Last week, I had a Level 10 valve body upgrade installed in my 5AT. Total cost including swapping out the VB was around $1K.

I did the mod for three reasons. First, I wanted to enjoy driving around with and automatic that shifts in a flash. Second, I hoped to buy my tranny a little longevity insurance. Since the upgrade promises to reduce slippage when shifting, it should add considerably to the life of the transmission. And thirdly, if or when I make the leap to FI, the tranny should be ready. (I already installed a large tranny oil cooler some time ago.)

The results are initially very positive. Shifting characteristics are load dependant. That is, the harder the acceleration, the faster the shifts occur. Shifts remain very smooth. There is no banging into gear. Manu-matic is even more fun to drive in now.

Just before the install, one of the folk heroes on this site recommended against using Level 10, referencing issues that have come up with them in the past. At the time however, the VB had already been ordered and the install scheduled. I did do a fair amount of research on Level 10, in these forums, on my350z.com and using Google.

The results were consistently favorable on the whole, with an occasional complaint about something. What I was looking for was a pattern of incompetency or poor quality and I did not find that. My impression was that Level 10 occasionally gets poor results, much like about every other performance company I’ve read about.

I did investigate an upgrade through AGP Racing in Houston. Not only were they $200 more expensive, but also they said they needed the valve body for eight days to do the upgrade. With shipping, that would take the car down for about two weeks – not gonna happen for just a VB upgrade. And I couldn’t find enough information on them to convince me that they would supply a product that was significantly better.

Maybe the VB won’t hold up. Maybe the tranny won’t handle the 550 WHP that Level 10 claims it will. If these issues come up, I’ll re-post. But for now, I am very pleased with the results.

 

very nice post,thats my next upgrade.glad your loking it,im probably going to go with sharif at forged internals.he has a great rep.

 

Sweet, I am going to look into this mod... It shifts that quick?

 

I should have added that downshifts appear to be unaffected, but yes, upshifts are much faster, crisper and surprisingly smooth.

With FI and the OEM tranny setup, the engine winds up so fast that it hits the rev limiter before the tranny can shift. This upgrade was designed (in part) to cause the tranny to shift fast enough to clear the gear transition before reaching the rev limiter.

Another reason I chose Level 10 is that they have upgraded valve bodies in stock which they will ship for an additional core charge, refundable when the OEM valve body is shipped back to them. This allows the valve body change-out to be completed in a couple of hours - minimal down time for the car.

 

I've always found it funny that companies like Level 10 make claims like "handles up to 550whp". Do they not realize that HP is derived from torque and that trannies are actually rated in torque? You can have a 550whp Honda that only makes 280wtq. Or you could have a 550whp Viper that makes 600wtq. I'd venture to say that the 550whp Viper will snap that tranny far easier than that 550whp Honda.

Also, how and why would an upgraded valve body allow a tranny to hold more power? All the valve body does is regulate oil flow. The planatary gears, clutch packs, sprangs, shafts, TC, and other rotating parts in the tranny case are the parts that absorb the twising force (torque) of the motor. These are the parts you need upgraded to hold more power.

All of this is why I have little trust for aftermarket tranny companies like Level 10 and Stillen. They take advantage of people's automotive ignorance and their wallet.

 

Level 10 told me that their claim is based on a number of G35s and 350Zs using their VB and running at that level for some time without a tranny failure. Perhaps that will allow an educated guess at the torque levels. I haven't heard of OEM 5ATs holding up very long in that range. They further claim that power handling levels are increase because slippage during shifts is significantly reduced.

 

Did you upgrade your torque converter or put in a tranny cooler? My understaning is that with the additional heat generate from the VB upgrade, failure will occur if these are not part of the new install? Any comments?

 

Yes, one of the very first mods I did on the car was to install a very large tranny oil cooler. It had to be mounted to the rear of the bumper frame because it wouldn't fit against the radiator.

The common thought here seems to be that a valve body upgrade will increase transmission oil temperature. Level 10 told me that just the opposite happens - temperatures are lower with the upgrade. One of the purposes of the upgrade is to contract the clutch packs faster which reduces slippage. Sliding friction produces heat. So the result is less heat and less wear on the clutch packs.

I did not change out the torque converter for two reasons. First, it would have more than doubled the cost (R&R is about seven hours labor, upgraded torque converter $600). Second, I was told that the power handling ability would be sufficient without it. Even though Level 10 offers a torque converter upgrade (which is an in stock item the ship out for a core charge thus enabling R&R without down time) they told me it was not necessary because the OEM torque converter is strong enough. I do wish the OEM torque converter had a higher stall speed, but this might become moot with FI.

It seems to me that the maximum usable power in a daily driver is about 500 whp because it is just not practical to get any more power to the ground with tires that anyone would want to drive around on. This VB upgrade has hopefully moved the transmission into that range.

 

What year is your G? 05+? If it is, how's the the increased shift speed affect the downshift rev matching feature?

 

My car is a 2003 sedan. It does not have a rev matching feature. (Recently, I drove a loaner with this feature and I didn't care for it. My primitive manu-matic has characteristics similar to a stick which I rather like.)

Downshifting appears unaffected by the VB upgrade.

 

While we are on this, I was wondering how much you know about the down shift portion of our trannies? When I down shift coming into a turn or to a stop, is it a bad thing to do since the car does lurch forward while braking? Am I eating up the clutches in a bad way? And, if I do downshift a lot, would a tranny radiator help my clutch life? I am assuming so, but youl probably have a few technical points to add as well.

BTW, thanks for the review. I think I will look into this mod after I get new brakes.

 

Unless your tranny is already damaged, a tranny oil cooler will ALWAYS extend the life of an automatic transmission. And they only cost about $100 installed. Most auto trannies fail because of excessive heat.

The VB was installed at 60K miles on the car. There was zero material on the magnets in the pan and zero material in the screen. I drive in Manu-matic about 90% of the time and almost always downshift, just as if it were a stick.

 

Really! Only $100. That's pretty good. Also, I like that fact that you drive in Manu-matic mode. I thought I was one of the only guys that drove in that mode all the time. I will have to look into the cooler as well. Which did you buy?

Props to Infiniti for making the auto tranny as stong as you claim it to be. I was worried it was going to break down on me eventually, but you've given me a lot of hope.

Did you buy magnets for tranny, or does it come with one already. I just put one in for my engine, but I hadn't purchased one for the tranny yet.

Thanks

 

I bought a Hayden cooler on eBay for about $50. Installation ran about another $50.

It's important to orient the cooler so that air cannot become trapped in it and fluid should enter at the bottom. Also, the lines were routed so that the fluid passes through the cooler just before returning to the tranny. That way, the lower limit for the fluid temperature is determined by the air temperature, not the radiator water temperature .

I make no claims about the strength of the G35 tranny, I'm only giving my personal experience.

The tranny pan has a couple of fixed, round magnets in it.

I was quite surprised to see how small the screen was - about half the size of a credit card.

 

Yep, that oil cooler *may* cut down on the heat transfered there...good thing.

You better CHECK AND RECHECK AND CHECK those connections to that cooler and be positive that they are always tight and never leak. I've seen and read countless horror stories about a line coming off of an aftermarket tranny oil cooler without knowledge and draining your tranny of fluid. Since it is in line with the pump, I bet it would pump every bit of fluid out if it goes unchecked for any amount of time.

I always felt that unless you are seriously using your car for a race machine that an oil cooler is not worth the $$ for a daily driving vehicle. Losing a clip on a hose and noticing before hand is one thing....it going on for a 45 minute drive home or to work is another.

Be cautious.