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I am going to put in a converter and am looking at putting on a oversized pan on the transmission to help with cooling. Has anyone done this before.....what do you think?
A deeper pan was mainly used on vehicles like vans, that saw a lot of abuse. The deeper pan is not for capacity but rather to keep the trans fluid away from the rotating parts thereby avoiding aeration of the fluid. Aerated fluid plays hell on the pressures required to operate the trans., (valve body, bands, accumulators, etc.) The deeper pan was not for added cooling. If you need additional cooling , use a heat exchanger.
IMHO, I think that you'd be better off installing a transmission cooler. How do you use your car? If you're putting in a new torque converter, I'm guessing that you probably drive it pretty hard. What kind of power are you putting down? If It's stock, and you just cruse around in it, there's no need for additional trans cooling. If you're tracking it, a trans cooler will be your best bet.
Thanks guys for replies. Heads, cam, CAI, long tube hears, trunnion upgrade, SAFI balancer (since i had time cover off for cam), custom tune, 3:15 gears. 450 Rwhp, 425 tq. I havent trac'd it or even been down a strip, I just drive spirited around town. looking for a little more punch from stand still.
does anyone have any pics of a set up for transmission coolers?
Thanks guys for replies. Heads, cam, CAI, long tube hears, trunnion upgrade, SAFI balancer (since i had time cover off for cam), custom tune, 3:15 gears. 450 Rwhp, 425 tq. I havent trac'd it or even been down a strip, I just drive spirited around town. looking for a little more punch from stand still.
does anyone have any pics of a set up for transmission coolers?
Adding capacity to your trans fluid couldn't hurt. Yes, a cooler would work better, but a pan that adds 3 quarts in fluid capacity would help to some degree. It will take that much longer for friction and pressure to heat the fluid. You might lose 5°F in operating temps, but not a huge amount. However, the increased volume of fluid may allow you to run a slightly smaller sized cooler, fwiw.......
It is not clear what you are going to use the car for. If road course-
I've been running my 2001 A4 on the road course track for 11 years, 20 track days so far, 13 at Laguna Seca. The engine and transmission are STOCK, 114,000 miles so far, 40,000 during my ownership. Lessons I have learned are:
It takes several mods to keep the transmission cool at Laguna Seca on a warm day: - B&M or equal finned aluminum trans pan with three extra quarts capacity - DeWitts or equal radiator (Mine with both transmission and engine oil cooler as well as Improved Racing engine oil thermostat) - Auxiliary trans cooler in front of the condenser - Sac City Cool It to call up High fan coming off track
I run Red Line D4 full synthetic ATF and change fluid and filter more frequently. Full synthetic fluid is much more resistant to being damaged by heat or to causing unwanted deposits in the transmission. I monitor transmission temperature on track with the DIC.
Oversized transmission pan
