Some more info on the car, engine and rear etc. might help so guys can say I have something similar and I use this.

 

I am on the very start of this project, car is a 6.0 cert 70 cuda tube chassis car, the engine is going to be a blown hemi with about 1300 to 1500 hp 4.30 gears. I have a 4spd lenco, but I dont want the clutch maintenance.

 

I dont have a car like this but have been very intrested in it and think8ng of buildind one. From what ive seen a lot of the fast guys are running a th400 with a gear vender unit. I have a Bruno drive so ive looked into that also but havent seen many if amy running one since a lenco only goes 1:1. Im thinking to make it work a 5 speed with a lower first 4 gears amd a 3.55 rear fear (something like that) would need to be run with the 1:1 for highway driving. Depending on how fast you ran im thinking a 4L80 may be used with the Reid case and other parts available. Jeff Zerkle has a 3600lb firebird thats been 7.50 at 190 with a 4l80 so that may be a option

 

Whatever Larry Larson used...

 

I wish lenco made a overdrive planetary set, if they do ive never seen it

 

I’ve heard of some custom ones existing in the diesel pulling scene, but I’ve never seen it before.

 

I'm using a 4l80 with Jakes stage 5 parts (built at home) D3 tbrake, and a triple disc lockup. No passes yet after finishing the truck, but back roads driving in OD with the converter locked gets me 1300rpm at 55mph. 275's with a 3.73

 

What Hp are you running, and how heavy is your truck
Thanks Tom......

 

Should be around 1200 and weights 4100 at the moment.

 

I would consider a PG with a GV at your weight/HP level.

I have a 3500lb car (8.50 cert) and for 15 years I ran a Ford AODE with a 2.84 first gear. Short times were typically mid-1.2x and ETs mid 8s running the car "conservatively. Gear was 3.50 using 295/65/15 M/T drag radials (30" tall). When pushed hard the car has 60ft as low as a 1.19 and ran 7.95. Recently I changed to a PG with a GV. Car runs basically the same ETs but have to leave with more boost and ramp it in faster compared to running with the AODE. Changed the rear gear to 3.70 to help get it moving with the 1.80 first gear. With the 3.70 gear and 295 tires it cruises around 2500rpm at 70mph.

I've driven the car all over the country and have been to Drag Week 3 times. All converters have been PTC spragless and never had a problem with overheating the transmission.

 

I would consider a PG with a GV at your weight/HP level.

I have a 3500lb car (8.50 cert) and for 15 years I ran a Ford AODE with a 2.84 first gear. Short times were typically mid-1.2x and ETs mid 8s running the car "conservatively. Gear was 3.50 using 295/65/15 M/T drag radials (30" tall). When pushed hard the car has 60ft as low as a 1.9x and ran 7.95. Recently I changed to a PG with a GV. Car runs basically the same ETs but have to leave with more boost and ramp it in faster compared to running with the AODE. Changed the rear gear to 3.70 to help get it moving with the 1.80 first gear. With the 3.70 gear and 295 tires it cruises around 2500rpm at 70mph.

I've driven the car all over the country and have been to Drag Week 3 times. All converters have been PTC spragless and never had a problem with overheating the transmission.

Randy i think you meant 1.19 60 ft above not 1.9x?

 

A 4L80e could live at the 1300-1500 range, but there's a lot of maintenance items you'd be servicing annually. It would probably be happier with a close ratio 400 with a gear vendors. I have no experience with a gear vendors, only what I see on the internet. Some people love them, some people replace them 3 times during a drag and drive.

 

I've never heard of anyone replacing their GV during a drag and drive Vic. However, one thing that they don't advertise is even though it's rated at over 2000hp, if you're making 1000+ they don't recommend you shift it going down track.

 

From the direct drum back the 4l80e is equally reliable as the th400
The weak points in front of that are the Input roller clutch and OD planetary carrier.

The carrier can be beefed up with a billet splined hub top cap and they are quite robust.
The roller clutch I'd recommend you use an early unit, and a valve body that has the overrun clutch applied/supporting the roller clutch.

You'll need a proper input shaft (sonnax would be my recommendation) and you will need to give proper attention to the pump.

I'd expect a unit like that to live a happy life at 1300-1500

To be fair, a drag and drive th400 at that power level that sees a couple thousand miles a year...I'd be cracking it apart to freshen/general maintenance annually also. 4l80e would be no different in my eyes.

If you want engine braking you'll need a couple more exotic parts and build a little differently for setup but it can be done also

 

I watched a couple of vids of Alex Taylor regularly breaking the GearVendors units on drag and drive events.

 

Post a link with Alex Taylor or anyone else breaking them. I looked but couldn't find any.

 

I've seen plenty of GV breakage on Drag Week. One nice thing is that Rick will swap you a new one on the spot and take the broken one. If you run a 400, you can take the GV unit off and run just the GV tail if you have to, as long as you have a driveshaft.

I run a Powerglide with a Gear Vendor, I have mine out as of right now to save weight.

 

The reason you don't hear about it is because they're a HUGE sponsor of the event and they bring stock. As pointed out above is they will just swap you a brand new one on the spot.
If they trade out 10 broken ones on race week...but then advertise how their unit is in all those cars and its "great for cruising your race car" etc
Think of the sales on the back end that get made to the average joe with not enough power to break one.

In my opinion, If you're willing to try a TH400 and GV...you should be more than willing to go with a properly built 4l80e.
You get the same ratios, the same (or better) strength, in a more compact package, WITH converter lockup which is a huge difference for cruising rpm and temps.

In my mind it's a no brainer to leave the GV and get a 4l80e. Just my $0.02

 

The reason you don't hear about it is because they're a HUGE sponsor of the event and they bring stock. As pointed out above is they will just swap you a brand new one on the spot.
If they trade out 10 broken ones on race week...but then advertise how their unit is in all those cars and its "great for cruising your race car" etc
Think of the sales on the back end that get made to the average joe with not enough power to break one.

In my opinion, If you're willing to try a TH400 and GV...you should be more than willing to go with a properly built 4l80e.
You get the same ratios, the same (or better) strength, in a more compact package, WITH converter lockup which is a huge difference for cruising rpm and temps.

In my mind it's a no brainer to leave the GV and get a 4l80e. Just my $0.02

I agree with you; only reason I suggested a th400 is because it's a non locking converter so it's one less thing to break (as easily lol)

 

GVs break all the time on these events in the big power cars, it is (u less taken down as suggested) all over UToob.

I have opted to just run a 400 with a big cooler and drive slower

 

Boy y'all better post pictures/videos with someone holding an iPhone showing date/time while also holding two forms of government ID visible or Randy is gonna call y'all liars

 

Lol, well I personally changed out one of Mike Roys GV's at St Louis, pretty sure is was the first day 2014.

 

Pictures, pictures or it's all hearsay. They don't break.

 

I already stated I believe they have been broken and it doesn't surprise me the high HP cars can and do break them. Those cars hurt/break powertrain components regularly. But hundreds of drag/drive cars that aren't at that level of power are using them and I've not heard anything about those applications.

So far I have 81 runs and 1 Drag Week on mine with the PG. We'll see how long it lasts in a 3500lb car that can only run 7.9x.

 

4L80E Automatic Overdrive - Hughes Performance


I have a friend who runs this in his ride,.....and has competed in Hot-Rod Drag Week. It has served him well. High 7's in the 1/4 mile

 

Alex Taylor has broken 8 GVs at my last count. I build the trans for that car so I'm aware. They are actually breaking shafts, not a tuning issue.
All the fast cars kill them.

 

Like Jake said, if you're not breaking them, your shit is slow. LOL

 

I wasn't the one posting incorrect info regarding the GV breakage problems (specifically on Alex Taylors combo), subsequent posts by other trans builders confirmed that I was correct in what I posted, no need for me to post any links.

The problem I see with the GV is that the shaft that keeps breaking is made from 300M, although 300M is a very tough material- constant breakages would indicate to me that the shaft should be made from a better material such as Vasco or Aermet. JMO.

 

I wasn't the one posting incorrect info regarding the GV breakage problems (specifically on Alex Taylors combo), subsequent posts by other trans builders confirmed that I was correct in what I posted, no need for me to post any links.

The problem I see with the GV is that the shaft that keeps breaking is made from 300M, although 300M is a very tough material- constant breakages would indicate to me that the shaft should be made from a better material such as Vasco or Aermet. JMO.

Show me what post I had with INCORRECT information.

 

Not sure of the exact difference, but they do have 2 versions. The original version and a Pro Mod version,

 

This mechanical diode converter kinda interests me. PRI 2022: Hughes Displays Ultimate Converter For Drag And Drive Apps (dragzine.com)

 

Mechanical diodes are very common in converters-and have been for many years, why Hughes was touting them as a 'new thing' I don't know. All the converter manufacturers use them in their products, along with some who use super sprags.

 

Just because you are not aware that drag & drive cars are breaking the GV's does not mean that the GV's are not routinely breaking. Alex Taylor breaking 8 GV's seems pretty routine to me, and there were a few other posts stating that they too have seen more than a few breakages of the GV's on drag & drive events. It seems like only you are not seeing the breakages.
You can't get out of it - you posted incorrect info- own up to it like a man. It's people like you who contribute to the mass of misinformation that is on the net - because you haven't broken a GV (yet) or haven't seen any broken GV's - DOES NOT mean that they are not breaking regularly.
You speak in absolutes about something you have very little experience with, what you should have said was - "I haven't had any problems with my GV so far, nor have I personally seen any breakages of GV's on drag & drive events".
Instead you basically said- " I haven't had any breakages of my GV nor seen any breakages on drag & drive events,therefore there aren't any problems with the GV's".
Adding to the misinformation that they do not have problems,when it's plain to see that they do.
I've wasted enough of my time correcting your incorrect info, so this is my last post on this subject.

 

Just because you are not aware that drag & drive cars are breaking the GV's does not mean that the GV's are not routinely breaking. Alex Taylor breaking 8 GV's seems pretty routine to me, and there were a few other posts stating that they too have seen more than a few breakages of the GV's on drag & drive events. It seems like only you are not seeing the breakages.
You can't get out of it - you posted incorrect info- own up to it like a man. It's people like you who contribute to the mass of misinformation that is on the net - because you haven't broken a GV (yet) or haven't seen any broken GV's - DOES NOT mean that they are not breaking regularly.
You speak in absolutes about something you have very little experience with, what you should have said was - "I haven't had any problems with my GV so far, nor have I personally seen any breakages of GV's on drag & drive events".
Instead you basically said- " I haven't had any breakages of my GV nor seen any breakages on drag & drive events,therefore there aren't any problems with the GV's".
Adding to the misinformation that they do not have problems,when it's plain to see that they do.
I've wasted enough of my time correcting your incorrect info, so this is my last post on this subject.

I don't care how many GVs Alex Taylor has broken, that does NOT translate into a common problem. The others mentioned also have cars that are heavy, high HP cars that break driveline parts regularly and are the type of cars that break 9" rear parts regularly. But the 9" is the best option out there and breaking a 9" rear is not considered common.

My direct personal experience on my own car is not the only information I rely on. I talk regularly with friends that have similar or faster cars than mine that have had their GV installed for years with hundreds of runs and plenty of street miles on them. I researched the GV quite a bit before buying it also.

I have read everything posted on this thread and still no one has posted any information that indicates it's a common problem.

 

Has anyone posting here on this GV subject had a failure in their personal car? Or has anyone here seen a failure of GV in person?