DTT or ATS??

[Shovelhead]

Ron,

I can't believe you left out "colors, prints, or white", then there's always "cotton or sythetics". :-laf

 

[tractorface]

Patagonia Capilene Boxers. All others suck



Now its starting to sound like a "real" transmission thread!

 

[GLASMITHS]

Upgrades too expensive???

If you want a torque converter or valvebody made in Gong Fong, china go for it. You can purchase your VP-44 here www. China-Luton. Com. If money is an issue, maybe you should remain stock or just purchase a good used Pherd or Chebby If you want to play you have to pay.



People had put the transmission down so much on the Dopdges that we had the oem replacement costs socked away BEFORE we took delivery of a new truck. It was supposed to fall apart---------



74K later I decided to replace the CHEAP milled stator t/c with something a little more manly and it puts the power down unlocked and remains "kool".

 

[CATCRACKER]

i think i have become a TDR junky. Oo. i did not mean to stir anything up just relating a true story. I am not mad at bill, bill is a super guy. (still might go the dtt route) just mad i cant get this done with out a hassle i am not driving to dallas to have my transmission put in when i have a mech. that i trust that is willing to set a dtt transmission up just like it is supossed to be. i am getting out of this thread while the getting is good. my offer still stands about going to china to make some awsome tc for cheap. email me we can meet with atuozone executives get them onboard and get the funding. i am out of this thread by the way i have a 30" weist but wear hanes 44"s for reasons i will not discuss :-laf

 

[Strick-9]

John,



I'm with Stefan, if you want to ask Bill a question. Ask on his website. There is NO censorship there, so you don't have to hold back your true feelings. Why ask here where you know he can't respond?



Most installers learn a great deal about setting up a transmission from Bill. It's not quite as simple as bolting on a valvebody and going. You should know. When you came by my house with your transmission (installed by ATS themselves) you asked me to adjust the kickdown cable because you wanted the shift pattern different. Later you swapped valvebodies because the harsh locked to locked shifts were too violent for your tastes.



It is a very difficult procedure to maintain shift patterns and run the higher pressures required to make these trannies live. It is a constant battle and every truck is different.



It's very easy to build a valvebody with stock or near stock pressures and have a nice shift pattern. But if you don't have increased line pressure to keep the clutches from slipping what's the point of the valvebody?



Let's say I were to install an ATS valvebody and it needed a minor tweak. Is it really fair to use all the tricks I learned from Bill to make another vendors product function correctly or better than it was shipped to me? Of course not.



Obviously I would have the choice of calling ATS, describing the problem and having them ship me another valvebody.



Is it really fair to tell the customer, if this was a DTT valvebody I could fix it, but since you bought an ATS valvebody, you are going to have to wait until they ship me another one?



There's just no easy way of handling the problems from a customer service standpoint. So for me, it's better to avoid the situation all together.



Remember that the installer's reputation is on the line with every customer that leaves the shop no matter what parts are in the transmission. The installer will do everything in his power to keep that truck from coming back on a warrantee issue. It doesn't matter if you learned a trick from Bill at DTT or Tony at Dunrite or Clint at ATS you will do whatever it takes to fix that truck.



That's where you have the conflict of interest. It's much easier to send the job to someone else than to get involved in a mess.



It takes a lot of moral character for a shop to send business down the road instead of putting money in their pockets.



So instead of whining about who can or can't install your products, maybe you all should respect the guys giving away jobs because they place personal integrity above money. Diesel Dynamics comes to mind.



These are MY opinions on the subject and I'm not speaking for anyone else.



-Chris

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

CATCRACKER



Just to clarify DTT 's TC's are $ 925 not $1300 as you indicated, our tc and vb together is only $ 1320 so i think you may have us confused with another vendor.

 

[CATCRACKER]

stephan,

do you have and installer in south/central, mississippi or new orleans/baton rouge, louisiana area. i want a name first so i can stop by there shop and develope a realationship. i will not let anyone touch my truck that i don't know. i has cost me too much $ in the past.

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

You would have to call the office for that information.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

Man this is some good stuff, Chris that is a good reply! I for one have made several changes to my V/B for a few reasons, one is driveablility differences with a Single verses Twins and power changes. Inarush 76 built my transmission in Feb 02' and at the time I had a #8 plate,3k's and a 16 housing and now look what I have, all of this is with the same transmission and converter. Yes I have made changes myself but not alone. I have changed TV springs, base pressure and 2-3 springs to change the power/driveability characteristics, don't think that a guy can have smooth as silk shifts and put 450+HP on the ground, but she can still put on lipstick in the truck To date I have never seen any junk in the pan and I don't baby it, I run as hard as I want when I want unlocked or locked... ... Yes I said locked, my only rule is RPM(pump speed) prior to running locked, that's why I like this transmission is it work great in both situations. I'm at the point now I need a billet shaft and hub and that is when James will look at the transmission again, it has 23 K on it now. Thanks a bunch to James(inarush76), Bill K. and Chris(strick-9) for the lessons and talks.



There is one thing I don't understand is how people put so many miles on there trucks so quick, with transmission as well as Twins you'll hear people getting one of the two then the next month they'll have 8K on it... . yes I remember numbers well!!!!!!



Twins have 4500 miles on them now!



Jim(my 2 pennies worth)



Competition keeps the mind working!

 

[JConley]

Hey Chris. .



That is a good reply. I was not asking Bill a question. It was toward DTT in general, and I was sure Stefan could post the answer, but I guess I was wrong. Regardless, you answered the question, so thanks.



it just seems to me that something could be done so the consumer is not the one on the short end of the stick. Statements of non disclosure and contracts are legal ways of keeping proprietery information in check. I am sure the vendors are trustworthy enough so they wouldnt call brand A with brand B's information when they are legally bound from doing so. With the current system in place, what brand to go with has more to do with your proximity to a trusted mechanic, than it does with what you want as a consumer. I guess we should now be asking where a person lives before we give transmission advice. What is the point of doing all the research if you cant get your trusted transmission guy to install the thing.



I also dont buy this whole secret thing either. All someone has to do is tear down a DTT transmission, and look at what was done. Heck, DTT did this to the ATS transmission, so what makes DTT think there secrets arent already common knowledge? I have never heard of a company that sells a product, but keeps the installation instructions secret. This just doesnt make sence.



Regardless of vendor or MFG, I would like to see shops have the freedom to install WHATEVER brand the customer wants. That way the consumer decides what is best, instead of a vendor who is locked into one brand. Course if your products cant stand on there own, I guess you have to resort to this type of business model.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Hey - whatever happened to Curt? You know - ckrajewski - the guy who started this thread? Maybe he got scared off?

 

[Bob Wagner]

SOSDD :{

 

[CUMINNTSTRKN]

Originally posted by JConley

what brand to go with has more to do with your proximity to a trusted mechanic, than it does with what you want as a consumer.

if you have respect for your installer maybe you should ask him why he is installing one product over the other? most of us don't know squat about the transmission, so why do you think that you know better than your trusted transmission guy? he knows what's in the transmission and chooses to put his name and reputation on one product and you chose to buy another.



i'm sponsered by BD-POWER and i have been very happy with it. i am also good friends with all of the dtt family. they are good people and imo they make the 2nd best transmission out here.



jim

 

[Jim Fulmer]

I'm referring to the converter. 3 years for the ATS, 2 years for DTT.



So what is the weak point?

The TC lockup clutch is 70% stronger than anything in that automatic. It’s mathematically impossible for the tc clutch to fail before any other component in the transmission. There is a reason why these guys are losing multiple torque converters. It is usually due to leakage within the transmission and or the valve body or transmission case.

I bet I'll stir it with this one!



Do you ever ask yourself, what is going on in my transmission to put this power to the ground as your passing 90 MPH at 60 PSI boost! These are just some questions I ask at times as I'm blowing past everyone, and no it's not fastest thing out there.



Jim



Do your homework!

 

[Southern Ram]

Customer chose

I have dealt with both DTT and suncoast and the guys from DTT are by far a better company to deal with. I bought parts from DTT and had friend rebuild my trans and Bill took the time to go over any questions my installer had and gave out some help full hints to create a rock solid trans.

The idea that all shops should install what ever the customer wants is crazy. I work at a shop that does lift kits and if we don't sell it 99. 9 % of the time we will not touch it.

 

[BFC]

Business practices like those(selling one brand or limited selection) are the norm rather than the exception, I think. Go to Mcdonalds and ask for a Pepsi with your meal, 'cause it's the best, see what answer you get. Go to a Bush series race and ask for a Miller lite? Buy windows XP and asked for Netscape internet browser? Buy a Dodge truck and ask that the dealer install Goodyear tires or to a Cummins shop and ask for a Baldwin filter? List goes on and on. But you can get all of the above as an aftermarket product from your retailer of choice. The choice is ours, nobody said it had to be convenient all the time.



High performance products are never widely available from a slew of retailer, just the way it goes I guess.



My 2 cents,



Glenn

 

[WTBurke]

I work for a small company that produces a product of great quality. There is three large companys all located in the north east of the good ol USA that produce like products and have for years. They have the name recognition in the industry that most of the large retail outfits know. The end consumer who purchases the products are exposed to their trusted floor retail person. This relationship is the key.

When I travel in my business circle I encounter "people" on both sides of the fence, "one who sells and the one who buys".



I truly belive that 90% of the products sold in America by the "producers" and the "sellers" to the "end user" rely on the inestimable ignorance of the "end user".



I have on many occasion asked out right why a person made a choice on a certain "type" or "model" of said "widget" and their responces have lead me to the previous opinion.



My company is to small to battle the "Monster Marketing" of the others. I have developed my own approach on a personal level with each person I encounter in this field.

"I have HOPE for each person "

HOPE is my acronym for "Help Other People Evolve" this is the sharing of "facts"and "comparative" information to enhance a persons knowledge to allow him or her to arrive at a much better conclusion on their own.



Knowledge is everything... if you don't know or you don't have time to gain what you "need" to know than you must trust those around you.



I will be doing my transmission in the near future I enjoy reading all this stuff but ultimately I'm not putting much merit in any of it.

I have had contact with a couple of the producers of the "widgets" were all chatting about... . the "producer" who has the most "HOPE" for me will allow me to make the correct decision.



I would hope that all us TDR people have HOPE for each another.



William

 

[Pit Bull]

Good post William, your right on target. There are many reasons why people make the buying decisions that they do. "Time" is a major factor. I'm talking about the time it takes to get educated. Automatic transmissions is a very technical topic which requires a lot of time to learn everything you would need to know to make that "informed" buying decision. When Bill K was on this forum he posted several times trying to educate members on how and why these transmissions work the way they do. I enjoyed these posts and wish we had more posts that educated on transmissions versus talked about the products people sold.

 

[pwr2tow]

The problem with vendors being on this sight is the information they give out is biased toward their product. Writing open ended statements and challengeing other vendors with these statements done no one any good, except for the ones who could see through the marketing schemes going on. This is my opinion-The rest had to settle for something inferior.



I was on this board when a so called GREAT INFROMATION GIVER was developeing HIS products and marketing it. Some of the things HE SAID then and the things HE is stateing now on HIS WEB SITE are in total contrast of each other. I guess if you don't have the product at a certain time you give out information that is good for business at that point, then when you discover new products you tout them as a needed item along with what you already have even though all you needed at one point is all he had at that point in time.



Ron

EDIT:::Spell check

 

[pwr2tow]

If vendors want to post to give us information, that is a good thing.



If vendors post just to advertise their product or where their shop is countless times..... to me that is not what this site is about, it is about giveing and shareing information, not a $35. 00 advertisement.



If someone wants to advertise they can do it in the TDR magazine and pay for doing so along with all the other vendors.



Someone started a thread that had something to do with free loaders, to me these kind of people are the biggest freeloaders there are.



Ron