experience with 700r4 shift kit?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 28
From: South Riding VA
Installed 2 shift kits in 700R4s, both B&M Super Trans Packs, one in an 83 Trans Am and one in an 84. I liked them, they really firmed up the shifts (I could chirp first through 3rd) and I liked the torque converter lockup switch. Had the 84 for 10+ years until I sold it and never had a problem with the transmission with the kit installed.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 346
From: Anaheim CA
A friend of mine had his trans built by B&M twice at their place. Blew up twice. He had no problems after Art Carr rebuilt it. Art said people like the 2nd gear chirp they get from B&M but it breaks things. He said the way to go is to firm up the shifts but not go too far and get the bang bang shifts.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 123
Likes: 8
From: Orange County NY
Great did a bunch of research before I just installed a B+M shift kit. At wide open throttle it does bark the tires. In drive, without shifting it by hand from first to second it will never chirp the tires because it shift at such a low rpm (except wot). If I shift manually from first to second at part throttle it does shift hard with maybe a minor chirp. No noticeable chirp ever happens, under any conditions from second to third. My car is an all original 70k mile 1990 with no modifications. I have figured that since I am keeping it all stock a shift kit would be a good thing for the transmission and I thought with stock only power the D36 rear would be fine. I never ever hit the pedal hard except on a straight away. I would think hard hits and shifts in turns are what could really hurt the rear. What does everyone think?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,381
Likes: 66
From: SF bay area C.A.
C4 of the Year Finalist
A friend of mine had his trans built by B&M twice at their place. Blew up twice. He had no problems after Art Carr rebuilt it. Art said people like the 2nd gear chirp they get from B&M but it breaks things. He said the way to go is to firm up the shifts but not go too far and get the bang bang shifts.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,556
Likes: 12
When Art Carr speced my trans ( built using all his parts and shift kit ) he advised against fitting the .500 boost valve popular with many builders because he said it made the shifts too hard and that was for my trans intended primarily for the strip.
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Instructor
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
a shift kit will not fix a bad or weak transmission if a vette trans is in good working order it doesnt need much mods on a stock cf or l98 far as shift kits use a b and m kit but use a stock 1-2 accumlator sping or a 2-3 spring from a th 350 block the 4th gear on and drill the plate as the directons state a .500 boost valve is a good idea but if the trans is slipping or flaring you need to get it rebuilt
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 993
Likes: 3
From: Iowa
Most of the 700R4/4L60's that I've been around that had shift kits in them and some HP/traction all ended up destroying the planetary gear set. When the transmission engages that hard it loads the gear set up pretty bad. Hence why you see a common upgrade to the 5 gear set over the usual 4 gear unit that the vette transmissions had.
If you have some HP and tires and plan on running the car hard I would stay away from the kits that hit that hard. A well timed, fast shift that won't burn up the trans is the way to go. Just my .02
If you have some HP and tires and plan on running the car hard I would stay away from the kits that hit that hard. A well timed, fast shift that won't burn up the trans is the way to go. Just my .02
Racer
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 401
Likes: 41
From: Parrish FL
I put the B&N Shift kit in my 92 Vette. It bangs a little from first to second when driving slow, but really slams it when going fast. There are two settings, I used the trailer towing one not the hard core one. I had also put the same kit in a Turbo 350 tranny, it banged into gear when putting it into reverse. So it seems there are some disadvantages to the kit depending on application. But it does firm all the shifts.
Advanced
Joined: May 2010
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 346
From: Anaheim CA
I looked at the 5 gear planetaries. When I saw the price I said I'm done here...