im about to pull the trigger on a radix for my escalade esv. im curios to see what the feelings are about the trans holding up with the radix.

i drive the truck everyday, but i certainly do not beat on it, i drive it like a caddy. i need a little extra power for pulling a 24 foot enclosed trailer and the radix seems the way to go.

the truck is 100 percent stock other than some 22 inch wheels.

what can i do to make the trans last as long as possible?

 

If you drive it nice now just wait till you get all that power at your foot. IF you do as you say then i cant see there being a problem. Problems come from beating the crap out of the vehicle. I say go for it. These trans are good if your nice to them. I beat my trans and it still there. Hope this helps.

 

got an 11 sec c5 if i want to go beat the **** outta something....

this is just for pulling power.

 

it should hold up decently well for a little while but once you start down shifting it while your pulling your trailor and revs jump with the bang of power then it will still eat your trans eventually. but you can always throw on a shift kit and vette servos or something of the like and it should hold up a little longer

 

i was hoping with the tq being in the 2000-3000 range it wouldnt have to downshift as much.

but i suppose as it stands now its probably hurting the trans as much downshifting all the time because of the lack of power.

 

thats a good point but if you are going up an 8% grade after cruising along at 80mph you will down shift from OD into 3rd at least and thats the clutch pack that WILL wear out eventually. i would be willing to bet, now, when you downshift, you are falling into the top of 2nd so it might actually be a little nicer. i dunno man, go with the radix and if your trans blows someday, get a new one, no offence but you can obviously afford it... its bound to happen

 

I answered your PM, but publicly speaking...


Magnuson will warranty the powertrain so that should make you feel better. That's pretty much true if you take the STOCK maggie radix package and install as per instructions and do no more mods. If that's what you are doing, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being no chance in hell it will last and 10 being it will never break) I'd give a 4L60E an "7" and a 4L65 a "8.5". Throw in a shift kit and vette servo in either and you can move those up one notch. (I just made those up, no research to those ratings)

If you put on a smaller pulley, cam, so on and so on you will certainly cut its life short. If you harden your parts and put in a shift kit and vette servo it will help.

It's so hard to give a straight answer because your vehicle (as mine) is heavy. It's the weight (and heat) that breaks these things. Your tune in stock form will have lots of torque management in it, making it so power is not thrown straight at your trans. If you don't remove the TQ management you should be golden with a 65E. A 60E has more of a chance to give out. 5 plantaries versus' 4. But again, in stock maggie form, there are plenty of guys on here with many miles on their radix installs and trans is holding fine.

If you aren't removing TQ Management (or most of it) and you are keeping the radix in stock form as well as your escalade, you'll be fine. Maybe at the most throw in a shift kit and vette servo. You won't regret that.

Modifing any more than that, you will need to seriously think about upgrading the 60/65 to a fully built version.

I didn't see this thread before your PM, but with what you say your plans are, my answer is now, if it dies (the trans) it was because it was going to anyway. Throw a shift kit and vette servo in and take good care of it and don't let it over heat and you'll be fine...even towing. Maybe even pulley up some if towing is what mainly care about.

 

My tranny went quick with a powerdyne system. But I run my truck pretty hard.

 

Two suggestions, the Vette servo as previously mentioned and a billit OD servo. This will keep the trans in OD much longer, with the added torque, you should be good for most driving.

I have a similar situation, ESV and 24' enclosed, I have the servo's installed and on flat roads it will stay in OD at 76mph and above. I was looking at the Radix or the KB supercharger for the same reason.

 

I was waiting for someone to say something but they never did so I will, My 4L60E lasted about 90 days after the super charger was put on, I didn't care after the tranny build it was like feeling a super charger all over again, BUT it wasn't the super charger or the way I drove, Drag strip most every week that killed my tranny it was the tune I run, I would say with the t.m. left at 100 percent it would still be working fine, I can't see the super charger with the tune that comes with it hurting you tranny that much for a long time