04 GMC RCSB, truck is bone stock as of now, planning on heads and cam for awhile. Then possibly some boost, wont ever go over 500 rwhp as its my DD. I wont ever have sticky tires on it either. Is there an affordable 4l60 out there that will hold 500 at the tires? I drive like a grandpa most of the time, just wanna have a little fun here and there. Just dont know if i need to go thru the extra steps for the 80?

 

Yes you do.

 

Honestly with the heads and cam the 4l60 will probably be ok woth some upgrades, anything beyond that and youre talking a seriosuly built 60 or an upgraded 80.... We all start out saying we want mild this mild that, but in the end it ends up being ok well if i do this i can get thsi much more out of it....

 

I regret trying to make my 60e work, the 80e feels and drives so much better and well as u know a lot stronger

 

My biggest problem with an 80 at this point in my truck anyway, is the gear ratios... Being lifted i would have to swap to a 4.56 or 4.88... Whereas to keep the same final ratios with my 60 i can run 4.10 and i have a final crawl ratio of something like 35.8-1...... If my rear end goes out again and i end up having to replace it then i will probably go 4.56, but so far its held up!!! Im not denying the 80 isnt stronger, i just like my low 1st in the 60 for offroad use anyway.... Point being what i said before boosted definitely go 80 but mild cam and heads beat on the 60 til it dies...hell it may surprise you, my ex has almost 200,000 on her 07 and she has beat the hell out of that poor truck and the 4l60 has yet to skip a beat....

 

What about the first gear? Honestly thats whats keeping me from the 80e. Ive seen a couple vids of it with a 3000 or higher stall and holy boring! Im in the middle of building a t56, unless I can be convinced to do the 80e. Does anyone have a video of around 500rwhp with a stall and a first gear launch?

 

I like my 80e a lot better than the 60e. My truck is close to 500 wheel hp and ate a 60e.

 

I agree I like my 80e a lot better, but I went from low power 4.8/60e to 6.0/80e with some low end. Couldn't spin for nuttin with 4.8 and now no traction in first with the 6.0 but then again my rear suspension sucks right now.

 

I like the 80E MUCH BETTER than the 60E behind the 350 in my Express van. Only running a 2,600 rpm 10.5" converter and 3.73s in it. I can still break the tires loose from a stop and it has a hell of a passing gear on the highway. 5,200 rpm is ~50 mph in 1st and nearly 90 mph in 2nd with the converter locked. Cruising at 65-70 mph if I suddenly need to make a quick pass, floor it and it drops to 2nd and GOES.

 

I have a real 60e for sale in the classifieds.