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Will be installing a 4L60E into my '80. I'm not looking for a full step by step guide, but am interested in any tribal knowledge tricks to make life easier. The unit is from silver sport so will have all the needed replacements, i.e. drive shaft, cross member, shift kit, etc. One question in particular, best routing of for the controller wire harness and placement inside the car and best sources for clean switched power. It's a Compushift Sport unit.
Last edited by vince vette 2; Feb 10, 2020 at 04:56 PM.
Reason: correct product information
? Curious, why the electronic 4L60E iteration; rather than a late model 700R4 or 4L60 ?
like most, i did the 700r4 swap into my '72 years ago, if i was to do it again, i would go electronic control with the ability to change settings on the go,
rather than dropping the pan/governor to change shift points etc, hoping that i have the tv cable set properly etc
sure it costs more at the beginning but the benefits i think out way the letdown of the old way.
? Curious, why the electronic 4L60E iteration; rather than a late model 700R4 or 4L60 ?
Exactly as riverracer pointed out, the ability to set the shift points. The car has the original L82 in it. But the rear end now has 3.54 vs. the original 3.07. So, what are the optimal shift points. Also, in a couple years I plan to replace the L82, so that will change again. Also, there is the ability to control the firmness of the shift. The Dana 44 housing sometimes has issues going over 400 HP, which is about where I plan to be with the replacement engine. So, moderating the shift firmness could provide some safety margin.
I been thinking hard between a 700R4 or 4L70E on my 80 L82 myself , I have one 4L70E and two 700's along with 4L60E's and 4L65E's stashed away
4L70 have the strongest planetary gears of the 4L60 family and has a 1/2 inch or so deeper bell housing to accommodate a heavy duty Lock up unit allowing you to use Lock Up under power and to split gears ( can't do that with a 700 , 60 or 65 )
4L70 requires a decent computer to operate along with a Throttle Position Sensor to operate such as this computer https://www.usshift.com/ and probably end up close to 700.00 dollars all done and ready
700R4 takes a 200.00 or less computer to operate , easy speedo hook up . In my case I have all the Governor and all the hard parts to build a strong 700 after building transmissions for over 25 years so it's just a matter if I want to go through all the extra cost for the 4L70's TCC to split gears and hold power and optimum performance and gas mileage or just a simple to install cruiser that's still way better than the T350
I'm looking for balance between the simple to install cruiser vs the kick butt optimization potential. The 60E seemed to fit this mid range, especially for the 400 hp range. That will make the car a lot of fun to drive and yet not need constant attention. I got myself in enough trouble with the car in my 20's. Besides, my grandson will be 5 next week and in just 11 years to 16, so I need to ensure he'll have something nice for the prom. I had my cousins '74 for that.
Besides, my grandson will be 5 next week and in just 11 years to 16, so I need to ensure he'll have something nice for the prom. I had my cousins '74 for that.
Now that's thinking ahead! I thought my son would take his vette to prom, but they decided to team up with 2 other couples, so with 6 of them, they ended up taking our minivan! We went with a 2004R in his 79 (mainly because we came across a good used 'BTO stage 2' unit), so I can't help much with the 4L60E. But be sure to do a build thread when you do the install!
Now that's thinking ahead! I thought my son would take his vette to prom, but they decided to team up with 2 other couples, so with 6 of them, they ended up taking our minivan! We went with a 2004R in his 79 (mainly because we came across a good used 'BTO stage 2' unit), so I can't help much with the 4L60E. But be sure to do a build thread when you do the install!
Here's the little guy a couple years ago
Had him at Disney World a couple weeks ago. He tackled every coaster other than Rockin Roller Coaster as he found out in Space Mountain he didn't like the dark.
I like to close threads with a what was the outcome post, so I'll wrap this up at some point with the details or that I just decided to have someone else do it.
If your controller supports it tuning can make the transmission lots of fun to drive. I like starting the shift curve fairly flat at the lowest speed I want it to shift and then once the %TPS gets up there a bit quickly ramp up to shifting at maximum rpm. That way, when cruising it shifts early without ever lugging the engine and then as I step into it it quickly goes towards WOT shifting letting the engine rpm and "breath". Something like these curves for upshifts;
You can use BlueCat to tune it. It keeps you from running into issues with the upshifts and downshifts and TCC lockup conflicting with each other. I like curves with the Factor around 2-2.5 and the Offset around 5-15. You just have to experiment. That's the cool think with the 60e, you can try different shifting setups very easily.
Last edited by lionelhutz; Feb 7, 2020 at 07:36 PM.
One question in particular, best routing of for the controller wire harness and placement inside the car and best sources for clean switched power. It's a TCI unit.
Going through the same process and looking for the same answer. Just received my SST 4L60E transmission which will replace my TH400.
Originally Posted by lionelhutz
Something like these curves for upshifts;
Educate me please. In regards to the graph, what do the two axes represent?
If your controller supports it tuning can make the transmission lots of fun to drive. I like starting the shift curve fairly flat at the lowest speed I want it to shift and then once the %TPS gets up there a bit quickly ramp up to shifting at maximum rpm. That way, when cruising it shifts early without ever lugging the engine and then as I step into it it quickly goes towards WOT shifting letting the engine rpm and "breath". Something like these curves for upshifts;
You can use BlueCat to tune it. It keeps you from running into issues with the upshifts and downshifts and TCC lockup conflicting with each other. I like curves with the Factor around 2-2.5 and the Offset around 5-15. You just have to experiment. That's the cool think with the 60e, you can try different shifting setups very easily.
Lionel, will the EZ-TCU allow this level of control programming? If not, what did you use? Incorrect info - the kit comes with a Compushift Sport controller
Last edited by vince vette 2; Feb 10, 2020 at 05:00 PM.
Reason: wrong product
Lionel, will the EZ-TCU allow this level of control programming? If not, what did you use?
I've used the PCS controller, I think the model was "TCM-2000". Once you get a good base tune from your trans builder or from a good source, they are relatively easy to tune/dial in with the lap top while you are driving. The software is simple and datalogging is easy. When I do the 4L80 swap in my 71', I'll likely use this controller again. You'll likely have to drill a pretty good size hole to pass the harness/trans plug through. Not a big deal though.
guidance on install - 4L60E replacing TH350
We went with a 2004R in his 79 (mainly because we came across a good used 'BTO stage 2' unit), so I can't help much with the 4L60E. But be sure to do a build thread when you do the install!
