**Overdrive auto info for those looking to do a trans swap**

Any thoughts on this new TCI constant high pressure valve body for 200r4....

Around $225.00!!! I thought very fair...

 

Sounds cool, as long as the constant pressure doesn't cause the shifts to give you whiplash.:3gears: But it's really a solution to a non-problem. Regular valve bodies with correct TV cable adjustment are fine.

Auto/Manual Valve Body is a MUST!

 

I phoned inquiring about some shifting issues and possibly a shift kit. They seemed pretty helpfull and knew their stuff. What is this aut/manual body that you are reffering to.

 

I wouldn't buy another whole transmission from TCI but I would gladly buy everything else except converters.

Equipped with our 100% tested, Manual/Automatic valve body, most units allow you to manually shift the vehicle into each gear change or, by placing it in the drive position, remain fully automatic. In either mode, you get a racetrack shift that bangs through the gears and shaves time off your ET's. When you use the manual gear selection feature, the StreetFighter upshifts and downshifts right when you move the lever, with no lag or governor override. When you select the normal drive position, the transmission retains positive, automatic shifts for the ease of driving you look for in an automatic transmission.

Otherwise know as "The Good Sh&t"! :laugh: :TU:

 

OK Carson, that sounds more like it could be what I've been waiting for, where do I get some more detailed info on that, especially on downshift characteristics?

There's another feature I'd like to see added, it could probably be done with a simple solenoid in the right place but I can pursue that later.

Jim

 

You will need to call TCI for more info. www.tciauto.com

 

looking for a 200r4 that will take some abuse???

http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/p...ilt-200-4r-transmission-billet-internals.html


wish i had the $$$ right now

 

Here ya go guys, how about a ford trans in our Buicks? It is rated too 850ftlbs and the GN/Regal guys love them and have been using for along time. Chris
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=201840

 

Looks like I'll be going with a Lexus transmission. Their AA80E has been out for just about 3 years now, and as fitted to the IS-F it's really supposed to be something special. 8 forward gears, 2 OD's spanning from about 4.5 up to .67 or thereabouts, and is said to shift almost as fast as a Formula 1 transmission. It can lock the torque converter in the top 7 gears. Hopefully I can set up a MegaSquirt/MegaShift to control it. Bought one out of a 2008 IF-S and it should be here in a couple days.

Jim

 

any updates on shifting it with the sbb?

ps
posi with 2.73s and the 1st gear will still make the car accellerate like a raped ape lol
aa80e: 2.73 x 4.596= 12.54708
th350: 4.56 x 2.52 = 11.4912

so you still out launch a th350/4.56 guy but less Driveshaft RPMS at any givin speed!

also aa80e stock shall handle 550 ft lbs perhaps even 600 ft lbs
have yet to find a place with beefy billet hard parts so this could be the downfall with a really built 455 or forced inducted sbb

 

Is this a joke?

 

I don' think so, look at this thread:

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=160403&page=5&highlight=340

post 104 onward :grin:

Bruce

 

It sure isn't a joke. WOW!

 

yep...reall upside is you dont need low gears to get an awsome launch nor for the final ratio like you would with a 200r4 due to the low ratio gearing in the trans itself

you could have a stock 2.43(regals) or 2.56(2v 350 lark) and still outlaunch cars with similar spec engines even with their 4.10 rears :laugh:
the lexus is1 final ratio is a 2.937 or something like that give or take stock drivetrain is 416 hp @ 6600 rpm; 371 ft lb of torque @ 5200 rpm
twin turbo car is at 625hp with about 550 ft lbs

 

Well that is the major reason new cars have 0-60 times and acceleration rates that are excellent yet have good highway manners its not the engine power so much as how its geared and the extra gears they have.

I still say the 6l80 would be awesome if somebody would cast a BOP bellhousing (yes you can get adapter plates but they look like crap), after that it would be pretty easy, stump pulling 4.03 1st gear and great highway manners with a .67 overdrive...already mated to 430+ hp V8's and lots have been super and turbocharged so they seem pretty stout.

 

We've got a 700r4 behind the Buick V6 in my wife's Triumph TR-7 and that works well. The adapter plate appears to be about 1/8" thick and isn't very noticeable at all. I think about all it really does is act as a dust cover.

I've left off work on this for awhile, been getting the front suspension sorted out and building an office in the shop building. And there is a lot yet to do on the car before I'll be able to drive it so don't expect to see results before sometime next summer if all goes well. I still have to make an Enderlie style scoop/throttle body, modify the headers for the wider engine, driveshaft, shifter, front sheetmetal and more. But I'll be sure to let y'all know how it runs when it does.

The axle ratio is 3.45:1 and that is because I picked the ratio back when I was still planning to use the 2004r. (btw, anyone need a good cleaned and disassembled core? hunnert bucks and it's yours.) I can only imagine what that is going to do with the AA80E. So, a differential change will probably be in the works. Luckily I can fit that into my plans to offer IRS kits for sale to MG owners though and it should be real easy to come up with a 2.88 posi, so that plan is part of the future and as noted it ought to work real well with the new tranny. In the meantime I'll make do.

Making the adapter was sort of a hoot, and it all came out real well. The driveshaft may be fun too, it has these huge rubber donuts on it, but since the tailshaft and the diff are both fixed (but rubber mounted of course) it at least doesn't have to move much. The real fun part though is going to be the controller and so far I don't even have the old wiring harness with the connectors as a starting point. I can get 'em but it may take awhile since the limiting factor on this build is money.

JB

 

mmm, so waiting on dropping in the 200 4R may have been to my favor...this could get interesting

Wayne S

 

Not to put a damper on this but Tim touched on a point that nobody is really looking at. That Lexis made 370 lb ft of torque at 5200(!) rpm. That wouldn't get a respectable Buick moving along with a normal trans gearset. Probably wouldn't get the Lexas moving along either.

A normal stock Buick V8 makes peak torque <3000 rpm. That is why it doesn't need such a steep 1st gear. The 8 speed trans would probably work great behind a V-6 or a small V8 stocker and make it really snappy off the line but with any respectable amount of low end grunt first gear will be usless.

Jim you are doing a great job on that project but for all practical purposes you would have to admit that the install of that trans is more an engineering/mechanical exercise. In the MG with a blown 340 that trans is pretty much worthless. On a normal pullout 1st gear would last a second and off the line at WOT there will be no such thing as "hook". I'd suggest investigating a way to program the transmission computer for bypassing 1st and maybe even 2nd gear for hard launches. Way too much torque for pretty much whatever tires you stuff under there. 2500 lb car, 3.45 gears, blower. Great for a smokeshow. If you wanted the best acceleration for that car a Powerglide(2 sp.) with a Gear Vendors overdrive tacked on for highway use would do.

The overdrive I get but one factor about running the OD(which doesn't affect you as much because of your electronics and 3.45's) is when running them with highway gears. Too "high" may be too much. Anytime your rpm goes below around 1700 in OD the engine will more than likely start to buck/lurch some especially with the converter locked up, and this is on a stocker. A bigger cam will cause it to do it at a higher rpm so you do have to be careful of how high your rear gear is. Of course you can always use just the first OD. The cars these gear setups are used on have computer controlled engines so that keeps them running much smoother and from getting into trouble.

I didn't even get into the talent aspect of the whole install process which puts it out of the reach of 99.9% of the people who visit this board.

If I was in the market for an OD trans these days and I had a nice bundle of cash I'd look into one of these babies. Based on the 4L80E so HP is no problem.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/TC-'Street Transmissions'-4.aspx

And the bellhousing is available to hook it up:

http://www.reidracing.biz/TMcase.php#FLEXPLATES

 

I didn't know that was available, despite google searches etc.

UPDATE: Its made for their glide case, so basically pointless here.

 

Yep, that runs into a small mountain of cash. But, pretty cool nonetheless.

So far everything I've heard about the AA80E seems to indicate it's a pretty tough transmission, including that bit about the turbo engine. It's also got some heft to it, at right around 200 lbs, and some size, being noticeably larger in every way than the 2004r (except pan width). The manufacturing quality control should have been second to none, so I'm not worried that it'll take the abuse, especially in this light car (Tires are 315/35-17 on the rear). As far as shifting, I think the first three gears will almost have to be shifted automatically in any kind of a hard start, and beyond that it'll be up to the driver to modulate the throttle to get the best grip. It's not a drag car so just burying the pedal won't get it done, although it should be possible to program shift points that let the engine come up to where it is making the maximum power the tires will take and then shift and that should be pretty quick.

Your comments about the powerglide are right on target of course, but isn't it curious how the general consensus was that 3 gears were plenty, then 4, then 5, and now we're at 6 and more? Granted 8 gears are a bunch to deal with and you really can't keep it straight in your head which gear you're in with that many. But it's not like a bike where you have to hit "N" when you come to a stop and a paddle shifter would be a big help. Believe me, I know what it's like to have a 1st gear that is too low. My first conversion had 24" tires, a 3.90 gear and a 3.41 1st gear, which comes out just like the AA80E with the 2.88 gears at 13.3. But that was a manual 5 speed and couldn't be shifted lightning fast with a simple flick of a finger so I'm real curious to see how it works out. Two upshifts before clearing the intersection? Very possible. But taking shift control outside the tranny means being able to use a processor to control everything about it, and that opens up a whole new world of possibilities, such as skip shifting to make use of the broad powerband and reduce the number of shifts, changing the launch gear depending on weather conditions, basing the final drive ratio on engine load and things like that. It's fun to get excited about all that but there's a lot of hard work ahead before any of the real fun begins.

JB