Well, today I was finally able to drive with the valve body installed. Now, it may just be like this or there could be something wrong.
In drive and in MM the car shifts are delayed by a good 2 to 3 seconds. They're a little faster going WOT, but they're still delayed.
Why is this? Is it something that is normal for an upgraded VB?
I also only put in 9 qts of ATF so far simply because the dip stick reads the level is full...
The shifts are firmer and harder, but it just doesn't drive anywhere near stock feels like. I expect it to shift when I upshift but it takes forever it seems like. I don't really like it...

One more thing, as I was coming home I went WOT again in 3rd gear at about 40mph in manumatic mode and the car downshifted by itself...I have no idea why.

Can I get some peoples thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

Mine definitely delays when not under full throttle, but when you open it up it's pretty compliant. I'll have to drive it.

Also, it seems like a full tranny drain was supposed to be almost 11 quarts or something to that affect. Did you check the level while the fluid was hot? And after it had been driven for 5 minutes?

 

Yeah, when it was hot and after driving for like 5-10 minutes.

I'm letting it cool right now.

Yeah, I'd appreciate it..maybe at the next meet?

 

I'll be following this one...
Good luck.

 

I'll take a look at it tonight.

 

Hopefully i can check it out tomorrow . How about the test pipes , how are they working for you.

 

9 quarts is prob not enough. Did you fill with the engine on?

 

9qts sounds about right.......if you are just swapping VB's. It's usually in the range of 7-9qts when just draining and filling with a VB swap.

 

Stock:
My shifts feel stupid slow now (and they are). The shift itself is great, but there is is a huge delay between when I hit the stick and the car gets into the next gear.

People with VBs, how many RPMs does you tranny take to shift between hitting the stick and getting into the next gear? Stock, in first, it takes my car around 400 RPM between hitting the stick and getting into the next gear.

Canadian's car is taking more or less 1400-1600 to shift from first to second between hitting the stick and getting into the next gear.

 

Len - the test pipes are amazing man, it sound so much better!! No CEL either . If you want to check it out tomorrow, just let me know.

Yes, everyone who has a VB upgrade please answer iStan's question...

 

I bought mine from ZUL8TR and it was a forged performance peice and mine shifts as soon as i hit the shifter.Driving normally in auto mode the shifts are firmer but not harsh but get on it in auto mode it hits fast and hard.In man mode the shifts are right away and it will chirp 2nd,3rd and a couple times i got it in 4th as well.

 

Does the display on the gauge console show the gear change as instant, but you feel the change a bit later? Or does it take a second for the displayed gear to change as well?

The GTM valve body shifts are very firm and initially had a slight delay (no worse than stock) that went away almost entirely after grounding the transmission casing to the battery negative terminal w/ a large gauge wire (FWIW).

I would talk to Thomas at SGP because the delay you describe does not sound typical.

 

Yeah my GTM one shifts almost as soon as I hit the shifter, I would def. have yours looked at.

 

Doesn't sound right. I have the SGP fully built 5AT and the shifts are quick and firm. They are especially quick and firm under hard accel. The only shift which has a slight delay is 4-5.

Did you install a tranny cooler along with the new VB? If so, you may need to add trans fluid to compensate for the add'l section of lines and the cooler itself.

 

We installed a Transcooler a while ago. Where should it be reading on the dipstick?

 

Overall I'm please with my SGP VB upgrade but it could be better. For instance when I floor it in full auto mode sometime's it shifts from 4th to 3rd then to 2nd rather than from 4th straight to second. Also sometimes when i don't shift at redline or under partial throttle it does sort of a double shift sorta thing. It also seems to slip a little on 2-3 shifts that aren't under full throttle or at redline. It was not doing this at all when the VB was stock. I can say though that under full throttle it usually performs pretty well

 

I believe the fluid level s/b in the middle of the grid on the stick between low and full markings.

 

Unfortunately I think that's a function of the TCM program, which none of the VB jobs touch. In a 05 G loaner, as I double down shifted I noticed the AT went through the middle gear (it did it on its own but there was a short delay between shifts). I tried at least half a dozen times and was thinking to myself WTF! My 04.5 does NOT do that - a double downshift goes right from 4 to 2.

 

Same here, delay on the 4-5.

I also get the double down shift if I floor it in auto mode.

I had noticable brake band ware when I took the trans apart recently to install my Alto Red Eagle/Kolene clutch packs. The trans only had 36k mile of NA mostly highway diriving on it, so the ware on the brake band concerned me a bit. I am replacing the brake band, adding a cooler and external fluid filter and switching to Redline D4 ATF which meet J Matic specs. Perhaps this will hep these issues.


Other than that its good, and these two little things I can live with.

 

Man, I live in Houston and SGP is is about 15 minutes from my place. I've thought about having this VB upgrade but have not heard many people talk about it. I've always been if'y about it becuz my Z is my daily, but I would also like to get it becuz I like to cruz to the track on a whim.... I guess next time I head to SGP I'll talk to Thomas alittle more about this. But this was a good eye opener for me cuz like I said. I haven't heard anyone talk about.

Thanx for the input.