Brenspeeds TCI Super Street Fighter 5r55s

[2006torquefreak]

I am in the process of deciding what transmission to go with when my built motor goes in. I am an auto but have been considering a manual conversion for a while and looking into the the tr6060 to make sure I have a reliable transmission. My car is not a track car but may see an occasional pass for fun. This is a 95% street driven car So if I stay auto, the idea of a 4r70w does not really catch my eye. i.e. dont need a trans brake and wont have tons of hard launches. So I was searching info on built options for the 5r55s and noticed that brenspeed sells the TCI super street fighter. I know brenspeed has a good reputation from what I have seen and them selling this trans makes me want to give it a try.Any oppinions on this trans and has anybody run it or know of anybody that has? I did the search and only saw old threads from when the transmission was not even for sale yet.I am only looking to maybe put 600rwhp thru it. Thanks.

 

[antonio1988]

my tranny is basically being rebuilt with many similar tci materials, my trans is rated to 750hp and I get it back on Friday, I will let you know then how it goes

 

[Natural1]

I am only looking to maybe put 600rwhp thru it. Thanks.

my trans is rated to 750hp and I get it back on Friday

I really hope it works out for you, but this is the exact reason I am building a 4R70w. I have been inside a 5R55S before and I wouldn't say that it has design flaws, but I will say that it was not the trans for the Mustang. These transmissions are weak, bottom line. I just can't get behind any rating that is over 550whp for any extended period. In my opinion, a $2-3.5K rebuild as often as I see with these transmissions is not a proper response to a previous failure. I would not call myself a "guru" by any means, but I can perform good failure analysis and depend on my work to be reliable.

Also, it doesn't seem like anyone (excluding owners of broken transmissions) including TCI has a real clue what these transmissions will hold. They are still advertising 850 for the Street Fighter, and 1200 for the Super Street Fighter which must be a joke.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Ford/5R55S/

 

[2006torquefreak]

So is the 4r70w a good option for a daily highway driver?

I really hope it works out for you, but this is the exact reason I am building a 4R70w. I have been inside a 5R55S before and I wouldn't say that it has design flaws, but I will say that it was not the trans for the Mustang. These transmissions are weak, bottom line. I just can't get behind any rating that is over 550whp for any extended period. In my opinion, a $2-3.5K rebuild as often as I see with these transmissions is not a proper response to a previous failure. I would not call myself a "guru" by any means, but I can perform good failure analysis and depend on my work to be reliable.

Also, it doesn't seem like anyone (excluding owners of broken transmissions) including TCI has a real clue what these transmissions will hold. They are still advertising 850 for the Street Fighter, and 1200 for the Super Street Fighter which must be a joke.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Ford/5R55S/

 

[Natural1]

Daily driver, yes. Don't just take my word for it, I'm sure others will chime in.

 

[antonio1988]

I really hope it works out for you, but this is the exact reason I am building a 4R70w. I have been inside a 5R55S before and I wouldn't say that it has design flaws, but I will say that it was not the trans for the Mustang. These transmissions are weak, bottom line. I just can't get behind any rating that is over 550whp for any extended period. In my opinion, a $2-3.5K rebuild as often as I see with these transmissions is not a proper response to a previous failure. I would not call myself a "guru" by any means, but I can perform good failure analysis and depend on my work to be reliable.

Also, it doesn't seem like anyone (excluding owners of broken transmissions) including TCI has a real clue what these transmissions will hold. They are still advertising 850 for the Street Fighter, and 1200 for the Super Street Fighter which must be a joke.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Ford/5R55S/

trust me, I hear you brother. But I have a friend in Peter Del Pino, and he's the one building up my transmission. The guy owns the record for fastest s197 stock 5r55s pass, which was a 10.89 I believe. Also, for the trans he is building me, he used that same design in his race car, which ran consistent mid 9 second passes and hit bottom 9s before breaking and he was making well into the 700s if not 800s. He just now switched to a 4r70w and is running 8s

 

[Five Oh Brian]

I'm still running the stock 5R55S in my supercharged '07 GT. Dozens of passes down the dragstrip with it, and very hard daily use. My stall converter flashes to 4800 rpm's, so this transmission is being tortured. However, I have done frequent fluid changes and have had absolutely zero issues with the transmission thus far.

Someday, I'm sure I'll nuke the trans, but then I'll be looking at an upgraded 5R55S from either Level 10 or TCI.

 

[2006torquefreak]

Wow now that is a high stall. DO you run a aftermarket trans cooler? And how much power are you making?

I'm still running the stock 5R55S in my supercharged '07 GT. Dozens of passes down the dragstrip with it, and very hard daily use. My stall converter flashes to 4800 rpm's, so this transmission is being tortured. However, I have done frequent fluid changes and have had absolutely zero issues with the transmission thus far.

Someday, I'm sure I'll nuke the trans, but then I'll be looking at an upgraded 5R55S from either Level 10 or TCI.

 

[bigwilly43729]

Level 10. Don't own one because I can't afford it, but if I could and was going to put some serious power in the car, that's the way I'd go. I wouldn't ditch the idea of the 4r70w, but I won't speak on it because I don't know anything about it.

Good luck!

 

[Hysteria]

I am in the process of deciding what transmission to go with when my built motor goes in. I am an auto but have been considering a manual conversion for a while and looking into the the tr6060 to make sure I have a reliable transmission. My car is not a track car but may see an occasional pass for fun. This is a 95% street driven car So if I stay auto, the idea of a 4r70w does not really catch my eye. i.e. dont need a trans brake and wont have tons of hard launches. So I was searching info on built options for the 5r55s and noticed that brenspeed sells the TCI super street fighter. I know brenspeed has a good reputation from what I have seen and them selling this trans makes me want to give it a try.Any oppinions on this trans and has anybody run it or know of anybody that has? I did the search and only saw old threads from when the transmission was not even for sale yet.I am only looking to maybe put 600rwhp thru it. Thanks.

I really hope it works out for you, but this is the exact reason I am building a 4R70w. I have been inside a 5R55S before and I wouldn't say that it has design flaws, but I will say that it was not the trans for the Mustang. These transmissions are weak, bottom line. I just can't get behind any rating that is over 550whp for any extended period. In my opinion, a $2-3.5K rebuild as often as I see with these transmissions is not a proper response to a previous failure. I would not call myself a "guru" by any means, but I can perform good failure analysis and depend on my work to be reliable.

Also, it doesn't seem like anyone (excluding owners of broken transmissions) including TCI has a real clue what these transmissions will hold. They are still advertising 850 for the Street Fighter, and 1200 for the Super Street Fighter which must be a joke.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Ford/5R55S/

If I were researching this, I'd talk with JDM Engineering. According to Jim Jr, they were pushing over 600RWHP on their race car running 10.0's high 9's with the stock tranny for a little while before it broke. Jim told me that the 5R55S can take 550 RWHP all day long provided that you take care of it (Not letting it downshift two gears when you nail it by manually downshifting first, Trans Catch Can, etc).

Their race cars are now utilizing the TCI Street Fighter 5R55S Trannys with good success and are running 9.69@141mph. There aren't that many people out there that are on running 9's with a DD street car. There are a lot of people with high horsepower cars, but if they're not planting it all to the ground...

By JDM's example, the 5R55S would be fine for me. My car is still a street car with limited strip time, if it were a regular weekend warrior, I might consider the 4R70W a little more for use of the manual valve body and Transbreak.

 

[tmcolegr]

Although your original post asks about the TCI transmissions I hope you aren't intending on using a TCI torque converter in a FI application. I have had both the SSF & SF T/Cs and both start to slip at about 440 RWHP.

 

[Natural1]

If I were researching this, I'd talk with JDM Engineering.

Their race cars are now utilizing the TCI Street Fighter 5R55S Trannys with good success and are running 9.69@141mph. There aren't that many people out there that are on running 9's with a DD street car. There are a lot of people with high horsepower cars, but if they're not planting it all to the ground...

The 4R70W, I am building will be fully automatic with a Baumann TCS, no brake and no manual valve body, yet. I'm doing it because I don't like doing things twice and I want to drive the car. I can tell you this, there have already been "magic transmissions" floating around and look how that turned out for everyone. First, the 5R55s has a small input shaft, that also has an undercut behind the splines, weak. Next, it has a lepelletier style geartrain, which is not an awful thing but when the internals are as small as the 5R's, it's another nail in the coffin. The 55 in means 55X10=550lb/ft of converter multiplied torque. That is less than 300 at the flywheel. Read the articles below, I'm tired of typing.

Here is a bit of tech on the 4R70W:
http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/page3.shtml

Here is a bit on the 5R55S:
http://www.alternativeauto.com/misc/r-and-d-gt.html

To everyone who believes that a 5R can be magically built, I say prove it. To those who are now having or have had theirs built, I hope I am wrong. There is a reason that the 5R55S (originally found in the Lincoln LS & Explorer) did not carry over to 2011 to back up the new 5.0 and Ford went with the 6R80E (Expedition & F150).

 

[2006torquefreak]

Although your original post asks about the TCI transmissions I hope you aren't intending on using a TCI torque converter in a FI application. I have had both the SSF & SF T/Cs and both start to slip at about 440 RWHP.

Absolutely not!!! I have heard horror stories about their converters. I plan on using a P.I.
Converter if I go this route and stay auto.

 

[JimIII@JDM]

No doubt we have a ton of experience with the 5R55s! We have 3 of the worlds fastest 5R55s transmission cars that we built, and 2 of them ran on stock Ford trannys!!

We have been using the TCI for about 3 years and i cant say enough about them. They shift rock solid and hold up to the abuse we put on them. Also they're customer service and support is tops too! There is some tuning adjustments that need to be made and a good tune in the first place will go a long way when keeping your stock trans alive.

We are a dealer with TCI and offer deep discounts, better than anyone else you'll find! So if you have any questions call me at 732-780-0770!

Thanks,

JimIII

 

[JimIII@JDM]

We only use the PI converters for our supercharged applications because they are more durable than the TCI. The TCI converter however is good for a NA car, thats what i ran in mine while it was NA.

 

[Natural1]

There is some tuning adjustments that need to be made and a good tune in the first place will go a long way when keeping your stock trans alive.

We are a dealer with TCI and offer deep discounts, better than anyone else you'll find! So if you have any questions call me at 732-780-0770!

Thanks,

JimIII

+1

Jim, if anyone can keep help improve the longevity by tuning, it is you guys. I'm not trying to bash the TCI or the 5R55 in general, I just don't believe it is a good choice at higher leves due to certain design characteristics. I had actually decided to convert from a 3650 to 5R55S, decided that the "juice was not worth the squeeze" and went another direction.

 

[antonio1988]

We only use the PI converters for our supercharged applications because they are more durable than the TCI. The TCI converter however is good for a NA car, thats what i ran in mine while it was NA.

I have used the tci with great success n/a, now I'm spraying and wondering, what does it feel like when a converter slips?

 

[Natural1]

After lockup, you will see/feel the RPM flash. As you go through the gears, you get into direct (1:1 or 4th in the 5R) and then the converter clutch should apply. At that point you will loose torque multiplication (normal operation) because your converter is directly coupling the engine to the transmission. When it slips, it would be like a clutch slipping in a stick car. So, it goes into 4th, converter locks, then slips and RPMs intermittently flash as the clutch struggles to grip the back plate.

 

[antonio1988]

After lockup, you will see/feel the RPM flash. As you go through the gears, you get into direct (1:1 or 4th in the 5R) and then the converter clutch should apply. At that point you will loose torque multiplication (normal operation) because your converter is directly coupling the engine to the transmission. When it slips, it would be like a clutch slipping in a stick car. So, it goes into 4th, converter locks, then slips and RPMs intermittently flash as the clutch struggles to grip the back plate.

in that case then it has already happened. Thanks for the info, the tci is great for cars making under 400whp, it seems to flop after that. When I get a chance I'll go ahead with the PI 3200

 

[Natural1]

Damn, that sucks, sorry to hear that.