282 vs 284 vs F23 vs F40 aka *The Getrag Thread*

[RedBird]

So, this is all to talk about the Good vs Bad on all our possible options on the different getrag trannies. I'd like as much info as possible, including torque capacity and such, because i know you guys have it somewhere, and i don't.

We all know the 282 is a damn strong tranny. and pretty universal. What *I* know is that mine has a horrible 1-2 shift. when i race, people ask me if i missed a gear, because it takes so long to fall into 2nd. is my synchro just shit or is that the tranny itself? never really driven any other 282 cars hard so i don't know....

284's - Very rare, so not the greatest option. but they're very very strong, and built to handle high revs.... sounds great on paper but hard to come by in the real world. any Pro's that might make it worthwhile to try one out? how do they mount up?

F23 - the ones we can use came on 00-02 base cavalier and sunfires(anythign else?) i know to be easiest to swap you need the cables and shifter assembly, too. problems here are the clutches are exspensive, but that only b/c they come with a new slave, which by the way is internal so that's another thing to consider. Also, you need to weld mount brackets to the frame, it's nowhere near a bolt-in ordeal. you can get both frame brackets for 120ish so it's not that bad though.... who knows mroe about these?

F40 - Awesome, simply because it's the only FWD 6 speed that will bolt up. i assume you'd want the shifter and cables for this too.... how does this mount in a G6? is it a pair of frame mounts, like the F23's in j-bodies? Big issue is the heavy, aftermarket-lacking sotck clutch setup..... also axles. need mroe info on this one too...


Discuss. Pro's, Con's, impossibilities, etc.

[robertisaar]

i'm not so sure if i would even consider the F23 in a performance application...

and i believe the F40 will stand up to some high-speed shifting, the 3900s have a strong powerband up top and i wouldn't accept anything less than a 6K shift from them.

EDIT: this has some info on the F40 and F23...

http://www.gminsidenews.com/index.php?page=trans_guide

[pocket-rocket]

Once warmed up, my 284 has no problems accepting a 1-2 and 2-3 shift at 7k+ rpms. Before warming up? Yeah, shifts can't be forced and must be made slow, or you could screw something up. On the down side, the $3k rebuild price tag pretty much sucks. If you find a car with one with an accumulator bolted to the top of the tranny, remove it! Clutch action feels much better, tire chirpage is easier and you have less of a chance of screwing up synchros after that (but it's still possible).

[robertisaar]

accumulator? as in there to soften the release/apply action of the clutch?

maybe i'm weird in the head, but i do that with my left foot....

[pocket-rocket]

accumulator? as in there to soften the release/apply action of the clutch?

Correct. From what I read years ago too many of the people that drove the test car didn't like the clutch action, that or owners didn't like it because they were pansies and couldn't take a real clutch feel so GM put an accumulator in there. Before I removed mine (that made a good difference on the 91) I remember reading people that could hardly scratch 2nd would chirp it really easy after that. The pedal also gets stiffer and feels more "real" after removing it.

[RedBird]

i'm not so sure if i would even consider the F23 in a performance application...

and i believe the F40 will stand up to some high-speed shifting, the 3900s have a strong powerband up top and i wouldn't accept anything less than a 6K shift from them.

EDIT: this has some info on the F40 and F23...

http://www.gminsidenews.com/index.php?page=trans_guide

what's wrong with the F23? yeah it's behind a 4 cyl stock but some of those ecotec/F23 guys are pushing 400+hp and running in the 11's.... i mean, even at low boost on launch, there's still some serious torque there, to get the 1.8-1.9 60fts i've seen....

edit: if the F23 is weaker than the 282 it's not by a ton, max torque for the F23 is 170lb/ft, the 282 is only 200lb/ft LOL

[IsaacHayes]

In the rear world I think the 282 is far stronger than the F23. I don't know how they shift at high RPM though.

FWIW the 282 in the 92-93 L bodies uses 2 round frame mounts instead of one and also the internal slave/TO bearing combo.

[robertisaar]

I don't know how they shift at high RPM though.

superdave would be a good reference here

[pocket-rocket]

superdave would be a good reference here

And IIRC, he said he had thought about trying a 284 if he kept his Z24 as his project- because of the high RPM shifts.

[gar70614]

the 282 from the berreta will bolt rite in i need one extender for one of the cables. the f23 will need new mounts, cavbles, clutch, and axles. thats will be the easyest swap. mabey not the strongest but easy. and for the f40 theres a good swap thread on grandamgt.com with alotta pics of mounting but its nothing like a third gen J body.

[Superdave]

a Quad 4 282 shifts great in the upper RPM's, the V6 ones must have different synchros because around 6500 RPM they become hard to get into gear.

[3400beretta]

I don't think so Dave. I had 4 trannys apart to build the one that I have now. 2 quad trannys and 2 v6 ones. The syncros are exactly the same. Only way they would be different is if someone did a cheapo rebuild and used brass rings instead of carbon.

[Barry]

I have a 282 that I beat on every time I drive it. It used to be hard to shift from 1-2 at high rpms. Grow a bigger arm. I can shift 1-2 at 6500 rpms very quickly, but it has to be hard on the syncros, forks, and shift cable(I broke 2 in like 2 months). However, the tranny does put up with it.

Mine grinds on every high rpm 2-3 shift, but its just a quick grind. It does slow my shift down a little though.

3-4 it will take whatever you can throw at it. Theres no point in even lifting off the gas. I can shift 3-4 so quick its not even funny.


For external slave trannies people need to drill out their fittings, and internal guys like me need to get a new line made to delete that quick release/delay valve. I had a line made, just havent installed it yet. I feel this will speed up shift times even more.

I must say that the 282 is a beast of a trans. I have beat on it so much its unbelievable. Mine even has 3 bad bearings in it and its still working well, its just loud and obnoxious. I have chirped second probably close to 1000 times now since I built this car, and it still shifts great with no grinds(with the exception of third).

[pocket-rocket]

Grow a bigger arm.

That sounds like the perfect recipe for destruction.

I can shift 1-2 at 6500 rpms very quickly, but it has to be hard on the syncros, forks, and shift cable(I broke 2 in like 2 months).

Mine grinds on every high rpm 2-3 shift, but its just a quick grind. It does slow my shift down a little though.

Case in point. Any grinding is bad. 1. it means synchros aren't keeping up with how fast you want to shift and 2. it also means you are eating your gears alive. I hope you at least change the fluid in that poor unit from time to time. I wouldn't even think about doing that to my 284. Not just because of how scarce they are and how expensive they are to repair, but because I don't feel like getting stranded on the side of the road some place.

[robertisaar]

didn't they make "dogged" synchros by removing every other tooth to allow for quicker/no clutch shifts? not necessarily for these trannies, but i remember seeing that somewhere... might have been an old NASCAR trick now that i think about it.