Earlier in the thread they were talking about the Nash type 5 speed which does just that. The problem then becomes stuffing in enough gearing to have a series of nicely spaced gears to make stuff work. Most people think that the magic of a 5 speed is the overdrive and that's it. It's really the fact that the gear spacing literally gives you another gear out of the hole that you don't have with the standard 4 speed box. Typical first gear in a traditional 4 gear is about 2.50-2.60. In the TKO series stuff, it's between 2.95-and 3.27.If you work it up on paper, that leaves a traditional four speed with a 2.79 rear gear with a multiplied final ratio of about 7.25, and a my particular application with a 3.23 gear in the rear at 10.56. Which is coming out of the hole quicker? One guess on that one! When we get to the other end, the situation gets even better. With that 2.79 geared car, 75 comes at 2643 rpm. Not bad, but not great. With my combo it's coming in at just a shade under 2100. Now, for the vast majority of the states, that would be too high and not very usable. Here in Arizona with a good 100-150 miles between cities, we have a tendency to drive lots faster than most. Our freeways are marked at 75, but you aren't going to rate a ticket until your in the upper reaches of 100-105 or so, for the most part. So my deal hits 100 at 2775 or so, and since everything is happiest and most efficient at about 2450-2500, I'm then clucking along at about 90-95 or so in the happiest part of my torque band, efficiently, and staying under the radar doing it. Our example 1-1 car is at 3175 at 90mph. Let's just say on some VERY empty sections of 8 here in AZ, I have seen as deep as 3850 on my tach before the aerodynamics of a '48 Plymouth went bye-bye... That's about 142or3.
Does anyone have any input on the TKO trans vs. a factory T56 GM trans? How do they compare strength and operation?
I called Keisler and the 700 has a long wait, can't remember how long. Jeg's don't know when they'll get another shipment. Heard from other sources it's a long wait - sounds like Richmond can't keep up. It has a 1:1 5th gear. I have 4.30's in the rearend so need an overdrive - but that's what some people do as you suggested.
Damn, And I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my M-22 alive behind 900 HP. (Hint, slipper clutch)
Like a McLeod Soft-Lok?Ive been considering something like that for my coupe. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
My traditional 32 with the 450 hp 347 has a tko 500 and I love it why have em if you cant drive em !!!lol
Have any of you guys powershifted your TKO trans? I have 505ci bbc and an upgraded TKO 600 but I'm scares to shift without lifting. MELTDOWN DRAGS JULY 19-20 2014
Yes, approximately 2.6 zillion times with my TKO500, and I'd have to assume the 600 feels the same. I'm the kinda guy that knows the limitations of every part on his car simply because I've broken damn near everything at least once. If I can't kill mine in ten years and 120,000 miles, you'd have to work pretty hard to undo yours. I am running probably a quite a bit less power than you though..
Hey RL Racer, was it you that belonged to a site for stick shift racers? I can't remember where I saw that - maybe you told me about it when we talked. Can you post it? Your email up yet? Vic
Hey Vic! Ya I read UMTR I think it is....I will get my email goin I dont have much time (or patience with 'puters) as I am workin alot of hours.I will stay in touch tho! I have alot of good pics in my albums here on the HAMB checkem out! R~R UMTR or United Manual Transmission Racers google UMTR
Hey RL, Merry Christmas! OK, I got the tranny in my 55 and drove it around a bit. It feels like it may need to be broken in before racing it as it feels a bit tight. Also from 2nd to 3rd, the pattern isn't as straight as I thought it would be. Almost feels like there's a catch in neutral gate. What's your experience with your TKO600? Can you powershift it into 3rd? Vic
TKO's hang up in 2nd while trying to shift quickly into 3rd. This is a problem in the shift rails [ not the gears/sliders ] The detents are designed to prevent the box selecting 2 gears at once, which is why power shifting into 3rd feels like punching a brick wall. Tremec deny there is a problem [ usually blaming clutch ], but I believe Liberty have fixed the shift rail problem [ cheaply ]
Vic, where did you eventually get your TKO600? I was under the impression you were thinking of getting one through Liberty and if so did they already do the shift rail modifications?
My trans is from Liberty that's why I was surprised with what I'm experiencing. The 2nd to 3rd shift problem was supposed to be addressed but like you said, feels like "punching a brick wall". RLRacer runs one and recommended Liberty that's one reason why I went with them. Coming out of 1st to 2nd feels like it's spring loaded and "springs" out of gear when you pull on it as well as 3rd to 4th. Tried calling Liberty but they're closed until Jan. 2. Also I'm running a mid shifter and the brand is Pro 5-0 (another $350 + change) - anyone familiar with this shifter?
I used to know a guy that would say "I tried to tell ya, but you wouldn't listen". See my post #7. That being said. I am now running a T5 without issue but the day is coming when it will probably die. Good luck on this and let us know if you solve it.
Pro 5.0 is one of the best shifters on the market. Probably in thousands of camaros/mustangs. Are you pushing straight forward out of 2nd and letting the shifter do the work?
I have a Pro 5.0 shifter in my 32. I love it. I heard other people talk about hard shifting, but the Pro seems really good. Ago
Again, unless this is a problem between the 500 and 600 that I'm not aware of, I have had no such problem in the ten years with my trans. I HAVE had problems with a poorly made mid shifter not hitting all the gears that I have solved with a different make shifter. I would highly suspect the shifter that you guys are using.
Check out Hanlon motorsports. Bob is sells new TKOs. and can update them to shift great. he does a bunch of street strip trans. He has a great reputation with stick drag racers. You can also get a TKO 600 with just 3rd face plated. Or just 2nd
Vic, I look forward to hearing what you find. My understanding was that Paul and the folks at Liberty had a fix for this very issue. You would certainly expect that they would have performed the fix on a trans. they sold but who knows.
That's the trick; if you try to shift these like a 4-speed, you'll have issues with the 2-3 shift....
Merry Christmas Vic! I have NEVER had a problem with any kind of shifting with my 600! Mine has had the iternal shift mods,faceplated 2nd,3rd and 4th and the harder I pull the lever the more it likes it!I power shift at 7500 and it loves it!!!! I just slam 3rd on kind of a diagonal (if that makes sense) push and have never missed it! That Pro 5.0 shifter is a good piece as far as I know. I can tell ya,one time coming back home from the car wash I pulled 2nd and busted the top 1" offa my Hurst (straight 6"tall) lever...was left holdin the shift knob in my hand....hahaha...if THAT tells ya how I drive it...and that was on the street!!! What fluid are you running? Is your clutch setup dead nuts? I set my airgap at .065 P.S. I wonder if yours shifts differently because you have synchros....just a thought cuz mine shifts like butter!!!
Thanks guys for your valuable input! Weather was in the 80's today so took the car out for a spin and the trans does feel a bit looser - or is it hopeful thinking? No butter here yet RLR... I'm running the GM Synchromesh fluid as recommended by Liberty's. I didn't check any clearance per sey on the clutch - just adjusted so it starts to engage about half way in travel of pedal. I was never told about the .065" clearance. When I shift it up diagonally like you mentioned in the email, it sometimes goes straight in and sometimes catches in the neutral stop. I'll just try and give it more road time and see what happens. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions not mentioned, please feel free to share. Happy New Year everyone! Vic
Ran a TKO600 in a 530HP high 10 sec. 93 Mustang GT for several years without any problems and very few missed shifts.
The .065 is the clearance Ram suggested on MY set up but I just think you DO need to run an adj. stop on your pedal and make sure there is ZERO drag on yer clutch,that you are not over centering the pplate( if you are running a diaphram pplate) and have a minimum of .050 airgap,let it get a few miles on it to get everyone happy in there....hahaha...
Spoke with rep at Liberty and was told to run the trans 500 - 1000 miles and it should be broken in and freed up. One slight problem is I have a "mid shifter" and that may not be as smooth as the "rear" shifter but they never had problems. I've only got about 1/2 hour of driving time on the trans so will run it longer and get more miles on it and see what happens.
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