Ok.... I've done about as much as I can to the 5.2 ltr in my truck w/o going into the engine. I've put CAI, 50mm F&B TB, JBA ceramic headers, JBA Evol exhaust, carsound hi-flow cat, hypertech programmer and underdrive pulleys. Now I need to get this power to the ground. This slippery trans is driving me crazy. I'm considering 4.10 richmond gearset(pretty sure I have 3.55 now) and transgo shiftkit. I've heard that with the additional power/torque the shiftkit will shred the trans, that you need to upgrade the torque converter. Any experiences with this configuration of trans shift kit/gearing?

 

I don't think the shift kit is going to give you a whole lot of additional power/torque, and I'm almost positive it won't be enough to "shred" the transmission. [8D]

You would be better off doing a deep trans pan and an aux. cooler if you're worried about transmission life.

Unless you have a diesel or a V10 (or work your truck real hard), you probably won't have too many converter problems either.

 

I know the shift kit isn't going to give me any MORE hp/torque. I was just wondering if the addtional 50hp/trq along with the firmer shifts from the kit was going to give the stock converter any problems. I was taking to a guy with the same drivetrain, he added a paxton s/c and shift kit and within a few months he killed his converter. With my setup, I may be worrying for nothing....

 

You won't even see 50 though...maybe like 5, and that's pushing it. A shift kit isn't a power adding mod. It's a transmission improving mod. It increases line pressure, firms up shifts, and allows you to shift at higher rpms. That's what it does.

The guy you talked to was running a S/C, and I'm almost betting he was beating on his truck with that blower. That's what killed his converter.

 

I was talking about the mods I've done (CAI, 50mm F&B TB, JBA ceramic headers, JBA Evol exhaust, carsound hi-flow cat, hypertech programmer and underdrive pulleys) giving the extra 50 hp. I know the shift kit will only firm up the shifts. Well, I'm going to go ahead and install the Transgo "professional" kit from apsprecision.com and see what happens. I don't plan on "beating it up" too much ;-).

 

Sorry, I didn't know the 50hp was from your mods. Judging by that list, you probably have a bit more than 50hp. If the truck is tuned properly with the programmer (and is running premium), you could see 25-35hp gain right there.

 

You're insane. 50 hp too low from that list? I'd say more like 35hp too high.

 

Got to agree with The Burning Rom, around 50 from those mods sounds correct.

 

I'd like to introduce you all to my friend Mr. Dyno.

 

Post the dyno sheets from your friend showing before and after all the mods he listed. Otherwise, it is nothing more than an educated guess.