98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

Like the title says I was just wondering how many of you guys are running the stock A4 with heads and cam. I'm planning on heads and cam this winter along with ss4000 from yank. I'll be running a cooler along with the stall but I'm also going with the MS4 and PRC LS6 2.5's and FAST 90/90, which I already have, from TSP so it'll probably be in the 450whp range. Have you guys had any luck running that kind of power through the 4L60?

j99fbody

iTrader: (1)

i have a built 4l60e and cant seem to keep it together

GregWS6&z28

iTrader: (8)

some people just get lucky

ChocoTaco369

I give it a week or less before it blows up.

Everyone wants power, but no one ever wants to do the supporting mods. Unless you love downtime, get a built tranny from a sponsor first.

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

lol. probably because the supporting mods are around $2,000 for the tranny and another $2,000 for the rear. For the cost of this compared to a heads and cam swap it's no wonder people just decide to go for the power and hope that they'll be one of the lucky ones. At least for a little while...

Ego Killer

iTrader: (147)

I think you'll be fine I did it for about a year and would have been fine but I spray threw the gears. so that finnished it off

JScamaro

iTrader: (6)

I think it really depends on your driving style.

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

i would have to agree with you on that!! thats why im skeptical on blowing my cash right away!! i dont want to get a stall, cam, and everything done, and drive back home from the shop and tranny gives. but i actually baby my car. but i will beef up my tranny though.

nassty00

iTrader: (11)

im in the process of the same set up. installing the stall this weekend hopefully. im pretty sure it should hold up for awhile.

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

Well I thought about just omitting the heads for now and doing cam and spray and using that money towards a stage 2 tranny from performabuilt (says it's good to 700hp). But i've got a buddy who's putting down around 450whp and is fine so far on the stock 4L60 and rear. Decisions, decisions....

GregWS6&z28

iTrader: (8)

you will need a trans if you mod your car further. thats a fact. do it now and do it right.

02NBMFormula

iTrader: (6)

i put a blower on in august and the transmission was doing fine and then i popped a piston so while the engines out, new tranny is going in.

one thing you can do to make it last is keep the rpms done, the 4l60e's tend to not take to it too well. problem is that new cam you just threw in there loves the high revs.

Gilbert@Ace Racing

Lot's of good advice here.

There are some inherant issues with the stock unit. It has excessive clearance in the 3/4 clutches for a high performance application. It will begin to slip at high rpm shifts... it'll hit the rpm limiter.

Also, it has not got a dual cage input sprag in it. It can fail under high loads, burnout boxes are hard on 'em.

It has a stock line pressure regulation system that allows for wild pressure fluctuations at shift ponts and high rpm's.

And there are more issues we address when we build them. All that being said there are two schools of thought. Spend the money now and then you will know what you have and can expect consistancy, or wait until there is a failure and then make the upgrade.

There really is no right way or wrong way to go about it.

Good Luck and have fun is what I tell everyone!

g

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

thanks guys!

ChocoTaco369

But it's still a bad idea. A quality H/C setup is nearly $4,000 installed, anyway.

I don't understand the mentality, here. You'd rather have no car at all. It makes no sense. No stock 4L60E is going to last behind a H/C setup. There is NO "lucky one." The only way you're going to drag out the life of your transmission is to not touch the shift points. The day you raise your shift points over 6,000, your trans is toast. It'll be a ticking time-bomb. For every guy that's limped their stock 4L60E around for a few weeks, there's 3 guys where it's let go on the dyno just trying to tune it.

You could keep the shift points stock and limp it around for awhile, but why put a H/C package on your car and not raise the shift points? Why would you put a H/C combo on your car and never go WOT? Why would you do all that work to limp it around like a grandma?

You're going to have to buy the transmission anyway. There's NO WAY around it. If you do the transmission first, you never have downtime and you can slowly save up the money for the H/C package. If you put the H/C package on your car, then your car will be out of commission for awhile and you'll be FORCED to immediately drop money on a built transmission to get it moving again.

Doing it your way backs you into a corner and forces you to spend more money faster. If you want to save yourself a headache, I strongly recommend you do it my way. If you want to create as much pain as possible, do it your way.

Sorry I sound so harsh, but I see this happen time and time again and it's very frustrating. People are warned, they still go the way you want to go, then **** hits the fan and they complain about it. Well, they were warned! I'm trying to warn you and save you a headache. I hope you heed my warning because I don't want to say "I told you so."

performabuilt

iTrader: (25)

I would seriously consider a built trans in that plan ,So many guys get all this stuff only to be fustrated when the trans goes, The trans should be considered a natural part of the build up.

Slvr00Bird

iTrader: (2)

I wouldn't bank on the rear lasting long. I roasted one in an auto V6 and it was whining like a banshee.. I then had it rebuilt with richmond 3.73 gears and a rebuild kit when I swapped an LS1 in and it still howls... I'd definitely have a little money in the bank for a 9inch just incase the 10bolt decides to puke...

Oh, I've also heard Richmond stuff tends to make a little noise.. In retrospec I wish I would have went with GM performance

performabuilt

iTrader: (25)

I had issues with richmond it can be done but the tolerances must be perfect took many trys

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

lol easy man.... I decided to go with a built trans a while before your post. I agree with everything you said, I DO think it's a very important part to do all of the supporting mods before you go ahead with the power mods. However, all I was saying is that heads and cam installed or not (most on this site will do the entire install themselves due to the easy nature of it) is going to net you a hell of alot cheaper price tag than a built trans and new rear end. Going with your mentality on a price of $4k for just the heads and cam installed isn't really a straight up comparison with the trans and rear... I was just factoring in the parts alone. You'd probably be looking at close to $5500 or $6000 for the two installed. I was merely saying that this is probably why alot of people go the route of heads and cam before doing the supporting mods. The power is tempting.

And this isn't exactly "MY" way of doing it, I was just inquiring who's had luck with doing heads and cam first, and letting the stock 4L60 try to handle it. I was just trying to get an idea. That's the point of this site isn't it? To ask a question and learn something? And then make a decision off of what you learned? Which I did.

Now I've just got to decide which sponsor to go with! lol

That being said, I do appreciate your reply. Thank you.

slimcracka

iTrader: (7)

2 things kill 4l60s heat and high rpm shifting... get a h\c setup that keep the shift at 6200 rpm.. i know of a couple local guys that has h\c and spray that there stocker lasted a LONG time even sprayin threw the shifts.. but they shifted at 6200..just some food for thought.