Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Ultimate transmission Mods
For those of you that are looking for the best "ultimate" auto trany mods for our trucks I think you should be looking into the possibility of putting a Allison in. Someone in the Earthroamer triple loc thread mentioned that somebody in Canada may be doing such conversions. I wonder what they cost? If more people started doing them the cost would probably go down. If I were looking for the "absolute best upgrade", that's where I would spend my time and energy.
When I was looking for a company to help me upgrade my trans most of my research came from reading the current and archived transmission threads here at the TDR and learning for them(you all), In doing my homework and lots of it, I chose a company that had lots of happy customers. The only negative comments I received were from another vendor and comments from all vendors must be taken with a grain of salt.
New People to the TDR, or people that don't have time to follow the threads religiously may get the impression that the only way to go is with ATS or DTT. Obviously, DTT's following is very passionate about their product and rightly so. While I dislike the way the management of DTT talks down their competition, they must have a very, very good product. People would not be so "extreme" (not a bad thing) about it if it were not so good. I believe ATS and their triple loc is also a excellent product. I'll bet 99% of the people that go with either of these companies will be very happy.
Another very good alternative is the company I went with, Goerend Bros. Transmissions. Some people may say that because Dave uses a milled stator his TC's are not as efficient at fluid coupling as some of the other stators out there. I can't really say for sure one way or the other. With all the discussion over the past several years, thread after thread about TC efficiency, drag, holding capacity etc. etc. etc. has anything been decided?
I can't believe that there aren't some common tests that TC manufacturers and remanufacturers don't know and don't do to test exactly the kinds of performance characteristics we have been trying to figure out. Remember when Steve Marshall very accurately posted the TC clutch lining surface area specs for several TC's that they remanufacture. He quickly removed his post and has not posted since. If it was not for some people quoting him shortly after posting there would be no record that he posted at all, Why? In my opinion, it's because the vendors don't want you and I talking to people like that. We may ask the wrong questions and actually get some real concrete answers. It's better to keep us all guessing.
My real world experience with Dave's TC is that it works excellent. As an example, On the winding road to my house a comfortable speed to travel is about 42-45 mph. With my stock TC (which is unlocked till48mph) my tach would be around 1600rpm (flat level ground, steady speed). With dave's TC at 45mph, (flat level ground, steady speed) my tach is now 1250rpm. I used to either drive irritated at 42-45mph, knowing that I'm wasting lots of fuel, or speed up to 48 to get lock up and get my tach to drop to around 1200. His converter works the way they should come from DC. Are some more efficient? maybe, but this one works great. Like all good companies, Dave Goerend is constantly improving his products. I started to talk to Dave many months ago. When I finally was ready to buy and I called him again he said the price of his normal converter was now around $450, it had been about $360. He said he had made more improvements that increased the efficiency and that they required more money to produce. He then said that he would honor the original price he had quoted me, and this was several months later. There was then no doubt in my mind about the character of the person I was dealing with.
I am also a little surprised that more TC manufacturers are not using a triple disc converter. Dave makes one also. I'm not sure how many months he has been making it but they do work and I'll bet his works great
Dave will sell you what you need to reliably and efficiently put more power to the ground at a reasonable price. For example, If you have a stock or near stock engine you don't need a $300-400 valve body. He can make you one with limited (but necessary) mods for around $100. He will sell you what you need (not more, not less). I honestly feel that his company is a great way to go.
There are other great ways to go out there and I hope I have not offended anyone. These are some thoughts I had and I didn't want to air them in EarthRoamers thread
No offense will be taken if people keep on "discussing" Trans mods on EarthRoamers thread and make no comments here.
For those of you that are looking for the best "ultimate" auto trany mods for our trucks I think you should be looking into the possibility of putting a Allison in. Someone in the Earthroamer triple loc thread mentioned that somebody in Canada may be doing such conversions. I wonder what they cost? If more people started doing them the cost would probably go down. If I were looking for the "absolute best upgrade", that's where I would spend my time and energy.
When I was looking for a company to help me upgrade my trans most of my research came from reading the current and archived transmission threads here at the TDR and learning for them(you all), In doing my homework and lots of it, I chose a company that had lots of happy customers. The only negative comments I received were from another vendor and comments from all vendors must be taken with a grain of salt.
New People to the TDR, or people that don't have time to follow the threads religiously may get the impression that the only way to go is with ATS or DTT. Obviously, DTT's following is very passionate about their product and rightly so. While I dislike the way the management of DTT talks down their competition, they must have a very, very good product. People would not be so "extreme" (not a bad thing) about it if it were not so good. I believe ATS and their triple loc is also a excellent product. I'll bet 99% of the people that go with either of these companies will be very happy.
Another very good alternative is the company I went with, Goerend Bros. Transmissions. Some people may say that because Dave uses a milled stator his TC's are not as efficient at fluid coupling as some of the other stators out there. I can't really say for sure one way or the other. With all the discussion over the past several years, thread after thread about TC efficiency, drag, holding capacity etc. etc. etc. has anything been decided?
I can't believe that there aren't some common tests that TC manufacturers and remanufacturers don't know and don't do to test exactly the kinds of performance characteristics we have been trying to figure out. Remember when Steve Marshall very accurately posted the TC clutch lining surface area specs for several TC's that they remanufacture. He quickly removed his post and has not posted since. If it was not for some people quoting him shortly after posting there would be no record that he posted at all, Why? In my opinion, it's because the vendors don't want you and I talking to people like that. We may ask the wrong questions and actually get some real concrete answers. It's better to keep us all guessing.
My real world experience with Dave's TC is that it works excellent. As an example, On the winding road to my house a comfortable speed to travel is about 42-45 mph. With my stock TC (which is unlocked till48mph) my tach would be around 1600rpm (flat level ground, steady speed). With dave's TC at 45mph, (flat level ground, steady speed) my tach is now 1250rpm. I used to either drive irritated at 42-45mph, knowing that I'm wasting lots of fuel, or speed up to 48 to get lock up and get my tach to drop to around 1200. His converter works the way they should come from DC. Are some more efficient? maybe, but this one works great. Like all good companies, Dave Goerend is constantly improving his products. I started to talk to Dave many months ago. When I finally was ready to buy and I called him again he said the price of his normal converter was now around $450, it had been about $360. He said he had made more improvements that increased the efficiency and that they required more money to produce. He then said that he would honor the original price he had quoted me, and this was several months later. There was then no doubt in my mind about the character of the person I was dealing with.
I am also a little surprised that more TC manufacturers are not using a triple disc converter. Dave makes one also. I'm not sure how many months he has been making it but they do work and I'll bet his works great
Dave will sell you what you need to reliably and efficiently put more power to the ground at a reasonable price. For example, If you have a stock or near stock engine you don't need a $300-400 valve body. He can make you one with limited (but necessary) mods for around $100. He will sell you what you need (not more, not less). I honestly feel that his company is a great way to go.
There are other great ways to go out there and I hope I have not offended anyone. These are some thoughts I had and I didn't want to air them in EarthRoamers thread
No offense will be taken if people keep on "discussing" Trans mods on EarthRoamers thread and make no comments here.
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Steve
