Hey guys. Take a look at the pic. Got these pads from syncrotech sold as "bronze" pads... sure look brass to me! I've heard that bronze is the way to go and that there are alot of brass ones being sold as bronze. Who has the best pads out there?? TDP, tick etc..?? Dont want to stuck brass in there to just have to replace them at 10,000mi. I threw a BEST key and penny in there for color reference. The pads look too similar to gold and not enough red in them..

Not sure what you have there. I bought all my T56 parts from The Gear Box. Everything was OEM quality or better.

They have a pic and there's almost look machined compared to yours look more cast.

So I compared these pads to some new 80/20 bronze guitar strings I had and the color is identical... i thought bronze would be darker, but maybe it's just a different type of bronze that has more copper that is darker.

These need to be replaced every 10,000 miles? Brass or bronze? I have never heard of this and am somewhat concerned.

I should have specified, I was reading on ls1.org or somewhere and a trans builder was saying he has seen alot of 10,000-20,000 mile transmissions with worn out shift fork pads. I think he was saying they might have been brass instead of bronze. But also mentioned that the nylon tabs do last longer, but are more prone to breaking off.

Have about 17,000 on this set. T56 rebuilds rebuilt my trans years ago and installed the brass/bronze pads. Before I did the Tilton master cylinder, I had the dead clutch pedal sticking to the floor. Shifting to 3rd was difficult on full throttle runs and I eventually wore through the pad. It cycled through and cause serious damage. There were about 35-40,000 miles on them when the one failed from not fixing the hydraulic issues. On a side note, when T56 rebuilds had my trans I had learned how to rev match on the downshifts. That my have increased there life span.

It's hard to say what those parts are made of with out a cert of some kind. I think I can see mill marks on your parts.

Some bronze is alloyed with aluminum to make them more corrosion resistant and they can look like (color) brass.

http://www.metalreference.com/Forms_Copper_Alloy.html

Just make sure you use the recommended gear lube in the transmission. It might be an old school myth, but used to be that GL5 gear lubes don't play nice with yellow metal.

I'm so paranoid, I'm sure I am probably over thinking it.. I may just go back to the original nylon pads and be done with it..