Final Drive Swap via Chain set ok for a 2k SSEi?

[Boostershot]

I've got a stock Trans for 00 SSEi, looking to beef up the Trans for some sticky tires and 2 or 3 track runs this year.
So far I'm looking at a new 245mm Torque converter, input shaft and a 7/8 single chain upgrade.
Also was looking at going to a 3.29 with that chain set swap. Any possible problems or is it just a straight swap? (have HPtuners and a good tuner in town)
I have the original Transmission from the car on a pallet waiting for the upgrades.

It's mostly for street use and roadtrips. The car will be daily driven. I'm looking for a stall that will compliment the 3.29 upgrade if possible.
As i mentioned earlier the car will see maybe 2-3 runs at the track per year.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Russ

[willwren]

I've driven one setup like that (PontiacDad) and he wasn't happy with it as a daily driver, and went back to the stock 2.93. The stall is the key, but even that seemed odd in daily driving. Yes, the parts are a straight swap, then tune for your shift points.

Great for the track, but not for a daily driver IMO.

[Boostershot]

That is some solid advice Will. The car in it's present form has no trouble "blowing the tires off of it". It's capable of spinning right until the shift to 2nd at 50 or so mph. With the car being daily driven, and not afraid to back down from a challenge most of it's time will be spent off the track. All I heard today from some pretty knowledgeable folks is to keep the stock ratio. I'll stick with the stock ratio. As far as the Torque Converter, If aftermarket, stick as close to possible to stock stall? I have spent enough on the engine, I'd just like the drive train to stay together under "spirited" driving conditions.
Open to suggestions as before.

Regards
Russ

[00Beast]

You might be OK with a few hundred RPM's over stock, but not much, as far as stall speed. I'd keep stock stall, for driveability. Why are you putting in a new TC and other parts?

[willwren]

I went a bit higher on the Zilla's stall (don't recall exactly how far, hafta go look it up) and kept the SLEeper at stock stall. I hardly notice the difference in daily driving.

[00Beast]

As long as the stall is matched to the cam it should be fine, but I don't think the money he'd spend on a higher stall TC probably wouldn't make a terribly huge difference.

[Boostershot]

You might be OK with a few hundred RPM's over stock, but not much, as far as stall speed. I'd keep stock stall, for driveability. Why are you putting in a new TC and other parts?

To tell you the truth I suppose I can't really answer that. I have yet to actually tune the car. When I parked it last year i had about 2000 Miles on the fresh engine. Daily driving the car no WOT pulls the Wideband reads 14.5-14.8. In the few encounters on the street, WOT the Wideband says 10.5-10.8. I know the car has lots more in it. I'm lucky enough to have a guy who knows his stuff when it comes to HPtuners in town here, Russ K. I'll be taking the car to him in a few weeks for him to work his magic.
I guess my biggest fear is that, once tuned, drive train issues are going to rear their ugly head. I have the extra trans and the swap doesn't take long. More piece of mind is where my mind was going.

I'm really pretty novice when it comes to some of this stuff. Is a TC necessary for Trans reliability?
I myself am employed as a Diesel Tech at a local Mack dealer here. The biggest single cause for driveline/differential failure is shock load.
The input shaft and chain upgrade seem logical, as well as maybe some of the other hard parts. The TC, I'm not so sure about.

I suppose as long as the car doesn't hook, I can't shock load it I would like to see what the car is capable of sometime with sticky tires, but it won't be often.
Ugh what to do?!

[01bonneSC]

Id say if you are willing to spend the money, id get an LSD in it.

[willwren]

A tune alone is not going to destroy your drivetrain. When you start modding though, you will be stressing the trans. An LSD has it's advantages and disadvantages. I have one in the Zilla. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.

[Boostershot]

I've modded the car about as far as I'm willing to go, save maybe for an intercooler one day. That's the reason why i'm becoming concerned about the Trans. I've got to be riding that fine line where the reliability of the stock trans will be out the window after this upcoming tune.

Currently the Mod List includes:
-ZZP Flashed PCM (Formerly for the VS cam I was running)
-3.2MPS
-ZZP Stage 2 heads 105 Springs
-XP Cam
-CC OeR Lifters
-Double Roller Chain
-Lightly Ported TB
-ZZP Stainless headers
-3" DP to catless stock Exhaust
-Shift Kit
-AEM Wideband
-Aeroforce Scan Gauge
-180* T-stat
-Autolite 103's

[willwren]

It all comes down to how you drive, but I can assure you the shift kit was a wise choice. That'll extend the life of most of the trans. The biggest thing to keep in mind is no burnouts in a turn. No one-wheel wonders at all.

Yes, you'll need a rebuild sooner than most with those mods, but you'll also have warning before that day comes. My advice is to set aside a budget. When it gets twice the cost of an LSD, buy the LSD and keep working on the rebuild budget. Where you live, the LSD will be a benefit in bad weather traction, as well as equally loading your Diff. That saves a bunch more load on the drivetrain by equally distributing it.

[01bonneSC]

A tune alone is not going to destroy your drivetrain. When you start modding though, you will be stressing the trans. An LSD has it's advantages and disadvantages. I have one in the Zilla. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.

Just curious what your dislikes are about it, and disadvantages you see. Is it just because its in a FWD application that it acts weird sometimes?

[willwren]

Keep in mind it's on the Zilla, and I don't have many miles on it. In addition, when I had it built, I asked for it to be sprung for 'street', not 'strip'. However, they didn't offer the street springs any longer (makes sense for the lifetime and performance of the diff).

Even with T2V steering assist, low-speed turning takes a bit more effort. A minor inconvenience for the joy of driving that car, but a big problem when it comes to Katie, who is 5'2" and barely over 100 pounds. In addition, on hard acceleration, instead of a steady pull to one side like you'd have with a stock diff, it's a series of rapid 'small' grabs both left and right. It's a handful. Traction through a turn in any conditions is great, but coming out of a turn, the steering wants to snap back to center faster than normal. This is a problem with two cars...one does this, the other doesn't.

In low traction conditions, it's great. In turns (any conditions) it's great. At the track it's great.

Let's hope it lasts. I've destroyed two stock diffs in this car.

[Boostershot]

Is there even an LSD still available for the 4t65? I know there used to be, but i can't find it. Got a link? Still just playing with the possibilities here. I am very cautious of acceleration out of corners and prefer to point and shoot. The car handles like bus so, I'm not canyon carving. I'm sure at some point an evil burnout can and will happen but, it will be rare. I'm a fast driver, but not ignorant to the fact that it can all go bad if I'm hard on it. In the few races it saw last year, I much preferred to be rolling a little maybe 10-15 MPH or so before I really lean into it. My mentality is that I'm rolling already, the trans see's less stress that way.

[SSEimatt93]

I bought my LSD from intense-racing.com, I belive they still carry them. Installed it when I lived in Lethbridge, shock loaded it, towed the car to Red Deer, it sat for almost a year, rebuild the transaxle, drove it down to Medicine Hat. I still have the LSD, its in a box now. Needs new Planet gears, thats it. Not sure what I am going to do with it.

[willwren]

Mine was a custom one-off (4T60E-HD) unit from EP, but you don't want to go that route. I'm not sure if he's even in business any more. Turnaround time on it was VERY slow (over a year).

I DO canyon carve, as that's what I set the suspension up for primarily. I do enjoy the LSD for that. Gives more positive assurance in the turns.

[Boostershot]

Where I live it doesn't get any more flat and boring. Straight, and then more straight is all I get here. Where you're at Will, I envy you. I've always loved Bonneville's, I sold vehicles at a Pontiac dealer, and to this day, I still hold the record for most Bonneville's sold in one year. The Dealerships been over 50 Years. I acquired this car used, and it turns out I actually sold it new. I bought it from the 2nd owner. When I picked it up the Transmission (The one to be modified) was slipping badly. When I took the trans out, I figured i'd do the LIM gaskets, the coolant blockages alone caused me great concern. Upon further dis-assembly discovered the cam had started to de-laminate. At that point, I discovered a few places to buy parts....all of them aftermarket. I got bit hard by the bug.
Performance wise, Hp/TQ, i think I'm done. Tweaks to it now, Trans, Suspension Mods, hell even a stereo upgrade are all on the horizon.
Still up in the air for trans parts. I have a $3000 budget sitting and waiting for this.

[gonzo4191]

couldn't he get a fully built trans for 3k guys?

[willwren]

Yup. 3k will do nicely.

[olblueeyesbonne]

I've got a NEW ZZP 3000k stall TC if you decide to get a new stall and this stall works for you. They are getting $300, and I'm asking $250 shipped.