When is the right time to switch to a automatic transmission?

[spdpilot]

As some of you have heard. Since my tranny is going on my 98 Cobra, i have been looking into going Automatic. Since this car is going to be my main track car. It is not my daily driver and I only take it out when I want to have some fun.

Everyone i know is giving me a lot of crap about going Automatic. Yes, in the twisties, a 5 speed is fun, but as I was cruising around today in traffic, the only time I get to stretch this cars legs is a few short blasts here and there. Traffic is always heavy it seems. The few country roads I use to like to drive are filled with traffic now. In short, the only time I am really having fun now a days in this car is at the track. Since I bought the Shelby, it has become the road car I would take in twisties anyways. Missing shifts is not my idea of fun while racing. I am tired of replacing clutches, adjustments, etc etc. Plus, the auto's are just plain faster on the track and more consistant. It just makes better sense to me.

Anyways, the reason I am posting this is for you closet Mustangers who have considered running an automatic, but find it a unpopular move, so you stay with a 5 speed, because everyone tells you that real men race sticks on the track.

I found this article and really learned alot. It is about an 03-04 Cobra guys move to an automatic and why he did it. Lots of good info and a good story also.....

http://www.modularfords.com/2008/08/08/installing-a-4r70w-into-a-03-04-mustang-cobra/

 

[zimmerc]

Auto is the way to go for strait line.

 

[Red]

I love my Automatic. No complants here.

 

[Shane361]

Auto is the way to go for strait line.

+1
The real man thing is for guys who run slow mustangs and dont know the limitations of a standard with higher HP numbers. If being faster makes you a girl..so be it! Throw a good auto with the rite stall and gears and the standards wont keep up. From what you said...your ready for an auto. -Shane

PS..My 02GT was a built auto, 4.10 gears with a 2800 stall...it was rather nice.

 

[yosemiddysam]

I would go auto in a heart beat if all I did was straight line mine. Way more consistant and faster.

 

[Ford1288]

I say do it! Honestly auto is still fun, I just prefer a 5 (or 6) speed. If all you plan on doing is a straight line, why the heck not? Plus it would set your Cobra apart from others, which is cool.

 

[IgottaV8]

+1
The real man thing is for guys who run slow mustangs and dont know the limitations of a standard with higher HP numbers. If being faster makes you a girl..so be it! Throw a good auto with the rite stall and gears and the standards wont keep up. From what you said...your ready for an auto. -Shane

PS..My 02GT was a built auto, 4.10 gears with a 2800 stall...it was rather nice.

Does that make me a real man????

 

[Mach1Marauder]

Gimme some specs on the car you want to put the auto in with you goals with the car and I'll give ya honest evaluation of what tranny you should go with and point ya to the right builder.
I have connections and experience with most of the top tranny builders in the nation.:eyebrows:

 

[Daniboy1983]

The right time is anytime the car is going to be a dedicated drag car. I will probably never switch to an auto in my car, but I love banging gears and the challenge is worth the time on the strip. For those who want to go fast and be consistent on the strip an automatic is the way to go. Go auto and enjoy the track.

 

[spdpilot]

Thank for posts.

I more then anything thought that was a great write up and wanted to share.

I use to build muscle cars and the funny thing is, most people today consider buying a Mustang is like going old school, so it has to be a stick shift to really be a muscle car. But in reality, about 90 percent of the old school muscle cars were auto's, not stick shifts. They just didn't hold up back then and are considered a rare find. Little old school trivia for you.

I am going to try and find me a new or slightly used stock 4R75W and put a manual valve body in it and some extra clutch packs. Deep pan, good cooler, 31spline shaft, etc. My budget is $2000. I will most likely go with the Mach 1 stall to save on money. Transbrake will not be done. And I want a SFI Certified bell housing. If I can find one.

If that fails, it is a toss up between building up a 4R70W or a C4, but the 4R70W built will break my budget. C4's are going for around $1000-1500 built and is more reasonable.

As to the comments about banging gears..... I am going manual valve body, so I am still going to be doing all the shifting. Just no clutch. And I don't think it needs to be a track only car to consider this.

Any suggestions on who to use to do the tranny?? Art Carr has some pretty good prices.

 

[spdpilot]

Does that make me a real man????

You don't know how tempting it is for me to answer your question and to further the definition of a real man. But I will be nice!!! :rofl:

 

[orange395w]

Thank for posts.

I more then anything thought that was a great write up and wanted to share.

I use to build muscle cars and the funny thing is, most people today consider buying a Mustang is like going old school, so it has to be a stick shift to really be a muscle car. But in reality, about 90 percent of the old school muscle cars were auto's, not stick shifts. They just didn't hold up back then and are considered a rare find. Little old school trivia for you.

I am going to try and find me a new or slightly used stock 4R75W and put a manual valve body in it and some extra clutch packs. Deep pan, good cooler, 31spline shaft, etc. My budget is $2000. I will most likely go with the Mach 1 stall to save on money. Transbrake will not be done. And I want a SFI Certified bell housing. If I can find one.

If that fails, it is a toss up between building up a 4R70W or a C4, but the 4R70W built will break my budget. C4's are going for around $1000-1500 built and is more reasonable.

As to the comments about banging gears..... I am going manual valve body, so I am still going to be doing all the shifting. Just no clutch. And I don't think it needs to be a track only car to consider this.

Any suggestions on who to use to do the tranny?? Art Carr has some pretty good prices.

The C4 is a 3 spd as you know, so good luck driving that thing from Oceanside to Barona. My car was screaming at 3500 rpm with 3.73's from El Cajon to Seaport village! I was doing like 60-65mph and I was getting passed by ford escorts lol.

If you are going to drive it to the track you may want to look into a Lentech. I believe they are 4 spd, but with the flip of a switch you can lock out 4th for the track and it becomes a 3 spd.

I have read alot of bad things about art carr. I think the original ART CARR sold his company and name. Maybe Mach1 can shed some light on that?

I'm glad you are going auto. Maybe some of the rest of the fools will understand when they see your car spanking them down the track.

 

[Mach1Marauder]

Please leave Lentech and Art Car alone.

I'm NOT impressed with Lentech at all. I know of several high HP cars that the Lentech just couldn't hold up, even though they were assured that they would. One customer went with Lentech billy bad ass( after me BEGGING him not to do so) and tried to get it to work AFTER 5 RETURNS and finally got his money back.

Art Car is NOT the Art Car of old. Art sold his business MANY years ago. They now make trannys in Abilene. If you want a really good C4 that's pretty local to you guys, try Mike's Transmissions http://www.mikestransmission.com/
PHONE (661) 723-0081
OR FAX (661) 723-1521
42541 6TH STREET EAST UNIT #11
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA 93535

If you want a 4R70W, you don't want to use a stock Ford converter. It's rmp limited. In the Mach1, most people think the auto car is limited due to the cast crank, but it's the converter that limits you. A man that builds KILLER 4r70Ws is Darrin of BC Automotive http://www.bc-automotive.com/
He does builds from mild to wild. His "wild" is pretty damn badass too! It's fully manual WITH a transbrake, manual shift, manual lock up.....yes, you can retain lock up!... and manual overdrive

If ya want more info, PM me and I'll give my number at the shop. You can call me any time between 9am and 6PM your time. I'll be leaving for the big race in Vegas late Wed. night if you want to talk this week. I'd be happy to help ya.

 

[IgottaV8]

You don't know how tempting it is for me to answer your question and to further the definition of a real man. But I will be nice!!! :rofl:

Lol, thanks, you know I'm just kidding right, I agree, if you want to make a good drag car, it has to be an automatic.

 

[spdpilot]

Lol, thanks, you know I'm just kidding right, I agree, if you want to make a good drag car, it has to be an automatic.

I know you are.... PUNK!! Now let the real men talk:hellolol:

 

[spdpilot]

The C4 is a 3 spd as you know, so good luck driving that thing from Oceanside to Barona. My car was screaming at 3500 rpm with 3.73's from El Cajon to Seaport village! I was doing like 60-65mph and I was getting passed by ford escorts lol.

If you are going to drive it to the track you may want to look into a Lentech. I believe they are 4 spd, but with the flip of a switch you can lock out 4th for the track and it becomes a 3 spd.

I have read alot of bad things about art carr. I think the original ART CARR sold his company and name. Maybe Mach1 can shed some light on that?

I'm glad you are going auto. Maybe some of the rest of the fools will understand when they see your car spanking them down the track.

Good info. I thought about the 3spd thing, and thats why I am thinking 4R. I didn't realize that it might be that high of RPM. 3.73 to 4.30's....depending on which tranny I go with. I want it streatable, so I wouldn't want more then about 2800rpm at 65ish. I guess I will have to put one of the racing calculators to good use and figure it out. Of course, tire size plays into this as well.

Since I will going with Manual shifting, I am not to concerned about a 4th gear lock out.

The C4's are so much cheaper then the 4R's. My understanding is that the C4 is lighter, but it takes more power to run the C4....is this right?

Also, can someone explain the "torque conversion" I keep hearing about? I have heard that you put alot more torque to the ground then a manual tranny, but you lose a little HP. I am confused about how this works.

 

[spdpilot]

Please leave Lentech and Art Car alone.

I'm NOT impressed with Lentech at all. I know of several high HP cars that the Lentech just couldn't hold up, even though they were assured that they would. One customer went with Lentech billy bad ass( after me BEGGING him not to do so) and tried to get it to work AFTER 5 RETURNS and finally got his money back.

Art Car is NOT the Art Car of old. Art sold his business MANY years ago. They now make trannys in Abilene. If you want a really good C4 that's pretty local to you guys, try Mike's Transmissions http://www.mikestransmission.com/
PHONE (661) 723-0081
OR FAX (661) 723-1521
42541 6TH STREET EAST UNIT #11
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA 93535

If you want a 4R70W, you don't want to use a stock Ford converter. It's rmp limited. In the Mach1, most people think the auto car is limited due to the cast crank, but it's the converter that limits you. A man that builds KILLER 4r70Ws is Darrin of BC Automotive http://www.bc-automotive.com/
He does builds from mild to wild. His "wild" is pretty damn badass too! It's fully manual WITH a transbrake, manual shift, manual lock up.....yes, you can retain lock up!... and manual overdrive

If ya want more info, PM me and I'll give my number at the shop. You can call me any time between 9am and 6PM your time. I'll be leaving for the big race in Vegas late Wed. night if you want to talk this week. I'd be happy to help ya.

Thanks for info. Art Carr was just a name I seem to hear alot about. Lentech is way over priced from what I have seen.

From the research I have done, it would seem that transmission builders have a tendency to specialize. Either GM TH or Chrysler TF or Ford C4's. All of them have AOD listed. Which technically the 4R might be considered in that family, but there are some major differences between the old AOD and the 4R75W.

Long story short.... I looked at Mikes and they seem to specialize in the C4's and the TH's. The AOD seems to be an afterthought. I will check out BC Automotive and see what they have.

I hear you on the converter. I am just trying to stay in budget and not spend $900-1000 on a high end converter.

 

[Mach1Marauder]

Thanks for info. Art Carr was just a name I seem to hear alot about. Lentech is way over priced from what I have seen.

From the research I have done, it would seem that transmission builders have a tendency to specialize. Either GM TH or Chrysler TF or Ford C4's. All of them have AOD listed. Which technically the 4R might be considered in that family, but there are some major differences between the old AOD and the 4R75W.

Long story short.... I looked at Mikes and they seem to specialize in the C4's and the TH's. The AOD seems to be an afterthought. I will check out BC Automotive and see what they have.

I hear you on the converter. I am just trying to stay in budget and not spend $900-1000 on a high end converter.

Don't skimp in the converter. Trash it and crap can kill your tranny.