i need a new transmission! please help!!!

[gargimel]

hello tb

i need help on deciding what kind of transmisssion to put in. i have a 84 gn upgraded to a 87 setup and have about 450 hp. should i go with 2004r, 700, or turbo 400. i have a raptor 200 right now and its already gone with only about 1500 miles on it. i need a tranny that i can rely on! its my 3rd tranny from them and the warrenty is up. should i stay with the 200 or go another way? i drive my car about four times a week. i live in sf and its all stop and go traffic with big hills. what is a good tranny with a good warrenty that is streetable that will hold up to 11 sec? thanks in advance

 

[Steve]

A properly built 200r4 will hold up under those conditions. I had a PMAC 200 that is currently on its 3rd years running mid 10's with no issues at all. I bought the CK book on 200's and I think it was money well spent-lots of good infomation. I am not a fan of the 700's at all. I had a F-body that ran low 11's and ate 700's all of time. I went thru many 700's from quite a few different builders and none held up like I thought they should. The turbo 400 can't be beat for durability and the cost but it doesn't have overdrive which is tough if you do a lot of freeway driving.

 

[gargimel]

^yo steve, whats the name of the book? is a turbo 400 stronger than a 2004r? how much horsepower can the 400 hold?
thanks

 

[scot w.]

Brian Hofer

I purchased a 200r4 from Brian Hofer at the beginning of this year (no-core needed !) Got to keep my old 2004r just in case I want to build it in the future. You can see my mods in my sig. I have put over 3000mi on it with absolutely not one problem and the shifts are perfect for the street and the strip. I got the trans brake and shipped for an awsome price. contact him for more info on your needs.

Brian Hofer hipsibri@cs.com

or Phone him at (586) 306-9996 Scot w.

 

[Instro84]

I bought one from performance trans in LAs Vegas last year and its been great. Len's customer service is excellent also.

 

[Ed Valvo]

PTS did mine about 8 years ago. I had a few hundred passes on it before some clip or something let go and I had to have it freshened up. The inside still looked new. This wasn't even one of his bullet proof units.

 

[gargimel]

im really looking into a turbo 400. anyone have any in their gn's? info? please no more info in performance transmissioncenter.com or any of their products cause i had three of their trannys and only one worked and it only worked for 1500 miles. im tired of the lies i get from the old man on the phone. they are all bs-ers too me. i dont mean to flame anyone on here, but if u spent 2000 on a tranny and never got one that worked and the company u bought it from dosent care, i think u would be pissed too especially if you hear about people having theirs work!


thanks TB

 

[bragggf]

I would put a 2.75 gear set in the 400 for the street. You would want the older '68 and earlier sprag setup. If you drive a lot on the highway dont' expect to cruise at 80 since you'll be doing 4000 RPM with a 3.42 rear and 26" tires.

The big downside is the lack of a lockup converter and no OD and potential to lose some MPH on the top-end. But you get a bullet proof trans and can just about achieve the same gear ratios as the 2004R when using a 2.75 gearset.
Folks say the car will slow down but that has not been our 'seat of the pants' experience. It definitely gets into boost more quickly due to a looser converter. Top end still seems strong. Will know more when we finally get to the track.

Use a real shifter such as B&M pro ratchet. If using a trans brake may want an internal brake such as what ATI sells to keep the heat from the downpipe off of the trans brake solenoid. We're fighting that problem right now with a BTE external brake which uses an external solenoid. Heat wrap on the solenoid has helped but not eliminated the problem.

I'm not trans expert but simply reporting what we found. A gear vendors OD would address the remaining issue but is about the price of a built 2004R. If budget is not a concern definitely put in a gear vendors. With a gear vendors you'll see about 3-400 RPM more than a stock setup at highway. cruise speeds, light throttle. Definitely a quality unit.

 

[jellybeenz17]

new transmission.....

the place is call: ALL TRANSMISSION
66 A street south san francisco, ca. 94080
ask for kevin, nice guy to work with..
tel: 650-589-0151
650-589-7760

 

[gargimel]

the place is call: ALL TRANSMISSION
66 A street south san francisco, ca. 94080
ask for kevin, nice guy to work with..
tel: 650-589-0151
650-589-7760

i heard of all transmissions. my mechanic told me about them. he was planning to buy a built 200 from them, but since im hearing how much more powerful a 400 is im thinking about leaning towards that. can he build special 400's for gn? does he know how to build 200's for gn?

 

[Sweet6]

For an 11 second street car, I would go with a built 200. I just had my 200 built pretty stout and it is awesome. Much better than expected. I could not imagine taking the car on the highway without overdrive. If you had a 10 second car you beat on all the time, then a 400 might not be a bad idea. But for what it sounds like you are using the car for, a 200 will work great.

 

[jellybeenz17]

i heard of all transmissions. my mechanic told me about them. he was planning to buy a built 200 from them, but since im hearing how much more powerful a 400 is im thinking about leaning towards that. can he build special 400's for gn? does he know how to build 200's for gn?

so who is the person working on your car...

 

[gargimel]

so who is the person working on your car...

ditos motors in ssf. u can check out my car on ditosmotors.com. can all trans build a 200 that will last? is their work guarrenteed? how much will it cost?

 

[jellybeenz17]

ditos motors in ssf. u can check out my car on ditosmotors.com. can all trans build a 200 that will last? is their work guarrenteed? how much will it cost?

they says that the 200 is just right. go on the freeway in o/d to sears point or sac.. no problem. just as long as you bring them the car with the tranny in it, they will do all the work; guaranteed.. my 2 cents 400 trany is only for 600 to 800 hp and up...

 

[bison]

You shouldnt be eating up 200's at that hp level. For your application i would definitely go with properly built 200 4-R. The 700 R-4 cant be built as durable as the 200 for the same cost and still suffers a lot of failures. The 400 can be built to handle higher torque and hp levels than the 200 but its not an overdrive and doesnt have enough gear in 1st for a 450hp car unless you go with a deeper gear set, which equals more $. You will still have close to $2k in the 400 if you upgrade the roller clutches, rollerize, transbrake, and a good torque converter. The 400 is not worthwhile or needed till you run faster than 10.50's imo. The downsides dont outweigh the benefits for 450hp. Just my .02 though. Researching this would have saved you a lot of $ and aggravation. There are a few builders on here that can build you a killer 200.

 

[Otto J]

Call Len at Performance Transmission Las Vegas.
Awesome trans,quick turn around,And it is in car tested prior to shipment