I am having trouble trying to decide which would be best for my car...(this tranny will eventually be matched with a 383 stroker motor)

I like the thought of the 6 speed manual making the car more fun to drive however still being horrified by 2 things

1. The pain it would be to convert from 700R4 auto to the t56 and all the many problems that it would most likely give me

2. The problem of tire spinning when racing and daily driving...all i hear about when i read racing stories and talk to people is how in manual trans cars it is so hard to keep the tires from spinning

now the th350 or some other nice auto trans

1. I believe that you can make them strong as hell much stronger than tremec t56s that cant take much more than 500 hp/tq
2. auto is better for dragging and racing for most people and makes tire spin less of a problem
3. I would still like to have the ability to shift up and down as i please what else would i have to buy in order to be able to do this??? b&M mega shifter or what? I am looking for the drive control of a manual (as in shift control) but without the hassle and expense of a t56

What is kind of transmission should i get to meet what i want?
trying to manually shift in the 700R4 through the different drives is kinda laggy and uneffective...i want a trans that will shift when i hit it and downshift as well if needed WHAT DO I NEED?

 

I think it comes down to what you want. Those two different choices of transmissions will give you two totally different styles of driving. The T56 will be much better for gas mileage, thats for sure haha (crying about my mileage haha). If the problem is wanting it to shift when you want, then you can still solve that with your 700R4. The reason it does not shift when you want and feels sloppy is because its stock. Line pressure is low to give it smooth comfortable shifts, and the shifting is computer controlled. Look into a shift kit to raise the line pressure and make the shifts firm. Look into full manual valve bodies to have full manual shifting control, but make sure you become aware with how this will affect your daily driving. You might need to change some of your habits. If you do go full manual valve body and its a daily driver then I recommend the reverse shift pattern, it will make daily driving easier.

 

what is a reverse shift pattern like what do you mean by that? And how would i need to change my driving habits as well?

 

The shifting pattern is in reverse. So instead of Park, Reverse, Neutral, 3rd, 2nd, 1st it would be Park, Reverse, Neutral, 1st, 2nd, 3rd. This way when you need to come to a stop you can pop it in neutral, stop the car, and you're only one shift away from going again. If you had the normal shifting pattern you would need to downshift 3 times to 1st every time you want to go, it would get irritating after a while. The reason you might need to adjust your driving habits is because there will be no automatic shifting. If you put the car in the wrong gear in the wrong situation clutches will burn. So you would need to start out in 1st from a dead stop all the time just as if you were driving a manual car. If you left it in 2nd or 3rd and took off from a dead stop you would be burning the clutches. Not too hard to remember, but just something to be aware of.

 

roger that thx a lot by the way i love you car im putting the TUNED rims on my bird eventually

 

One way to look at this would be do you want to drag race or top end run? Not saying that a t56 isnt good for drag racing, lots of guys do it. The th350 with a proper stall is perfect for it though.

 

I've allways been a fan of row-your-own gearboxes, but hey, thats just me. A tremec TKO and the most powerfull clutch you could squeze in there would be ideal for me, but ljnowell does have a point about built auto's with the right stall convertors dominating the strip. Their just way more consistent for the most part.


Max