Beating the dead horse on Trans questions

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

Hello! Name is Lane, AirForce stationed in Florida and im new to the Power stroke, Ford life. Just got rid of my 24v cummins, and i've wanted a 6.4 for awhile. Found a good deal on one, will be picking it up next week.

but i have a transmission question...

part of build list: light motor build, studs, fuel system, s371, gear head tune, 3.73, 305/50/20 nitto 420s.

at WOT in 20-30 the trans almost slips, hunts for a gear, then starts to pull... 40+ and dead stop launches are fine.. any ideas? been reading al ot about solenoid swaps.. curious if that would be a temp cure?

also truck is around 650ish.. stock trans.. what should i start looking into for trans mods/ build specs? just a converter, clutches, output shaft? not looking for anything crazy... 800rwhp ish.. also located 10 minutes from suncoast but have heard mixed opinions.

Thank You!

Powerstroke Man 6.4 · Jul 19, 2015

Welcome

Midwest diesel,Rudys diesel ,Warren diesel,Twisted diesel

All build awesome transmissions.

I would call around/ look on their websites to see which one will fit your HP goal.

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

Awesome, recommend anything specifically?.. like stated it wont be getting any extra fuel for about a year or so just curious as to what i should be looking for.
Thank You!

Powerstroke Man 6.4 · Jul 19, 2015

Fastlane17 said:
Awesome, recommend anything specifically?.. like stated it wont be getting any extra fuel for about a year or so just curious as to what i should be looking for.
Thank You!

I got a Billet S366 on stock trans and GH tunes how you like the 371?

On the trans someone more knowledge then me will chime in soon.

I do have a friend that purchased a Rudys stage 3 built for 700-800 HP IIRC.

Billet input shaft ,billet low reverse hub and RDP TC.

Shifts awesome customer service is awesome.

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

i will be purchasing the truck Wednesday, wish i could say i built it, but compared to a stock 6.4 it runs great. pulls hard, very clean. The previous owner is selling it with a s366 in the box also he swaps between. he said the 71 takes some time getting use to but loves it. Though hes using the same tune between the 66 and 71, so im sure custom tuning for each turbo specifically would be even better, but no CEL, and CC works with the race/ daily tune. Tow tune is still set up for the twins, so no CC but ill have tunes written for it to work... towing a car from florida to texas, then back to florida will not be fun with my foot on the pedal for 12hrs at a time.

ncollins64 · Jul 19, 2015

I can comment on the midwest comp trans, full billet, precision convertor etc. it held big power 900-1k+ Perfectly. Always shifted nice , never slipped and his customer service is awesome. Like he said above, Gearhead tunes are awesome as well.

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

but i dont think i need a full billet trans yet... just looking to see what i can get by with, without grenading the transmission..
converter, clutches, input shaft?

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

also, how do i get new tunes wrote? just want to get something a little more turbo specific...

Powerstroke Man 6.4 · Jul 19, 2015

Fastlane17 said:
i will be purchasing the truck Wednesday, wish i could say i built it, but compared to a stock 6.4 it runs great. pulls hard, very clean. The previous owner is selling it with a s366 in the box also he swaps between. he said the 71 takes some time getting use to but loves it. Though hes using the same tune between the 66 and 71, so im sure custom tuning for each turbo specifically would be even better, but no CEL, and CC works with the race/ daily tune. Tow tune is still set up for the twins, so no CC but ill have tunes written for it to work... towing a car from florida to texas, then back to florida will not be fun with my foot on the pedal for 12hrs at a time.

I run a custom GH Race everyday stock fuel,trans Billet S366.

Matt nailed my tunes drives awesome.

WOT I had it slip a few times and it seems like the TC is locking and unlocking but I reflashed the truck and it seems fine now.

madman1234509 · Jul 19, 2015

At a minimum Id say converter, upgraded rebuild kit with clutches and what not. And an input shaft. Good timing is always a huge factor as well. I've been daily driving with basically that set up for over 10k miles with around 1000hp on fuel. Just recently snapped the intermediate shaft, but that was my fault, and it probably would still be together if it wasn't for that.

Another big factor is all how you drive it. Wot through all the gears constantly is a lot harder on the trans then wot pulls in a high gear with the converter locked.

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

oh okay that doesnt seem too bad, recommend anything specific? what about swapping out the solenoid everyone does? WOT daily wont be a thing as the truck will mostly be garaged and i have a DD, and trying to sell my OTHER dd.. if anyone wants to buy a miata...

Fastlane17 · Jul 19, 2015

Powerstroke Man 6.4 said:
I run a custom GH Race everyday stock fuel,trans Billet S366.

Matt nailed my tunes drives awesome.

WOT I had it slip a few times and it seems like the TC is locking and unlocking but I reflashed the truck and it seems fine now.

what would i tell him? i guess exactly what i want, and how i drive?
new to this "custom" tune thing..

Tree Trimmer · Jul 19, 2015

you tell him exactly what you have, and how you intend to drive it, and the intended purpose of the truck, and he will write a file for that.

i have a truck that by comparing my mods to people with similar mods who have dyno sheets is around 650 maybe a little more, that i use for work. it's my dd as well. usually it's a pavement queen, but it's not uncommon to be hooked to a trailer with a skid loader, or even two on the same trailer along with the attachments that go with them. or have a gross trailer weight of about 25k if i'm hauling hay. my location give me flat land or rolling hills, but i dont live in the mountains. mostly country driving but i dont live in a big city where it's constant stop and go. call it small town illinois. it will never hit the track, though it might make it to a truck pull or two. maybe. and i can count on one hand the amount of times my truck gets put to the floor in a entire year. unless i'm at that truck pull, or i'm on the farm and it's wetter than it should be and i should be in a tractor instead but where is the fun in that.

that was my email to him when i wanted tunes.

be specific. you can never give someone to much information. whether or not you think they need it doesn't matter. i wanted a tune that was for my specific situation, but unless you tell him what that is he can't write it. he can give you something to start with and go from there.

if you change something, anything really, tell him. he might revise the tune for the new parts. most likely he won't, but it's always better to see.

he might write a new engine file, but leave the trans tune the same, or vise versa, or if you make big changes you'll get a whole new tune.

with Matt you pay for the custom tune for your truck the way it sits. he usually hits it right the first time. if you need tweaks their almost always free. i'm 2 or 3 years away from my original purchase, and still ask for the occasional tweak. day or two later i have them. free.

you just need to accept that whatever tuner you choose to go with, you might need a revision or two to get them right. because driving habits, driving conditions, traffic or lack thereof, terrain and geography all play a role in how a tune behaves. you might want a shift point moved up or down, a little more or less fuel right off the bottom, etc etc. he's highly accommodating, as long as you know specifically what you want done.

there was a shift point in mine that was right at 31 mph, and one right at 42 mph. both made in town and semi rural driving kinda a pita as it was always shifting up and down. so we lowered the shift point so it used the higher gear and my mpg went up, but made it a little more sensitive to shift so if i wanted/needed to go she still went places instead of attempting to lug the gear.

we also took some fuel out down low. it was really sensitive with the really light pedal used when in a parking lot.

don't be afraid to tell whatever tuner you use what tweaks you want done, so it fits your driving style and conditions.

Tree Trimmer · Jul 19, 2015

and before you ask for the revision, make sure you put some adequate miles on the tune. you will need some time to adjust to the new tune. so unless it's just something that has to be changed right fking now, run it for a little bit. there might be some other subtle changes you want made as well. but you won't notice those subtle changes till you put some time in the seat on that one file.