i have a T5 but i think i wanna blow it up(i think im gonna run some slicks) so im lookin into a ne tranny what do u guys think would be a good one

Richmond, Tremok another T5 mabey a world class?????

ur thoughts would be much appreciated!!!!!

 

good for what?

 

mainly stree use

i do beat on her pretty good but no power shifting for fear of *BOOM*

soooo i wanna start lookin in the upgrade options

 

A lot of guys here like the junkyard T56 swap from a 4th gen. It seems to take a pretty good beating.

If you're gonna spend the money, don't go halfway. A world class is a good case to have TKOPerformance build up for you. That's what I did. It's supposed to be good for quite a lot of pounding.

I'll post pics when I get back from Afghanistan and let you know the damages after they happen!!

 

I went the T-56 out of a 94 TA. Best gearing #s for my set up. Not all that hard to put in if you have a place and a friend to help. Heavy *** tranny. They are rated for 450 HP, so it should take at least 500 without too much concern. My motor puts out that much at the fly. I got mine used from a guy off this site. Shipped to my house I got:
-T-56 tranny
-Hurst short throw
-New Hydrolics/slave and all.
-Custom aftermarket flywheel to bolt the T-56 to a 2 piece rear main.
-Stock bellhousing.

All for $2500 to my door. Very sick deal

 

Tremec TKO or T56 are definitely your best two options. The G-Force kit for the T-5 is basically putting a band-aid on a tranny that's still weak compared to the other two. Besides that, I've heard of people having to wait for six months or longer to get their gearset from G-Force, and that they also turn a deaf ear to you if something breaks. Do a search on the aftermarket vendor forum for G-Force, and you'll see what I'm referring to. Besides that, it's ludicrous to pay $1100 for a set of gears when you can almost get a TKO or T56 for that price! I was going to run a WC T-5 in my car, but I don't like the idea of being afraid to dump the clutch too hard or not being able to powershift without worrying. A tranny that's a little overkill is much better than one that doesn't quite measure up if you ask me!

 

couldn't have said it better myself

 

i looked into the T56 for the longest but they where alll like 2-3 grand and i could get a richmond for 1500 to 2g and know that it would hold

plus with the doudle overdrive of the t56 u would almost have to run 4.10's just to use 6th????? so thats why i backed off that and started on the TKO or a richmond

 

funny you say that. I am running 4.10s and have a T-56. My motor is also a high reving motor and wants to play around 4-5 grand. Thats why I went with it.

Get the tranny that best suits your needs. I am gonna rev HIGH, even though this is a purely street motor... But I am gonna be driving it to work (highway) so I wanted to try to squeez out some more mpg.... not to mention they are built tough.

Good luck finding your best set up.

By the way don't forget to look into all the different years of the T-56. 93 is very dirfferent that 94 and stuff like that.

I got super lucky as the guy I found was selling the exact year I wanted with all the custom extras I was going to need allready....

Be patient if possible. you will get lucky. Check ebay every 3 or 4 days.

 

If you're ready to spend $1500-$2000 for a Richmond, you'd be better off spending that amount on the Tremec TKO. The Richmond five speed is actually 1:1 in fifth, just like the old 4 speeds. In other words, no overdrive. Their six speed has an overdrive, but they're a lot more than $2k. On top of that,the Tremec is easier to swap in than the Richmond. I'd say if your rearend gears are 3.23 or lower, run the TKO-500 (1st is 3.27:1,5th is .68). If they're 3.42 or numerically higher, the TKO-600 would have the ideal first gear (1st is 2.87:1, 5th is .64). I've seen Tremecs for between $1700-$1900. If you go through Forte's parts connection, they can sell you a complete kit with all the swap parts needed for a thirdgen for about $2100-$2300. Don't go through Keisler for it since you'd probably faint when they give you the price for their complete kit!

 

IMO, the Jerico DR4 if your going drag racing. Probably the best $3200 you can spend on a stick shift drag car.

 

you said that the TKO 600 comes in a kit????

if my car is already a astrick do i need to get that kit like is it a differeent bellhousing??

 

unless you get the aftermarket T-56 from Sphoon then you are going to need a deifferent bellhousing for whatever tranny you end up getting. That T-56 and the T-5 are the only two things you can use the T-5 bellhousing for. Unless someone wants to tell me otherwise.

I am telling you man, if you wann get a nice tranny for not too much $, check ebay or here on TGO, get a used T-56 from a TA or camaro. They can't be beat in terms of grearing/ price/ availability/ and easy maintenance...

 

Actually, you don't have to get a different bellhousing for a TKO. When you buy one for a thirdgen f-body, they give you an adapter plate that allows you to bolt it right up to the T-5 bellhousing. The adapter plate rotates the tranny so that it's straight up instead of tilted like the factory T-5. The other plus is the fact that you can re-use your same clutch assembly too. Even if you wanted to upgrade to a racing clutch, T-5 style clutches are significantly cheaper than the LT1/T56 style clutches. I'm not trying to sway you towards one tranny over the other, just giving you some facts to help with your decision.

 

Oh my mistake. Thanks for updating me. I was unaware of the TKO. Rings a bell but I def would have never remembered.

 

TKO All the way.

 

No offense intended, but the TKO kit is a bit of a can of worms...

I determined with some measuring that the transmission and clutch manufacturers give you .005" of play for misalignment and such and no more. The aftermarkets seem to think that .010-.015" is good enough, which means that getting the trans set up right is damn near impossible. It took months of dinking around with adapter plates to find one that could hit the required tolerances. Theres also the issue that the adapter plates wont fit without some grinding. They also like shipping tapered/mismachined pilot bushings. Sure is fun putting it all in, only to have the input shaft seize up in the bushing because theres no clearance. Over a year and its still not in the car yet. The TKO is a good trans, but getting it installed in a GM car is like putting a square peg in a round hole. If you where to install one of the kits, its likely that you would destroy the trans within a year without doing the required mods and measuring.

 

damn. Hope it will all be worth it in the end.

What tranny are you using. A 5 or 6? Why is it that people go that route as opposed to the T-56 set up?


Are they rated at a really high HP level? I am just wondering in case my T-56 ever poops the bed.


If you need more durability, can't you also just get a T-56 with a few stronger internals for not too much?

 

Actually, if you look at Keisler Engineering, they can set you up with a t56 and directions to do the full swap. All the parts you will need. Right now I am concerned cause I have a t5 that is border line dead, and a motor going into the car that can make 500 + HP.

I am Running a 355 with heads, cam, headers, roots blower very Heavily Modded Q-jet and som other goodies. Now a guy not to far from my house runs a T56 in a 70's Nova, and runs a really nasty motor in it. That car on slicks has seen 10 second passes at Englishtown and other than chnging the fluid a little more often he runs a basically factory T56. So i have to say, as soon as I figure if this rumor about the Spohn Torque arm and trans brace sets breaking frames is false, I am planning on dropping that in tranny in my car.

Dollar per dollar,

Longshifters makes a full new tranny for 2K a T56 is 2250 + getting you drive shaft cut and trans brace (unless you make your own). for 250 I think the T56 is more fun on the road.

BTW My car sees weekend driving, and the fastest things out where I am is a Civic with a fart Can... and we all know we can apply ore torque with a wrench then that motor can running...

Good Luck...

 

Well it is a shame you have had so much trouble with your Tremec, because I only had one issue with mine. I got a bad pilot bushing. Mike Forte sent me a new one and I was ready to roll. Everything bolted right in and I have roughly 20,000 on this setup. I have had it in for 2 years now and I autocross, drag race, and drive tons of highway miles and I have had absolutely no issues. I am sorry you have had trouble, but I would have to say you are certainly a minority. There are many others on here running Tremecs and most of us have had no issues.

 

I bought my Tremec from a guy who was running it in his 86 406 twin turbo Iroc, which dynoed 762 HP at the rear wheels. He said it was one of the best mods he did to his car. I figure if it held up just fine behind a motor like that, it oughta be more than enough behind a ZZ4 cammed 355 TPI motor. I bought a Jegs roller pilot bushing for it, and it slides right on the input shaft, so I shouldn't have any issues there. The previous owner was running it with the adapter plate and a T-5 style Lakewood scattershield with no issues. He's also already modified the shifter with a spacer plate so that it comes up right where it needs to be in the shifter plate. I've got a Centerforce DF clutch and a Spec Stage 3, and I'm flipping a coin over which one to use. I've heard of people having problems with the weights getting stuck on the Centerforce unit, so I'm leaning more towards the Spec clutch. I'm going to run it with the factory T-5 bellhousing and adapter plate. I've heard you definitely have to dial in the proper alignment using an aftermarket scattershield, but this is supposedly not an issue when using the factory bellhousing since the manufacturing tolerances are supposed to be better on them. I've also heard the Lakewood housing has a tendency to bottom out a lot on the street due to the 360 degree block plate you have to use with it. I'd run it if I was pushing enough horsepower to warrant using it, but I think I'll be fine with the factory housing at the power levels I'll be running. We'll see...

 

Pat,

The stock bell housings are very precise, mine was pretty much dead on center to within .0005". The problem is that the adapter plates arnt very accurate and they dont properly fit the trans or the BH, so just installing it without double checking all the tolerances and fitment is like playing russian roulette with a fully loaded revolver. Dry fit the whole thing and make sure you check it with a good dial indicator before installation. I spent alot of time exchanging calls and parts with Mike Forte to get this fixed.