3v trans

[Juice]

I picked the 2.97 not for the low gears, but for the lower 5 and 6th ratios. The .50 6th gear and .75 5th is way too tall IMO. Seems to me that your need a shorter axle gear with the 2.66 and a taller axle with the 2.97.
BTW, the jump in ratio to 5th is less with the 2.97. 1 to .82 vs 1 to .75. I wont be using 5th on track with my setup. 4th is good for about 150mph.

 

[Norm Peterson]

It depends on what kind of power or torque you're making. When I was talking to D&D performance about mine, they advised for stock or near stock (like a N/A bolt-on engine), you'll want the 2.97 T56 since the 2.66's ratios are too tall to be fun on the street. For an engine making a lot more, you'd want the 2.66 since it can handle the taller gearing and you'd be shifting too often with the 2.97. Based on my experience with my car, I'd agree (350 RWHP, 2.97 T56)

I think the first thing anybody who might be planning on doing a transmission swap needs to do is evaluate their own range of driving situations, and choose a transmission gearset (and axle gears and tire size) to suit that.

Yeah, D&D's advice would be the better choice for most people. No surprise there - a 2.97 low is going to be easier to get underway than a 2.66, and for most people the performance driving focus is almost entirely on straight line acceleration (mostly at highway speeds and slower). So 2.97 becomes the quick and easy suggestion and it's going to be the right choice for most people most of the time.

I have to mention that I have gone way deeper into this. Deeper than speeds in gears at various rpms or gear choices for various speeds, although just that much told me that I'm going to be OK with a 1st gear that's taller than the 3650 combined with 3.55's and 27" tall tires. I do have some experience driving cars with unusually tall 1st gears (think 2.85 low, 2.56's in the axle, with 26" tall tires - basically a 2nd gear start), so I'm not seeing 2.66 with 3.73 and 26"-ish tires being a problem. Actually, I encounter situations where I'd rather be able to see a higher speed in 1st than have 1st give me slightly stronger acceleration to a slower upshift speed.


I'm strictly a road course kind of driver, and the wider 1st through 4th gear spacings of the 2.97 box make it the wrong choice for that activity. On my home tracks (NJMP), I'm almost never going slower than about 50 mph and rarely at WOT below about 55, making the sort of gearing that you'd choose for short times and 0-60 purposes the wrong gearing for me.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

I picked the 2.97 not for the low gears, but for the lower 5 and 6th ratios. The .50 6th gear and .75 5th is way too tall IMO. Seems to me that your need a shorter axle gear with the 2.66 and a taller axle with the 2.97.
BTW, the jump in ratio to 5th is less with the 2.97. 1 to .82 vs 1 to .75. I wont be using 5th on track with my setup. 4th is good for about 150mph.

You can get either pair of overdrives with either 1st through 4th gearset. IOW, you're not stuck with 0.75 5th and 0.50 6th if you get the 2.66 1st.


Norm

 

[RED09GT]

There were a few people here with big power cars that did not find the 2.66 gear better after taking a shop's advice.
For example, Jason Reese lost 2/10th going from his TR3650 to a 2.66 Mag XL (1.49 to 1.68) and his experience is that it was lazy out of the hole-with over 800rwhp and 140+ trap speeds. He got rid of it and went to a 6R80.

It is probably different with a P/D blower than a turbo but not many people were happy with their results at the strip with a 2.66 1st gear when those transmissions first came out.

 

[07 Boss]

I think the first thing anybody who might be planning on doing a transmission swap needs to do is evaluate their own range of driving situations, and choose a transmission gearset (and axle gears and tire size) to suit that.

Yeah, D&D's advice would be the better choice for most people. No surprise there - a 2.97 low is going to be easier to get underway than a 2.66, and for most people the performance driving focus is almost entirely on straight line acceleration (mostly at highway speeds and slower). So 2.97 becomes the quick and easy suggestion and it's going to be the right choice for most people most of the time.

I have to mention that I have gone way deeper into this. Deeper than speeds in gears at various rpms or gear choices for various speeds, although just that much told me that I'm going to be OK with a 1st gear that's taller than the 3650 combined with 3.55's and 27" tall tires. I do have some experience driving cars with unusually tall 1st gears (think 2.85 low, 2.56's in the axle, with 26" tall tires - basically a 2nd gear start), so I'm not seeing 2.66 with 3.73 and 26"-ish tires being a problem. Actually, I encounter situations where I'd rather be able to see a higher speed in 1st than have 1st give me slightly stronger acceleration to a slower upshift speed.


I'm strictly a road course kind of driver, and the wider 1st through 4th gear spacings of the 2.97 box make it the wrong choice for that activity. On my home tracks (NJMP), I'm almost never going slower than about 50 mph and rarely at WOT below about 55, making the sort of gearing that you'd choose for short times and 0-60 purposes the wrong gearing for me.


Norm

Yep you gotta go deep into it for the best results. I made a mistake in planning my last build. Well I actually decided on a different fuel system halfway through and that made me change motors and that led me to not be able to use the TH400 like I had planned. I now am switching to a 700R4 with 2.84, 1.55, 1.00 and 0.70 to reach my speed goal. It means shifting one more time and not getting full range out of the last gear. I hope it doesn't keep me from reaching my planned goals. Went from a small block stroker to a big cube big block with about 1000 less RPM's.

 

[Silver'nStripes]

There were a few people here with big power cars that did not find the 2.66 gear better after taking a shop's advice.
For example, Jason Reese lost 2/10th going from his TR3650 to a 2.66 Mag XL (1.49 to 1.68) and his experience is that it was lazy out of the hole-with over 800rwhp and 140+ trap speeds. He got rid of it and went to a 6R80.

It is probably different with a P/D blower than a turbo but not many people were happy with their results at the strip with a 2.66 1st gear when those transmissions first came out.

Just curious, do you know if they changed the rear gear with the swap? I feel like you can't go from a 3.38 1st gear to a 2.66 1st gear without expecting results like that...

 

[Stoenr]

I just had the T-56 Magnum installed, really really love it!
But I also did a lot of other stuff at the same time. Not one mod at one time.
Did the SC end of summer, so not much seat time with just that.
Then Spring did the trans, McLoed twin disc clutch, Alum drive shaft, rear end rebuild(spider gears coming apart) 3.73s New FRPP girdle cover, Moser axles, long tube headers. and JUST did wilwood 6 piston caliper/rotor upgrade for the stopping power. Its like a new beast! insanely more fun to drive, and shifts like a madman! Doesnt miss a gear and smooth transition.

I want to ask t-56 guys when you did your conversion, did you lose the cruise control in most gears? I can only use the cruise in 4th and 6th. Brenspeed said its normal, I was lucky to get 4th, usually only get it in 6th gear.......... cruise control

 

[RED09GT]

Silver'nStripes, I don't think they did change their rear gears and that was the biggest issue.

I found the 2.97 gear in the TR6060 way too long with 3.55's so I put my 4.10's back in. The 3.55's also meant that I had to shift to 3rd maybe 100 ft from the traps at my local track (1/8th mile), just when the car really came to life.

 

[Juice]

I just had the T-56 Magnum installed, really really love it!
But I also did a lot of other stuff at the same time. Not one mod at one time.
Did the SC end of summer, so not much seat time with just that.
Then Spring did the trans, McLoed twin disc clutch, Alum drive shaft, rear end rebuild(spider gears coming apart) 3.73s New FRPP girdle cover, Moser axles, long tube headers. and JUST did wilwood 6 piston caliper/rotor upgrade for the stopping power. Its like a new beast! insanely more fun to drive, and shifts like a madman! Doesnt miss a gear and smooth transition.

I want to ask t-56 guys when you did your conversion, did you lose the cruise control in most gears? I can only use the cruise in 4th and 6th. Brenspeed said its normal, I was lucky toh, usually only get it in 6th gear.......... cruise control

The cruise control issue has been covered. Yes, you lose CC in 5th because the pcm does not have the ratio in the tune for 5th gear. Your pcm still has a 5spd trans in the tune. To complete the swap, the xl gear ratios need to be entered into the tune.

 

[RED09GT]

Lito entered my gear ratios into the tune and cruise works in 4th 5th and 6th, I have never tried it in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd but I would assume it does.

 

[kerrynzl]

what is the best manual trans for the 3 valve or what is the best route to build the stock 5 speed?

For the $$$ hunt down a TR6060 out of a later model.

If you want a Close ratio , then you need a T56R [rare and expensive] 2.2:1 1st and 0.75:1 6th.

The Tr6060 has internal centering springs to return the shifter to the 3-4 gate. It has a single rail shift cover with only 1 moving part. External shifters only improve the vagueness by removing the rubber compliance [the box itself is quite good]

The T56 doesn't have internal centering springs to return the shifter to the 3-4 gate! It relies on the shifter to do this [ every aftermarket shifter I tried eventually failed! one broke in one race meeting]
I am not brutal, but 10 laps around "Bruce McLaren" requires 230 up/down shifts [so they fail]

The best results I got was modifying a stock shifter [cannibalizing 2 old shifters to make 1 new one] It shifts faster [up and down] and is more reliable [I haven't broken one yet]

 

[Midlife Crises]

A couple of points. The T56 Magnum XL has a separate bell housing. If you need a SFI approved bell house the 6060 is more difficult in this regard. The T56 Magnum XL does not need extra springs in the shifter for centering. The shift rail has a spring loaded detent roller that holds the entire rod in the 3 N 4 gate. This provides the tension you feel when pivoting the shifter to the 1-2 or 5-6 gate. The detent spring and roller can be serviced without taking the transmission apart.
By the way, almost all the parts inside the 6060 and T56 magnum are interchangeable.

 

[cavero]

Lito entered my gear ratios into the tune and cruise works in 4th 5th and 6th, I have never tried it in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd but I would assume it does.

Any idea what he did? My shop put in the gear ratios but it's still not recognizing 5th. They said other than the gear ratios, the only other thing they see in the tune is for manual/auto

 

[cavero]

double post

 

[RED09GT]

Any idea what he did? My shop put in the gear ratios but it's still not recognizing 5th. They said other than the gear ratios, the only other thing they see in the tune is for manual/auto

No idea...

 

[Juice]

Any idea what he did? My shop put in the gear ratios but it's still not recognizing 5th. They said other than the gear ratios, the only other thing they see in the tune is for manual/auto

There is a transmission section in the tune where all the individual gear ratios are listed. 5th needs to be changed and 6th needs to be added.

 

[kerrynzl]

A couple of points. The T56 Magnum XL has a separate bell housing. If you need a SFI approved bell house the 6060 is more difficult in this regard. The T56 Magnum XL does not need extra springs in the shifter for centering. The shift rail has a spring loaded detent roller that holds the entire rod in the 3 N 4 gate. This provides the tension you feel when pivoting the shifter to the 1-2 or 5-6 gate. The detent spring and roller can be serviced without taking the transmission apart.
By the way, almost all the parts inside the 6060 and T56 magnum are interchangeable.

The T56 I mentioned above is not the same as the T56 Magnum [XL] , so scouting around junkyards for a t56 to adapt will have the shifter issues I mentioned.
I had been corresponding with Tremec about swapping a t56 magnum XL tail housing, shift rail, and mainshaft . [It is not possible]. I wanted to keep the road racing ratios of my T56R which aren't available for the Magnum.

I modified my shifter [not the remote] by changing it to a Camaro T5 base with the delrin ball. Then I stacked 5 x Belville springs [diaphragm springs] on top of it.
SVT cobra shifters have a flexible [rubberized?] cup and a steel ball. The cup collapses [the Camaro T5 and the SVT T56 shifters interchange]

As you mentioned here ^^^^ get a Magnum XL [if you need a scattershield] or a TR6060 , they shift a lot better as-is [my T56 is now really good / fast / precise , But it took some work]

I have a friend with a TR6060 in a 50's Chevy pickup. He got the Trans cheap because it was missing the shifter off the rear.[just the top cover] We made a direct throw shifter off the back of the linkage cover similar to F5000's McLarens have. The shifter is lightning fast and very accurate, but vibrates.
Always use a reverse lockout. On my race car I removed the spring and added a solid tube [so it is impossible to select reverse] I have a button on the L/H side of the steering column.
On my friends pickup, we used a cheap "Summit" rpm switch set at 2200 on 4 cyl mode [= 1100 RPM on a V8] because the lowest we could dial in was 2000 on the switch. The RPM switch has normally open and normally closed to ground modes. We used normally closed so the lockout is working correctly below 1100 RPM [when above this it locks out reverse]

 

[Midlife Crises]

It is true the T56 and T56 Mag share very few parts. With the Vet, Viper, Camaro and GT500 of one year or other using the 6060 with different ratios I’m surprised you can’t find a gear set to meet your requirements.

 

[kerrynzl]

It is true the T56 and T56 Mag share very few parts. With the Vet, Viper, Camaro and GT500 of one year or other using the 6060 with different ratios I’m surprised you can’t find a gear set to meet your requirements.

Mine is a close ratio with 2.29 [1st], 1.61 [2nd], 1.22 [3rd], 1.00 [4th], 0.85 [5th], and 0.75 [6th] I run a 4.10 rear end ratio.
The nearest gearset I can get is made by Pfitzner Performance Gears with dog engagement [not cheap at approx USD $9700 ]
If I wanted to spend that sort of $$$ I would but a TTI 6 speed sequential.