Have some general questions

[Renthorin]

With the cold weather upon us I have been taking the GN out and romping on it pretty hard

Doing this makes me question what is and is NOT good for my tranny.

If you can answer some of my questions I would be all smiles.

1) when the car drops into the last gear at 50ish mph that is actually overdrive right? Is overdrive an actual gear or something else?

2) is it better at 70mph to ease into the boost in overdrive or better to kick it down to 3rd and hammer the gas?

3) is it expecially hard (read: will I break anything) if I hammer the gas at freeway speeds (75) and it drops down into 3rd?

4) at moderate boost levels, say 8 psi, is it ok to let the car shift from 3rd to overdrive on a freeway entrance or should I hold it in D and shift to OD once I am up to speed?

Thanks for any info you can share. Tranny is running great now and I want to keep it that way :smile:

 

[Renthorin]

Anyone?

 

[77 cruiser]

Beat on it all you want as long as everything is warmed up. But maybe you should park it for the winter so you don't have to drive it in the salt.:frown:

 

[Renthorin]

No salt on the roads yet

My GN has never seen snow or salt and I don't intend to start now.

I was told that a hard downshift from OD to D can sheer the input shaft???

 

[bison]

No salt on the roads yet

My GN has never seen snow or salt and I don't intend to start now.

I was told that a hard downshift from OD to D can sheer the input shaft???

Usually its the other way around. The 3-4 if not calibrated correctly can break the input or the carrier it splines into. Ive done it before. It can break in any gear if you have enough torque. As far as your other questions i have not seen any problems with a properly built 200 4-R. I shift my at WOT 3-4 at 28 psi. Eventually it could begin to wear the case where the fourth steels sit but i wouldnt worry about it too much. All of my engines were at least 500rwhp and i havent had a failure in the areas you mentioned. The weak point in a nearly stock 200 is the 2-3 hydraulics and the pressure rise above 5/8 throttle. They are insufficient for anything but a stock engine. Burned 2-3 frictions is the usual result. I have a friend who buys and parts out or sells a lot of TR's. He has modded several stock TR's from their typical high low 14sec/high 13 sec performance to high 11's in a few days time. At this point his transmission goes downhill quick. Hes smoked the directs on 4 of them in the past 3 years from not preparing them for the increased torque. You should give the transmission attention before modding the engine.

 

[Renthorin]

Bison - you say yours handles the power fine. I assume your tranny is beefed up?

My GN is stock except for the usual bolt ons - cold air kit, ATR exhaust, alky.

I have a shift kit and an aux cooler. I hope that is enough.

 

[Brer Rabbit]

Trans dos and don'ts

I just picked up my car from the trans builder and he said during our conversation that spinning the tires on cold pavement is really bad because when it finally hooks, that sudden shock is real hard on the trans. U will break parts if u do that. So if ur not roasting the tires then rock on. Also if ur gonna wack the throttle make sure U nail the throttle all the way down. The line pressure at 3/4 throttle isn't nearly enough causing U to burn parts up. Obviously by my explanation I'm no trans expert, but I'm just repeating what I was told by Jimmy in Mundelien.

 

[bison]

Bison - you say yours handles the power fine. I assume your tranny is beefed up?

My GN is stock except for the usual bolt ons - cold air kit, ATR exhaust, alky.

I have a shift kit and an aux cooler. I hope that is enough.

Its got almost everything it can at this point. Billet input, OD planet, ring gear, and forward drum. Rollerized and extra clutches throughout, and a lot of other little mods that would confuse most that arent that familiar with an automatic transmision and its internals. If your near stock then you should have no problems with a simple shift kit. Did your kit include new pressure regulator components and an accumulator valve spring? If not i would look into putting these parts in. Can be done without removing the trans and isnt very expensive. Another thing that should be mentioned is that if you plan on doing some hard launches you should replace the factory pan and filter for a deeper pan and bottom sump filter regardless of HP level. Hope this helps.

 

[Renthorin]

I don't remember what the kit had. It was an Art Carr thingy. Had several new springs. Some small, one reeaaallyyy wide.

Shifts are hard and crisp with no slipping. I was just afraid on one of my hard freeway lauches something would go BANG and I would have to coast over to the side.

 

[SVORay]

I would keep an eye on the boost gauge. There is times in cool weather that you may get more boost because of the cool dense air. Also make sure the car is warmed up before doing anything.

 

[Renthorin]

So is there a boost limit where the tranny can be hurt?

If you are referring to getting knock that is not a problem. I run 110

 

[t3intercooled]

So is there a boost limit where the tranny can be hurt?

If you are referring to getting knock that is not a problem. I run 110

All depends.....If the tranny is bone stock most certainly. Mine when I firs It got it I borught it racing at the track made about 17 runs and then on the last run I got to the end of the quarter mile, and when I pressed on the gas to go around the return road, I had nothing. No 1st, 2nd, 3rd, OD, Reverse, nothing. And that was with whatever the car came stock with for boost. I never had an sdjustable wastegate of anykind.

 

[bison]

So is there a boost limit where the tranny can be hurt?

If you are referring to getting knock that is not a problem. I run 110

I wouldnt be worried since you said its shifting clean at WOT. There is no boost limit.

 

[bison]

All depends.....If the tranny is bone stock most certainly. Mine when I firs It got it I borught it racing at the track made about 17 runs and then on the last run I got to the end of the quarter mile, and when I pressed on the gas to go around the return road, I had nothing. No 1st, 2nd, 3rd, OD, Reverse, nothing. And that was with whatever the car came stock with for boost. I never had an sdjustable wastegate of anykind.

So what broke? Sounds like a broken pump (no line pressure) or a broken roller clutch.