...and even though there is juuust a 'little ' technology gap going on here between the 2 cars, I know the end result and performance I'm looking for.
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Old Dec 28, 2013 | 01:50 PM
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Generally speaking is there alot of massaging needed to fit in the 4l80?
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Old Dec 28, 2013 | 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Heat Seeker WS6
Generally speaking is there alot of massaging needed to fit in the 4l80?
small amount...but not a lot...
basically you need to hit where the connector would fit, and a couple of other small spots.

you can do it with a little mini sledge and a few good whacks.
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