- Location
- South Gate, CA
- Car
- 2003 FX45 AWD
Great to hear about your mod..
Thanks for sharing your experience...
Thanks for sharing your experience...
Jumbo's Transmission thread
- Thread starter jumbosrule
- Start date
- Location
- Santa Clarita, CA
- Car
- 2005 FX45
Good to hear you are satisfied with the outcome. You pretty dead on with my assessment of the mod when I had it done a few years ago. Enjoy!
Glad to hear that - it's good to know we have had similar experience. Helps me to understand what is normal.
How was gas mileage impacted? I have been peeking at the computer, but it's still brand new so I have been playing in the streets and I'm sure mpgs are a little low right now.
Here are some more observations:
At highway speeds, I feel almost as if the car has more momentum. Almost like the gearing carries the speed forward more easily (not sure if I am making sense - trying to describe a feeling). I get the impression/feeling there is more available power at high speeds than there was before.
The engine pitch has slightly changed. I'm thinking it's from a slightly different load on the engine due to the new transmission internals and maybe from the torque converter as well. I'm trying to watch the engine RPMs to see if there is any difference, but I'm not sure.
Shifting is much more fun. The shift kit added a nice feel and I'm learning how to manipulate it. During totally normal driving, there is almost no difference in feel. I know it's shifting more quickly, but the acceleration curve is very smooth through gear changes. Going between 2nd and 3rd gear at about 35mph, I can "chirp" the tires by flooring it just as the RPMs get close to the shift line (or I can use manual mode and floor it just before shifting). The car really jumps forward. However, if I am in automatic mode and WOT during second gear, it won't shift till about 70mph! The sound is awesome. Sounds race-like (especially under an overpass).
I'm seeing a slight drop in mpgs, but would love to know if others have any mpg numbers from before to after.
How was gas mileage impacted? I have been peeking at the computer, but it's still brand new so I have been playing in the streets and I'm sure mpgs are a little low right now.
Here are some more observations:
At highway speeds, I feel almost as if the car has more momentum. Almost like the gearing carries the speed forward more easily (not sure if I am making sense - trying to describe a feeling). I get the impression/feeling there is more available power at high speeds than there was before.
The engine pitch has slightly changed. I'm thinking it's from a slightly different load on the engine due to the new transmission internals and maybe from the torque converter as well. I'm trying to watch the engine RPMs to see if there is any difference, but I'm not sure.
Shifting is much more fun. The shift kit added a nice feel and I'm learning how to manipulate it. During totally normal driving, there is almost no difference in feel. I know it's shifting more quickly, but the acceleration curve is very smooth through gear changes. Going between 2nd and 3rd gear at about 35mph, I can "chirp" the tires by flooring it just as the RPMs get close to the shift line (or I can use manual mode and floor it just before shifting). The car really jumps forward. However, if I am in automatic mode and WOT during second gear, it won't shift till about 70mph! The sound is awesome. Sounds race-like (especially under an overpass).
I'm seeing a slight drop in mpgs, but would love to know if others have any mpg numbers from before to after.
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- Location
- Santa Clarita, CA
- Car
- 2005 FX45
Mileage wise I'm sure it was pretty bad when I first got it back as I was probably letting it loose every chance I got.
But on the flip side when driving in auto you may feel like the tranny is slipping but that seems like the outcome of the TC and the computer has a bit of a lag trying to change the gears. I noticed this only in auto mode and only instances when I accelerate then back off for a second and then try to pick it right back up. No big deal really but just something you may notice.
Also, the next mod you may want to consider is the technosquare ecu flash with the more aggressive maps.
But on the flip side when driving in auto you may feel like the tranny is slipping but that seems like the outcome of the TC and the computer has a bit of a lag trying to change the gears. I noticed this only in auto mode and only instances when I accelerate then back off for a second and then try to pick it right back up. No big deal really but just something you may notice.
Also, the next mod you may want to consider is the technosquare ecu flash with the more aggressive maps.
Oh yeah - I'm considering it all right!!! :wub:
Problem would be my location. Plus, I know that I will absolutely get an engine mgt system when the turbo kit is on deck. I'm sure that's when I'd be most interested in an ECU flash (or maps), assuming I still use the stock ECU. So I'm sort of waiting to see so that I don't spend the cash for the flash, then throw it in the trash six months from now. You heard it here - no cash/flash/trash! But that's a different thread, fo sho.
Coming soon - Jumbo's engine mgt thread!
- Location
- Santa Clarita, CA
- Car
- 2005 FX45
Yea that is a decision you will need to make so you won't be throwing money away.
Chinke82
Member
- Location
- Houston, Tx
Definitely look at the Haltech for engine management. I used to have a utec and it ran like crap with my 850 DW injectors. The Haltech solved that problem immediately. Got a bad ass price for it from Johnny at Overdrive/JtranStudio. Although you could not go wrong with the ProEFI either.
Thanks, I'll definitely look into the Haltech! Till now the ProEFI was the only option based on the experience of the shop I was looking at using for the turbo kit (T1 Race Development near Dallas). I wanted to use something they were familiar with - not learning on. I will check out Overdrive and their preferred recommendations.
Does anybody have transmission temperature monitoring?
I did not get monitoring now for a few reasons.
1) There is a thermostat and fan on the transmission cooler, which is a type of monitor and safety.
2) I'm still NA and I don't think I could throw anything at my newly modified transmission to harm it.
3) Once I go FI and have a computer, I expect to wire in the tranny monitoring. If I got anything now, I think I would be taking it out for the upgrade.
If anybody has and uses it, I'd like to hear how and why.
Does anybody have transmission temperature monitoring?
I did not get monitoring now for a few reasons.
1) There is a thermostat and fan on the transmission cooler, which is a type of monitor and safety.
2) I'm still NA and I don't think I could throw anything at my newly modified transmission to harm it.
3) Once I go FI and have a computer, I expect to wire in the tranny monitoring. If I got anything now, I think I would be taking it out for the upgrade.
If anybody has and uses it, I'd like to hear how and why.
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Car
- 2007 FX35 RWD
I would look into JTran/Overdrive. On my350z.com, alot of the guys said they would go down there before somewhere up here. Said it was the only shop they would trust in Texas. Other shops listed, one was Forged which I know has a great reputation, but they are in Georgia. I've also heard good things about the Haltech. In fact I think Hal was down here recently with the Z for some 1/4 mile racing, and won in their bracket. I forget what shop he works at. Injected Performance is my guess, but I'm not sure.
raymond
Member
- Location
- Netherlands
- Car
- FX35 RWD
I've Read the whole tread and am planning on F/I myself. Unfortunatly coming from the netherlands my technical english isn't that perfect so please help me out here.
1) Jumbo, what is the difference between your bought "Shif Kit" and the Valve Body Upgrade....??
2) Jumbo, having a RWD with the 3.3 final gears and Rookie telling us that that gearsetup would increase more stress on the tranny would you reconsider buying another final drive like 3.7 or 3.9...??
Guys here tell me to wait on that because they find that with F/I you'll get enough power in lower gears, but many guys on the forum here suggest me to go for a 3.9. I don't do track or drag also and am affraid that it will be far to much power in first gears so everything will keep spinning.
3) Chinke your aviator says your going back from the GTM TC to a "Stock Stall" TC....what does that mean....??
1) Jumbo, what is the difference between your bought "Shif Kit" and the Valve Body Upgrade....??
2) Jumbo, having a RWD with the 3.3 final gears and Rookie telling us that that gearsetup would increase more stress on the tranny would you reconsider buying another final drive like 3.7 or 3.9...??
Guys here tell me to wait on that because they find that with F/I you'll get enough power in lower gears, but many guys on the forum here suggest me to go for a 3.9. I don't do track or drag also and am affraid that it will be far to much power in first gears so everything will keep spinning.
3) Chinke your aviator says your going back from the GTM TC to a "Stock Stall" TC....what does that mean....??
shumby
Member
- Location
- Edmonton Alberta
TC is torque converter
raymond
Member
- Location
- Netherlands
- Car
- FX35 RWD
Hahah luckely i'm not that bad in english so know what that means. But just wanted to now why he was changing back.
Thanks for the quick info though
P.s: what about the guys from edge racing.....there website is out......and what is suggested best...there TC or the GTM one..??
shumby
Member
- Location
- Edmonton Alberta
lol sorry but we do get noobs from time to time.
- Location
- Boston, MA
raymond
Member
- Location
- Netherlands
- Car
- FX35 RWD
It's all good! It's supposed to be fun!
1) Jumbo, what is the difference between your bought "Shift Kit" and the Valve Body Upgrade....??
Valve body upgrade is the entire valve body - the electronics that control it are included. Getting a valve body upgrade gives you a new transmission ECU and physical valve body. Doing a shift kit ONLY uses the stock transmission ECU - something I wanted to do to keep the FX feel. The shift kit improves the speed of the shift (bigger, stiffer springs). I can do a good voice impression of the difference in sound (my wife understood it perfectly) but I'd have to record it and that seems a little too much.
2) Jumbo, having a RWD with the 3.3 final gears and Rookie telling us that that gearsetup would increase more stress on the tranny would you reconsider buying another final drive like 3.7 or 3.9...?? Guys here tell me to wait on that because they find that with F/I you'll get enough power in lower gears, but many guys on the forum here suggest me to go for a 3.9. I don't do track or drag also and am affraid that it will be far to much power in first gears so everything will keep spinning.
I haven't looked into changing the final gear yet - but this discussion makes me think I will be - very soon.
3) Chinke your aviator says your going back from the GTM TC to a "Stock Stall" TC....what does that mean....??
If you care - here's the basics of a TC
View attachment 172394
Did you know there is no mechanical link between your engine and your transmission? It's entirely FLUID. One fluid turbine (engine) spins a fluid pump- a lot like a turbo uses air (exhaust) to spin an air turbine. In this case, the fluid pump output is connected to the transmission. This was all news to me until I decided to educate myself. Luckily I'm an engineer and understand all this fun stuff.
This is totally different design than a manual transmission which uses a clutch instead of the TC - much more efficient for transfer of power than a TC. The whole reason for the TC is to allow the engine to spin freely during deceleration - but there is still a little bit of drag since the TC is still transferring power to your transmission even while you are braking. The manual transmission simply disengages the clutch and allows the engine to spin in what is essentially neutral, with no power input into the transmission.
Chinke's FX was modified with a GTM torque converter and he just didn't like the feel. It performed more like a drag transmission - not what he was going for in a daily driver. So he's going with a new Torque Converter closer to stock stall. Stall is the RPM at which the shift occurs. Higher stall means the RPMs are higher than stock when the gear shift occurs. The advantage is more power going into and immediately following a shift. I addressed the very same feel issue by having my stock Torque Converter modified. Again, to keep some of that FX soul, but improved to handle FI when that comes around.
1) Jumbo, what is the difference between your bought "Shift Kit" and the Valve Body Upgrade....??
Valve body upgrade is the entire valve body - the electronics that control it are included. Getting a valve body upgrade gives you a new transmission ECU and physical valve body. Doing a shift kit ONLY uses the stock transmission ECU - something I wanted to do to keep the FX feel. The shift kit improves the speed of the shift (bigger, stiffer springs). I can do a good voice impression of the difference in sound (my wife understood it perfectly) but I'd have to record it and that seems a little too much.
2) Jumbo, having a RWD with the 3.3 final gears and Rookie telling us that that gearsetup would increase more stress on the tranny would you reconsider buying another final drive like 3.7 or 3.9...?? Guys here tell me to wait on that because they find that with F/I you'll get enough power in lower gears, but many guys on the forum here suggest me to go for a 3.9. I don't do track or drag also and am affraid that it will be far to much power in first gears so everything will keep spinning.
I haven't looked into changing the final gear yet - but this discussion makes me think I will be - very soon.
3) Chinke your aviator says your going back from the GTM TC to a "Stock Stall" TC....what does that mean....??
If you care - here's the basics of a TC
View attachment 172394
Did you know there is no mechanical link between your engine and your transmission? It's entirely FLUID. One fluid turbine (engine) spins a fluid pump- a lot like a turbo uses air (exhaust) to spin an air turbine. In this case, the fluid pump output is connected to the transmission. This was all news to me until I decided to educate myself. Luckily I'm an engineer and understand all this fun stuff.
This is totally different design than a manual transmission which uses a clutch instead of the TC - much more efficient for transfer of power than a TC. The whole reason for the TC is to allow the engine to spin freely during deceleration - but there is still a little bit of drag since the TC is still transferring power to your transmission even while you are braking. The manual transmission simply disengages the clutch and allows the engine to spin in what is essentially neutral, with no power input into the transmission.
Chinke's FX was modified with a GTM torque converter and he just didn't like the feel. It performed more like a drag transmission - not what he was going for in a daily driver. So he's going with a new Torque Converter closer to stock stall. Stall is the RPM at which the shift occurs. Higher stall means the RPMs are higher than stock when the gear shift occurs. The advantage is more power going into and immediately following a shift. I addressed the very same feel issue by having my stock Torque Converter modified. Again, to keep some of that FX soul, but improved to handle FI when that comes around.
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raymond
Member
- Location
- Netherlands
- Car
- FX35 RWD
Oke thanks for the info...!!
I was thinking on doing the VB Springs as well, as shipping the part all over the world isn't a good idea.
The final gear isn't something wich is in your transmission, but in the rear driveline. It is another gearing wich makes the gears shorter. And lett you spool the engine faster also.
I'm sure the other guys can explain it much better then i do now, but it is something wich a lot advise as well with both N/A and F/I
I checked out the Level 10 website right away about the gears. They also offer a transcooler but see you didn't get it from them. Why is that.....??
So if i understand it right your TC gives a bit of the same issues then the one from Chinke's did.......i was looking both from Edge Racing and GTM......anyone suggest wich is better...??
I was thinking on doing the VB Springs as well, as shipping the part all over the world isn't a good idea.
The final gear isn't something wich is in your transmission, but in the rear driveline. It is another gearing wich makes the gears shorter. And lett you spool the engine faster also.
I'm sure the other guys can explain it much better then i do now, but it is something wich a lot advise as well with both N/A and F/I
I checked out the Level 10 website right away about the gears. They also offer a transcooler but see you didn't get it from them. Why is that.....??
So if i understand it right your TC gives a bit of the same issues then the one from Chinke's did.......i was looking both from Edge Racing and GTM......anyone suggest wich is better...??
If you went with a VB upgrade, it's a direct replacement. No shipping for mod would be needed. It would take about the same amount of time as a shift kit since you have to drop the transmission to get to the VB anyway. Either way you are just waiting for parts - the VB or the shift kit.
The trans-cooler is a pretty simple and common thing. I used a local shop to do the work and had them pick the cooler. I had done a little research and found that there are two types of coolers: Bar & plate vs tube & fin. The tube/fin style is the most common and not as efficient as the bar/plate. Using a bar/plate allows you to go smaller on the cooler, and I wanted one with a thermostat and electric fan, so I just gave the shop this info and they picked one that fit the bill.
The trans-cooler is a pretty simple and common thing. I used a local shop to do the work and had them pick the cooler. I had done a little research and found that there are two types of coolers: Bar & plate vs tube & fin. The tube/fin style is the most common and not as efficient as the bar/plate. Using a bar/plate allows you to go smaller on the cooler, and I wanted one with a thermostat and electric fan, so I just gave the shop this info and they picked one that fit the bill.
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- Location
- Santa Clarita, CA
- Car
- 2005 FX45
I don't know if chinke sent in his own TC to GTM or he did a core swap but with Edge racing I sent them my TC and Andre (the owner) did the modification. He is familiar with the inifniti brand as he did the same TC mods on the G35's. Whatever company you decide to go with I would suggest to send in your own TC for the best feel and combatibility for your FX. I think rookie also went with Edge racing for his TC after he had trouble with the TC mod that lvl10 did for him. Rookie also had the lvl10 tranny upgrade kit installed on his old auto tranny and I don't think he had any issues with that and it worked good for him with his 500+WHP!
Chinke did a TC core swap - he and I talked about this before my mods. I had my TC modified at a local transmission shop here - subbed out by Unleashed Autosports. I think I actually listed the transmission shop in a link earlier in this thread. Labor was about $450 for the mods to my TC.