Turismo was way more fkd than i've been i'm just too anxious to drive. That guy deserves a suweet ride ASAP!

 

No problem. I have limited cell phone coverage up here and figured you may not have been updated anyway. Canadian wasn't trying to cause a problem. Chris (the transmission builder working on my trans) told him he would call me today, so he assumed I was up to speed already. He apologized in a PM, but I'm not upset that he "spilled the beans." I honestly didn't even know if he had received it yet, so the update is useful information. I am still dying to hear what exactly was found. I left a VM for Chris a moment ago. I will post an update if/when I hear from him.

 

 

PM sent

 

OK. I spoke with Chris a few minutes ago. He received my transmission and did a quick breakdown yesterday. He hasn't looked at the valve body yet. The clutches are all completely stock. The reverse/stopping clutches are stock. The housing is stock. The torque converter is the only thing that has been upgraded that he has looked at so far. Apparently, I paid $4,000 to have my transmission sit at SGP for a few months.

I am now also concerned that they may not have built the engine the way I paid them to. I think I'm going to scream!

My transmission needs to basically be completely rebuilt. The TC, which was actually upgraded, was destroyed when the pump went out and the clutch packs burned up. All sorts of other parts need to be replaced as well.

 

oooh man SGP did nothing to ur transmission

i paid the 1000$ for nothing 2, last time a call them they told me that they dont know any thig about my turbo rebuilt,
so i dont think they will give me my money back

 

This calls for an azz whoopin. I'm down if you are

 

I've been getting some interesting PMs that I won't post out of respect to those who've sent me them but I'm thinking this will have the possibility of making VRT a joke... GLuck to all those up ***** creek.

 

FAWK!!! Sorry to hear that Marshall. This is horrible news I was hoping not to hear. Now I'm very worried about my SGP trans and suspect that mine is gonna be the same. We're trying to get my car ready for HIN on March 14th, but now I'm thinking it would be prudent to have my trans torn down and inspected prior to install. I gotta call Han and Darren.

 

I don't understand why you would not feel comfortable with us, we have never had one single transmission issue.

Also what threads are you referring to besides the constant bashing without basis/proof from go-fast?

I hope you have not drawn a conclusion based on false information - we stand behind our work, and go ABOVE AND BEYOND that, just ask some of our current customers running our GTM-5AT.

-George
GT Motorsports

 

I can vouch for the GTM-5AT. It is an incredible piece of work. I have approximately 8k boosted miles on my GTM-5AT and it has operated flawlessly since my pick up day from Forged in May 2008. Ran it at ZdayZ and at 440 whp (had cats in) it was a rocket. I was holding my own against Dilsher who was running 550 on Sharif's dyno. This year, I'm running at 15 psi at 520 whp DJ and it takes it in stride. Check the video in my thread - shifts are d@mn quick under load. I know you may run higher power levels, but honestly I don't think the GTM-5AT will have any problem with it. Just put a temp gauge on the fluid line and make sure the fluid level is correct and you will be golden. I didn't know Sam at all when I was starting out, but I had gotten to know Sharif and I had come to rely on his word. He told me I could trust Sam and he had no reservations whatsoever. With that leap of faith I went forward. I did run into a problem (that had nothing to do with the design of the GTM-5AT) but Sam and Sharif took care of it. No worries - no headaches other than having to be patient.

Sam worked in a transmission shop for 8 years prior to starting up GTM. I did my research including every GTM related thread on this site and several others prior to going with them over SGP. I looked into the few complaints that were posted. I talked to Sharif and I talked to Sam personally on a number of issues prior to deciding. Sam knows automatic transmissions and although he might not be personally building these units, he oversees everything and double checks it at critical points in the build. So maybe they are not the fastest, I'll admit, but better done right than fast!

I believe both Sam and George at GTM to be men of integrity and they take pride in their work. They both go out of their way to make the customer happy. You will not have any worries with them Marshall. I would give Sam a call and speak with him personally before deciding next steps... Feel free to shoot me PMs if you need any info - the only thing I changed from GTM spec was the TC, but you can ask for any stall you want - I didn't know any better going into this so I got a very high performance TC for drag (= high heat!). Good luck - hope you can salvage something out of this situation. In particular, I hope your motor is ok.

 

I was planning to call you tomorrow to make sure you were aware of my situation. Obviously, my concern for you is that you may be in the same boat as I am. I'm especially skeptical, since you had to go pick it up and there is a chance that it hadn't even been worked on. Anyhow, the builder working on mine has been good to work with and would likely be the cheapest option and he is an expert.

I probably will have my engine looked at as well.

 

The main concern I had about GTM was the thread one of the other big shops posted having had problems with almost every engine they had from GTM. I think that Sam and George have a good reputation and it sounds like they do good work.

As you can tell from the posts above, my trans is already being taken apart and rebuilt. RC Dash assured me in a PM that he didn't have problems and loves the trans. I will definitely keep that in mind in the future.

 

i don't think thats the case ... sgps trannys on the Z32s handled north of 700whp and looked promising to handle good power on the 350z, its a shame all the events that have happened to them and what is not another drama case with Marshall(I hope you get it sorted asap bud, eric keep me updated on teardown). I don't think anybody expect scam issues, or anything similar, but GTMs tranny hasn't been pushed to its limits probably...anybody faster than RAJ? by how much...if its 550whp then still id like to see if it can handle a bit more.. perhaps a different stall to trade a little bit of drivability for a bit more strength....cause to me it looks like Raj its more drivability biased (not a bad thing but could change depending on goals)

I remember a few cars that by current standards are hugely overbuild for just 550swhp even if on AT. Id just like you guys take a bit more risk and push it a bit more.

 

I would feel very comfortable pushing 5AT further, but I don't think I could surpass GTM's stroker build with the 5AT with my 700bb kit, which I would say would have another 60-70 whp left in it with a race fuel tune.

Someone with a big kit has got to make the plunge and see what the limit of the GTM-5AT really is.

On a related note, I wonder if someone could change the gear ratios at the same time as a build. Now that would really be something...

EDIT: By the way, I talked at length with SGP when I was deciding who to go with and talked to Ron (his car was completing build at Forged while mine was in the works - he decided to go with SGP and I went with GTM). It was my understanding that while SGP does have a tranny dyno (very cool), they have NOT tested any of their 350z transmissions past 650 crank hp. Wonder why not? So if there is a 5AT out there somewhere that has any built 5AT holding more than 600 whp, let them come forth. I do not believe they exist. Therefore SGP's claims of 1000 whp capacity are heresay (on this platform) until proven otherwise (happy to be proven wrong).

Perhaps RudeG or mrg1981 will be the first to break those barriers...

 

werd..and...i know rude is all for it, his turbo will be good for 30psi + :
marshal is probably also looking to max out his 18gs too....

 

We have made over 600rwhp on our GTM-5AT with a 4.2 stroker build, I will dig up the thread later. No issues to date.

As far as the thread "the other shop" made, that is the only shop we have had issues with, and most of those issues were directly their fault - they would have all been handled and the customers taken care of if "the other shop" would have been more professional in the way they ran their business.

In fact we are still taking care of a few of their customers AT OUR EXPENSE after the fact - now what does that tell you?

Like I said, its unfortunate what has happened, it seems like this false information lead to your decisions - I am sorry and good luck with your transmission I hope everything gets resolved. Please let me know if you need anything.

I would love for someone to couple our transmission to a high horsepower build, maybe a big Powerlab single with a high stall TC, talk about a drag monster!

-George
GT Motorsports

 

wow. wow. and wow again. that sucks to hear that. after all that hype about the sgp transmissions and what mark was selling people and now this. everything basically stock inside the trans minus the vb and torque converter. im sorry to hear this. as for your motor, i assembled it. if i remember correctly it has all the stuff you ordered. if you can email me at jtranbuilt@yahoo.com a copy of the actual invoice, i can tell you whats all in there by the invoice.

 

That is quite a nice offer. I will take you up on that when I am back in town and have access to the invoice. It would go a long ways toward relieving some concerns. I do have pictures SGP sent of the engine torn down, so I know they at least took it apart. I would assume they wouldn't do all of that and then put the stock parts back in. Thanks for the willingness to help.

 

How do you know that was your motor? I wouldn't put it past any company that put stock parts in a built trans.