Just put in TST #6 and WOW, I got the HP bug now. Need some advice on trannies. My 97 has about 97,000 on it and the transmisson feels ok so far, but I am ready to BOMB. I want to build a high hp/tq Cummins. And I am going to need a high performance transmission in the near future. DTT is local but are they as good as ATS or BD. I tow fairly light weight trailers, loads etc. , and my truck sits on 35" rubber. I just want a transmission that can take some abuse. Any advice would be helpfull thanks.
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High perf. transmission ???
- Thread starter mwillie
- Start Date
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the dtt trans can take alot of abuse(check out my sig)& ask for more. my dad also has a 97 1 ton that he tows a 36ft 5er around with no problems with a dtt trans. if you have a local dtt guy i would use him as they are trained by bill k himself. i promise you you will not be disappointed. give dtt a call & talk to bill hes a great guy & a straight shooter. kurt.
Kurt brings up a good point... . since you are so close to Bill K's shop... . it would be a shame not to visit.
I am partial to DTT stuff (2-trucks in the family with it... ), but remember that any improvement over stock is a worthwhile investment.
No transmission wars necessary.
Matt
I am partial to DTT stuff (2-trucks in the family with it... ), but remember that any improvement over stock is a worthwhile investment.
No transmission wars necessary.
Matt
While the compition is getting fairly popular, DTT is still the most tested I think.
The best information that I could offer you is to arm yourself with all the technical questions that you need answered to qualify any transmission company to build what you want. Then call them and ask them all of your questions. Make sure your questions are specific to meet your needs. Any of these companies mentioned are better than stock, and yes I do prefer ATS over others, however that is my decision. I've sent many of my personal friends to ATS and none have ever had any transmission problems. Hope this will better prepare you for making your decision based on your needs.
Bob Wagner
TDR MEMBER
Last edited by a moderator:
mwillie, no worries the only reason there have been so many transmission wars is the fact that mainly two different transmission companies have a very strong following of customers that are very satisfied with how they have spent their money. I guess you can say that the customers of both of these shops are extremely satisfied. 
Like I said before, just make sure what ever you intend to purchase is exactly what you want. And remember all those options are easier to put in the transmission now, then when it is below 0 and snowing 50 miles from nowhere. Good luck and happy RAM'IN.
Like I said before, just make sure what ever you intend to purchase is exactly what you want. And remember all those options are easier to put in the transmission now, then when it is below 0 and snowing 50 miles from nowhere. Good luck and happy RAM'IN.Suncoast
The best auto trans I have used is Suncoast hands down. I picked up a third of a second and four mile per hour with my Suncoast transmission and the triple surface lock up clutch. We dropped our 60' time, our 1/8 mile time and of course our time in the 1/4. If it will hold up in my race truck it will hold up for you
The best auto trans I have used is Suncoast hands down. I picked up a third of a second and four mile per hour with my Suncoast transmission and the triple surface lock up clutch. We dropped our 60' time, our 1/8 mile time and of course our time in the 1/4. If it will hold up in my race truck it will hold up for you
HVAC,
Have you driven the DTT and ATS and compared them to Suncoast? I have talked to a couple shops and they highly recommend Suncoast. Plus, they warranty for unlimited horsepower and miles for 3 years.
Have you driven the DTT and ATS and compared them to Suncoast? I have talked to a couple shops and they highly recommend Suncoast. Plus, they warranty for unlimited horsepower and miles for 3 years.
I dont think HVAC's conparsion of the DTT system would be fair,since he had an early set-up ,way before billet parts, race TC's,among other things. . If you want to compare what everyone else had 2 yrs ago with DTT ,that would be fine,Lets compare current technonlogy. I dont think HVAC has anythign current from DTT to compare with. If I m wrong please correct me,and I do apologize.
Bob Wagner
TDR MEMBER
I agree snowman
This is copy and pasted, as I don't have time to retype.
Installer, Installer, Installer, all the products are great but they aren't worth any thing unless you have a good installer or can do it yourself. There is alot more to fine tuneing these aftermarket transmissions than just installing some parts.
My experience:
1. If you are going to do engine power enhancements that increase HP more than 60 HP than It is advisable to upgrade the transmission with a Torque converter and Modified Valve Body, I also recommend a pressure lock from BD along with who's ever upgrades you go with, this is advisable towing or none towing.
2. If you are going to the extreme HP's of approximately over 350HP to unlimited rear wheel HP than I would recommend an exchange transmission with the upgraded internal parts, most all exchange transmissions come with the parts listed in #1 but it doesn't hurt to ask just to make sure. If you can do transmission work on your own than you could get by a lot cheaper as no labor would be involved. With an upgraded transmission you should be able to tow in OD, be it an exchange (which is better) or just upgrade with TC, valve Body, and pressure lock.
As far as whose parts you use, I really have no preference, my setup works really well but others have good parts too. I will list in preference what I would do if I had to do it again, the only reason I list bd-power third is I have already used their parts and am very happy with them but I would like to try somebody else's, keep in mind if this BD transmission goes more than say 200,000+ miles it would be mighty hard to go with some one else as this would already have been a proven setup.
www.atsdieselperformance.com
www.suncoastconverters.com
www.bd-power.com This is my setup and very good.
I should explain why I think bd's setup is very good.
There is a stretch of road we travel every weekend that is 70 miles long and we have to stop or slow down and turn 9 times within that 70 mile stretch. On the return trip we do the same thing. That's like stopping every 7. 8 miles and racing nine times, Add in the return trip and in 140 miles we stop and race every 7. 8 miles for 18 times. A lot of people on the TDR claim there transmission will hold up to all kinds of HP while racing, but the abuse I put mine through is nothing compared to them, Why, because I go from 0 to 65 MPH with my foot close to the floor using 300+ RWHP pulling 21,000 to 22,000 pounds in tow. These guys racing with High HP are not towing anything and I doubt they race 18 times a weekend.
Just click on the blue web pages in this post and it will take you to where you want to go.
I buy all my own parts, I am not affiliated or sponsored by anyone or any company. I buy what I feel is best for me from who ever I want, when I can scrounge enough money together.
Hope this helps,
Ron
P. S. bd-power is almost in your back yard.
Installer, Installer, Installer, all the products are great but they aren't worth any thing unless you have a good installer or can do it yourself. There is alot more to fine tuneing these aftermarket transmissions than just installing some parts.
My experience:
1. If you are going to do engine power enhancements that increase HP more than 60 HP than It is advisable to upgrade the transmission with a Torque converter and Modified Valve Body, I also recommend a pressure lock from BD along with who's ever upgrades you go with, this is advisable towing or none towing.
2. If you are going to the extreme HP's of approximately over 350HP to unlimited rear wheel HP than I would recommend an exchange transmission with the upgraded internal parts, most all exchange transmissions come with the parts listed in #1 but it doesn't hurt to ask just to make sure. If you can do transmission work on your own than you could get by a lot cheaper as no labor would be involved. With an upgraded transmission you should be able to tow in OD, be it an exchange (which is better) or just upgrade with TC, valve Body, and pressure lock.
As far as whose parts you use, I really have no preference, my setup works really well but others have good parts too. I will list in preference what I would do if I had to do it again, the only reason I list bd-power third is I have already used their parts and am very happy with them but I would like to try somebody else's, keep in mind if this BD transmission goes more than say 200,000+ miles it would be mighty hard to go with some one else as this would already have been a proven setup.
www.atsdieselperformance.com
www.suncoastconverters.com
www.bd-power.com This is my setup and very good.
I should explain why I think bd's setup is very good.
There is a stretch of road we travel every weekend that is 70 miles long and we have to stop or slow down and turn 9 times within that 70 mile stretch. On the return trip we do the same thing. That's like stopping every 7. 8 miles and racing nine times, Add in the return trip and in 140 miles we stop and race every 7. 8 miles for 18 times. A lot of people on the TDR claim there transmission will hold up to all kinds of HP while racing, but the abuse I put mine through is nothing compared to them, Why, because I go from 0 to 65 MPH with my foot close to the floor using 300+ RWHP pulling 21,000 to 22,000 pounds in tow. These guys racing with High HP are not towing anything and I doubt they race 18 times a weekend.
Just click on the blue web pages in this post and it will take you to where you want to go.
I buy all my own parts, I am not affiliated or sponsored by anyone or any company. I buy what I feel is best for me from who ever I want, when I can scrounge enough money together.
Hope this helps,
Ron
P. S. bd-power is almost in your back yard.
Ron. s ram,you want to talk abuse? I plow snow with my Dodge. a normal 4-6" storm had my truck out for 12-16 hrs. A blizzard has it out for upt to 30 hrs at a time. Think of how many times the truck shifts in 16 hrs. I can make it to fla from Ny in 16 hrs. thats 1000+ miles. Plowing snow i put on 1o0+ miles,and the truck never goes above 15 mph! The truck is constantly being shifted from R to forward nonstop. 1st to 2nd also The weight is about 11000 lbs whiel doing this. Then on top of that I do drag race(lauching at 20PSiboost,) I sled pull,and tow with it. If your trans can take 2 full season of plowing and what mine took,then it is one heck of a transmission.
I agree snow man, plowing snow is hard on a transmission, alot harder than just average towing, but snow plowing in lower gears is easy on a transmission compared to going through all the gears with your foot on the floor with 21,000-22,000 pounds and that includes lockup in OD which is the weekest link in an automatic transmission. The higher in gears you go the more stress it puts on the transmission.
Ron
Ron
here's something else to back Snow Man up... .
His type of use is at low RPM and therefore low line pressure... . so his clutches are not afforded the same higher RPM luxury of towing... where the line pressures are up and the clutches have more of a snowball's chance in Calcutta of not slipping.
Each forward to reverse gear change is engaging the clutches... . and he's making his clutches work overtime with this type of use. I would venture a guess that one hour of plowing would exceed all the number of shifts you encounter in an entire weekend of towing. I can make that guess because I have plowed MANY times and can relate to the number of forward/reverse gearshifts that are happening.
I have plowed with my Dad's DTT equipped truck on several occasions this year... . each outing was a minimum of 8 hours of no-shutdown use. The truck is an absolute bulldozer with this transmission... it really is incredible.
This post was not intended on showing how one product is better than another. If you read the post, I don't mention why product X is better than product Y... . my sole intention was to give my interpretation of which type of transmission use might be more strenuous.
Standard Proceedure: NO FLAMES INTENDED!
Matt
His type of use is at low RPM and therefore low line pressure... . so his clutches are not afforded the same higher RPM luxury of towing... where the line pressures are up and the clutches have more of a snowball's chance in Calcutta of not slipping.
Each forward to reverse gear change is engaging the clutches... . and he's making his clutches work overtime with this type of use. I would venture a guess that one hour of plowing would exceed all the number of shifts you encounter in an entire weekend of towing. I can make that guess because I have plowed MANY times and can relate to the number of forward/reverse gearshifts that are happening.
I have plowed with my Dad's DTT equipped truck on several occasions this year... . each outing was a minimum of 8 hours of no-shutdown use. The truck is an absolute bulldozer with this transmission... it really is incredible.
This post was not intended on showing how one product is better than another. If you read the post, I don't mention why product X is better than product Y... . my sole intention was to give my interpretation of which type of transmission use might be more strenuous.
Standard Proceedure: NO FLAMES INTENDED!
Matt
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
TSB Updates
Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
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