Review: Performabuilt LVL2 Tranny and 4K stall
04-10-2007, 06:29 AM
#1
Review: Performabuilt LVL2 Tranny and 4K stall My car before this setup was running a stock 4l60E w/ a shift kit (2 washers) and a TCI SSF3500.
I got my car finished yesterday and installed Lvl2 Performabuilt 4l60E, one of their 4000 stalls, and a LPE 3.5 D/S. The shop that worked on it ran into no problems at all with the exception the converter bolts did not match up as the threading was different, but that could be TCI's design, they put some new grade 8's in there and its fine.
Anyways The car feels noticeably different, I cannot believe how drivable and tight this stall is. If I had to quantify it, it's about 20% tighter than the SSF3500 driving around town. I was a little concerned that the STR was too high and that it might feel a little weak up top. Now I did not really get a chance to get on it for more that a quick blast, just enough to feel the shift into 3rd. I'll say so far based on how the car feels I am very happy with this setup. It pulls a good deal harder than the old stall, and in the cold (35-40*) anything at or under 35mph is totally rediculous and just destroys the Nitto's. Hitting from about 40mph, the car just sets you back hard.
Flashing the stall hits close to 4 and the sift extension is also better than the TCI unit. It matches my cam quite well. Again I cannot believe how awesome this stall drives, It feels like I stepped up the gearing, but when you jump on it it flashes right up there. Plus the converter lockup is about twice as strong as the TCI, now this could be attributed to the tranny too. But you get a nice little bump when it locks, the TCI would almost just slip into lockup.
As far as the tranny goes, It feels good. I get a little bump shifting into drive/reverse from a stop. Cruising around town the shifts are pretty light and gets a little hard the more pedal you give it. Compared to my old tranny, I think the Transgo equiped one hit just a tiny bit harder on the shifts, both at cruise and at WOT. I haven't had much seat time with it so I can't say a lot but driving it home I was very pleased.
Performabuilt, you guys did a great job and offer a great product at a good price.
I hope to get the car back on the rollers to see if ther is any difference and especially at the track, if I can hook. Track numbers are the end all, but based on what I feel and notice the car is, well FASTER and drives better. Hope to get it down the track again by next month.
I got my car finished yesterday and installed Lvl2 Performabuilt 4l60E, one of their 4000 stalls, and a LPE 3.5 D/S. The shop that worked on it ran into no problems at all with the exception the converter bolts did not match up as the threading was different, but that could be TCI's design, they put some new grade 8's in there and its fine.
Anyways The car feels noticeably different, I cannot believe how drivable and tight this stall is. If I had to quantify it, it's about 20% tighter than the SSF3500 driving around town. I was a little concerned that the STR was too high and that it might feel a little weak up top. Now I did not really get a chance to get on it for more that a quick blast, just enough to feel the shift into 3rd. I'll say so far based on how the car feels I am very happy with this setup. It pulls a good deal harder than the old stall, and in the cold (35-40*) anything at or under 35mph is totally rediculous and just destroys the Nitto's. Hitting from about 40mph, the car just sets you back hard.
Flashing the stall hits close to 4 and the sift extension is also better than the TCI unit. It matches my cam quite well. Again I cannot believe how awesome this stall drives, It feels like I stepped up the gearing, but when you jump on it it flashes right up there. Plus the converter lockup is about twice as strong as the TCI, now this could be attributed to the tranny too. But you get a nice little bump when it locks, the TCI would almost just slip into lockup.
As far as the tranny goes, It feels good. I get a little bump shifting into drive/reverse from a stop. Cruising around town the shifts are pretty light and gets a little hard the more pedal you give it. Compared to my old tranny, I think the Transgo equiped one hit just a tiny bit harder on the shifts, both at cruise and at WOT. I haven't had much seat time with it so I can't say a lot but driving it home I was very pleased.
Performabuilt, you guys did a great job and offer a great product at a good price.
I hope to get the car back on the rollers to see if ther is any difference and especially at the track, if I can hook. Track numbers are the end all, but based on what I feel and notice the car is, well FASTER and drives better. Hope to get it down the track again by next month.
Last edited by DannoWS6; 04-10-2007 at 06:54 AM.
Glad to hear you like it! 
04-10-2007, 12:26 PM
#6
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I installed my level 2 a few weeks back and it felt great. Especially since I had finally got my engine issues resolved too. Then Sunday I took it out for a little drive and after driving through a 35mph zone stepped it down about 1/2 throttle and it kind of revved up higher than normal and bang. After that I had no OD and once I slowed and it shifted down I lost all forward gears. 
Must just be a fluke bad part, because I had never even taken it through the gears hard yet.
This type of thing is exactly why I went with a PerformaBuilt through. Frank emailed me back on Easter Sunday with his guess as to what happened and we will move forward to get it fixed. I'm just beyond bummed because I've had so many problems with this car and I have to do most all the work myself. Such is my luck. lol
Must just be a fluke bad part, because I had never even taken it through the gears hard yet.This type of thing is exactly why I went with a PerformaBuilt through. Frank emailed me back on Easter Sunday with his guess as to what happened and we will move forward to get it fixed. I'm just beyond bummed because I've had so many problems with this car and I have to do most all the work myself. Such is my luck. lol
04-10-2007, 10:43 PM
#7
Yes from your description I think you stripped the splines in the rear planet , Possibly as you said a weak or flawed part , Its happens any builder who says he never has a failure is a lier , But what separates us all out is how we handle failures when they happen , Our policy customer first , It breaks we fix and if you compare our warranty with others theres no comparison , No excuses its just fixed , Thats what customer service and putting your customers needs first is all about .And thats what sets us apart from the rest,
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04-11-2007, 08:01 AM
#10
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Originally Posted by performabuilt
Yes from your description I think you stripped the splines in the rear planet , Possibly as you said a weak or flawed part , Its happens any builder who says he never has a failure is a lier , But what separates us all out is how we handle failures when they happen , Our policy customer first , It breaks we fix and if you compare our warranty with others theres no comparison , No excuses its just fixed , Thats what customer service and putting your customers needs first is all about .And thats what sets us apart from the rest,
05-11-2007, 08:45 PM
#11
Been a few weeks so I figured I would update this.
I've have run into a bit of bad luck with my 1st transmission. The 2nd day I took the car out with under 50 miles on the Tranny I lost Reverse, lockup, and line pressure.
The good news, Performabuilt made quick work of getting me a replacement tranny the next week, that's very commendable service. $hit happens, but I must say I'm glad with how the resolution is coming.
My old tranny is waiting to be returned right now and hopefully they will be able to tear it down and figure out the cause for failure.
Now here is a follow up review on how this tranny is doing. So far I have about 450 miles on it. It does feel different in comparison to the 1st more like how my stock tranny felt with the shift kit. The converter feels a little looser too very similar to my old TCI 3500, which is still good for a 4000. Shifts are a touch milder. Honestly I think the reason why the 1st setup was so tight and felt strong was that the line pressure/pump was messed up and it must of been running pretty high, thus the cause for failure.
I haven't gone WOT through the shifts yet, but I've done a 3-1 kickdown and it felt good and the converter did it's job on annihilating the tires. The only issue I have is the 1-2 shift when cold, it doesn't shift. Even if i put the selector in 2. Once warm it's fine, so i think it's just getting stuck when cold. I hope some more miles loosens up the valve a little. Other than that it's been working out well.
I plan on getting on the dyno in a week and hopefully a few track runs soon. Performabuilt stands behind there products and I just wanted to let everybody know that.
I've have run into a bit of bad luck with my 1st transmission. The 2nd day I took the car out with under 50 miles on the Tranny I lost Reverse, lockup, and line pressure.
The good news, Performabuilt made quick work of getting me a replacement tranny the next week, that's very commendable service. $hit happens, but I must say I'm glad with how the resolution is coming.
My old tranny is waiting to be returned right now and hopefully they will be able to tear it down and figure out the cause for failure.
Now here is a follow up review on how this tranny is doing. So far I have about 450 miles on it. It does feel different in comparison to the 1st more like how my stock tranny felt with the shift kit. The converter feels a little looser too very similar to my old TCI 3500, which is still good for a 4000. Shifts are a touch milder. Honestly I think the reason why the 1st setup was so tight and felt strong was that the line pressure/pump was messed up and it must of been running pretty high, thus the cause for failure.
I haven't gone WOT through the shifts yet, but I've done a 3-1 kickdown and it felt good and the converter did it's job on annihilating the tires. The only issue I have is the 1-2 shift when cold, it doesn't shift. Even if i put the selector in 2. Once warm it's fine, so i think it's just getting stuck when cold. I hope some more miles loosens up the valve a little. Other than that it's been working out well.
I plan on getting on the dyno in a week and hopefully a few track runs soon. Performabuilt stands behind there products and I just wanted to let everybody know that.
Last edited by DannoWS6; 05-11-2007 at 09:20 PM.
