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....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

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Old 07-06-2003, 07:01 PM
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Default ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I want a tranny that will hold up to many mid 10sec passes without crapping out on me. I think that it is a crap shoot with the 4l60e's.... I need to know about the TH400's.

I drive approx 100 miles a day. Most of it is between 55-75mph on the highway. I would be using 3.73 gears and stock tire height. Will the TH400 be ok for this or am I biting off more than I can chew?

The tranny I am looking at is a Yank w/4000 stall and trans brake. It has a reverse manual valve body.

I could cut my driving down to 50miles per day if I had to, but would prefer not to.

Let me know your experiences/suggestions.
Old 07-06-2003, 09:04 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

It would be the same as driving your 4l60 in 3rd gear on the freeway. I drove a t400 with 4.56 and 4.88 gears for years, i like it.
Old 07-06-2003, 09:33 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I kinda figured that a 1:1 ratio would be the same.. I am wondering how it is without the locking convertor, how it is on heating up. I want to hear from people who daily drive them.
Old 07-06-2003, 10:35 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I drive my th400 daily. The same one your going to get cept for a 3600 stall and 3.42 gears. With my gears at 65 im little over 3000rpms. Also I dont mind the tranny cause I know it will hold up unlike some 4l60s I had. I would drive around with yours in 3 rd all the time and see how ya like it. As far as the always unlocked its not to bad it was hard to get use to but after awhile I got use to it.
Old 07-06-2003, 10:40 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

How far is it driven daily? What power level are you at?
Old 07-07-2003, 10:08 AM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I have a TH400 with a Yank SS4000E converter and 3.73 gears with stock tire height.

I drive my car daily to work, luckily I only live 8 miles from work. But, there is no way I would want to drive 75-100 miles a day, especially on the highway with the 3 speed.

I have to drive 65 miles to the track to race and it kinda sucks, I would hate to do it daily. The car just sucks down the gas from driving at 3000-3500 rpm on the highway for 75-100 miles.

If you work that far from home and have to drive the car daily and you want a TH400, then get an over drive unit for it, like www.gearvendors.com etc.

Old 07-08-2003, 01:18 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I drive about 20 miles a day. With about 450rwhp. Its not bad since its all back roads but on the highway I just dont like it reving past 3500rpms. I dot about 65mph on the highway which is about 3100-3200rpms. The thorttle response is great though . Maybe it would be ok if ya had a quiet exhaust. I have dual cutouts so its kind of lound :p
Old 07-08-2003, 01:33 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

Why not buy a 27 inch street tire or something similar?
Also you can go down to 3.42 without too much loss in performance. (Get a 2.75 first gear to make up for the gearing drop)

Cheers,
Chris

ps- If I went with a TH400 I would get the 2.75 first gear, 3.42 rear gears and drive on a 27-28 inch DR on 15's. With a transbrake and a 3500-4000stall converter you'll still fly on the track
Old 07-08-2003, 02:12 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

One answer, 200-4R. If built right they can take lots of HP(buick guys are runnings 9's with them), have less drivetrain loss than a Th400, and a .67 overdrive. They have a 2.62 first, you can use a transbrake on them, and they have a lockup convertor. Perfect if you want a tranny that will hold up to 10 second passes at the track and still cruise on the highway.
Old 07-09-2003, 09:15 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

You are right it's a gamble on the 4l60e.

I've got an FLP level4 with 10K miles behind the MTI 422 and averaging 40 miles a day. It's about 460rwhp on motor. We're looking at about 620rwhp on 150 shot. I'll let you know how the mid 10s hold in a few weeks.

By the way my 3000 RPMs is hanging closer to 80mph on the freeway with 3.73s

Rick
Old 07-09-2003, 09:31 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

A few weeks may be to late, but let me know..

What are your best slips to date?
Old 07-10-2003, 06:12 AM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

One answer, 200-4R. If built right they can take lots of HP(buick guys are runnings 9's with them), have less drivetrain loss than a Th400, and a .67 overdrive. They have a 2.62 first, you can use a transbrake on them, and they have a lockup convertor. Perfect if you want a tranny that will hold up to 10 second passes at the track and still cruise on the highway.
the guys who do run 9s refresh them quite often....also the cost of one that will withstand that type of abuse will set you back close to $3000 all said and done including converter

you could build a TH400 with an o/d and/or a 4l80E for just as much and never worry
Old 07-10-2003, 12:02 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

TH400 with a GVOD is expensive, heavy, and has lots of drivetrain loss. The GVOD alone adds 100lbs and is $2500, that's much more than a 200-4r that would be built for a 10 second car. Go ahead and be the first person ever to fit a 4l80E into an f-body, no one makes a kit for it, it'd be all custom work for lots of $$$, and again it's heavy with lots of drive train loss and you can't use a t-brake with it. :p
Old 07-10-2003, 12:17 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......


Go ahead and be the first person ever to fit a 4l80E into an f-body, no one makes a kit for it, it'd be all custom work for lots of $$$, and again it's heavy with lots of drive train loss and you can't use a t-brake with it.

Morgan Motorsports has done a few 4L80E / FBody installs... They are very strong but the trade off is weight, they are almost 90# heavier than the 4L60E, and less efficent.

I'm running a TH350 with 3.23 gears and its OK as a daily driver, not much worse then my 4L60E with 4.10s. I got a lockup trans and 2.75 1st gear.
Old 07-10-2003, 08:56 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

I was contemplating this same question for when my T56 dies. I came up with getting a Jerico tranny. It's expensive but in the same ball park as a t400 with overdrive and I think it's a better setup.
Old 07-10-2003, 09:05 PM
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Default Re: ....Daily Driven TH400 users withing.......

Well, I've only run a 11.5 secs, at 199.5 mph on a 1.75 60' run with my Nittos this year. I blew a head gasket about 2/3 of the way down the track I'd guess. So I didn't get to make a gas rund that day.

We spec'd some new custom race gaskets and put the ARP head studs on to get some better clamping since I've smoked 3 set of gaskets in 14 months.

I'm going to try to get out to one of the local tracks this weekend to do T&T before the CamaroZ28.com Nationals get here on the 26th and 27th. Should be a fun event up at Mid-Michigan but I'd like to do more running than watching if I can.

Rick



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