ill be debating on which way i wanna go here soon, i guess you could say i probably had the best of luck running a 4l60e from performabuilt level 2! 4+ years from a 11.8 second NA extended cab to a 10.6-7 second ( 100 shot ) rcsb, and now behind a 408 thats running low 11.s and easy 10s on motor, she'll be seeing some nitrous this coming weekend, yes i expect the trans to be the weak link, thus debating on which way i wanna go TH400 or 80E but that'll be decided when she actually does fail! pending on what fails also!

i found theres alot more in making a 60e survive than just throwing one in and hitting the gas if i had to guess my 4 link has also paid for itself not only in help in traction but also helping the tranny survive, but alignment and proper angle is important along with keeping the tranny cool.

 

No doubt that you've beat the odds and no doubt that you're right about the fact that there is a lot more to reliability than just bolting up and putting one's foot down. I've got a 60E in my Colorado, which weighs 3230 lbs., but I'd never recommend one for a heavier truck--just too many things that are a downfall. A lot of people question the swap and a lot of people can read ratios all day long, but very few (compared to the number that just assumes), have seen the pros/cons in action. It's always a big debate on either/or, but that's just about with everything.

 

The 80e's gearing is not to far off from 60e's and resemble the old school trannys gearing! They hold up extremely well even when untouched and I guess in earlier trucks it's the best options! But with pros there are cons, and having to have 4:56 gears or a 4k converter or just deal with the first 25-30 mph being slow to get moving is defiantly a con IMO. A long time buddy of mine has had a 2500 HD with Lq4 with factory 4:10's but you would never know it untill it's in 4th Taching 3k @ 75mph. He loses all his races from a dig BUT he has put 145k of the hardest miles on that truck and it's still kicking and it's not stock (CAI, headers, exhaust, programmer). All that being said I swapped from a 70e to a 6l80e in a 6,000lbs truck and that's been the best thing for me! When I bought my '07 tundra with 6spd auto that was the eye opener/game changer for me! Which ran 14.0@97 with only a cat delete and vortex muffler!

 

N/A, the 80 will be slower than the 60 if the 60 will hold together.

I prophylactically went to the 80e several years ago with no regrets.

 

Thats complete bullshit, This is pure Interwebz knowledge right here.

I read and read and read this stupid statement all the time and am tired of it, if people actually knew how untrue this staement is more people would have less reservation about swapping in an 80e. They shift so awesome, are so much more durable, This trans should have been factory behind all LS vehicles.

My truck performs better with the 80e first gear as the 60e first gear was really useless , just made it more of a tire burner.

 

I agree a 80e swap is almost a most in any high horse power truck. I would run one if it wasn't such a PITA to make it work with the AWD. It sucks that the guy over on SSS.com stopped making the adapter to keep the AWD with the 80E. Oh well.

 

My point exactly "high horse applications"
Tim I bet yours does feel great with 560+ hp!
80e's= awesome but unsupported info... I think not!

My second gear is close to a 80e's first gear! Just sayin

Ps. It's not that big of a deal.

 

Is ur friends truck at sonic in gonzales sometimes?

 

I see you say trucker cam so do you know what size cam was?

 

I drove mine na with an 80e for about 3 months making 330 whp and still thought it was better all around than the 60e. 1st is better even with lower hp. The 60e 1st is to low unless you have stock hp, after a couple of mods it would just spin. With the 80e it wasn't a "dog down low", it was just about perfect. You guys that don't know from experience, don't know period. Comparing a 7000lb 3/4ton with minimal mods to a 5000lb 1/2ton is just stupid.


PS sorry for the thread jack, but I'm with Tim, all this misinformation is getting pretty stupid.