Suncoast/ATS/DTT

[pwr2tow]

GLASMITHS,

I'm not makeing excuses for a bone head rep be it the installer or one of the guys working at bd but some times things between installer, customer, and product supplier can get lost in translation. I know exactly how you feel about lack of customer service as I feel I had the same disrespect directed at me from DTT or actually more from the owner. So you see just because we have had bad experiences with each others companies they still make a respectable product and not once did I say dtt has crap products, like you did about bd's products.







Ron

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

Any transmission shifting locked to locked no matter whos it is a violent action on the hard parts and the clutch packs of the transmisisons. On my own personal truck as it is a test mule it does shift locked to locked in every gear to test the billet shafts and the clutch pack set ups. My base pressure on my truck is 102psi at idle and 190psi wide open.



Bill does not set up other trucks quite like that as we know something has to give, in my case its many ujoints.



I know the 20 or so customers we have that are set up with over 700hp in street driven trucks are not even set up as agressively as mine with the exception of Lawrence from Diesel Dynamics's p pump conversion 830 hp one . During our testing phase he put 30k miles plus hundreds of dyno pulls on that TC and then it went into Strick9's truck to punish without ever having any changes including clutch lining.

Point being , locked to locked shifts are had on anyones equiptment so if you are thinking about that kind of stuff, remember this as long as your tires are spinning you are ok, when they hook is when you got to watch out.

 

[propuller]

stefan i never shift locked to locked i promise but im only at 300 horse kurt. well maybe only 250.

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

Let me tell you about one of my Miami customers , Bill refers to our Florida customers as nuts. These guys drag race their trucks almost every weekend. These guys do locked to locked shifts all the time and call Bill up to brag about not breaking input shafts or output shafts.



They tell us how they like beating up on the" rice burners", well a couple of them were going somewhere and decided they were going to drag race against a honda they saw driving by.



It was a good race , they were head to head and then when it made the shift from 2nd gear locked up to 3rd gear locked up that is when their stock input shaft had enough and went pop.



He phoned us and relayed the details , oh yea did i mention he was towing his buddys Dodge Ram on the back of his trailer while racing the Honda . Go Willy,



As long as your tires are spinning its ok.

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

Ronsram,



Sometimes you have a lose , lose situation no matter what you do. Had your installer told Bill he felt ok doing the work we may have had a different outcome,had we not respected your installers words and we sold you the parts anyway and he screwed up the job you would have hated us for that too. Either way we would lose, very evident still by your posts.



I dont want to get into an arguement i am just saying proceedures and policies vary from company to company and you cant please everyone.

 

[rrausch]

I paid for my ATS Stage IV trans about 20,000 miles ago, and it is the BEST thing I ever did to my truck. Shifting locked with the ATS TripleLok is pretty neat, and completely safe. This is because, unlike other methods of shifting locked, (like a mystery switch) I believe the ATS pulse-engages, allowing a safer locked shift. Don Ramer ran an un-cyroed front shaft for many thousands of miles in his truck, which dynoed in excess of 500 HP.



ATS is amazing. Their engineering is remarkable, their workmanship is thorough and diligent, and their customer service is First Rate. Here is a link to the thread I posted after coming back from Denver when I first got my ATS. Don & Clint let me accompany my trans all through the re-building process. Man was that fun!



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...?threadid=40441&highlight=Experience+with+ATS

 

[John_P]

SJRsCUMMINS:



Like Joel Richards, jwilliams, Rammin On and rrausch I am very

happy with my ATS Stage IV Transmission! This transmission

shifts very smooth and IMO "puts the power to the ground. "

My son also has the Stage IV in his 2001. Like many of the

other members, we are both well over 400 RWHP and we

regularly tow a racing trailer in the mountains along the

east coast. I regularly tow a farm tractor on a flat bed

trailer which easily exceeds 10,000 lbs. I now have over

20,000 miles on my ATS Stage IV with no problems at all!



As "rrausch" said, the ATS TripleLok Converter is well

engineered and the workmanship thorough. I would

like to add that the TC is tough too!!



Clint and Ranee Cannon, Don Ramer and the entire

ATS staff are a pleasure to deal with. They will answer

your questions and explain how their product works

like it does. As other members said, try to drive some

of the Dodge CTD trucks with the different transmissions

(ATS, DTT, Suncoast, Goerend, BD). Decide what is best

FOR YOU!



BTW,... ... ... ... you are welcome to drive our trucks anytime

you want also if you are ever in this area! Just P. M.

or e-mail me!



Good luck!

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

I dont know where you got the transmission information from .



The Dodge lock up system is a off on system like your light switch.



Ford power strokes run a pulse-width wood signal, in other words they have a smooth engagement and different software and valve train.



A pulse-width signal on the ford powerstroke gradually increases the amount of lockup pressure.



If your Dodge is sliding into gear or having smooth engagements you are actually slipping the clutches or lock up clutch.



As you said you guys are customers and not transmission technicians and cannot sift through the technical jargon you guys are repeating.



Again , locked to locked shifting in the Dodge if your clutches are not slipping is extrememly violent.



Pulse-width conversations do not belong in the dodge transission conversation as it is related to the ford powerstroke.

 

[rrausch]

Locked to locked shifting in the Dodge if your clutches are not slipping is extrememly violent. --Stefan Kondolay



My truck shifts locked very smoothly. It is smooth and completely acceptable. Stefan, if you want to know exactly how the ATS pulse engages, you should call Don Ramer or Clint Cannon. I'm sure they can explain it to your satisfaction.

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

A pulse-width is an electronic system used on vehicles like the Ford powerstroke. I have no reason to contact them, as i and i am sure they know this is impossible. It is a mechanical system.



You dont want to persue this without contacting them. I repeat a pulse - width signal is a method used by auto manufactures to electronically control pressures. Dodge line pressures are not controlled electronically they are controlled mechanically. That is why a dodge ram has a throttle kickdown cable to control line pressure rise . Ford powerstrokes line pressue rise however is controlled electronically. As long as you like the shifting thats all that counts, make no mistake about it, in order to achieve yours smooth shifts there was no magical pulse-width signal.



Thanks for the heads up stake, my spelling sucks.

 

[JConley]

You can look at my signature and see what I went with. I like the smooth shifts!

 

[BRUTUS]

Well now...

Look at MY signature and MY choice.

I went with the quiet company and a most excellent product.

No hype there.

 

[csutton7]

DTT----chris

 

[Koa Man]

I have a full ATS transmission and very satisfied with its performance. When shopping for a bicycle recently, three different bike shops told me the same thing. There is no "best" brand. The quality of bikes from the different makers are comparable if they are about the same price range. I feel this applies to most products. A $50K sedan from BMW or Lexus will both be good, Lexus might have a smoother ride, but BMW will have better handling. There will be tradeoffs and it depends on what you are looking for and want. A full $3K plus transmission from ATS, DTT, BD, Goerend etc. are all very good. They will have different characteristics, but it depends on what YOU want. All these companies seem to back their product 100% and I don't think you could go wrong with any one of them. I did have a problem with my trans shortly after installation and ATS took care of it immediately without question. I am sure the other vendors mentioned above would have done the same. I could never understand why someone would get upset about what kind of trans or oil another person decided to use in their own truck.

 

[Darel]

My opinion

I have no experience with ATS and have never even heard of Suncoast (they're a video store back east, I know), but I can provide my experience. My stocker went south about a year ago, and rather than screw around replacing a half-dozen stock trannies I went with the full DTT treatment. I dropped the truck off at my local Cummins guy (awesome mechanics, by the way) and about a week later it was done. When I picked it up, they had nothing but great things to say. They had dozens of questions while doing the rebuild about things like endplay setup etc. , and Bill K. patiently walked them through every aspect of the buildup that was different from stock. They then said they drove it and it was far and away the best shifting, best performing auto they'd ever driven. FYI they are ATS and BD dealers. Anyway, the truck just seemed more powerful, the shifts were barely noticeable, and I got better mileage right away. During one 500-mile stretch I got 20. 3 mpg with a 4x4 auto with fueling mods and almost 1000 lbs in the back! Later, when I blew up the governor pressure sensor hunting (and beating) Bill again graciously walked me through the entire troubleshooting process and even told me how to save myself about $100 if the problem turned out to be the governor.

I love DTT!

Darel

 

[illflem]

Darel, I always thought an dealer couldn't handle both ATS and DTT

 

[D. Showan]

Darel, I think you mean West Coast video



Koa Man, That you wrote makes more sense than than anything else I have read on a transmission thread in a long time. Excellent points.

 

[Stefan Kondolay]

Anybody that is trained by Bill personally does not install anyones product other than DTT, and is an agreement before training. If we have a dealer in the area, only the dealer will do the job, we will not send him anywhere else. The only exception is if the customer wants to do the job himself. In Montana we don't have a dealer, Darel needed immediate help and we didn't have anyone in the area, and he is an exception not the rule. When we are dealing with honest individuals on the other end, the job normally goes very smoothly and you end up with a happy customer. When you are dealing with dishonest individuals the job normally turnes into a disaster. That's why we always recommend our trained dealers as they know how our system works and how it should be set-up, we recognize that distance can sometimes be an issue so we try and accommodate our potential customers the best we can.



So Illflem you are correct you will not see a trained DTT installer installing someones else product. Although as alot of our component are not available anywhere else, several installers of others companies often choose to run our components in their personal trucks.

 

[Snow man]

I have a full DTT setup,and couldnt be happier. I love the tight fluid coupling and the positive shifts. Smooth shifts are for old ladys,and horse trailers haulers,which i am neither. If you shift a truck lock to lock,and its smooth you are burning the clutches,whether they be in the TC or the trans,something is slipping to long if its a smooth locked shift. This is not conductive to long trans life. I shift my truck lock to lock,and its firm and solid,the truck picks up 5 mph instantly on every locked shift. This is what I would expect and hope for. I like a streetable transmission that drives excellent yet will lay a patch of rubber on the full throttle 1-2 shift,and the DTT setup doesnt dissapoint me .

 

[fortunate1]

Whose transmission to get?

A very important factor in deciding which upgrade/rebuild to buy when the stocker gives up is... where's the "authorized installer" located? This is evidenced (usually) in the buyer's proximity to the installer. Just look at the posts in this, and other transmission threads. Usually the Rammers in Florida & the SE are running SunCoast. In the NW, it'll be BD or DTT (and remember Bill K. used to work at BD). In the Midwest plains, more trannies by Goerend will show up than others. And posts by Colorado/Rockies residents show more ATS gear. There are always variations to this because there are certified installers in other parts of the country, but it does bear out that having someone qualified, trained, and competent is important. And if they're close by, so much the better.