T56 Magnum?

[Vegas69]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on one of these and want to make sure it's the right decision. Have you had any trouble with high RPM shifts? Are you road racing it? Where is your redline? Would you buy it again?

[Greg from Aus]

Todd,
I have none of the information you are after, because mine has just arrived and my car is still a project. Have a look at the Rockland Trans as it has an oil pump, so its not relying on splash feed, so there is no need to run an external pump for a cooler. Have a chat to George.

Greg

[Vegas69]

I've been kicking around a Rockland and I've talked to George, just not convinced I need to spend the extra money at my power levels.

[Matt@BOS]

No real complaints about the T56 Magnum. I've had a viper spec T56 and a TR6060 in the daily driver, and the T56 Mag has been the best of the bunch. I blew the viper spec one up because it was horrible going from 2nd to third. I missed a ton of shifts, and eventually it caught up with me :_paranoid

The I don't know that I've ever missed a 2-3 shift with the T56 Magnum and the stock shifter. Not that you're looking at a 6060, but the shift quality with the Magnum is better, I think mostly due to the fact that it doesn't have a remote shifter. Can't complain about something that is better than OEM stuff.

Only issue I've found with all of them is that they don't like going from 2nd to 1st. Of course, with your engine you'll never need to make that downshift.

Matt

[Mkelcy]

The only issue I've heard about with the T56 Magnum is that the teeth on the synchros are significantly smaller than on the earlier T56's and, as a result, get damaged much more easily in the event of a missed shift.

Take a look here for example: http://ls1tech.com/forums/12645456-post14.html

[Vegas69]

Good stuff guys. In the link Mike posted, the T56 sychros/slider looks very similar to my TKO 600. In my mind, going to an increased number of engagement splines would aid in engaging gears and would cause less missed shifts. I can see his point in regards to the cushion for missed shifts in the larger, less dense splines, but that's what I'm trying fix. A transmission that doesn't like to shift above 6000 rpm. I'm going to email George and see if he makes any modifications to the magnum to improve shifting.

[Mkelcy]

Good stuff guys. In the link Mike posted, the T56 sychros/slider looks very similar to my TKO 600. In my mind, going to an increased number of engagement splines would aid in engaging gears and would cause less missed shifts. I can see his point in regards to the cushion for missed shifts in the larger, less dense splines, but that's what I'm trying fix. A transmission that doesn't like to shift above 6000 rpm. I'm going to email George and see if he makes any modifications to the magnum to improve shifting.

I've shifted my LS1 T56 at 6,500 rpm with no issues, and haven't heard any complaints about high rpm shifting in the T56, unlike the TKO600.

[Blake Foster]

I have one in the Nova and it is perfect. you gotta really try hard to mis a shift!!. super smooth i didn't even change from the factory shifter. wouldn't hesitate.

[Vegas69]

10 4....

[coolwelder62]

We put one in Albert Melchior's Blue Firebird.Kevin say's it shift
s great.He really like it when we were at Optima.Albert's car make over 700 ft.# torque at the RW.

[DFRESH]

Well, since our RWHP is about the same---roughly---I feel prompted to let you know that thus far it's been a great trans---other than it makes my radiator hose consistently fall off.

I think you would like it, however---I would change the stock shifter out for the White Lightning setup just like Brett Vokel has in the 48 hour Camaro---I've been in that car and it shifts much nicer than the stocker--much shorter throw and not nearly as "notchy" as the factory shifter---I loved the way it worked--Brett was cool enough to let me get in the drivers seat--.

You run half inch high body mounts same as I do, so a bit of trans tunnel clearance will most likely be necessary---can't remember if you had same issue with your current setup or not.

D

[Vegas69]

I called American Powertrain and left a message with no call back. Next time I called we went over my plans and they promised a call back and estimate in my inbox. Nothing.... I like a few things that they do. They modify the tailshaft housing for more clearance, offer the better shifter, and they have aluminum crossmembers. They also offer a adapter plate to hook up a old school Muncie/TKO bellhousing to a t56 mag. They have to change the input shaft and I'm not crazy about that part. I'll likely get it from Hurst and source a crossmember. I plan to gut my girl like a pig. I want to get the drivetrain angle up to around 2.5-3 degrees. They claim the Magnum will shift clean to 7400. I got to thinking about my missed shifts and it's almost always coming out of the corner on a road course in 2nd gear. I tend to get alot of wheel spin and that leads to a rapid RPM gain towards redline. Under full traction it's been pretty good since I modified it. I'm just hoping the Magnum is capable of curing this problem. I tend to have a knack for finding the limit of everything. I really don't want to cross the line with a full blown racing trans. I still like a quiet trans with overdrive. Again, trying to walk that line between race/comfort. I do think I'll stay with my manual linkage to save a few bucks as I've seen to many throwout bearing failures around here with aftermarket parts. I really liked the feel of your hydraulic set up Doug and feel it's superior in feel and ergomonics. I just can't talk myself into giving up the reliability of a manual set up along with the $$$$.

[Payton King]

in mine and never had a problem. Run the GM hydraulics and you will not have a problem there either. If you do go with the GM stuff, make sure you do the "drill mod" or get an aftermarket line.

[Sieg]

Would a new Quick Time housing be best all said and done? I had to go with an adjustable throwout bearing to gain proper free play, kit piece was too long. GM hydraulic system would be nice but I have no issue with the feel of the mechanical linkage. ATS cross-member though expensive would have made my install much easier. To obtain clearance to alter drivetrain angles I'd plan on cutting the top out of the tunnel and fabbing a new piece, ideally with an access panel, I'm guessing 1.5" taller with your lower body mounts should give you clearance......assuming the tail ends up low like mine and there's enough bellhousing clearance.

[Blake Foster]

in mine and never had a problem. Run the GM hydraulics and you will not have a problem there either. If you do go with the GM stuff, make sure you do the "drill mod" or get an aftermarket line.

Explain the dril mod please.

[Ron in SoCal]

Explain the dril mod please.

http://www.installuniversity.com/install_university/installu_pages/sophomore_year/drill_master_cylinder.htm

[Payton King]

The "why" is GM put a restriction in the factory line. When you are really using the clutch the fluid does not have time to flow back quick enough and sometimes cause a slow release. 1/8 drill bit, flush it out and you are golden. Aftermarket or home made lines do not have this line restriction. Took me maybe 10 minutes to do the entire modification.