Valve Body Mods, Giant Leaps Forward!!!

ClimberD - I'll be sending my 2006 VB to you soon. Thanks for all you've done.

Have you gotten any feedback on power levels that people have been able to handle with your VB upgrade? I've been considering a VF52 upgrade with injectors and a fuel pump but I'd happily look at something bigger if others haven't had issues.

There have been no problems with any customers being able to hold their upgraded power, but I do not know if anyone has gone over 350whp. I am rather certain you would be fine with any of the common street setups (16G, 18G, 20G, 68HTA).

That's good but not for my wallet if the 08+ ever happens.

Dave,

Thank you so much!!! This thing is Fahking awesome! (I chirped 1st to 2nd today)

The TCU is still learning but it is driving perfectly so far around town. I'll baby it for the rest of the week to get some mileage on it.

Can anybody make a direct comparison between driving w/ the IPT "upgrade" and the Hexmods VB?

Does the Hexmods mostly improve speed and firmness of shifts at high RPM, or is there also a 'quickening up' of shifts with daily driving shift rpms, say 3k? I understand that the delay on manual shifting is TCU dependent, and not improved...

I can, but you might find me biased

I found my IPT VB to be most improved in the medium load range. Up top, like at a WOT shift, it was disappointingly lacking. The Hex F1 is more firm at high loads. The F1 is not a perfect fix, but it does not leave any obvious gaps in line pressure, which is kind of the whole point.

Dave,

 

Thank you so much!!! This thing is Fahking awesome! (I chirped 1st to 2nd today)

The TCU is still learning but it is driving perfectly so far around town. I'll baby it for the rest of the week to get some mileage on it.

Wow you like a firm shift! Sorry to say it's going to learn to be a little softer once it settles. Mine can't chirp tires, though occassionally when I am demonstrating after shocks (when you let off the gas after WOT, but the TCU stupidly still keeps up line pressure for several seconds, and the shift hits hard for no reason) then I can get the car to bounce from a shift. But when you learn to avoid these situations, it's fine. Please keep us updated.

I can, but you might find me biased

 

I found my IPT VB to be most improved in the medium load range. Up top, like at a WOT shift, it was disappointingly lacking. The Hex F1 is more firm at high loads. The F1 is not a perfect fix, but it does not leave any obvious gaps in line pressure, which is kind of the whole point.

So would you say they are similar -until- you get to high load shifts, where your Hexmods VB is way better?

(and of course you are biased, rightly so!)

Wow you like a firm shift! Sorry to say it's going to learn to be a little softer once it settles. Mine can't chirp tires, though occassionally when I am demonstrating after shocks (when you let off the gas after WOT, but the TCU stupidly still keeps up line pressure for several seconds, and the shift hits hard for no reason) then I can get the car to bounce from a shift. But when you learn to avoid these situations, it's fine. Please keep us updated.

Yes I have had a few of the "aftershock" issues already but the stock VB has done the same thing if I remember with a lot less "bump"

Around town it has very good manners. I haven't tried manual mode yet. Been sick so I haven't had too much time to drive yet. I love the fast shifts. No more "slop" so far.

Can anybody make a direct comparison between driving w/ the IPT "upgrade" and the Hexmods VB?

Does the Hexmods mostly improve speed and firmness of shifts at high RPM, or is there also a 'quickening up' of shifts with daily driving shift rpms, say 3k? I understand that the delay on manual shifting is TCU dependent, and not improved...

I had the IPT valve body. I was not impressed with it, nor was my transmission shop. My trans crapped out with the IPT valve body installed. At the time I was only running my AVO380 at 15psi. As I've stated before I don't think anybody would know that you had a IPT valve body installed unless you told them or they were intimately familiar with the car. Not trying to bash IPT, as they did pioneer increasing line pressure which probably saved a lot of transmissions out there.

I do not have the F1 Valve Body. I do however have its predecessor as I was the first one documented on this board to get a TransGo kit adapted to my transmission. While driving conservatively in Drive I don't think a casual observer would notice anything different between my setup, the IPT valve body, and stock, even though it does shift quicker and firmer.

Spirited driving is where the TransGo/F1 Valve Body really shines. Rating them with stock being the starting point of 0, I'd give the IPT about 2.5 and the TransGo kit a +9. The TransGo/F1 Valve Body is a holistic approach as opposed to the IPT approach which is more of a band-aid. Shifts are that much quicker and firmer. It's how the car should have come from the factory.

^^^ That's about right. I had a customer ship me a IPT Valve Body, which he thought was stock. He never had any idea what he had bought used. It's not an obvious thing, unless you know to look for it.

Conversely, the F1 is very pronounced when you get on the gas. There is no missing it, it will wake you up. I can imagine some people thinking the car is not working right, as it does shift real firm at WOT. In my opinion, too aggressive for OEM factory settings, but then people who modify the car for power are NOT looking for the kind of shifting delivered by a soccer mom grocery getter, which is what you get stock.

Hey I am a nubie in Queens NY. Where do you get your dyno/tuning done at? and what does it accomplish and /or cost?

And my 5EAT survived the dyno/tuning session today. This is my next mod otherwise the 330 ft lbs is going to eat up my 5EAT really quick.

He has one for R&D. I bought it and shipped it to him.

But, it will take some time (if it can be done).

Hey I am a nubie in Queens NY. Where do you get your dyno/tuning done at? and what does it accomplish and /or cost?

There are a bunch of excellent tuners in our area. I took advantage of a Dyno day with Clark Turner and Dave Brown of Performance Auto Solutions. (Formerly MSPT) There is also EFI logics in Bethel Ct. which is very close. Dyno tunes can cost anywhere from $350-$600 depending on the tuner and the number of maps being done. (Track/e85/econo/etc.)

It will let you get the most out of the mods of the car depending on the skill of the tuner. You can also do an e-tune as well which will require a bit more interaction on your part but is usually a lot cheaper.

get that car up and running. I want to see how much power this tranny with VB mod can handle!

Bump for a great VB mod!

If anyone wants me to do an 05-07 valve body modification similar to IPT, I can do that for $250 plus shipping. At this point, this is a gauging interest thread though.

Question ClimberD:

Is the valvebody standard ie the same across markets? so a JDM 5eat VB will be exactly the same as what you use?

If so what's your price to source a VB there where you are and then do the work and send it.

Seems pointless me buying a VB and sending it to the USA then have it sent back.

Removing mine is not an option as the downtime would be too long.

FWIW Rang Subaru here who priced a new VB at $6000. Lol

Looks like I will be finding one from a wrecker.

$6000? New VBs here are <$1000, and new transmissions are <$5000 IIRC.

Cost to ship a F1 to you one way is in the neighborhood of $1000 plus international shipping, which off the cuff may be ~$100 or more.

I believe the 3.272 ratio 5eats are all the same VB everywhere in the world, though there is a tuned-by-STi TCU for the 5eat STi (unrelated) which was Subaru's way of making a behigher-performance 5eat. Frankly, that would be the best way to do it, except no one has ever hacked the 5EAT TCU, let alone defined it. It's just one heck of a lot easier to go with the F1.