gear vendors- yes or no?

[gordo1968charger]

i 'm ordering a moser dana 60 with 4:10 gears at the end of the week,for my 68,i was going to use a  gear vendors overdrive on my torqueflite,what do you guys think?or shall i save more and get a keisler overdrive?
thanks
gordo

[Silver R/T]

gear vendors if you can afford it

[NYCMille]

GV - Best mod I've done to my car to date - 23,000+ miles with no trouble. 

[Nacho-RT74]

is a very future project in my mind since I can't afford $2500 right now ... less than 1:1 on D is the best for highway and save gas !!!

[gordo1968charger]

sweet;now wheres that credit card!

[68RT4ME]

 I've had my GearVendors installed about 10 months now. I run 3:91 gears switched in from 3:23's. I can run the freeway at 80mph@ 3100rpm. 85mph @ 3400rpm.. Plenty fast enough and still getting decent milage. I know you will be happy with it. 

[gordo1968charger]

the only charcoal area is having the drive shaft shortened,does that have to be done at a machine/fabrication  shop?or do you do it yourself.

[68RT4ME]

the only charcoal area is having the drive shaft shortened,does that have to be done at a machine/fabrication  shop?or do you do it yourself.

Unless you have that kind of equiptment, You need to send it to a shop. They cut and balance it to suite your specs. Mine was cut 12 inches.... By mine, I mean the drive shaft.....

[bill440rt]

Gear Vendors vs Keisler...

This is a debate I have in my head almost daily. Gear Vendors is more affordable, however Keisler is a complete kit. No driveshaft shortening, etc.

Anyone else here run a Keisler? I'd like to hear some opinions, too.

[Nacho-RT74]

didn't know about keisler... what's the diff on kit ?

[Rolling_Thunder]

hmmmm    I like GV myself... 

[bill440rt]

didn't know about keisler... what's the diff on kit ?

Here ya go:

http://www.keislerauto.com/mopar/transmissions/dakota_5spd.asp

[Steve P.]

I have never heard of a Keisler overdrive unit for an automatic. They make 5 and 6 speed MANUAL tranny's and sell a GM tranny with it's own overdrive, but I have never seen an add on unit from Keisler like the Gear Venders unit..

Here's a link to the GM tranny for Mopars they sell..  http://www.keislerauto.com/mopar/transmissions/automatic-4sp.asp



If they make such a unit that bolts to a 727 please link me to it..

[ryan053]

http://www.keislerauto.com/mopar/transmissions/automatic-4sp.asp

[471_Magnum]

I'd have reservations about running that kind of gearing without a lock-up torque convertor. Run any kind of stall, and you're going to generate a ton of heat with the GV.

Keisler, on the other hand, comes with a lock-up.

[firefighter3931]

I have never heard of a Keisler overdrive unit for an automatic. They make 5 and 6 speed MANUAL tranny's, but I have never seen a Keisler AUTO/overdrive unit.

If they make such a thing please link me to it..

Steve, Keisler is selling a 4spd auto trans which is a GM unit adapted to fit on our mopar engines. Mopar Action ran an install article awhile back complete with pics. I believe Brian Shaunessy was helping out with the installation and had his pic in the magazine. 



Ron

[Steve P.]

Yeah, I had forgotten about the GM tranny they sell. I went back and fixed my prior post as you were typing yours...   

What I was thinking was an ADD ON UNIT like the GV unit..

[BrianShaughnessy]

I have never heard of a Keisler overdrive unit for an automatic. They make 5 and 6 speed MANUAL tranny's, but I have never seen a Keisler AUTO/overdrive unit.

If they make such a thing please link me to it..

Steve, Keisler is selling a 4spd auto trans which is a GM unit adapted to fit on our mopar engines. Mopar Action ran an install article awhile back complete with pics. I believe Brian Shaunessy was helping out with the installation and had his pic in the magazine. 



Ron

   Yup.   It's not for everybody but I'm convinced it's a better solution than some.

   With any luck this weekend we may finally find out what the Beeper runs with that trans.    Rick was finishing putting 3.55's in last night.    It was 11.9x @ 118 the last time it actually ran at LVD.     New heads, new trans, more gear now.

   
 

[robertnb64]

We just installed a Gear Vendor setup in a 66 Belvedere. We had to dimple the trans tunnel to make it fit. Also having a driveshaft shortened is easy for a driveshaft shop. With balancing it's between $75 & $150. One day job.

[Steve P.]

Hey Brian, please keep us up to date on the tranny.  I've heard that the L-60E is a pretty healthy tranny and I know many Chevy guys swear by them. Love to hear your thoughts once it has been spanked a few hundred times... 

[myk]

Once the L60-E's built up then yeah.  Or, the L80-E is supposed to be a beefier unit even when stock.  Being the owner of two L60-E's and spending time on LS-1 message boards has shown me that the L60's are less than ideal in regards to strength but they can be fortified...

[BrianShaughnessy]

It's not my trans... it's E-booger's.   

[68RT4ME]

I'd have reservations about running that kind of gearing without a lock-up torque convertor. Run any kind of stall, and you're going to generate a ton of heat with the GV.

Keisler, on the other hand, comes with a lock-up.

I got following straight from The GearVendors website:

Can I run a high stall converter in overdrive with a 3.42 axle?

Yes, this is one of the most often confused questions (even when you ask people you would think would be knowledgeable). Here is the detail. Our example could be this 3.42 Chevy guy. In overdrive he is going to be a 2.67 final drive ratio. He is a Cutlass body with 27 inch tire and so at 75mph in overdrive the motor will be turning 2484 rpm and he has a 3500 stall speed on the back of a pretty nicely built 350ci motor making close to 400hp. 95% of the people you would ask (even tranny guys) would say no-way and yet we know this is an awesome package (drives wonderful, no high temps in the trans etc) why does it work? When his converter was made it was set up to stall at 3500 with 400hp. However if you put 600hp to it it would stall at something like 4500. Conversely if you only put 125hp to it (as when you are just crusing at 75mph not accelerating) then the stall is way down at 2,000 rpm. So his stall with a 3500 converter is not 3500 at cruise because he is not making 400hp. Car drives wonderful. If he romps on it while cruising then the trans is going to downshift to a lower gear and get him into the powerband. (note: read gear vendors passing gear in this section) So, this is why you never lie to you converter builder (because if you overstate your hp you will not get the stall you wanted).

The package of 3500 and 3.42 with 400hp is a sweet setup with a GEAR VENDORS . Without a GEAR VENDORS the trans will not have a great passing gear because 2nd is too low. But with a GEAR VENDORS it will it will jump right into 2nd-over which will rip nicely and put the converter right in the power. You can use this setup as a guidline and say move up or down in ratio related to stall from this good setup with a GEAR VENDORS. Below you will see we have listed an actual formula for Aerodynamic load.

Aerodynamic drag force may be defined as follows:
Fd = (1/2) Cd r A V^2 (1)
where

Fd = aerodynamic drag force
Cd = coefficient of drag
r = density of air
A = frontal area of vehicle, into the direction of motion
V = velocity of vehicle, into the direction of motion

   

I'm no tranny expert or any other kind of automotive expert but, I hope this will help answer the question. 

[471_Magnum]

I'm no tranny expert or any other kind of automotive expert but, I hope this will help answer the question. 

That was pretty much jibberish for an explanation on Gear Vendors part.

Bottom line is if you run under load for extended periods below "actual" stall speed, you risk cooking your transmission. Push a brick-like Mopar down the highway at 80 mph turning 3000 rpm with a 3800 "actual" stall converter, you better have a very good transmission cooler.

[gordo1968charger]

Gear Vendors vs Keisler...



Anyone else here run a Keisler? I'd like to hear some opinions, too.