Torque Converter installed today

D

Deecarp

Member
Car
QX60 AWD
Name
Darryl
Well ladies and gents, I finally got my baby back after a broken exhaust bolt and one extra day at the dealer, now the TC is in. I was looking for something to break my neck, well not really my neck but something to see or feel the difference right away. under normal driving conditions, it is just that, normal! I later found out that, that was not the case. Under acceleration, there is truly a noticeable difference to say the least.

Shifting seemed effortless, basically what Doc mentioned in an earlier thread. No lag at all, no hesitation / plause going up through the gear shift in the manual mode. the FX just seemed to keep pulling so much easier as the speed increased. It was fun to say the least, a great bang for the buck! So a big thx to Min for letting the TC go. the bad thing means more mod's are on the way. Any suggestions? Y-pipe and exhaust are in my future...
 
Nice Dee! You will also notice that the FX will launch harder and at a higher RPM range due to the higher stall. This is great in manual mode but you will also notice some feelings of trans slippage when driving in auto mode when you press on the gas then release for a second then press on it again. This not evident in manual mode but noticeable in auto. Not a big deal really but just wanted to let you know this in advance.

Next suggestion would be a valve body upgrade as it will compliment the TC very nicely! Have fun Dee!!!!
 
Stillen, level10 and forged performance. Stillen is the milder (meaning the harshness of the shifts) of the three while forged performance is the harshest. I have level10 which is the middle ground, but many have the stillen and are happy with it also. IMO forged should be used if you are FI as it has the hardest shifts.
 
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Dr.2K said:
Stillen, level10 and forged performance. Stillen is the milder (meaning the harshness of the shifts) of the three while forged performance is the harshest. I have level10 which is the middle ground, but many have the stillen and are happy with it also. IMO forged should be used if you are FI as it has the hardest shifts.
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There's also the SGP VB. My tuner here loves it. He says he had so many problems with lvl10 that he doesn't recommend it to anyone.. Don't know how true that is but at least we have another alternative..
 
Deecarp said:
Well ladies and gents, I finally got my baby back after a broken exhaust bolt and one extra day at the dealer, now the TC is in. I was looking for something to break my neck, well not really my neck but something to see or feel the difference right away. under normal driving conditions, it is just that, normal! I later found out that, that was not the case. Under acceleration, there is truly a noticeable difference to say the least.

Shifting seemed effortless, basically what Doc mentioned in an earlier thread. No lag at all, no hesitation / plause going up through the gear shift in the manual mode. the FX just seemed to keep pulling so much easier as the speed increased. It was fun to say the least, a great bang for the buck! So a big thx to Min for letting the TC go. the bad thing means more mod's are on the way. Any suggestions? Y-pipe and exhaust are in my future...
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Congrats Dee!
Is the TC easy to install?
 
This was a job I left to the professional transmission geek at the dealership. on average its a 6-7 hour job which involves the removal of the fluids, exhaust, and tear down of the tranny, droping the drive shaft etc... a lil bit more labor intensive then I'm able to do, especially, with not having the proper equipment or lift to assist in doing the job.
 
Deecarp said:
Any suggestion where I could get th VB from?
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Congrats on the TC man! That's one thing I'd like to get for sure as I drive pretty hard a lot of the time and wish it shifted quicker sometimes.

Does anyone have some links as to where someone from up here in Canada could order the TC and VBs from?
 
EgeFx said:
There's also the SGP VB. My tuner here loves it. He says he had so many problems with lvl10 that he doesn't recommend it to anyone.. Don't know how true that is but at least we have another alternative..
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Yes, true I forgot about that one. But their VB is pretty harsh also kind of like forged from what I have read. Probably a better alternative for FI vehicles.

I have also read people having problems with lvl10 in the past but I did not have any issues dealing with them and my VB has held up very nicely for over a year. I talked to Pat (owner) directly when I put in my order and he recommended me not doing the core exchange as I would have better results with my own VB so that what I did. I also went with them because of what I stated previously on the levels of harshness of the shifts.
 
are we talking another tranny drop to do the job? and what is the down time for the VB. what else will I feel or not feel without the VB for now? I looked at the stillen last night and I thought it said core exchange, but I could be wrong.
 
Deecarp said:
are we talking another tranny drop to do the job? and what is the down time for the VB. what else will I feel or not feel without the VB for now? I looked at the stillen last night and I thought it said core exchange, but I could be wrong.
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No not the whole tranny, but the fluids will have to be drained and then refilled again, lol. Downtime for the VB depends on the company you go with and the shipping time. The valve body will give you faster shifts with barely any lag time so in essence you can go closer to red lining without hitting the limiter.
 
Quick question regarding transmissions...

So say your transmission has 70k+ miles... is it going to be more susceptible to failure than a tranny with 5k miles?

What I'm trying to get at here... if you have butt-loads of torque (let's say 400wtq for example) and your transmission is now 5 years old and has 70k miles, yet you freshly upgrade the VB + TC with SGP's or similar... do I still have to worry about the gears and any other possible failure point?

I know Viet had his gears hardened (correct me if I'm wrong?) and that's probably the best route you can possibly go in regards to a safe tranny capable of massive amounts of torque... but if you go with VB + TC on an old(er) transmission, is there other points of failure to now worry about?
 
Yes Cube I would say you would still have to worry about the clutch packs and gears in the tranny itself. Changing out the VB and TC is not going to limit the wear and tear on the tranny, especially if you have alot of torque and more then the stock.
 
Cube said:
Quick question regarding transmissions...

So say your transmission has 70k+ miles... is it going to be more susceptible to failure than a tranny with 5k miles?

What I'm trying to get at here... if you have butt-loads of torque (let's say 400wtq for example) and your transmission is now 5 years old and has 70k miles, yet you freshly upgrade the VB + TC with SGP's or similar... do I still have to worry about the gears and any other possible failure point?

I know Viet had his gears hardened (correct me if I'm wrong?) and that's probably the best route you can possibly go in regards to a safe tranny capable of massive amounts of torque... but if you go with VB + TC on an old(er) transmission, is there other points of failure to now worry about?
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The only additional (cheap) precaution I can think of at your case would be getting a tranny cooler.. I believe it might help as it'll reduce the extra heat generated by your increased torque..
 
Dr.2K said:
Yes Cube I would say you would still have to worry about the clutch packs and gears in the tranny itself. Changing out the VB and TC is not going to limit the wear and tear on the tranny, especially if you have alot of torque and more then the stock.
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What can I do to freshen up the tranny? I do believe I'll eventually have TC and VB upgrades, and I'll most definitely have a tranny cooler to match my oil cooler before I ever go FI... but what can I do short of going full built race transmission from SGP ($4,000+ :embarrassed:)?
 
I hears forged offers something for the z guys in that department, but I could be wrong. You may want to talk to shariff about it. And there is the lvl10 tranny upgrade. If going this route I would talk to Pat directly and mention Conrad's name as a referral. But both those are not cheap alternatives either.
 
Hey Doc is it a necessity to change out my VB right away? I'm not driving to hard as of yet but curious as to what I might need to do for the near future and deciding which way I go.
 
No Dee you don't have to. It just would be a good complimentary mod to the TC. I personally did it in two separate steps about3 months apart I think. So no worries there Dee.
 
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