Can you use a manual valve body on the street or is it a strip only item? If you can't why not? I have a shift kit now and it shifts very hard so im not looking for a firmer shift id just like to shift my own gears without conveting to a stick and I hear its bad to manually shift it without a manual valve body.
Thanks.

 

Manually shifting an auto is not bad for it, you just don't have full control. If you kick the shifter from first to second, you still have to wait for governer pressure to overcome spring force and TV pressure before it will shift. On a manual valvebody, as soon as you put the shifter in 2nd, it WILL be in second. Same goes for taking off from a stop. On a regular auto, if you put it in Overdrive, it will start in 1st and shift through the gears untill finally getting into overdrive. However, on a manual valvebody, if you put it in overdrive, it WILL start out in 4th gear. You'll have to manually put it down into first every time.

 

You really have to know what you're doing if you want to use a manual valve body on the street as mentioned above. It's very easy to forget it in D or OD and drive around like that. The clutches will get burnt up in no time.

A manual valve body usually also eliminates engine braking in all but high gear. This means if you are in any of the lower gears and you lift off the gas pedel, the tranny will act like it's in neutral.

For street use, a shift kit is the best choice. You can still manually shift through the gears if you want but if you put it into D or OD the tranny will automatically shift through the gears like normal.

 

Trans-Go offers the "full manual" setup in the Performance Shift kit as an option. I have only seen one person in the past several years use it. In my case I have never setup a full manual 700R4. Personally, I do not recommend it on a 700R4.

 

Both of my automatics, a glide and a t-350, are full manual valve bodies. IMHO they are not a problem to use on the street. Yes, you have to upshift and downshift it, but to me that is half the fun of driving. Again, though, these are not 700's.

 

As you said, they are not 700R4's. If you insist on this, go thru the transmission first, and install "all" the HD upgrades, if you want it to last.

 

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