(I searched the archives for information on shift kits. Seems like there were a lot of conflicting opinions. Are there still?)
Now that my car has reached the low-twelves/high-elevens, I am starting to feel the need to protect the trans. I would like to install a shift kit. The question is, which one? I have read some comments on the Art Carr, B&M, TransGo, and TCI in the archives. Most of the articles were at least two years old. There was a lot of conflicting opinions.
My goal is to have firmer-than-stock (but not neck-snapping) shifts at part-throttle, and very firm (tire-snapping) shifts at WOT. A little tire chirp at 1/4 throttle would be OK, but not more than that.
My car has a stock engine, TA-49, red-stripes, and a stock torque converter. The tranny has about 33,000 miles on it, so it should be relatively healthy. I might upgrade the converter to a Red Stripe (little higher stall) in the future.
Thanks in advance for any feedback...
Mike
I HAVE USED THE ART CARR SHIFT KIT SINCE 91 WITH NO PROBLEMS.THE CAR SHIFTS NORMAL WHEN DRIVING AND FIRM WHEN UNDER WOT
FRANK
I had an art carr and it shifted great at WOT and around town, but I thought the downshifts were a little harsh. I came to find out later, that the valve that controls the downshift is patented by one of the other kits - not sure if it was TCI or Trans-Go. If I had to do it again, I would find out which one has the good valve and get that. maybe one of the vendor's know. I can find out again if you are really interested, a guy who builds racing transmissions in the Detroit area told me about it. His name is Richard Bewick but I don't think I have his number anymore. Hope that helps.
Geoff
I'm sure opinions still vary widely on the preferred shift kit for use on TRs.
I used the B&M kit in my original transmission. It was installed with the 'higher' of the two modification levels. I felt that it worked well and as advertised. It was relatively simple to install, and I installed several for other TR owners as well.
By the way...I've found that the behavior of any transmission using a TV cable can vary greatly depending on the adjustment of the cable. When I first installed my shift kit, I initially did not have the cable adjusted properly and though I'd really messed up the installation. Shifts were very late at very light throttle and were harsh enough to knock your teeth out when they finally happened. Proper adjustment of the cable cured that.
I personally would not install a shift kit on a high-mileage transmission.