I don't know who Bruce Plecan is, but I wonder if he ever had any real world experience with what he supposedly theorized about, as you put it. I have been rebuilding transmissions since the mid 80s. I was there when the first wave of 200-4Rs were coming across benches for their first rebuild. I've done my own research on the 200-4R to strengthen them for HP use. I've seen what the limits of these units are. So I have a little more than blind theorizing and examples based on concrete laws of physics to back up my statements. If anyone has a problem with anything I've explained, please speak up and we can talk about it.
I recognized a long time ago that the direct clutch would be a major limiting factor for the 200-4R for anything over 700hp. Less than 700hp if you're hoping to get some decent reliability out of the unit. That was over 5 years ago. When you've worked with auto transmissions long enough you learn to recognize the limits. Five years ago some were claiming their 200-4Rs could handle 1,000hp. BS! I have nothing against people spending time and resources to come up with solutions to make a 200-4R or any other transmission for that matter stronger. What does push my button is when someone claims that their unit can do something that with todays technology it clearly cannot. That is false advertising that is meant only to take money from uneducated clients. That is what I'm about. I hope to educate some so that they can make a more educated decision. I can't understand why some would hold that against me. Except maybe those that are making good money selling 1,000hp 200-4Rs.