Syclone trannies for dumbies

[JayLo]

Ok. Being the proud 1st time owner of a Syclone (completely stock, 47k miles) as of last week, I wanted to find out how stout these things are from the factory before I get modding.

My most general question would be, how much "abuse" can the stock drivetrain take? I plan on proper maintenance, but I don't want to baby this thing on the weekend or at the track unless I have to.

Any rules of thumb as far as whp production before a guy would be wise to add drive shaft loops or beef up the components?

What typically breaks first (assume I only use street tires)?

I'm assuming brake boosting too often will damage the tranny from the excessive heat. How often do you street/strip guys do this? Are there any mods I can do to help with the longevity of a stock tranny while still giving it a thorough workout on Friday and Saturday night?

Any other tips or suggestions to help me get up to speed will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Justin
________
Laguna Bay II Condos

 

[Crimson93Ty]

Re: Syclone trannies for dumbies

Do a search and you'll get an idea. Many stock engined setups have broken the 700. Weak points are 3-4 clutch(burns up from cycling too much), sprag(rolls over), overrun clutch hub(breaks teeth off), input drum (shaft breaks or the shaft twists out the aluminum splines), sun gear shell (breaks where the sun gear engages), reaction shaft (thin wall breaks), output shaft (drilled full of holes for lube, cracks from hole to hole like connect the dots), 2-4 band(breaks on hard 1-2 or on hard 3-2 downshift).....Other than that, should hold up fine. As far as horsepower. That's not the issue as much as it is torque. The syty's make a ton of torque low in the rpm band. You turn up your boost just a bit and torque goes way up. Some guys have beat on them religeously and they live. Others, bust them on the first boost launch. It's kind of crapshoot. Your results will vary.

 

[Timbo]

Re: Syclone trannies for dumbies

As far as mods for the longevity of the 700, some of the first things you might want to look into are an external tranny cooler, and a temp gauge.

 

[kwick6]

Re: Syclone trannies for dumbies

I had 130k on the original trans when I swapped it out with a slightly stronger build.

Make sure your TV cable is set properly, get a deep trans pan, external cooler and even a temp gauge is good. Put a bottle of red Lubeguard in with a fresh fluid change of Dex III, avoid the synthetic trans fluid.

You don't have to baby it, just don't launch it at every stoplight and you won't overheat it.

Check out the Gilbert propshaft, very nice mod.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Syclone trannies for dumbies

For a stock tranny, put in a deep pan & oil cooler and pray. Regular oil changes will also help (every 15K miles) Its eventualy going to go if you race it, the stock transmission is over stress with the stock torque levels and the traction the AWD provides.

Daron modified his Sy (mid 12's) at around 50k miles and it started to have issue at a little 100K. IMO part of the reason his lasted so long was maintenance (oil changes & coolers), but his results don't seem to be the norm. How the first 50K miles were driven probably makes a big difference. It seems when modified with a bigger turbo and/or torque converter the trannies go real quick. In short I have seen quite a few stock trannies hold mid 12 sec truck hold up for a little while, low 12 and high 11's seem to go pretty quickly.