Fordracer9

Ok, this got really old in a hurry. It seems that any and all A6 builders will admit that the trans is hit/miss at best. I've now puked my 3rd one in as many years and less than 4000 miles total. At the 700+ level, what options are out there other than going A4 or glide, or worse yet, taking power out of the car?

If it matters, it's the high gear clutches that went bad. I can limp 4th gear at very light throttle, but 5th and 6th are totally useless.

Has anybody looked into swapping the new A8 from the C7 into a C6?

usmcpony

Who built all your transmissions?

Fordracer9

First one was the factory unit. Last 2 were built by ECS.

Atomic C6

Sorry to hear that. I am on my third as well at 680 rwhp. Each time it seems to last longer than the previous version. I would like to think Century and I
are dialing it in as we go. Good luck.

usmcpony

My ECS transmission blew pretty fast. The clutches is what the problem was. My Century built trans has been working flawlessly. I believe ECS and Century have a similar build. Only difference now is the clutches are 30% larger from what I have been told. I'd look into what clutches they used and see if there has been a bigger option released since you had yours built.

usmcpony

Since we're on the subject. If the GTR has a trans axle. Why can't it be modified to the c6 axle?

Blackonblacksls

Gtr has an auto actuated manual trans from how my buddy explained it. He is a Nissan tech and in Dallas getting certified to work on the gtrs. It also had two clutches. One for the even gears one for odd.

realcanuk

Unless you are beating on it constantly, or going to the track very often, the trans should be able to live pretty well at those power levels.... they need to be kept cool, and the tune is key.

Fordracer9

Hasn't been to the track in years. It is driven aggressively, but I wouldn't call it a t beating on it. No forced full throttle downshifts anyway. Tune is by ECS and the trans temp has never crossed 210. I thought we'd be good. Guess not.

Gotta call Doug in the morning and see what we should do.

ajrothm

I think stock A6s hold up better then the "built" ones. I'd probably try to find a deal on a brand new 6l80 from the general.

Century and Circle D both build them, as does Rossler... None of them seem to last more then a few thousand miles, 30-40 passes or highway runs.

Most people that say they live are cruising to parking lot car shows...

subfloor@centurytrans

Not quite.

I had over 450 passes on the one that Century built for me before a non-upgradeable hard part failed and it started not making the 1-2 shift properly at WOT. The parts that had been upgraded however were in great shape and would have lasted a while longer if the other part hadn't failed.

I had it in the car for almost almost 3 years and every pass was in the 10.10 to 10.30 range with 1.3xx 60ft times being the norm.

busaetr

I sold my 2013 5.3 z71 turbo truck cause I got sick of freshening my century built trans..

realcanuk

I wouldn't want it running that hot. I run a B&M cooler with the fan running all the time. It's usually around 170 and never over 185.

Your driving sounds similar to mine. I don't go to the track anymore but enjoy pushing it on the street often enough. My trans is on its 3rd summer now. 2 of them at 780 and this summer at 1000 RWHP. About 5000 miles I believe.
This winter I plan to refresh the clutches rather than wait until it fails.

Rkreigh

it's a long way off but I'm anxious to see the new 8 speed trickle down technology and see if that tranny can be beefed up much more

even stock, it's holding 650 up from the Z06 so it should be a good starting point

you can go 480LE but its and expensive swap, or the 4L65E which can be build up to approx. 1k but they won't hold up to constant abuse either

M M Alexander

I'm glad someone said it!


Your results are more anomaly than normality. How many other "built" units mirror your results versus the number of units that follow what Alan mentions in his post?

DOUG @ ECS

Sorry to hear that, I think your trans was the last trans built here just over two years ago actually. We stopped for the same reason that RPM won't build them, they just don't last, or are hit or miss at best. The A6 is very frustrating to say the least and the replacement options are very costly.

I have not seen anyone use the A8 yet, but it would be interesting.

subfloor@centurytrans

Not true.

Just before having it rebuilt recently after lasting the 450+ passes, the prior rebuild lasted 434 passes while being subjected to the exact same level of abuse. I had just over 100 passes on the latest build and it was still going strong before the car got stolen back in July.

I've also got a built trans from them in my other race car (a slightly slower clone of my red car that was stolen) and it's still running perfectly after approx. 140 passes.

While I absolutely won't deny that failures do occur, they're definitely the exception to the rule. Century is in business to make money like everyone else and if they weren't having demonstrated success upgrading the 6L80E they wouldn't continue doing it, especially since it comes with a warranty.

Something most people on the forum never seem to realize is that regardless of whether we're talking about built transmissions, built engines, dyno tuning or any other kind of aftermarket modification, in the overwhelming majority of cases the only time something ever becomes a topic of conversation is when a failure occurs as a happy customer is generally a quiet customer.

In the same manner that the LS7 has known valve issues, there are still a HUGE number of cars that have never had any problems whatsoever even after tens of thousands of miles of abuse.

Since we're talking about transmissions in this thread and were to use the 4L60E as an example, even though it's got a proven track record over the years as being able to be made bulletproof, they do still fail even when built by some of the larger well known companies. I just did a search on LS1tech.com using "4L60E rebuild problems" as my search terms and got tons of hits which I think proves my point.

The bottom line is that yeah, sh*t happens occasionally but to make a blanket statement that the 6L80E can't be made to last simply isn't true.

dicky

Here's another great century built trans. I had mine rebuilt back in the summer of 2011 and haven't had a problem at all. I make a lot less hp than most here im sure (400RWHP) but I ran several high 10s and low 11s and I run 3600 stall. I haven't been drag racing a lot the past couple of years but I do stretch the cars legs almost every time I drive it haha. I'm not sure how many passes I have on this trans but I know I have over 20K miles on it.

Another thing great about century, they were the only ones I could find that offered a warranty.

Fordracer9

Ok, so that answers a bunch of questions from my PM. My next question to you is this....

It's my understanding that this trans was put together with all the hardened/upgraded parts that were available at the time, and also had the Power Glide clutches installed. If that is the case, then I should be able to source a kit from Century to rebuild this unit for much less cost than a new unit. Am I correct in my assumptions? If so, I have no problem doing that part myself, but when it's done, I may take a ride down and have you take another look at the trans tune.

realcanuk

If you read through the thread below, you will get a great idea of what is going on with these transmissions. Tons of great info. As you get deeper into it, you will see what is working best for those guys. I built mine using stock clutches as they speak about, and it is holding up well so far. I will refresh it the same way, adding a few newer upgrades.

http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=27486

Lots of 6L80 info here too.....

http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=36513