I have been doing some research about what I should use, but am still not convinced of either one. I currently have a m6 in my 96Z and love to go through gears, but when my motor and everything else is put on the car that will be a different story. I do plan on geting a tranny to hold well over the power aloted, but still dont know which way to go. It seems to me that not many people are very successfull with a m6 (besides Tanner) when they have high hp out put and go to the strip very often.

So what tranny is suggested, and why?

 

An auto will give better consistency.

 

What about duribility, performance, strenght, and dont autos loss hp also

 

700 Hp isn't woth much if you cant put it down on the track. An A4 w/ a 3000 or so stall will do the trick. Along w/ SFCs, you'll make some nice 1/4 mi times.

 

I'd have to lean towards either a TH400 or a 4L80E if you want the option of overdrive for street use? If you really will have power that high, I think the TH400 is the only tranny that's "tried, tested, and true" to hold up to that severe amount of abuse? Unless you went with an AFTERMARKET type standard (Richmond or something?? ).

But with a good, heavy duty stall converter, WELL built TH400, I think that would be the best 1/4 mile setup for ~700 RWHP .

 

Sounds good. Whats the benefit of over drive? Will it give me the option of very little street driving just to show the car off.Smilie

 

Overdrive means a gear ratio in which the transmission output shaft rotates more than once for each rotation of the input shaft. For instance, 6th gear on an M6 F-body is a 0.50:1 ratio, meaning that the output shaft rotates twice for each rotation of the input shaft.

The end effect is that the engine can be turning a reasonable RPM at highway speeds. To get an idea of what it would be like to not have overdrive, spend a few days driving your car without ever using 5th or 6th gear (both of which are overdrive ratios).

You'll use more fuel, the engine will be louder when you're cruising, you'll impart more wear on your engine due to higher RPMs, etc etc etc.

A TH400 is a three-speed transmission, and the highest ratio is 1:1, which is the same as 4th gear on an M6 F-body.

If I wanted to do an automatic drag car in the 700rwhp range, I'd be talking to Frank Cahall.

 

TH400 is a proven way to go. We are giving the 4L80 a try in an upcoming project, and hopefully it won't disappoint us. We looked at the TH400 with the Gear Vendors kit on it but that was alot more expensive.

 

How much do the run for and what are gear venders. And who is Frank Cahall.

 

Frank Cahall (12SCNDZ on these forums) is the owner of Cahall Performance Transmissions, which the best 4L60E shop, period. CPT is a supporting vendor of these forums (as is Victory Racing Engines, and I certainly wouldn't be ignoring Eric's comments either -- VRE knows their ****). 4L60E is the transmission found in A4 fourth-gen F-bodies.

Gear Vendors sells an overdrive unit which mounts behind the transmission and adds an overdrive ratio to a transmission that doesn't already have one. Adding this to a TH400 would allow you a ratio around 0.75:1 (I don't know the exact overdrive ratio of the GV product), which is approximately the same as 5th gear on an M6 F-body.

 

Seems like alot of money to me.

 

So Im kinda confused, is gear vendors a full tranny or just a add on part for a tranny.

Off topic, thanks Victor. You are my new hero. You have totally helped me with everything, and made my mind up on what Im going to do to my car. I should be contacting you about doind my motor very shortly.

 

Just an overdrive addition to your TH400

 

Why is that so addition so expensive

 

Because they are basically the only people to that kit, and allow TH400 user to retain overdrive. The other option being a 4L80, but you will need a controller for it which is an additional $600.00.