timb

Hey stomp looky looky.I found you an auto.

mhuppertz

I'd put my shifting up against an auto. My 5 speed is fast when I don't lift. The problem is it takes a major clutch to put up with that. As I have written in other posts, my LUK only put up with about 10 full throttle drag races (the last time was beating a Z-28) before it could no longer clamp the full boost power down.

I have run full manual "Cheetah" valve bodies in 727's before, and it's fun, but they scatter all over the ground after a while. I don't know how many bands I broke, and the last one I had in my '77 Macho Power Wagon ended up with the main drum split in 5 pieces. Of course I was racing it on the street in low range with an NP203! Yea, you can break a NV 4500, bit it take either really bad luck or a very serious mistake. I had an A-833 in my HEMI road runner (which had 600HP and 600 FtLbs) and never broke it, and the A-833 is not as stout an the NV4500-5600.

The fact is with the exception of direct drive, manuals are the fastest for drag racing (HEMI SSA is faster than SSAA) if you know what you are doing. Air shifted Jerico tranny's rule the comp classes. Even Lenco's have fallen out of favor (manually controlled planetary trans) because they are less efficient than a straight cut gear crash box.

It does come down to preference, but 4X4 trucks, and all work trucks ought to be standard trans. Try getting an auto truck out of deep mud with snow on top of it. Being able to pick a gear and feather the clutch can make all the difference in the world.

If you use a truck strictly for pavement cruising, get a car!

Ok, let me have it, flame away!

rockjeep73

Well you make some good points, but the thread is dealing with the comparison of 727, 518, 47rh/re VS. Getrag, nv4500, nv5600. The transmissions that were available in our trucks, and working with what we got the auto would still be faster on the dragstrip for our application.

mhuppertz

I'm just saying that if you are going to spend 6K or more on a slush pupie for drag racing you might consider building a crash box and air shift it. It's no less practical that a full manual auto. The Chetah Manual I had in a 'Cuda would shift so hard it was like getting hit in the teeth with a ball peen hammer. I split the axle axle housing because of the violence. And it was that way at any throttle position. I liked it but if I built a 727 like that for my truck I would rip it in half. Hey, until the late 40's all manuals were straight cut gear crash boxes! I can shift my '41 dodge by blipping the throttle and jamming her into the next gear.

smokin92

When i was looking for a CTD to buy all i could find was autos. I wanted a 2wd 5spd, but couldn't find one good enough for me to spend the money on. I found a 92' 2wd auto with 120,000 miles on it and clean as a whistle for 5900 and i couldn't pass it up. I like the auto in traffic and i am going to make the truck fast when i get out of high school so i guess it just depends on what the duties and driving conditions that the truck will be in.

cumminsdriver635

They both have their application's. I really wanted a 5spd bad when I found my truck, but I was so eager to get a truck I settled for the auto. Im kind of glad I did now With the tight converter, this thing basically pulls as good or better than a manual of the same power, and It will just flat out suck the doors off a 5 speed drag racing of the same HP. My buddy has a 95 with everything I have(minus the 16cm housing), PLUS 370 injectors(80hp or so), and The only place he can pull away from me a little from is 60mph+ when he doesent have to shift. I love a manual still, but I also really like my auto for daily driving, racing, and hauling. I called them junkomatic's before I got mine,a nd now I am really happy with it. Dont knock it till you've tried it

Eric

jughead

guess i didnt ever have enough power to break a 727. couple of max-wedges, 2 hemis, 2 ctds, 727 in my 82 has a total of 157k on it. about 1/2 of that with manual valvebody. stripped spline in front planetary in 12 years of racing. that is the only piece that i remember breaking. that was a long time ago and the old mans mind is a long way from what it used to be.

mhuppertz

Don't get me wrong, I think a properly built 727 is about the toughest there is. I broke all of mine by doing stupid stuff!

Boatnik

Here is my spin on the subject. I passed up a sweet deal on a second gen. because it was manual. It was for sale the same time as the one I bought and it was already bombed to the max. It is a daily driver and it is SWEET for the same money. My reasons are of personal preference. I have two knees that are well worn and sore from years of pounding them on concrete floors. I could not see myself sitting in slow moving traffic coming home from the shore,with a tow behind me for 3-5 hours using a manual transmission. Also experience has taught me that an automatic is much easier on the drive train. Especially if I am to drag a large boat up a steep ramp. I have done both and they both have good points but health and wear and tear on the old body convienced me that an automatic is the only way for me to enjoy my hobby. Besides, I am tired of "rowing" my trucks down the highway. I cannot count the number of times I have moved that gear shifter sitting on top of that Road Ranger 13 speed.

janb

yeah, I'll have to admit, the first time a appreciated my auto was after rolling in from a 12 hr mountain run in a cab forward (i.e. sloppy shifting) w/ 13spd. I was only 21 at the time, but really beat. (4am) The last thing I wanted to do was shift thru the 20+ stoplights on the way home. Admittedly I wish I had a manual trans in my CTD when I'm headed down a steep grade w/ 20,000# behind me w/ switchbacks (everyday / leaving home with dozer or excavator in tow) I do have manuals in all my 28 vw-diesels

mhuppertz

I put an NV4500 in my '93 and I can speed shift no problem (except for the poor clutch). My NV shifts as fast as any of the gasser trannies I have had.

mhuppertz

I like the control of the manual, engine braking and all. Also auto's are much harder on brakes unless you manually downshift the auto, which is hard on the clutches and bands unless you have a tricked out valve body that has eliminated shift overlap. But that means rock hard shifts under power, which isn't easy on drive line parts. I can shift soft or hard as I want with the NV4500 any time I want.

I line auto's in light vehicles that will spin the tires a bit on hard shift to smooth it out.

Beamwalker

well then lets meet up in country and swap trucks then. i have auto and prefer rowing my gears. you take all your mods but i want a 4x4

PapeCAT

Yeah, you know why you can shift the NV4500 like a gasser, it's becasue the nv4500 was in gasser apps all thru the 80's even before the dodge cummins came out,. According to mysteryman (chysler engineer on dodge cummins proj in 80's) they overlooked the 4500 in favor for the getrag because of it's strength. save for the bronze pinion input shaft bushing that fails(?) and the rear main bearing the getrag will hold up if shimmed properly too, ask stomp... the nv4500 was beefed up for 2nd gen diesels, sure but it was also cheaper, which was the only reason for switching.

mhuppertz

I find it hard to believe that the Getrash is stronger than the NV4500. My truck has scattered three Getrag's before I went to the NV, and witht he exception of catastrophic failure of the pilot bearing that caused high enough pinion angle on the input shaft that I chipped some teeth I haven had any trouble, and I'm making much more power now. I compared internals of the two transmissions and the NV4500 looked beefier to me.

Besides, I HATE the crappy gear spacing in the Getrag, some wide ratio, some close. Horrible!