building 383 tpi for 89 iroc and want to put t5 behind it but do not know if it will last.what is/are the weak points of the t5.i've heard the case is weak and will flex.i've also heard it is the gears.i just need to know what i need to do so the t5 will live a happy and health fun filled life behind my 383 without having to spend a fortune on it.

 

the only real solution is very expensive, swap it out to something different and stronger, cost with little parts and such, about 3k on the low side of the scale

you can run the t5, but you will have to baby it, use the clutch when shifting, no power shifting, no clutch dumps and such, at that point, why bother having it.

 

but what makes the t5 weak????

 

its small and light, the case flexes and stretches under load, causing the gears to misalign and tear themselves up, mainly 3rd gear

 

so if a better case is used like the one from g-force and the heavy duty front bearing support would that make it better?????

 

the conscientious here is that there is no point trying to upgrade a t5, even with the g-force case and expensive gear kits, the same issues occur, though there are a couple people here with the g-force trans missions and they are still holding up, one is almost running 10's. the guys screen name is 5678TA, he is around the dragracing board a lot, you can pm him and get some more input on gforce if you want

Have you priced the gforce transmissions? they are almost 2k, you could get a TKO 5 speed for that much

 

but with the tko you have to buy adapter plate and other pieces to mate it to you motor where as with the gforce you just bolt it in with no extra cost.

 

and when it blows up on you, your out 2k, the tko cost a bit more, so does a t56, but they are strong.

like i said, 5678TA has a gforce t5 with the upgraded case and he is almost into the 10's in the 1/4, send him a pm if you want a users review/opinion on the gforce stuff.

 

I have a T5 behind my 383...i beat the **** outta it and for some reason it is still alive...my secret must be a stock clutch and radials with no track use whatsoever....some say im lucky. I have enought power to whoop bolt on LS1s with a 2.73 gear behind it.

 

dont use the t5, it's weak, i had drag radials on my car and after spinning them it didnt like to go in gear, i now have regular radials on it and it's the same thing, tranny has about 8k miles on it, going to get a tko 600 eventually