I have a 95 Trans Am that I race and I have just popped the 3rd 4L60E in the past year and a half. The car only gets driven about 200mi/month and has only been to the track 5 times. I'm running high 11's right now and I'm planning on going to the track more often. So i'm thinking about getting a th350 with a 3500 stall converter,Trans-brake, and rated for 700hp all for about $1400(+crossmember, shifter, flexplate,,ect.) Am I crazy or should I try another transmission shop and spend another $2X00

 

Not a bad idea for a race car, but a street car would miss the OD. My first 4L60E was built by a local guy for $900 back before everybody knew how to make them last and it went 7 years, maybe 10 trips to the track in that time running high 11's. The bigger supercharger took that out finally, and I got one of the Frank trannys for about $1700 outright (no core), and so far it lasted some 11.1 blasts and a few test runs without busting. While they're not that well thought of for toughness, the 4L60E should be tougher than what yours was. Time will tell how long mine lasts as my car will run faster once I get the fueling issues worked out. If it fails, I will go another direction, not another 4L60E. Hopefully, it will last a while and let me run 10s wiithout breaking. According to Frank Cahall, it will do that and then some.

 

Talk to frank, the 4l60 is going to be better for you.

The 350 is not any stronger than a 60e if built properly....Frank can explain that easier. Also a manual 350 has to be driven in the correct way and alot of that has to do with the feel of the car. Driving a manual VB 350 on the street will kill it in no time. People are bracket racing franks trans everyweekend

 

When my 60E bites the dust, it will be replaced with a TH350. It's lighter, has less rotating mass, and much better gear spacing. The only valid reason I see for keeping the 60E is for the fourth gear and I can live without it.

 

It comes down to choice. I would rather have a tough transmission I can depend on.
Also, driving a MVB on the street will not kill the trans. If that was true my TH400 would have puked long ago.
I still get tickled when I pull the dipstick out of my TH400 and see tranny fluid the way its supposed to look. And smell.

 

I got 3.5 years out of my 4L60E and about 300 passes on the thing plus lots of street miles...Imho the TH350 is not an upgrade, but its cheaper to build...Imho, a true upgrade from the 4L60E would be going to a TH400, but the choice is yours..Once you start racing heavily you should really budget in a freshening evry season to check everything out and replace the clutch packs..Just my .02..no matter what trans you go with...

I love the 3.06 first gear of the 4L60E, but you can also buy higher gear sets for the TH400 (3.00:1 sets and 2.75:1 sets which are very cool...)

I just went through a similar dilemma when my 60E broke the output shaft, but I stayed with the 4L60E and am glad I did...I drive the car alot and the OD makes a big difference on long trips...

--Alan

 

I also don't like the gear spacing even when it was working right. First and second gear were awesome but it just sucked when it hit third gear.