I've been hearing that a t5 of any year is not up to the task of handling the torque of 350+ inches. Is this true, or is there a rebuild kit with stronger internals available? T5's are a heck of a lot cheaper than T56's lol tightwad.

 

The T5 is rated around 300lb ft. Many people have motors that make much more than that but they do not run slicks or abuse the tranny. The T5 will not stand up to power shifting and clutch dumps and heavy loads of traction (ie. slicks). If you can break your tires loose with ease than the T5 has a better chance of surviving. There are a few ways to beef it up but by the time you do that you could have a new richmond, or T-56 tranny that can withstand more for the same price. You really can't beat a T-56. They can take some serious abuse.

 

there all diffent my t-5 lasted 2 years with a 406 sbc that dynoed 446 hp and 510 ft lbs,but as soon as i got the car to hook it broke but if your just going some street racing or if you take off from a roll it should hold up mine did

 

Plenty of T5s stand up to slicks and very powerful motors. Plenty break in street cars with stock drivetrains. The one thing I've learned over the years is that you can never say 100% that a part won't last. Maybe it will, and maybe it won't. Are you willing to take the risk? That's the question you need to be asking yourself.

As far as T5 survivability improvements there are many. A steel bearing retainer is first and foremost. Z-spec gears are a next step. This will get you up to around 350 lbs/ft. officially. After that G-Force makes gears and internals that are rated up to 450-500 lbs/ft. All these parts are for a WC T5. These are the only ones worth taking apart.

You can easily build a stout T5 for much less than a Richmond or T56. Trust me, I have a T56 and I could have had a T5 for much less. I was going from an auto though, so the T56 was a logical choice in my opinion.

 

hi hp,big tq both will bring a long deserved demise to the t-5 but a bone stock 350/345ft-lbs of tq is more than enough to mangle the internals of a t-5 when it HOOKS!!!!!!traction will find all weak links.........