First and foremost, I know there is a transmission failure thread already, but this problem isn't quite like anything I've read about or heard of before, and I would prefer to get more eyes on this. There are some similarities between my issue and others I've read about, but I think mine is unique to some extent. At the very least, I would like this to be used as a knowledge base for other people to assist them in troubleshooting, or to be aware of some of the many issues SST's have been reportedly having.

Also, I have had this looked at and discussed it with Jeremy at SSP over the phone, Dino from Speedcircuit, and Dino worked with other guys at SSP over Skype as he tried to troubleshoot this. I just had him tear my trans apart to run some bench tests that SSP consulted him on and they still can't figure it out. I live in Maryland so I couldn't exactly take it to SSP so that was my next best option.

The problem, explained:

It only occurs in 6th gear, under light boost, while I'm trying to accelerate or merge onto the highway. Once the car gets into 6th, I will continue to accelerate and the boost will build to about 8lbs or so at ~60mph, 2,500rpm or so. I can feel the transmission almost start to slip, then it will suddenly drop into 5th gear on its own, and no longer allow me to access gears 2, 4, or 6. If I pull over and turn the car off then on again, the problem goes away instantly. There are no CELs associated with the failure, nor does the transmission provide any warnings or indications on the dash before, during, or after the failure. Has anyone had this problem, or a similar problem, or even heard of this from other people?

I had Speedcircuit check my seals upon SSP's estimation that they were leaking, and they were all found up to spec. Dino said that one of my clutches was a little outside factory spec, and that it was apparently slipping in his datalogs, but not a lot. There is no visible wear on the clutches. Sometimes the slip is very noticable when I hammer the throttle, but other times not at all. We both believe the slip gets worse as the trans heats up. It is also apparently a little low on pressure when compared to his other MR datalogs he has on file. Dino seriously put some time into troubleshooting it and he did a great job at datalogging and figuring out how the car responds to what circumstances, but it is still a mystery. He's also a great tuner if anyone is in the New Jersey area, or willing to go that far for excellent work.

My thoughts:

My theory is that the ECU/TCU detects the slippage and that the clutch is a little out of whack, and makes the decision to kill off access to that second clutch in an attempt to save it. Almost like it gets those readings and says "Oh crap, disable the clutch!" Does that make any sense? I believe both of these problems to be related, but I still don't know nearly as much as I should to be making decisions based off my own assumptions. I admittedly know enough to be dangerous so I want some real good advice.

I've talked to as many people about this as I can, and no one seems to have any solid idea. I would like to just start replacing parts left and right since I have the money to do so, but I also don't want to just waste money and still have that problem.

As it stands now, I have plans to go back to Speedcircuit since they do absolutely wonderful work, and have Dino replace my clutch packs and seals with SSP products. After that, we can see if the problem is corrected or not, but I'm scared I will just be wasting my money. My ultimate goal is FP Green so I suppose doing this makes sense regardless, but I digress.

Anyone out there have any bright ideas? I'm willing to do just about anything to have it fixed at this point. Replacing the transmission is probably the worst case scenario and I'm not even sure if I'm willing to do that. I might just cut my losses, part the car out, and put it up for sale if it comes to that...

Please,