[minaret]

Before I resume track days in the spring, I want to get rebuilt/reman 6L45 trans along with a trans cooler to replace my 222,000 mile trans. Who has a rebuilt/reman trans and did the shop improve it with a shift kit, and better TQ? I noticed sonnax has a zip kit and line pressure booster kit. Anyone know a transmission shop that installs that stuff during the rebuild? Also, I've read the 6L45 is related to the 6L50. Does the 6L50 fit/function fine?

[hassmaschine]

man, for all the expense and effort - why not just do a 6MT swap? The car will be faster and if you're tracking it a lot, it makes more sense.

[minaret]

This is still a daily driver (wife 90% of the time). The 6AT trans rebuild is the last mod for the wagon for street reliability and weekend track days. High mileage and track abuse stacking the deck against original trans. My plan for 2018 is getting an e36 M3 track car.

[X-M]

Try searching on Camaro5.
The 6l45 is the exact same transmission as the 6l50 just a different number for bmw.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by X-M

Try searching on Camaro5.
The 6l45 is the exact same transmission as the 6l50 just a different number for bmw.

never in my life would I buy a transmission programmed by americans.

[X-M]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

never in my life would I buy a transmission programmed by americans.

Eh that's just the 80's since they were made to break back then for profit, ontop of the unions leaving beer cans inside the door panels. It was a bad time for all american cars.
GM transmissions actually some of the best you can get, especially their auto's.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by X-M

Eh that's just the 80's since they were made to break back then for profit, ontop of the unions leaving beer cans inside the door panels. It was a bad time for all american cars.
GM transmissions actually some of the best you can get, especially their auto's.

if they werent good BMW wouldnt be putting it into their cars. they dont use them anymore though.. half of a transmssions quality is the actual design, yes. but the programming of the transmission is equally important if you want it not only to perform well but also be reliable
ZF trasnmission is in cars like audi, chysler, some new acura's, our BMW's etc. Porsches PDK is ZF design.
this is a little list of reported zf transmission failures i got somewhere off the internet
BMW - 0 failures
Acura - 10
Chrysler = 110 (!)

point in case. programming is important, and something you cant trust the americans with. in fact, Im skeptical of almost all american cars, except for some ford models which use a Mazda chassis and engines from their prevous partnership (ford duratec and ecoboost engines are both designed by Mazda)

[rjahl]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

if they werent good BMW wouldnt be putting it into their cars. they dont use them anymore though.. half of a transmssions quality is the actual design, yes. but the programming of the transmission is equally important if you want it not only to perform well but also be reliable
ZF trasnmission is in cars like audi, chysler, some new acura's, our BMW's etc. Porsches PDK is ZF design.
this is a little list of reported zf transmission failures i got somewhere off the internet
BMW - 0 failures
Acura - 10
Chrysler = 110 (!)

point in case. programming is important, and something you cant trust the americans with. in fact, Im skeptical of almost all american cars, except for some ford models which use a Mazda chassis and engines from their prevous partnership (ford duratec and ecoboost engines are both designed by Mazda)

I've read of plenty of failures with the ZF boxes. Seal and pistons in magatronic unit. Plus the fluid will kill the transmission if not changed. I've done my homework on this issue they are good but not bulletproof.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by rjahl

I've read of plenty of failures with the ZF boxes. Seal and pistons in magatronic unit. Plus the fluid will kill the transmission if not changed. I've done my homework on this issue they are good but not bulletproof.

i was literally able to feel my transmission was slowly killing itself before I changed my transmission fluid. it runs so much better now. i feel like the thing with the 8 speed automatic is the shift points are complicated and different from a normal automatic, so you really have to pay attention to your throttle inputs to get the transmission to operate smoothly.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

never in my life would I buy a transmission programmed by americans.

C'mon man, let's keep this in the up and up. Your blanket statements that are borderline nationalism are just weird.

I mean, did you comb through the f10 to make sure none of its programming code was maybe possibly done by some American intern on the ZF team? Gasp.

The reality is that these are teams of people dedicated to certain objectives with cost restraints. Some people have higher cost allotments and others don't.

The ZF trans is good, but it's also seemingly more sensitive to fluid change interval. This would be a negative.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

if they werent good BMW wouldnt be putting it into their cars. they dont use them anymore though.. half of a transmssions quality is the actual design, yes. but the programming of the transmission is equally important if you want it not only to perform well but also be reliable
ZF trasnmission is in cars like audi, chysler, some new acura's, our BMW's etc. Porsches PDK is ZF design.
this is a little list of reported zf transmission failures i got somewhere off the internet
BMW - 0 failures
Acura - 10
Chrysler = 110 (!)

point in case. programming is important, and something you cant trust the americans with. in fact, Im skeptical of almost all american cars, except for some ford models which use a Mazda chassis and engines from their prevous partnership (ford duratec and ecoboost engines are both designed by Mazda)

Please don't quote random things you find on the internet as your gospel. It's embarrassing.

[rjahl]

Are you actually sure GM transmissions are built in the USA?

I thought this gearbox was built in Strasbourg France.

[sprp85]

Yeap. GM slushbox is built in France but I don't think anyone figured out origin of TCU coding or cracked GM box's TCU (Saw someone mentioned it was encrypted tightly but who knows).

GM Brand name doesn't automatically mean built in America/Coded in America tho.

There's been quite a few misinformation slinging around lately.. comb through carefully.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by sprp85

Yeap. GM slushbox is built in France but I don't think anyone figured out origin of TCU coding or cracked GM box's TCU (Saw someone mentioned it was encrypted tightly but who knows).

GM Brand name doesn't automatically mean built in America/Coded in America tho.

There's been quite a few misinformation slinging around lately.. comb through carefully.

I have a feeling that the TCU is pretty well integrated into the ECU on these transmissions, since I haven't seen any standalone 6L50 TCUs available on the internet like you see for the 4LXX transmissions.

Also, if you look at the Trifecta (a popular GM tuner) tunes for the ATS, Colorado and Camaro, all of their engine tunes adjust the transmission programming as well.

[minaret]

Anyone use the PCS TCM-2600 controller?

[Taskmaster]

What about a valvebody upgrade? Or increasing line pressure?

[Denny347]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

man, for all the expense and effort - why not just do a 6MT swap? The car will be faster and if you're tracking it a lot, it makes more sense.

How expensive/difficult is that? Pondering it for myself.

[PichaDis11]

Resurrected -

Did anyone locate shops or parts websites to perform a rebuild to the 6l45? I've found a few sites that are able to sell the regular sonar zip kits etc. Not much info and not many shops want to actually touch the trans.

It does seem that the Valve body is the weak link of the whole unit. Plastic check balls, plastic switch plates etc.

[tlow98]

They likely don’t want to touch them bc the demand isn’t there. Supply of used ones is huge.

Just buy and replace as needed. Cheaper.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by PichaDis11

Resurrected -

Did anyone locate shops or parts websites to perform a rebuild to the 6l45? I've found a few sites that are able to sell the regular sonar zip kits etc. Not much info and not many shops want to actually touch the trans.

It does seem that the Valve body is the weak link of the whole unit. Plastic check balls, plastic switch plates etc.

Where are you located? I have a local shop that specalizes in GM auto trans. He rebuilt my 4L60 in my hummer. Upgraded the valves, pump, band and clutch pack. Shifts beautifully and better than new. $2,200. He's in Virginia. He really knows his shit. Races on the weekends.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by tlow98

They likely don’t want to touch them bc the demand isn’t there. Supply of used ones is huge.

Just buy and replace as needed. Cheaper.

it's not quite that easy. the TCU is built into the transmission, and it's matched to the car (VIN, EWS, etc). You'd have to get the exact same transmission, and you'd need to swap your original TCU.

I have no idea how involved that is, but you definitely can't just swap in a used transmission on an automatic without doing a little extra work.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

it's not quite that easy. the TCU is built into the transmission, and it's matched to the car (VIN, EWS, etc). You'd have to get the exact same transmission, and you'd need to swap your original TCU.

I have no idea how involved that is, but you definitely can't just swap in a used transmission on an automatic without doing a little extra work.

Ohhhh. That’s kind of a bummer. Appreciate the knowledge, as always.