Hi,

My sedan has 51+K miles of normal daily driving. At 30K miles I did an semi-flush of the tranny and the ATF was red and clear. The transmission behave normally with its regular lags and stuff... nothing weird. My question is: Is there a time limit or millage when the solenoids of the VB might fail due to the upgraded shift kit? Is there a point when it is too risky to upgrade the VB? I know that this upgrade re-calibrate the transmission reducing slippage making each shift faster and more efficient but does this improvement put a burden on the solenoids?

Thanks

 

I'm posting this also in my350Z to see if I get some answers there. Thanks

 

shouldnt be a problem, will it shorten the life of the tranny, yes, but from like 1000000 miles to more like 300000 miles.

 

you should be just fine in getting the transgo.

Just make sure to check/change your tranny fluid regularly.

 

Don't listen to this.

If anything it will lengthen the life of the tranny due to reduced heat from the upgraded valve body.

 

I know about the benefits of this kit correctly installed (lots and lots of reading) but I'm not sure how the VB works. My concern are the longevity of the solenoids with the higher pressure on the lines. Once they command a shift are they affected by the new valves? I'm not able of explain myself very well because of my ignorance on this subject. Please, I need some peace of mind here.

 

As long as the transgo kit is installed properly it should not wear the solenoids differently from normal use.

 

This is true.... Shift kits do increase the life of the transmission but I would suggest doing a transmission cooler at the same time... will also help.

 

A cooler wouldn't hurt, but unless you're doing tracking with the car then it probably isn't needed. The 5AT's already have an OEM cooler but it isn't very big. If you plan on beating the crap out of the car or going FI you should probably get a cooler. I have one installed that is about 1/4 the size of my radiator...

 

I'm planning on installing the kit next week. I have a B&M cooler that is about 11x8x1/2 but I'm not sure the BTU rate of it. Do you guys know the BTU rate of the coolers you are using? I once read that for our transmissions 14,000 BTU would be optimal. What have you experience with yours?

 

Mine is 11 x 11 x 1 1/2, 29,000 BTU. The largest BMM makes.

 

Isn't that too much? Will it allow the tranny to reach operational temp? Did you bypass the stock cooler?

 

I'd use two of these coolers if I had the room. You can never have too much tranny cooler. Trannys are really hard to cool down once they get hot. Plus I'm FI and I got it for when I track the car, the tranny overheats on the track with a higher stall converter and my twins. I don't have a stock cooler anymore.

 

One last question if you don't mind: I gess you have a gauge to monitor tranny temps. What brand is it and where the sender unit was installed? Thank you very much for all this info!

 

No problem man. I actually don't have a tranny gauge. I plan on getting one when I move my gauges and get a custom gauge install done which should be pretty soon. It'll probably be the Defi Blue Racer temp gauge for oil. It will probably be tapped in before the cooler. I might get two so I can see before and after temps in the cooler.