Hello all, does anyone have an opinion (good,bad,other) on the TCI tranny? Also would it help to switch the servo to an "H" instead of the "B"? Thanks for any info.
My experience with TCI stuff is not very good, Cheap quality over priced stuff in my opinion. I will no longer build a C4 for anyone if they insist on using TCI parts. But now this is just my opinion.
TCI stuff is like anything else, you get what you pay for. Have heard both good and bad about their tranny's. A good rebuilder can put your's in a fairly comparable class as some of the inexpensive one's(excluding full roller). They just have to be assembled right and some slight mod's made to the clutch's and other internal parts. Here is a list of servo size's from a thread on another site. C servo's are hard to come by so H is the choice of many, We use a PA billet one which has worked quite well for years, can order replacement seal's from them if need be too. [size=-2]Posted: 1/6/05 2:09am [/size]"copied from the c4 monster thread" the apply and release areas of the ford servos are: 'A' 2.825" apply 3.785" release 'B' 2.710" apply 3.785" release ‘C’ 3.130” apply 3.785" release 'H' 2.960" apply 3.785" release 'N' 2.560" apply 3.785" release 'O' 2.460” apply 3.785” release 'R' 2.825" apply 3.265" release 'Z' 2.500" apply 3.335" release
i had very bad expirience with my tci tranny, the low reverse servo broke first time i punched the car, warrenty department where as usefull as a bag of rocks, ended up rebuilding the tranny myself using b&m parts.
I still say there are good tranny builders "in your area" you just need to research and shop around....nothing like getting service speaking face to face as to talking to someone on the phone.
May want to check out PA http://www.performanceautomatic.com/transc4.htm I like mine and tech line is good. Lifetime warranty hard to beat. I've not sent mine back, talked to guys who said no problems on sending back for freshen up! Parkway Performance in SC got the best prices
I currently have a Super Comp C4 from PA and I am very pleased with it. I have also gotten one from Jim Paquet at JPT. Jim is a great and knowledgable guy. His C4's are well known in Stock & Super Stock drag racing. You can't go wrong with either one.
Okay... I am going to hijack a little here, but staying on subject: Edjookate me on servos. What do they do, and what do these measurements mean? Why is one better than another? Thanks! Dave
The servo is what makes second gear happen, and unhappen. The bigger the apply side the more pressure that is put to the band, Hence more holding power, although the bigger the slower to engage, the release side is the same just backwards, the smaller the release measurement the faster it fills and releases, That's why the r servo works best in our cars, We don't need extra holding power due to the weight of our cars. Normally you look for a small servo on the release side.
The "C" servo has the highest holding force of any of the servos. With 200 psi it will put 1529 pounds of force to hold the drum from turning. The "R" servo is right in the middle as far as holding force goes and with the same pressure it puts 1249 pounds of force on the band to hold it in second gear. The "C" servo takes 37% longer to disengage (which takes milliseconds) than the "R" servo. The idea is to match the holding force with the hp that your engine produces. The "W" and "K" servos only have 886 pounds of holding force and are great for 100 hp engines but will not hold the band tight enough with a 300 hp engine. When you build a tranny for a car you match the parts to the job it has to do. That is what the builder is supposed to do. There is no reason to put a tranny that will hold 1000 HP in a 200 HP car and if you put a transmission that is made to hold 200 HP behind a 1000 HP engine it won't last long. So tell me the amount of HP you are going to be producing and I can build you a transmission that will hold up as long as you install it and the periferals correctly and maintain it as I tell you to. If you have more HP or neglect the transmission then it will fail in a smoking mass of aluminum and steel. I can ruin any transmission in less than 30 minutes - no matter what HP it is built to take and no matter what engine is put in front of it. That is why you don't find real good guarantees on racing transmissions unless they build thousands of them a year. The guy who builds a few a year can lose everything he makes standing behind one tranny - that I can destroy in under 30 minutes.
There are more factors of the servo holding with specified pressure than just the size of the bores, but there are and can be 1000 different answers. Line pressure and fluid rerouting is more important than just finding the rite servo. A good C4 can be built with minimum expense,(to hold lots of HP, in a heavy car) just know your builder, and be sure its someone that actually knows the C4, Not someone that quotes numbers of what a part is supposed to do. P.S. Performance Automatic has some good stuff, I have used a lot of their parts with good results. But and i say But, I have talked to some of their staff at NMRA races, and they will steer someone that dont know better into beleving that they need more than they actually do. (HIGHER PRICE)
As far as TCI parts, let me relate my experience of late. I bought a TCI flexplate through Summitt for my new engine. Three holes lined up perfectly with the torque convertor. However the fourth hole was off by 1/16th to an 1/8th. No, it wasn't the torque convertor out of line, as it worked fine with another flexplate. Just for information purposes.
