Well, kind of a deceptive topic- what I mainly want to know is what a shift kit will actually DO...I hear it just makes the tranny shift harder and quicker. Aside from that though, what kits are good and what will a good one run me $$$-wise?

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305IrocZ28- Al
1990 Iroc-z 305 TPI auto, Flowmaster exhaust, 2 Rockford 10'' Punch woofers w/ 160a2 amp, 2.73 rear (1650 rpms @ 60mph)

 

First off, what a Shift Kit ISN'T. Most people associate the term Shift Kit with tire chirping shifts. Actually Shift Kit is a trademarked name coined and owned by TransGo Since 1959. The purpose of a Shift Kit is to correct the weak points of a given transmission. In most cases when someone complains of soft or slipping shifts it isn't BECAUSE if these complaints that they fail but rather there is a malfunction that leads TO the burned/glazed frictions and the poor shift quality is the result. There are many kit's out there designed to give you firm shifts but if that isn't the cause of your problem it isn't fixing them.
For example, in a 700 you have problems with delayed pressure rise which allows the clutches or band to slip until the pressure catches up. If you don't fix this, it doesn't matter if you put the Vette servo in or the .500 TV boost valve or not. They will only mask the problem. This problem is there whether it is a grocery getter or 5.7 IROC. The TransGo Shift Kit corrects this and other problems that these have. This kit however isn't available to the general public because of the technical knowledge required.

They do however have something that I think most of you are after though. It is called a Reprogramming Kit or also a High Performance Shift Kit. It has the basic fixes that the Shift Kit has and it has features to give the tranny HD/HP capabilities such as greater manual control and higher horsepower and torque handling ability. The 700 kit also includes some pieces for when the unit is O/H'ed to give it higher RPM capability (at higher RPM, residual oil can drag the 3-4 clutches on even when they should be off). This kit (the commercial version) has a video to aid in the installation too.