Ok, ok, I know most people recomend pitching the t5 and throwing in a t56, but I hoping to keep the t-5 in my Z28. I did some reading about upgrades, and it seems unless you are a mustang, there isn't much out there about the f-body. ANyways, I located some info from G-Force transmissions. It sounds like they know what they are doing. ANy comments about their stuff?

Along the lines of t5 upgrades, I've read a pile regarding shifters- 5.0, hurst, etc... I'm leaning towards the hurst - again any comments/suggestions.
-TIA
Andrew

 

Yeah, alot of guys recommend just ditchng the T-5 for a T-56. And I've heard all the usual reasons: Casing will warp on a T-5, T-56 handles more torque, 6 gears are cool etc...to each his/her own I say.

But bear in mind that some of these same guys beat on thier trannys constantly, speed shift daily and could easily tear up a Muncie M22 too if they had a chance.

I was a bit apprehensive too when I had G Force upgrade my T-5 too. But I hav'nt regretted it yet. I run my 400 with 400+ ftlbs of torque in front of it, and it handles it - no problem. I also got the hardened mainshaft and .59 ratio 5th gear for highway use. I only run around 1800 RPM's now in 5th gear doing 70 on the road...and that's with 3.73:1 rear gears!!

I guess the only downfall I've found is running the special G Force additive that costs 38 bucks a quart and has to be mixed with Mobil-1 Dex III fluid. But that's most likely because the upgraded gears are cut at less of an angle than stock, and thier thicker so the additive probably keeps gear whine to a minumim...

So far as shifters, I opted for the Pro-5.0 and it works great! Much better than the stock POS. As far as other shifters, I don't know since I've only had this one.

 

I had TKOperformance build/upgrade my WC T-5. Looks really good so far, should handle my 400HP/500TQ motor just fine as long as I stay off the drag slicks, and it came with a 1 year warranty as well.

As for the shifters, I've had both the Hurst Gold Billet Plus and the Pro 5.0, and to be honest there isn't much difference at all between them. Both are really good and a major improvement over the sloppy factory shifter. I'm using the Pro 5.0 right now, but that's mainly because I bought it last to compare to the Hurst, liked it, and decided not to swap them ouit again since they were essentially the same (sold the Hurst).

Get a good clutch too. I really like my Centerforce Dual Friction, altho the SPEC clutches sound pretty good as well.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks guys,

vernw, where do I find the info regarding the tremmec/TKO upgrades? - I have found a lot of sites that deal with the tranny iteself, but no mention of upgrades. I need this info so that if i either rebuild myself, or get a shop to do it, then I know what parts to get.

In terms of shifters, I've had no experiece with the pro 5.0 - it does seem that the shifter handle is shorter than the hurst billet plus - not sure tho. I don't want a shifter that sticks out of the consul too high, and the hust looks like it would.
-ANdrew

 

TKOperformace is a member of these forums, drop him a PM or email to start the conversation.

As for the heighth of the shifter, I wouldn't let that make up my mind between these two shifters. The shifter handle is just a threaded rod that bolts onto the the shifter itself at the bottom. I have a shortened chrome rod I used on the Hurst and have a different one I'm using on my Pro 5.0, it's extremely easy (5 minutes or so) to swap the shifter rod/arm out. Both shifters use the factory thread size, so you can use whatever shifter ball you are using now on both of them. With my fourth Gen console, I'm using a shifter arm that's less than 6 inches long (much shorter than the original length of either brand).

 

Thanks for the reference Vern!

There are two ways you can go with the T5. The first is a superalloy conversion, which replaces 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th(input), and the countergear (cluster) with stronger superalloy gears. This is the way I built the trans for Vern. These are a great street trans, and will handle 400+ lbs/ft. in a street application.

If you are more interested in drag racing or a street/strip application, particularly with sticky tires, then the G-Force street/synchro kit is for you. These kits use standard sycnhros, so they aren't unstreetable like the dog ring kits. They are also a lot cheaper. I can now get these and sell them fro the same cost as G-Force, but I don't pay shipping. I also charge a little less for the install. These kits are good to 500 lbs/ft. and 600 HP. That's stronger than a T56 for less money. Guys are running s with G-Force T5s.

PM me if you are interested.

 

Awesome info guys,
TKO, I will pm you. I am not going for the 1/4 mile so much as an open road race application. I just finished building a 355cid, with aprox +-425hp at the fly wheel, (not even broken in yet), but have not abused the rest of the driveline for fear of breakage.
One piece at a time.... tranny, and then to finish up the rear end.
I'm up in Ontario/Canada, and finding a good tranny shop that will even deal with me and the t5(in a f-body) has been difficult. Mustang, mustang bla, bla, bla..
I looked into Richmond's application, but very pricy, the need to change bell housing etc, etc didn't appeal to mean, but mind you i like their close ratio availability.
-Andrew
Oh, yah, my car...
'91 Z28 ILE, (orig 305cid/5spd)

 

Wait wait, so you are saying that I can build my T-5 to take 500+ HP and still be streetable? I was about to buy a tremec aftermarket 6 speed.

TKOPerformance you do these upgrades?
How much we talkin? ballpark....

The tremec I was lookin at from sphon is 2300. Let me know I am very interested..........

 

Yes, with G-Force components it's no problem. The gearsets for the street synchronized kit are $1,095. If you need serious power handling a 9310 high Ni mainshaft is available for $335, and if you need extreme durabilty a 4340/300M through hardned shaft is available for $495. Optionally if you are running so fast though the 1/4 mile that you need 5th gear they have 0.73:1 or 0.59:1 5th gear sets available for $360 each. These are as strong as the other gears they offer. Most applications can just reuse the stock overdrive gearset, since 1-4 are used for racing and 5th is the milage gear on the street. 5th never gets abused in most applications, so there's no need for it to be some super special unbreakable alloy. They also offer solid bronze shift forks for $150 each (2 required), but these are overkill for 99.5% of the applications. A good shifter with stops should allow stock forks to live even under brutal powershifts.

To build a trans with the G-Force parts I need a good V8 WC T5 core. The master rebuild kit is $175, and I also replace the 1st gear needle roller and race (no kit has these for some reason), which is an additinla $45. Labor to clean, disassemble, inspect, reassemble, and blueprint is $200. This is the same for G-Force kits, superalloy conversions, and standard rebuilds. If any other hard parts are damaged I contact the customer and discuss the best course of action prior to proceeding. Typically the rear bearing retainer needs to be replaced. These are $45, and a new one ensures smooth clutch action. I haven't seen a GM T5 for years that had a good one on it. When a trans leaves my shop it should never return, unless it needs to be refreshed after many thousands of miles or dragstrip passes. I return the trans in better than new condition.

Shipping to and from is about $75-$80 each way via UPS. Other carriers may be cheaper, but that's a good ballpark.

Send me a PM if you are interested.

Also, I am currently looing for good V8 WC T5 cores. They are getting hard to find and I'm building a waiting list of people that want me to build them a trans but don't have a core to send me.

 

PM sent to TKO. If I don't buy your upgrade package, then I might be able to sell you my T-5. Works prefectly fine, has 100K on it. If anyone else wants to buy it let e know.