Built trans and TC (track days, not drag)
 

I have a stock TC and 5-speed trans and have never had a problem with them on track (25+ days), but my power level and driving skill is gradually increasing and I’d rather proactively replace if I’m pushing my luck. Track time is too expensive to be sidelined after all the sunk costs.

For now, I generally keep my boost down to 22-23 psi on track and I have the TRE 4th gear saver mod with frequently changed Redline fluids. I think my car is probably in the 375-400ish whp range. Am I in the danger zone? For which components? When is a trans cooler prudent?

Thanks.

trans cooler is such a simple mod not to be installed ona a track car..

My impression is that not too many here have one.

Which redline oil are you using?

I like the idea of a trans cooler, however its not so simple to install considering you need a pump and appropriate place to draw and dump fluid to the trans.

20-30 minute HPDE sessions do not require a trans cooler.

Going through the trans doesn't hurt. Depending on the miles on the trans and how often you're in 4th gear it could be getting to the point of 4th gear and other stuff needing replaced.

Depending if you have an Evo8 or 9, you could also use the rebuild as an opportunity to install all more ideal gear ratios- Evo9 1st, Evo8 3rd and 4th, and and Evo9 5th Gear. TRE also has extremely strong straight cut 3rd and 4th gears that use double synchros that are a great option as well.

Not same application but my 4th gear needed replacing went I sent my transmission to be rebuilt. No roading racing but mostly autocrossing, daily driving, 120k miles with under 340whp. Had to use third a small handful of times but never 4th in autocross. If I had to get it replaced for my application, it would make me worry if I did a lot of tracking.

MT-85 but I’m planning to switch to straight MT-90 for summer track days.

I was using MT-90 and Jon recommended I use Motul Gear 300 over it due to having a stronger film strength. Per TRE's website and him, says REDLINE 75W140 NS GL-5 is the strongest out of the bunch.

http://www.teamrip.com/trans-oil/

Drivetrain only sees Jon's top oils since they were built, 75wNS and the 80w140 stuff. But no not a lot of us use coolers, I would need to setup a temp sensor at some point to justify it. The biggest argument being all the added weight. If we had crazy aero then ya you start to come back to it's worth because you'd be blocking off all the airflow it gets today. Easiest two mods is Jon's cooler plates and the redline fluids.

Coolers aren't needed unless you're going longer than 20 mins with little or now cool down.

There's really no way to know if the trans is on its way out or not. My trans is still original at 108k and has more track days on it than that. The only way to be preemptive about it is to go through the trans and have all the gears inspected.

I've never heard of someone popping a transfercase on a road course but with enough wheelhop it's possible. Also if you don't have an LSD up front it'd be beneficial to grab one of those.

I've thought about setting up a temporary probe setup on my drivetrain fluids to see what fluid temps are like. Maybe next year I will.

Ive never used coolers. I have one on the sequential but its a waste of time i barely get the oil above 65deg C. Actually need to get around to blocking half of it off.

Trans will probably fail eventually no matter what u do. TRE would be the best bet for a upgraded trans. try find one cheap and send it to him to get upgraded on the side?

Wavetrac Transfer case LSD units are awesome. Definately worth the upgrade there.

You should have lucked out with USDM spec and have the good Mechanical diff in the back of yours and not the ****ty AYC unit so thats a good start. You could replace the LSD unit with something like a Cusco. make sure at least youve done the mod which flips the plates around the right way.

Yea I'm pretty nervous to see what the inside of my trans looks like after the end of this season lol. Hoping I can get away with just swapping out 4th and new synchros but I think that's pretty wishful thinking.

my 6spd was built by jon. no coolers available on the 6 speed, but did have him replace gears, shot peen, new oil passages, all the other stuff he does to it. been holding up fine for a few years but i guess you can't really tell what's going on on the inside. i also always overfill t-case and trans. tilt the car off the ground on the pass side to overfill the t-case, tilt on the drivers to overfill the trans. t-case is stock, and added jon's magnet/cooling fins this last change. swap rear diff fluid annually, and trans & t-case every other year. car pretty much only sees usage racing and driving to & from events.