5EAT owners with IPT valve body modification

[spacejunkiehsv]

For those of you who have had your valve body upgrade done... When it comes to driving in traffic, do you ever wish you hadn't had it done? I don't doubt the shifts are faster, but do the shifts snap a little to hard at times when you just want a smooth car?

I'm curious about how much of an affect it has on the daily driver characteristics of the car. My LGT is my daily driver, and driving in some stop and go traffic is an issue for me.

Also, how long was your car down during the upgrade, and how much did you pay for everything, including shipping?

[t0ad]

Good questions .. I'd like to see video of a VB-modded car running regularly and WOT, myself. I'm having a hard time justifying $650 bucks for the service.

[jerseyglock]

My answers are NO and no affect with stop and go traffic.

John at IPT got the VB mod down now. I'm VERY HAPPY with my VB (after a brand new modded VB replacement). John he dropped my old VB and cause the harsh 1st and 2nd gear shift.

When it comes to driving in traffic, do you ever wish you hadn't had it done? I don't doubt the shifts are faster, but do the shifts snap a little to hard at times when you just want a smooth car?

I'm curious about how much of an affect it has on the daily driver characteristics of the car. My LGT is my daily driver, and driving in some stop and go traffic is an issue for me.
QUOTE]


Video on VB modded car, good luck. :)

[QUOTE=t0ad;1213239]Good questions .. I'd like to see video of a VB-modded car running regularly and WOT, myself. I'm having a hard time justifying $650 bucks for the service.

[spacejunkiehsv]

My answers are NO and no affect with stop and go traffic.
Excellent. Thanks for the info. When I eventually get some REAL power upgrades, I'll probably have it done. For now, I hope my tranny cooler is enough to help with my 5EAT's longevity. I don't launch it hard very often, maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks.

[Hybrid22L]

Ditto with what JerseyGlock said. I love my vb upgrade. It's night and day difference. It's also a good way to prevent your clutch packs from getting toasted. Do it, even if you are at stage 2. The quicker shifts will keep your temps down as well.

[reflexion]

I'm interested in getting this done for my car, i've heard of the whole 20% less of hp to the wheels on our 5EAT's due to the transmissions problem on power transfer.

would the vb mod be able to overcome such a power loss?

currently i have a bone stock lgt as far as mods go, so basically this would be my first actual "power" mod you guys still think i should give it a go?

[spacejunkiehsv]

I don't think the valve body upgrade lowers your power losses. It just speeds up the gear changes, while also making them less smooth, which reduces the work on clutch packs and other transmission internals. It will speed up your gear changes and increase the life of your transmission.

The approximate drivetrain loss on manual transmissions on these cars is about 18%. On the 5EAT it is about 22%. So, you aren't losing that much more power really. My numbers may be a little bit off, but they are close.

I would install a transmission cooler ($50 for parts and about 1 hour of labor) and get an Accessport (to enable ecu flashes...stage 1 now, stage 2 later) for your first power mods.

[wavewagon]

I have the VB upgrade and I am very happy. No complaints on daily driving. I have a 5 month old baby and this was a concern, but it worked out fine. She sleeps like a baby (pardon the pun) in my car.

I would say this is a performance mod as well. The quicker the shifts the better the power gets to the ground. That said I wish I had done it at stage 2 on my car.

As for down time, figure in 4-5 working days and around $800-1000 depending on whether you pull the VB or have a mechanic do it.

[VTGT]

I have the VB upgrade and I am very happy. No complaints on daily driving. I have a 5 month old baby and this was a concern, but it worked out fine. She sleeps like a baby (pardon the pun) in my car.

I would say this is a performance mod as well. The quicker the shifts the better the power gets to the ground. That said I wish I had done it at stage 2 on my car.

As for down time, figure in 4-5 working days and around $800-1000 depending on whether you pull the VB or have a mechanic do it.

That price is what kills me. You can find used 5eat transmission for between 1000-2000 dollars. $1000 for a VB mod seems a little steep. I wish it was more along the lines of $500 and it would already be on my car.

[mikeyan]

well, if you do it yourself, it is $695.00, no?

I dunno if it is a diy


Mike

[reflexion]

yea the price is pretty heavy and i'm not too fond of the whole idea removing the vb's n shipping them off i'm trying to see what can be done locally. so far my local techie said that he could do some work on the solenoids to increase line pressure but he can't do anything on the actual vb's themselves.

and btw, what does the transmission cooler do? do you gain any power from that? i've been debating on whether to buy the ap or do the solenoid work first they both run around the same cost.

[VTGT]

yea the price is pretty heavy and i'm not too fond of the whole idea removing the vb's n shipping them off i'm trying to see what can be done locally. so far my local techie said that he could do some work on the solenoids to increase line pressure but he can't do anything on the actual vb's themselves.

and btw, what does the transmission cooler do? do you gain any power from that? i've been debating on whether to buy the ap or do the solenoid work first they both run around the same cost.

tranny cooler just keeps the temps down.

[spacejunkiehsv]

Yeah... a transmission cooler just provides additional cooling to your transmission fluid. Supposedly, it cools it enough to double the life of the transmission. I read that on a lot of places on the net. So, it must be true.
:)

[legacy2005]

ive been thinking about doing this mod for awhile now. the thing that stops me from doing it is the down time. if i could swap a vb in while i send mine out that would make the process alot smoother.

kinda wish IPT would do a core return program where they send you one allrdy fixed up and you ship them back yours.

[wavewagon]

legacy2005,

The power number you have in your title are almost the same as what my car is making with the 20g set-up. I was stage 2 for about 25,000 miles before that. I started to get 4-5 gear slipping after about 1000 miles with the 20g install. If you are making 300+ whp/wtq on a 5EAT one should really consider the VB upgrade. Yeah, it's pricey, but you have to pay to play.

[legacy2005]

im not to worried about the price its the down time that gets me. my car is a DD and i cant have it down for a week, let alone sitting at work on a lift for that long. if there way a way to have a spare VB or the exhange program i would do it in a heartbeat.

[reflexion]

one of the other forum members talked about having some super express shipping where they get it and ship it back out completed within a day, minus the time to take out the valve bodies thats pretty quick.. at least looking at that versus a week.

[wavewagon]

im not to worried about the price its the down time that gets me. my car is a DD and i cant have it down for a week, let alone sitting at work on a lift for that long. if there way a way to have a spare VB or the exhange program i would do it in a heartbeat.

Yeah I can understand that. Keep in mind, if you have to rebuild the tranny you may be down even longer with more expense. Although I must admit the VB upgrade comes with no guarantee, but could add a bit of longevity. In addition, the car shifts so much better now!

[Hybrid22L]

im not to worried about the price its the down time that gets me. my car is a DD and i cant have it down for a week, let alone sitting at work on a lift for that long. if there way a way to have a spare VB or the exhange program i would do it in a heartbeat.

tt mikeyan. i sold him my stock one so there was no down time. He might have it up for sale as soon as his vb upgrade is done. I love my uograde, but the tranny is going back to IPT. The vb needs to be adjusted a little more and I think I blew up my tc or flex plate on the IPT race tranny. Harman is going to pull it out and inspect it.

[legacy2005]

Cool ill shoot him a pm. sorry to hear about the tranny. how did you like it till it blew up.

[jerseyglock]

You never had your TC modified? Whats wrong with you. Your 5EAT is alots of flight mileages...

tt mikeyan. i sold him my stock one so there was no down time. He might have it up for sale as soon as his vb upgrade is done. I love my uograde, but the tranny is going back to IPT. The vb needs to be adjusted a little more and I think I blew up my tc or flex plate on the IPT race tranny. Harman is going to pull it out and inspect it.

[Hybrid22L]

You never had your TC modified? Whats wrong with you. Your 5EAT is alots of flight mileages...

I love the tranny. I miss it right now. Yeah my tranny has enough flight mileage to go on vacation. I had the tc modified as well when I had the tranny fully built. Whats wrong with getting the tc modified. I just told ty to fully build it. Should I run a stock one instead Jimmy?

[jerseyglock]

Nope, don't use stock TC. My TC was modified too.

I like to know what you blew in your TC. Hmmm, I'll call John..

I love the tranny. I miss it right now. Yeah my
tranny has enough flight mileage to go on vacation. I had the tc modified as well when I had the tranny fully built. Whats wrong with getting the tc modified. I just told ty to fully build it. Should I run a stock one instead Jimmy?

[Hybrid22L]

Nope, don't use stock TC. My TC was modified too.

I like to know what you blew in your TC. Hmmm, I'll call John..

It's gettng yanked out on tuesday and it should be at ipt by the 23rd. WE will see. I think it was the TC. We'll see. Right now, I'm down one subie and I got one left to drive:spin:

[AKLGT]

oops. sorry didn't see this til just now.

i ran my 5EAT all last season stg 2 with TDC maps. going to the track 4 or 5 times and autoxing 1-2 events per month for 4 months put more wear and tear on my tranny than realized. when i did the STI swap in January, the car ran like poo. first it was a bad map, and then after the map was fixed, it still ran like poo. my techs took it out for a "spirited" test drive and came back to tell me that 1-2 gears were really slipping. and here i thought, the car just sucked and i was ready to trade her in! so after some research, found out what the VB upgrade did and I called John at IPT. keep in mind, i'm in Anchorage, AK... look on the map... yep, pretty damn far away. not only is the LGT my daily driver, but my business requires me to be on the road a lot, go to customers houses or businesses, so being down at all was not an option.

After speaking with John a few times, I decided that $1000 was still cheaper than a new tranny. have you actually priced out a 5EAT?? even with paying cost (hubby works for the dealer), it would still cost $8000 for the tranny and install. so ya, spending $1000 was a lot cheaper than $8000. I had my VB overnighted to NJ, John worked on it the same day it was received and sent it back to me later that day. It took 4 days total including shipping time. I rented a car but had to wait another 2 days before I could install the VB back into the car (sitting at the dealer and we had to do it after hours).

total cost including a rental for 1 week was $1200. do i regret it? NO WAY! once the VB was installed, it was night and day difference. the car actually shifted when it was supposed to! stronger, cleaner, crisper shifts. and to say that it is not as smooth would be incorrect. the car actually shifted quickly, more like a manual than what it was.

now, i think back and wonder if i'd done it sooner, what stg 2 would have been like. :) and so far, no problems since the VB upgrade. i still track the car and drive it as my DD and work vehicle. road and dyno tuned, Jarrad from PDX seemed impressed with the VB upgrade, said my logs look pretty close to the MT (shifting). if he looked at them without knowing i have a 5EAT, he'd swear he was looking at a 5MT log.

*knocks on wood* so far so good, i'm happy i did it.

[jim1969]

It's not the price holding me back. It's the fact that some of you have had to have it redone. I'd drive to IPT and have them do it while I wait. But I'd rather not have to do the trip to NJ multiple times. It's like 2 hours going through NYC to get there.

[Hybrid22L]

i think jerseyglock and myself were the only ones that had to get it redone. The other 5eats have all been 1 shot deals. There ar emor eof us out there, but they are just not posting right now. Fine tuning of the vb is due to having the fully built race trans. When you increase the line pressure for the tranny (race tranny procedure), it will mess with you vb adjustment. Everyone that runs on a stock trans are one shot deal. Jon has done enough vb upgrades on Legacys to get it right. If you are driving to IPT, you will do a test drive before you leave. If it isn't shifting right, then he will pull it out and adjust it until it's right. Just ask Jerseyglock, thats what he did. You will not regret it.

[wavewagon]

It's not the price holding me back. It's the fact that some of you have had to have it redone. I'd drive to IPT and have them do it while I wait. But I'd rather not have to do the trip to NJ multiple times. It's like 2 hours going through NYC to get there.

On a stock tranny, John at IPT has it dialed in. I sent in my VB and it has worked great on my stock tranny for about 3000 miles now.

[CobaltForge]

For those of you that have the full race trannys. Do you mind if I ask how much they cost you? Also, does IPT offer other options for trannys? SMG/Sequential type, etc.?

[AKLGT]

i think jerseyglock and myself were the only ones that had to get it redone. The other 5eats have all been 1 shot deals. There ar emor eof us out there, but they are just not posting right now. Fine tuning of the vb is due to having the fully built race trans. When you increase the line pressure for the tranny (race tranny procedure), it will mess with you vb adjustment. Everyone that runs on a stock trans are one shot deal. Jon has done enough vb upgrades on Legacys to get it right. If you are driving to IPT, you will do a test drive before you leave. If it isn't shifting right, then he will pull it out and adjust it until it's right. Just ask Jerseyglock, thats what he did. You will not regret it.
right, seems that the only members who had to have it recalibrated didn't have stock tranny.

as for pricing. look at their website: $4300 to rebuilt yours.

[Hybrid22L]

right, seems that the only members who had to have it recalibrated didn't have stock tranny.

as for pricing. look at their website: $4300 to rebuilt yours.

That is correct for the pricing. It doesn't cover the diff though. I just found this out. They don;t do any treatment to the center diff. So if you shatter it by doing power brakes, its not covered. they don;t offer a smg, but they do have an option of haveing a stand alone shifter. Not too sure. Check their site. I have only heard of it on 4eats.

[CobaltForge]

^^^
Checked their site and it seems like they only have info on 4EATs. I'm assuming cost would be a bit more on the 5EAT?

Also, what do you guys think would be the cost of changing my 5EAT to the STi or even Spec B 6MT?

[Hybrid22L]

It be cheaper to sell your car and buy a spec b. There is too much work involved. It not like the honda days where you can rip out an auto and throw in a 5 speed and you were done.:spin:

[jerseyglock]

Don't forget about labor...

[AKLGT]

Don't forget about labor...
that would be way too much money. better to take the car to stock and trade her in! IF i ever decided to do that, which my techs have been prodding me to, there's only one guy i'd have do it and probably not to much for labor since it'd be one of those projects he'd love to get his hands on! LOL.

if you don't have the luxury of someone who can do it for fun or for next to nothing, just get a spec b and slap on STI parts. (which is what i had originally planned to do).

[zzdoc]

Is the IPT valve body modification the only...or the best...way of improving the performance/reliability/longevity of the 5EAT? I'd never modified a car in my life before but got interested and changed the front grill on my 2005 XT Outback last year. Now I feel like I should go to ModAddict Anonymous because since then I've had wheels, tires, brakes replaced and have coilovers/TMIC/exhaust in garage awaiting trip to tuner! Since the only garage tool that I am familiar with is a VISA card all the work has to be done by others. At this point, another $1000 doesn't seem too bad if it will get the transmission optimized but is that logical or just the addiction talking? Can any decent transmission shop remove and replace the valve body or should I find an excuse to drive to New Jersey this fall? Is this overkill for a vehicle that will never be raced or run on a track? Advice/information...or the name of a good therapist:rolleyes:... would be appreciated.

[Hybrid22L]

Is the IPT valve body modification the only...or the best...way of improving the performance/reliability/longevity of the 5EAT? I'd never modified a car in my life before but got interested and changed the front grill on my 2005 XT Outback last year. Now I feel like I should go to ModAddict Anonymous because since then I've had wheels, tires, brakes replaced and have coilovers/TMIC/exhaust in garage awaiting trip to tuner! Since the only garage tool that I am familiar with is a VISA card all the work has to be done by others. At this point, another $1000 doesn't seem too bad if it will get the transmission optimized but is that logical or just the addiction talking? Can any decent transmission shop remove and replace the valve body or should I find an excuse to drive to New Jersey this fall? Is this overkill for a vehicle that will never be raced or run on a track? Advice/information...or the name of a good therapist:rolleyes:... would be appreciated.

The IPT vb is the best way to improve shifting and longevity of the transmission. Also add a tranny cooler as well. If you are going to be stage 2, I would reccomend it. Any transmission shop can yank out the vb, but your car will be down until the vb comes back. if I were you, drive to IPT if its not too far away. that way they can do it in 1 shot. If any fine tuning is necessary, then they will take care of it in the same day. If you have it sent to you and the tranny shop installs it and the vb still needs to be adjusted some more, you are going to have to do the whole shipping, car down, and labor all over. Just drive to IPT. Excuse my grammer right now. Heavily medicated:p

[AKLGT]

The IPT vb is the best way to improve shifting and longevity of the transmission. Also add a tranny cooler as well. If you are going to be stage 2, I would reccomend it. Any transmission shop can yank out the vb, but your car will be down until the vb comes back. if I were you, drive to IPT if its not too far away. that way they can do it in 1 shot. If any fine tuning is necessary, then they will take care of it in the same day. If you have it sent to you and the tranny shop installs it and the vb still needs to be adjusted some more, you are going to have to do the whole shipping, car down, and labor all over. Just drive to IPT. Excuse my grammer right now. Heavily medicated:p
what he said.. provided you do live on the East Coast.

[zzdoc]

I called IPT about a VB upgrade and was told that they don't do many installations at their shop and that the job would take about two days. If I get the torque converter done as well I'm looking at a week or more in New Jersey. The guy I spoke with was very pleasant and helpful but I didn't get the impression that this was common practice. Since I'm the first to admit that I don't know diddly-sh**t about what I'm doing here this has left me a bit confused. A 12 hour drive each way is on thing, an extended vacation down there is quite another!
By mid-August I'll have the Up-pipe, Down-pipe, TMIC, EcuTek custom tune and coilovers installed along with the AVO rsb, SS brake lines, Endless SSM front pads and Toyo Proxes that are already in place. I'd like to upgrade the tranny as well before it becomes an unexpected repair. If I can find a local shop that I'm comfortable with and ship the parts down for upgrade what is my most reasonable option for everyday...admittedly "spirited"..... driving? VB only? Vb plus TC? Rebuild the whole damn thing? As far as I know, the transmission is OK at the moment although it slips a bit under hard acceleration and has done so since it was new.

[jim1969]

Did you speak with Tye at IPT? I've spoken with him about getting mine done. This was about a month ago. I was told it took 3/4 of a day for the job. If I got there at 8am it should be done by 2ish.

[AKLGT]

I called IPT about a VB upgrade and was told that they don't do many installations at their shop and that the job would take about two days. If I get the torque converter done as well I'm looking at a week or more in New Jersey. The guy I spoke with was very pleasant and helpful but I didn't get the impression that this was common practice. Since I'm the first to admit that I don't know diddly-sh**t about what I'm doing here this has left me a bit confused. A 12 hour drive each way is on thing, an extended vacation down there is quite another!
By mid-August I'll have the Up-pipe, Down-pipe, TMIC, EcuTek custom tune and coilovers installed along with the AVO rsb, SS brake lines, Endless SSM front pads and Toyo Proxes that are already in place. I'd like to upgrade the tranny as well before it becomes an unexpected repair. If I can find a local shop that I'm comfortable with and ship the parts down for upgrade what is my most reasonable option for everyday...admittedly "spirited"..... driving? VB only? Vb plus TC? Rebuild the whole damn thing? As far as I know, the transmission is OK at the moment although it slips a bit under hard acceleration and has done so since it was new.
i don't think you need anything more than the VB upgrade. and you need to make sure you call back #866-828-7267 and talk to Tye (sometimes goes by John). let him know you're from legacygt.com, and we sent you there.

[zzdoc]

I'll do that next week. Thanks to everyone for patience and advice!

[Hybrid22L]

i don't think you need anything more than the VB upgrade. and you need to make sure you call back #866-828-7267 and talk to Tye (sometimes goes by John). let him know you're from legacygt.com, and we sent you there.

I think Ty is gone now and Anthony is there. When i asked for Ty, Anthony told me he doesn't work there anymore. I rather have dealt with TY. Anthony is out of the loop with my tranny. I have to send back the vb one more time. I also blew a flexplate. Becareful my modded 5eat vb peeps. Make sure it doesn't slam into gear, this is may have broken my flexplate.

[FocuS]

I've been lurking for a while but I've now got my '05 GT 5EAT Wagon and started to dig into the mods. It already has a Cobb/TDC Stage 2 with header tune and a few other choice mods but I want to make sure it drives this great for a long time... I will be doing the Tranny cooler since I can install it myself but I've never done a valve body mod before so I'm kinda reluctant. I have a second car so the downtime isn't such a big deal...

I plan on doing a TD06/18G bolt-on and changing out my TMIC in the future. I don't track my DD but I do drive VERY hard. Is the Valve Body Mod overkill or should I consider it for safety sake since I would rather not blow my tranny and I feel the shifts are a bit slow presently?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[SeeeeeYa]

Becareful my modded 5eat vb peeps. Make sure it doesn't slam into gear, this is may have broken my flexplate.

A long time ago, when I was seriously into racing, and a professionally made very expensive Turbohydramatic 400 came apart, the root problem was traced to the flex plate. Seems the vaunted builder forgot something imperitive, thread locker on those three bolts. As a consequence two of the three worked themselves out and trashed the transmission, broken case and all. It's not hard to tell if thread locker was used, or not. It leaves evidence.

IMHO, that flexplate can withstand enormous torque in its designed force plane and will have no trouble dealing with whatever you can give it....... as long as it is attached securely. But a simple VB upgrade doesn't touch this issue.

Imagine, something as simple as a couple of drops of liquid being so important.

I went on to build my own after that, figuring I could do no worse. Never broke.

Details.

[spacejunkiehsv]

I've been lurking for a while but I've now got my '05 GT 5EAT Wagon and started to dig into the mods. It already has a Cobb/TDC Stage 2 with header tune and a few other choice mods but I want to make sure it drives this great for a long time... I will be doing the Tranny cooler since I can install it myself but I've never done a valve body mod before so I'm kinda reluctant. I have a second car so the downtime isn't such a big deal...

I plan on doing a TD06/18G bolt-on and changing out my TMIC in the future. I don't track my DD but I do drive VERY hard. Is the Valve Body Mod overkill or should I consider it for safety sake since I would rather not blow my tranny and I feel the shifts are a bit slow presently?

Thanks in advance for the help!
As far as I know, a valve body modification is not something a weekend tinkerer can do, without possibly hurting your tranny. Import Performance Transmissions (IPT) is doing these upgrades for people who drive to the IPT shop, or ship their valve body to the IPT shop.

If you can afford the valve body upgrade, I'd do it before getting the TD06-18G. If not, you can take your chances like a lot of guys do. Who knows what will happen to them down the road. 5EAT owners with close to 300whp (that drive their cars hard) have had some problems with their transmissions slipping.

[Hybrid22L]

Thanks for the info. The flexplate was never removed at all. I will post up picks under a new thread soon.

[AKLGT]

I think Ty is gone now and Anthony is there. When i asked for Ty, Anthony told me he doesn't work there anymore. I rather have dealt with TY. Anthony is out of the loop with my tranny. I have to send back the vb one more time. I also blew a flexplate. Becareful my modded 5eat vb peeps. Make sure it doesn't slam into gear, this is may have broken my flexplate.
hmm... :( that's wierd. he also goes by John. I thought he was one of the owners?? he knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I hope this Anthony guy is as good or better.

[jerseyglock]

Ty / John is just an employee. There are 2 owners and one of the is John too. Anthony is in sales too.

[SeeeeeYa]

Thanks for the info. The flexplate was never removed at all. I will post up picks under a new thread soon.


The four bolts attach the flex plate to the torque converter. If your transmission was out then the bolts were out. Whomever installs that transmission back onto the motor does so by attaching the torque converter to the flex plate. Four bolts between your engine and the drive train. Four bolts that without threadlocker will come out and trash, at least, your transmission.

[AKLGT]

Ty / John is just an employee. There are 2 owners and one of the is John too. Anthony is in sales too.
thanks for clarifying. LOL

[jim1969]

Did you speak with Tye at IPT? I've spoken with him about getting mine done. This was about a month ago. I was told it took 3/4 of a day for the job. If I got there at 8am it should be done by 2ish.

Called again about this today. Now they say the car has to be there for 48hours! So it went from a 6 hour job to needing the car for 2 full days.

[AKLGT]

i suppose Tye was the one that had this down. :( so i wonder if there are other outfits that might be able to do this? however, i'd think it'd take them some time to figure it out too.... that sucks.

[t0ad]

Someone really needs to step up and crack the TCU in these things .. I'd be much more comfortable upping line pressure electronically as opposed to these seemingly mixed physical adjustment results.

[VTGT]

any idea if the tranny would be strong enough for a twinscroll setup just with the VB upgrade?

I remember what happened to hybrid22l :/ Although he had no tranny cooler or vb obviously

[Hybrid22L]

it would. The vb just need to shift fast enough so it doesn't burn through the clutch packs. I have twinscroll headers sitting at my house if you need to piece together a kit. pm me if you need them.

[VTGT]

hmm I wish there was something else we could do to increase pressure to improve shifts :/ I am a little far away from IPT....

I feel like twinscroll is the way to go for dd

[Hagarr]

Someone really needs to step up and crack the TCU in these things .. I'd be much more comfortable upping line pressure electronically as opposed to these seemingly mixed physical adjustment results.

I would have to agree with you...up to a point. For me I would simply like to increase line pressure electronically but for these folks that are putting some good power down it is always best to increase line pressure mechanically.

So, can someone please increase line pressure electronically for the rest of us? :)

Brian

[acooper5]

so jerseyglock, if we contact somebody at IPT who can we contact that is the best/most efficient on getting this done?

[SpawnGT]

any new announcements bout this mod?

[AKLGT]

none that i know of. still plugging along with mine after many 18 psi launches. pretty stable considering the abuse and beatins i've given the car/tranny these past 2 years!

[ubersuby]

would stage 2 require a vb upgrade? or should the 5eat be fine?

[jerseyglock]

so jerseyglock, if we contact somebody at IPT who can we contact that is the best/most efficient on getting this done?


I would ask for John, not Ty. Ty/John is gone.

[AKLGT]

would stage 2 require a vb upgrade? or should the 5eat be fine?
depends on how in depth your stage 2 set up is. i'm willing to bet, if i had the VB upgrade when i was just stg 2 (up, dp) i'd have more power getting to the ground and much quicker and cleaner shifts. but i don't know....

[AK Wagon]

depends on how in depth your stage 2 set up is. i'm willing to bet, if i had the VB upgrade when i was just stg 2 (up, dp) i'd have more power getting to the ground and much quicker and cleaner shifts. but i don't know....


The moment AKLGT's car rolled out of her garage after we did the STI Swap the car was begging for a stronger transmission. The valve upgrade was the first thing she did and it made all the difference.

If you are looking to go stage II or higher I would definitely include the valve upgrade... I was pretty skeptical that it would help but it really delivers the power to the road.

... and as she says she expects a lot out of her car.

[underpowerd]

Every time you AK guys/gals talk about this, it makes me get more and more interested.
I've got a similar setup as AKLGT's, very happy with the power, and my trans is operating perfectly (no differently than stg 2, same speed of shift, no slips, etc), but if I've learned one thing on this board it's to take statements like "all the difference" from experienced ppl pretty seriously. And especially since my plan includes a bit more power for this car eventually, in one direction or another, this mod is definitely on my short list.

[ubersuby]

well my idea of stage 2 is nothing too drastic, a simple remap and TBE would be sufficent for me.

[AKLGT]

The moment AKLGT's car rolled out of her garage after we did the STI Swap the car was begging for a stronger transmission. The valve upgrade was the first thing she did and it made all the difference.

If you are looking to go stage II or higher I would definitely include the valve upgrade... I was pretty skeptical that it would help but it really delivers the power to the road.

... and as she says she expects a lot out of her car.
:lol: :lol:

i'm a girl.... we expect a lot from just about everything! :lol:

and underpowered, anyone who's been in my car before and after will tell you the same: the VB upgrade hands down made a night and day difference. our local subie techs, AK Wagon, myself, even Jarrad from PDX all made note of how the car has more power and shifts quicker than most 5EATs allowing the power to get to the ground. until you have it done, there's no real way to describe how much different it is.

it's not cheap, but think of it this way: everyone who's done this mod has been pleased, happy and say it's worth it.

[TRS]

While this was written by IPT concerning the Toyota AT, it gives a good overview of what their valve body upgrades accomplish:

Toyota Modified Valve Body

-By John Lombardo

(c) John Lombardo- All Rights Reserved
http://www.importperformancetrans.com (http://www.importperformancetrans.com/)

__________________________________________________ ___________________________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________


As many Toyota and Jeep owners know, the AW4 / Toyota 340, A340, and A341E series of transmissions are generally very well made and demonstrate excellent durability in unmodified applications. The framework is present for an extremely strong transmission that is to be used in a high performance or extreme duty application.

The problem is that the original calibration is engineered for driver comfort rather than ultimate component strength. The soft, sliding shifts that are part of the original design are not appropriate for increased horsepower applications, towing, off road use, racing, etc.

These calibration inadequacies quickly manifest themselves as extremely poor shift quality, and more often than not, severe damage to the gearbox is soon to follow. One of the most common symptoms of this is the engine stuttering or hitting the rev limiter during a full throttle upshift.

Without going into too much technical detail, the factory shortcomings can be addressed through modification and recalibration of the control valve assembly, a.k.a. the valve body.

The valve body is a component that is comprised of valves, solenoids, an orifice separator plate and an intricate series of passages- it is the most complex component in the most complex part of your vehicle- the automatic transmission.

The function of the valve body is to act as the "brain" of the automatic transmission- it directs hydraulic pressure to the appropriate clutches and bands at the right time to initiate upshifts, down shifts, selection of reverse, converter clutch application, etc. As well as controlling shift timing and shift quality, it is also responsible for directing hydraulic pressure to the cooler and the lubrication circuit.

As you can imagine, the transmission's operational characteristics can be drastically altered and also customized to the given application through modifications to this component.

Because there are no commercially available shift kits for these transmissions, we began working on valve body modifications that were appropriate for Supras, Jeeps with the AW4 transmission, Toyota Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner, and also Lexus SUV’s and rear drive passenger cars- especially those that needed to handle the additional power that accompanies the installation of a supercharger, turbo or nitrous oxide injection.

At the risk of oversimplification, there are a few things that are done in concert to create much more favorable operation of the gearbox.

The first thing that needs to be done is to increase the hydraulic operating pressure of the transmission- this pressure is known as "line pressure". All hydraulic functions of the transmission are based on this pressure- what is especially of concern for these purposes is the clamping force which is applied to the clutches and bands to get them to hold against engine torque.

In simple terms, increased engine output is complemented by increased line pressure and increased "clamp" on the clutches- this can be likened to a performance clutch with a heavier pressure plate spring in a manual transmission equipped vehicle.

The idea is to raise this pressure only slightly at light throttle but increase it by 30-40% at full throttle- where it is really needed. The effects of this are shifts that are not overly uncomfortable at lower throttle openings, while at heavier throttle, firm shifts with much shorter clutch application time and increased clamping force can be achieved.

An additional benefit of this is increased flow through the transmission’s cooler and lube system.

Secondly, hydraulic pressure is normally routed through an orifice in a metal "separator plate" that resides between the two halves of the valve body before it gets to its intended destination. By altering these orifices, we can increase the volume of hydraulic oil that is used to apply the various clutches and bands.

The final part of modification is the alteration of the accumulator circuits. These are hydraulic circuits that are parallel to the components that are used for shifting. Their function is to absorb or "accumulate" some of the hydraulic pressure that is intended to apply a clutch pack or band. By limiting the action of what is essentially a "shock absorber" for each shift, we are able to further reduce clutch lock up time and shift lag at wide open throttle.

The end result is that shift time is reduced by 30 to 80%, depending on the amount of acceptable shift feel and the intended application. The clamping force that is required to apply the clutches and bands is increased by 30 to 40% at full throttle. Flow through the cooler and lube circuit is increased and the converter clutch application time is also reduced.

Transmission and valve body upgrades are not only for American made vehicles anymore. Increased performance and more efficient shifting is now available for vehicles of almost every manufacturer thanks to the few companies that are willing to do the research and development work required for this rapidly growing segment of the automotive aftermarket. For more information, please follow this link: Toyota Modified Valve Body (http://www.importperformancetrans.com/toyotaauto.shtml)


-John Lombardo, IPT Performance Transmissions (http://www.importperformancetrans.com/)

__________________________________________________ ____________________________________


Author Bio: John Lombardo, a.k.a. Transdude, is owner of IPT Performance Transmissions and has been in the transmission and high performance industry for over 20 years. Visit his website- http://www.importperformancetrans.com (http://www.importperformancetrans.com/) for more drivetrain information articles and a wide selection of high performance items.
IPT tech info, specials and a $25 coupon via email (http://visitor.constantcontact.com/optin.jsp?m=1101108699555&ea=)


**This free reprint article is available for use in ezines,
forums, websites and blogs on the condition that the article
is not altered and the resource box remains intact with all
hyperlinks activated. If this article is reproduced an
email to the author with a link to its location is greatly
appreciated- john@ipttrans.com

[AKLGT]

nice find! :)

[SpawnGT]

aklgt, do you know why the time needed to do this modification has been increased from 1 day to 2 days?

[jim1969]

It can be done in less time. I spoke with Anthony (I think I got it right) there who does the job. If you schedule in advance and get there by like 7am and can spend the day there, it can be done. Getting there early allows stuff to cool down for them. They'd rather have 2 days but can do it in less.

[JohnnyGT'08]

Subscribed!
Something else to add to my list.

[AKLGT]

It can be done in less time. I spoke with Anthony (I think I got it right) there who does the job. If you schedule in advance and get there by like 7am and can spend the day there, it can be done. Getting there early allows stuff to cool down for them. They'd rather have 2 days but can do it in less.
i had been talking with John via phone about mine and he understood the necessity to get it back to me. here, there is no such thing as NEXT or SAME DAY delivery, especially to/from East Coast. he got mine done the same day and shipped out later that afternoon. But I sent him the VB and Solenoids only while my car sat in the back of the dealership....i had a week to do it since i could only work on the car after hours in the shop (or i'd have to pay the dealership for labor) on Saturdays. i had to rent a car for a week and got stuck with a lame ass Ford Taurus that didn't even have a CD Player!!!! :( from shipping it out to receiving it back took about 4.5 days by the time i got the part. That was fine because i just wanted to make sure i had it before that saturday to put the car back together. once we did, we (the tech, hubby, and i) took it for a spin. it felt like a whole new car and well.... it was still icy out and he (the tech) got us sideways on the back roads, no slipping gears and the car HAULED ASS. :D

[subiedude]

I definetely want to get this done. I drive 30K a year, and if it, along with a trans cooler will prolong the life of the drivetrain.... it's a no-brainer. I just hope I can get it done in one day!