5 spd or 3 spd ???

[montess408]

i am buillding a 3.1 mpfi for my 88 z24 and i was wondering if i shiuld go 3 spd auto or go 5 spd standerd i my self prefer the auto cuz it is more consistant if build right but alot of guys tell me to go with a 5 spd cuz it is cheaper and beter to them any thoughts on the situation would be helpful

thanks

[geoffinbc]

For drag only I would use auto simply for consistency and lower ET. This only applies if properly set up of course. You need to match your converter and shift points to really work with your engine. But for mostly street use and weekend drag runs then 5 speed is the way hands down.

[Syn]

the 5 speed is stronger as well

[Timothy]

I will say from experiance being my 6th year drag racing my 88 Beretta GTU! The first three years I ran a 125 auto w/shift kit and 3000 stall.It was at first more consistant due to less wheel spin and a very hard launch but, it did rob some power and course it was heavier.I also blew 5 of those 125's as well, so im not so fond of them.Since I've been using the 5 speed the only thing I've broke are axles therefore I obiously gained some toque.Over all I would definatly go with the 5speed!!!My car now runs 13.97 at 101.6 from 14.7s at 93 mph.I can't explain the big differance entirely but weight and torqe were a big factor cause other changes were done!

[Nightingale]

If built up the 125 shouldn't have any problems being reliable, but your looking at a complete rebuild with Alto eagle red clutches, Kolene steels, performance band, shift kit, maybe some new stronger axles, and a new torque converter.

[avitet]

know a stick or at least the one he'll likely use a t5 stronger then an auto i assume you mean a th350. ok i would generally say auto but with the reativley low output of these engines and your cars fairly heavy ill say stick for the tighter gear spreads and its just more fun. and for the 7 tenths with the switch ill have to say that the axel breakage has less to do with the marginal increase in power to the wheels and more to do with the violent nature of launching a stick and then the shifts also harder on the drive line

[geoffinbc]

No he doesn't mean a T5 or a TH350. This is a FWD car man.

[torq455]

I like the auto. who here can down shift at 20 mph from third gear to first almost instantly? also the street launching is soooo easy and smooth. i can give her gas and modulate the throttle easier especially around corner starts. no herky jerky buck buck chirp the tires. If you go the the engineered performance LSD website: http://www.engineered.net/eplsd.htm , they have guys there with 325HP with the th125's. it's a tough tranny, just build it right.

[sharkey]

the 125 can be built to hold a bunch of power. with the right stall converter, they work very nice. ive thought of building an auto for my car but the 5 speed is way more fun on the street and i dont race that much. i was going to build up a 440t4 for mine and run a trans brake on it.

if money was no concern, id build a race 4t65e-hd. they can be built for 800hp or 1200hp. trans brake, 4:1 fdr, limited slip, ect. here is the link to gm tuner sorce

http://www.gm.com/company/gmtunersource/downloads/gmtunerhydra-matic_4T65_race_transmission.pdf#search=%224t65e%20tci%22

[sil]

nice pdf *click save*
made me drool

where the hell do you buy that stuff, i notice on the end there is a parts list with pn's......

guess its not possible to mount a 65-e onto a 3x00 block ?

[bszopi]

Uh... yeah. In fact, there are several production 3x00s that come from the factory with the 65E.

[sil]

thought so... thanks
there is no 4t65-e tranny section on this site so that threw me off lol

[sharkey]

i beleive you can buy it through gm. however, most of the stuff in there is race only. if you want a 4t65e, you need the pcm and wiring harness from a 3400 vehicle with a 4t65e then retro fit it, or you need a stand alone trans controller (about $1000). to build up a decent 4t65e doesnt take much, stock they are decent, throw some good clutches in it and an lsd and you would be good for 300hp.

for a full race tranny, you are looking at some big bucks. i may be building one just like you see in the tuner book. it would likley be a $5g tranny, but it will handle anything. only problem is its not the most streetable thing.

[bszopi]

The reason there isn't a section on the site for the 65E is because we don't really have any information on them. I guess I could link to the GM build book, and maybe add couple pictures and such from GM Media. The reason we have 4T60E and 282/284 sections are because Ben and I have manuals on these trannies and thus have information to post. There are several other trannies that the 60V6 can be (and has been) bolted to, but without any information on them, there is no need for a specific section for them.

[onefastV6]

The reason there isn't a section on the site for the 65E is because we don't really have any information on them. I guess I could link to the GM build book, and maybe add couple pictures and such from GM Media. The reason we have 4T60E and 282/284 sections are because Ben and I have manuals on these trannies and thus have information to post. There are several other trannies that the 60V6 can be (and has been) bolted to, but without any information on them, there is no need for a specific section for them.

Brad, If you are interested in any info on the 4T40E and 4T45E, let me know. I have alot of info on both trannies, including GM tech drawings and such.