Hi,
A friend of mine wants to build a BMW E60 with a Turbo 5.3 for drifting. I have a 4L80e transmission that he could use for the project.
Is it possible to make this transmission work for drifting and the high loads of this kind or racing?
I imagine that I would need to completely rebuild it, + billet input shaft + billet forward hub + giant heat exchanger + ...?
I imagine downshift must be done carrefully in order not to damage the transmission.

Is it realistic to use this trnasmission or are there better suited trnasmissions that could handle the engine and drifting?

 

The 4L80E will work.

A spragless setup might be the ticket.

A manual transmission handles decel loads better than most automatics but a properly setup 4L80E would be neat.

 

It is a good transmission for what you are wanting to use if for. Along with adequate cooling you will want a use a deep pan so you do not cavitate the oil during the high g maneuvers.

 

Thanks for your input, the deep-pan will certainly be usefull, you are right.
Jake, for the spragless version, I think you develloped a Valve-body. Would you sell it in a kit with a complete rebuild kit and the parts above? What other mods are needed to switch to spragless?
Can you confirm it is still possible to use a TCU for automatic shifting? We plan to use Megashift TCU for paddle shifting and using the original paddles from the M5.

 

Any idea which mods should be done to the transmission to hold downshifts better?
Who does sell spraggless valvebody and parts? Jake, is that possible?