Jakes 4L80e with brake FTW!

I have have a drag truck with full cage being built and even with its minimal street use it was a no brainer to go with a built 80e. So the small time its on the street will be enjoyable, the amount of control you have in the tuning is also a huge perk.

 

GV has it's own pump, so there's an added horsepower loss. Fitment issues, driveline angle issues (especially that), etc. Awhile back I talked to a guy who used to work for GV and built their new units. He told me he preferred their older design, it was either the J or P design, I cannot remember which one was newer or which one was older. He believed the clutch was better on the older units that are no longer in production, among some other variances.

Essentially, a 4L80E can be built cheaper and much more compact without the hassle that goes along with it. You also, depending on the car or truck, have the benefit of being able to tune it and make adjustments. With the 4L80E, you also still have lockup, which is not something the GV unit gives you, and is something important to consider for guys wanting the street friendliest setup possible. There are also numerous complaints with guys who do not care for the shift quality of the GV unit, but you would have to experience that for yourself to really form an opinion.

To summarize, to me, if you are under 1500 horsepower, it just makes sense to go with the transmission that is typically cheaper, has lockup, can be tuned and is a one piece package. The lockup with OD is almost as valuable as the OD itself.

I honestly have never met another builder who preferred a GV unit to a 4L80E. Ever.

 

A little insight... remember to keep the stall speed a conservative number to keep the daily drive-ability.

 

well theres a guy next town over who has 03 80e for 600 with 20k on rebuild out of a van that got wrecked. guess i know where im headed friday

 

Wow you got a lot of credibility in my book especially from an experience standpoint. I am surprised however to hear you say 80e over th400/GV. Especially since the TH400 is a go to in many drag racing pro classes. It would seem the th400 is lighter cheaper to build and more efficient racing wise. What sets the 80e apart as superior? I have heavily considered both swaps and would love to hear your reasoning.

Also to those saying GVs are too expensive keep in mind many 80&90s large vehicles had factory GVs you might be surprised how often you might trip over one in the junk yards.

 

Thanks man, appreciate it. The TH400 is usually the go to for racing because it's lighter and the OD is not necessary. If it's strictly racing, or majority racing only, go with a TH400. However, if you want the optimal street driving experience, nothing is going to beat the 4L80E.

The TH400 is a bit lighter, but not by much. It is cheaper to build, but if you're wanting OD, it becomes a moot point, and in many cases the cost is the same, and you are still lacking features the 4L80E can offer. It's not really more efficient racing wise unless you are considering the minor weight savings the transmission offers mostly due to lack of an OD section. Depending on the kind of race and vehicle, the 4L80E may actually even be the BETTER choice for racing. It's not uncommon for people to swap from a TH400 to a 4L80E and see an improvement with their times, I've seen it numerous times. Obviously not every time, and it can be hard to predict what combination will see improvement, but it most certainly can and has happened.

An 80E is superior for the reasons I mentioned above. One piece package, less chance of complications or failure, no driveline angle issues, 4L80E can be electronically tuned, and 4L80E has lockup (invaluable to me if you are going with OD). To me, you may as well not even bother with OD if you're not going for lockup. If someone already has a TH400 in the vehicle and can't shell out the cost for a 4L80E swap, then perhaps a GV may be something to look into, but if you have neither transmissions in the vehicle and need to decide between them, there is nearly no reason at all to go with a GV TH4000 over a 4L80E.

People often seem to have this notion that 4L80Es are a bit weaker than TH400s, and past 1500, it's mostly true for now. Where I work we are developing a 4L80E that will allow the driver to not only burn out in any gear, but also allow for very high performance racing in Overdrive. One of the biggest problems with the OD section is the OD roller clutch. Early model units had a fairly stronger OD roller clutch than the late model 4L80Es do, so when buying a 4L80E I recommend people look for an early model unit (they're cheaper too). Despite this, it's still not perfect, but we have an idea of how to take care of that, just a matter of time and cash to get the parts made for testing in either a high weight or high powered (or both) vehicle.

 

This thread has taken an unfortunate turn. If anyone would like first-hand real-world experiences with TH400, 4L80-E, or Gear Vendors Overdrive functionality, weakness, practicality, and/or other implementation information, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to respond privately.

 

Probably be best, I don't have any real world experience with any of these or anything like that.

*****-ish sarcasm on my part aside, why can't you just share your information publicly? Isn't that how people learn? When two people who are educated in something exchange ideas and explain things? Do you somehow think a GV TH400 trumps a 4L80E? I'm legitimately curious to know why, and I'm sure anybody passing through this thread now or in the future would like to know as well. We can keep it civil