I will be ordering a Vig3200 on Monday with a tranny cooler. Should I get a shift kit also. Will this produce any stress on the tranny? Is anyone running a similar set up, if so I would appreciate any input.

 

Forgot to show my mods

 

I didn't 'cause I had my tranny's line pressure increased by some internal mods, but there're a lot of people here who have. Trevor D. comes to mind.

 

A TransGo shift kit is actually a great mod for your trans for added longevity when installed properly. It seems that quite a few shops will skimp and install bits and pieces of the kit. So, be sure you have a competent shop doing the install.
The '01+ cars have a BAD case of torque management. You're going to notice it a LOT more with the aftermarket converter and shift kit. The car will literally fall on its face on the shifts. The PCM pulls out a lot of timing on the shifts to help extend the trans life. It's incredibly annoying and does hurt your ET some. I had torque mgt. deleted via Ed Wright programming, and the difference is night and day! The car continues to charge hard through the shifts. If you're not looking to delete tq. mgt. anytime soon, I'd still go w/ the shift kit. My stock shifts were incredibly lazy, to the point that it was irritating to drive. Even the part-throttle shifts were slow. After having the TransGo kit installed (with 2 shims for the "middle" setting), the shifts were MUCH better than before. I don't recommend going any firmer than the middle setting because the 3rd setting will just make the tq. mgt. worse, if that's possible.
As for the Vig 3200 converter, you're going to love it! It's the best street/strip converter that P.I. makes IMO, and it's a well-proven performer. Good luck with gas mileage after it's installed because you'll feel the urge to randomly plant the pedal to the floor. <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0">

[ February 17, 2002: Message edited by: Trevor D ]</p>

 

Hey, thanks for all the info guys. TrevorD, you are saying that even with the TransGo I will still have torque mgt problems, that the kit will only help to reduce it? If this is the case I think I would do the pcm tunning. How does that work? Do I send my pcm to Ed Wright and he does all custome tunning? Would I still need my HPP3 after custome tunning and is it exspensive? Thanks again

 

Let me clarify some. The tq. mgt. is likely to get worse with the addition of the shift kit and tq. converter, and the only way to get rid of tq. mgt. is through custom tuning. The TransGo kit will greatly reduce the time it takes the trans itself to shift, but the PCM will still be pulling timing on the shifts. So, while the actual shift will occur quicker, tq. mgt. will still pull timing and make it feel like the car is cutting out for a split second on the shifts.
As for Ed's tuning, I sent him my PCM on a Friday, and it was back at my door the following Wednesday. You tell him exactly what you want him to do. My stock shift points were really low, so I had him raise them to 6,200. Some other things done are a raised limiter to 6,500, raised idle, deleted tq. mgt. of course <img src="gr_stretch.gif" border="0"> , delete maxed out MAF code, delete rear O2 sensors, delete misfire code, program for early converter lockup, etc. If it's computer controlled, then he can change it. I gained right at .3 and just under 2 MPH from the 3.73's and custom tuning. My gears seemed to give me right around .1, so I'll venture to say that I gained .2 from the tuning. The two main factors were the deletion of tq. mgt. and the raised shift points. My stock 1-2 shift was at 5,400, and the 2-3 shift was at 6,200. I strapped my car on the dyno just before sending the PCM off so I could see where I was making peak HP. This is how I decided on the 6,200 RPM shift points. www.fastchip.com

[ February 17, 2002: Message edited by: Trevor D ]</p>