I noticed this on the www.hi-performance.com site:

JET 700R-4 Lock Up Delay Module -- The JET 700R-4 Lock Up Delay Module prevents converter clutch lock up until 4th gear, eliminating unwanted converter locking and unlocking in 2nd and 3rd gear. Increases converter life dramatically. Simple, plug-in installation. For all 700R-4 transmissions. P/N: 61650 82-92 Camaro & Firebird

I'm always leary about these things, but it sounded interesting and I though I would ask.

 

BILLZ88350 has one of those... he hasn't mentioned any benefits, and he didn't gain any time on the 1/4... although, it sounds like a good thing to have

 

That's what I was thinking Nathan, sounds more like a preventative maintenance thing more than a performance thing. So Bill has it then...I'm not decided on whether I'll actually order it, but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't another farce like the TPS enhancer.

 

I think the lock up delay plays a much bigger roll when just cruising around town by preventing the converter from locking and unlocking at low speeds or even on the highway (cruising).

Each time it locks it just creates more heat (your biggest enemy) and loads the trans a little more, but is better for fuel mileage overall.(stock configuration)

You certainly wouldn't see any difference in a 1/4 mile run, cause there is no vacuum signal at WOT to allow the converter to lock anyway.

 

I think they've been using electric controlled lockups in 700r4s since 85. There's no vacuum tubes for 87 for sure that control lockup.

As much as heat is a bad thing, the TCC will only lockup once you are in fourth gear and are at a consistent speed. Another benifit under normal cruising is that if you downshift at highway speeds you want the thing to stay locked so you get full transmission efficiency. If you can think of a situation where you don't want it to lockup when it does, then its useful.

It's not used during 1st because there's not enough fluid pressure, its not used in 2nd and third because under normal conditions you spend only a few seconds in those gears under normal driving conditions. As soon as you step on the brake, the connection is broken (if you look behind your brake pedal you'll see a switch with a purple wire I believe) and the solenoid controlling lockup is disabled.

Now the real benefit comes from running the TCC locked in 2nd and 3rd during 1/4 mile runs. I've found it to give me a solid tenth of a second during runs. When I was running 15.8, I got a cutout and couldn't even break into 15's without having the cutout open. That's how much a lockup affected my times.

Lastly, why buy it, just visit Nathan for some electronic parts and do some creative wiring!

 

I did a bit of research, and I've decided that this device may actually cause more damage than good. By preventing the lock-up early, you essentially are allowing more slippage. Slippage leads to heat and heat is the number one killer of trannies. I think I would rather wear out my TC quicker than kill the whole tranny sooner. At least that's my thoughts.

 

Slippage on an automatic isn't that bad provided its not the clutch slippage part. Whenever you hear of slippage its just the turbine and impeller not rotating at 1:1 ratio.

I don't see too much point in delaying the lockup, but keeping it locked up say while doing 1/4 mile runs is a good thing. I ran with lockup all summer and got benefits at the track. On my tranny fluid change saw nothing new in terms of debris in the pan.. just the regular stuff so its not devasting to say the least.

 

I've heard a lot about tranny heat in this thread. Tranny coolers are cheap these days. I plan on installing one this winter. B&M for about $50US new.

Pretty reasonable if you ask me.

 

Funny thing about transmission coolers.. CT has some basic tranny coolers in stock here in Brampton. Not bad too considering the price $68 and comes with pretty much everything you need in terms of making one for an auto transmission. I'm probably gonna grab one and put it in along with a mini fan or something and rig it up.

 

So they dont' stock ones specific to a tranny? They're all generic with tweaking required? Or would they install it ?

 

I'm not sure about the fourth gen setup, but on thirdgen auto setups, there is already 2 lines running to the rad which allows for somewhat limited cooling. Since tranny fluid is hotter than coolant, the heat transfer works that way. It's good in the morning because it works both ways in that you can heat up your tranny fluid from the engine without really running it.

Its an easy mod to do on thirdgens, disconnect the 2 lines from the tranny and instead run it to the cooler. Or you can run it in between the line from the tranny to the rad then cooler and back and still get tranny warm up in the morning and the added benefit of a cooler. They supply rubber hoses in the package that is more than adequate to run tranny lines as they are not high pressure anyways.

For a fourth gen it would require some thought into where you would install it as I recall even on a v6, engine bay space is still limited and you need a spot with good air flow.

 

Cool, thanks man.
I'll do some research

 

Craig: Like Rovic said, the tranny (oil) coolers are generic. For the price the one from Crappy Tire is pretty good. I personally have the TruCool LPD unit...I think it goes for about $130 and can ge gotten at any tranny shop. The only short fall with the tranny cooler is it does very little in stop and go traffic.

Rovic: When I was referring to slippage I was talking about the same effect as installing a higher stall converter (essentially more winding up before the 1:1 ratio) and in turn more produced heat. Regardless, I see no real advantage of delaying the lockup on my setup. Perhaps on a different setup it might be beneficial.

 

Why the hell would you want to delay TC lockup?

 

Read the post dude... there's an intelligent dialogue that explores that very question

 

right back at ya

I remember reading something Ken Dutwellier said about delaying lockup and non-lockup converters........

"Would you drive down the track with your clutch pushed half way in? No, so why would you want to avoid locking the converter?."

 

Actually Paul, I think that's what I kinda concluded after doing some research. That I can tell, I don't see any benefit of installing such a device. I think that unit could possible cause more harm than good over time.