transbrake question
 

I know this has been beat to death but mine is a little different. I have a 4000 lb pickup with a 540 and a t400 with ATI brake and valve body and their button. Is it the trans brake that's slow or is it me? I cannot hit a .400 tree at all.

Re: transbrake question
 

The turbo 400 is just a little slow on a .4 tree to begin with.
The 4000 lb weight is also an issue.
Do you know what gear ratio gear set you have?
There are several ratio's for the 400 and that can make a difference for the .4 tree.
It is just hard to make a 4000 lb vehicle move quickly out of the lights on a .4 tree.
Good Luck with your issue and it probably is not you being slow.
Rick

Re: transbrake question
 

I don't know what gearset I have. I would have to ask Leo over at Remac. He built it.
Yeah, I figured the weight was somewhat of an issue but it 60's 1.41-2 so it gets moving pretty quick.
Maybe I just better stick to the Sst .500 light and forget about the nostalgia gas classes.
Thank you for your answers. I appreciate it.

Re: transbrake question
 

ATI's are just that slow. Had the same problem in my car. Switched it out to a Coan transbrake and picked up about .030-.040.

Re: transbrake question
 

Did you change the whole valve body or just the selenoid?

Re: transbrake question
 

If JJ was talking about a PG vs Turbo 400 they are totally different animals.
JJ has a Davis car which will only weigh about 2200 or 2300 lbs with him in it vs your 4000 lbs.
Rick

Re: transbrake question
 

whole valve body. At least on the PG, the ati brake is a spring, while the coan is hydraulic.

Re: transbrake question
 

You are way too heavy for a trans brake. TOOOOO hard on the crank and driveline parts. Footbrake launch and take the side stepping the clutch like shock out of the expensive to replace parts.

Re: transbrake question
 

Now you tell me! I should have asked the question before I did it, huh.
Maybe I should put a glide in it.

Re: transbrake question
 

At 4000# If you put a glide in it, you had better buy the best parts/planetary that you can get. I suspect that a vehicle that heavy would destroy the GM stuff very quckly.
I would think you would be better off buying fiberglass and lexan to lighten that beast up. You will not only get better vehicle reaction times but you will break less stuff.

Re: transbrake question
 

Bill, I was joking about the glide but I do have all the good stuff already. I've learned from past breakage where the weak parts were. I wouldn't say it's bulletproof but it's pretty darn close.
I was kinda hoping it was the parts I am using instead of the whole package.
By the way this is a street legal, pump gas driver. But at 1 mpg I don't drive it much.
Thanks for the input.

Re: transbrake question
 

Your problem with you trying to hit a .400 light is you need to go on a 1000# diet. You are trying to move too much weight in too little time. That extra 0.10 of a secound may not seem like much, but it's huge in the world of physics. I'd suggest you try Super Street and have some fun, save some money, and stop frustrating your self.

Re: transbrake question
 

I know you are right but I like to play in the nostalgia Heritage series in D/gas. I qualify decent but I'm generally a duck first round. I'd probably be better off running hot rod in that series.
Thanks for the input.

Re: transbrake question
 

"ATI's are just that slow. Had the same problem in my car. Switched it out to a Coan transbrake and picked up about .030-.040. "
I had heard that the Hipster Transbrake was the fastest.... Anybody had any experience with them. Is the Coan faster?

Re: transbrake question
 

Floyd, I've built a lot of 400's with th ATI brakes,they are fine for a .5 full tree and bracket racing but for .370 pro tree racing with a 400,only the Griner will do. ..they are just that fast,and also have the cleanst ,fastest shifts of any th400 valve body,period. , I ran a Griner brake in a 400 for years ,before switching to a glide,and it was only .015 off his killer mk IV glide brake..........ATI sells them for serious applications,because they know the limitations of their brake........As far as strength,the 400 planets and output shaft are plenty strong, the input shaft hub area in the foward drum eventually becomes the weakest link,altho I've seen some stand up to 900 plus hp in near two ton cars. .....I would say the Griner is worth at least .03 to .05 hundreths over the ATI..........Tom

Re: transbrake question
 

I have heard Hipster and Grinder are the 2 fastest. The Coan is just what I had left over from an old transmission laying around from a '69 Camaro I used to race. Called ATI, and they said I have the fastest brake they make in the transmission they sold me.

Re: transbrake question
 

Unfortunately, it seems every manufacture you talk to will probably tell you their unit is the fastest and best on the market. In the Hipster website, it states their brake release time is .018 (the ProGlide brake). Don't know if this is fast or slow in comparison. The other manufactures are reluctant to provide a number to compare their's with, although I am sure they know what it is, as it should be easy for them to measure how quick their unit releases. This data would be a good starting point to isolate the transbrake reaction time from the other variables that make up the total car/driver reaction time.

Re: transbrake question
 

I would say that the experience and advice from the guys that have tried the various units is probably more right on than any advertising or test results the manufacturers put out.
I'll just be satisfied for now with running the .500 tree unless their is a particular Heritage race I want to go to with my buddies. Who knows, I might get lucky and get somebody to go red on me.

Re: transbrake question
 

Have you tried to stage deeper? I had to do that in my Camaro. Let the other guy pre-stage first, then you roll through the pre-stage to the stage. It's fairly consistant on how deep you stage, and you're deeper, giving you a better light. I won 3 rounds at US Nationals in '06 doing it this way before I went .142 red in the 4th round. I know a lot of guys with slower cars that do this with success.

Re: transbrake question
 

Hi JJ,
That is my plan but I've been footbraking so long and just barely lighting the second bulb that I forget just out of habit. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
Out here at Fontucky I've talked the starter into holding my button on a long cord and letting it go at the same time he does the tree. They take pity on an old man out here. LOL

Re: transbrake question
 

You can take Griners release times to the bank! ....Several years ago when fast trans brakes were just coming into being,Bob Maze at Transmission Specialties ,built a valvebody"dyno" to check performance claims against his own products. .....At the time I used both Bob's and Griners products,and knew which was the fastest, Bobs"dyno "confirmed it!........Griners TH400 valve body is like no on elses. ...It uses an all billet body with huge passages and only one shift ball that's about 1/2"in dia.. ....It also has an internal solenoid with a very large exhaust port. ....If you are serious about racing on the .4 pro tree and using what you already have ,you are wasting time and money if you use anything but the Griner brake. ....Tom

Re: transbrake question
 

Thanks Tom,but with everything considered we'll just forget about the .400 tree for now. I've got too many things going against me. I'm not trying to set the world on fire, I just want to have fun and occasionally win one.

Re: transbrake question
 

I say stick to SST and enjoy it.... if you must run the Heritage classes on .400, take a 2-3 inch bite after you turn the bulbs on. A lot easier than spending a ton of money for possibly the same result.....

Re: transbrake question
 

Thanks Jim, that's probably the best way to do it. I'm putting some more pinion angle in it to improve the reaction as we speak. The only problem with S/st is I don't have any electronics and I'm a little quick. One thing nice about D/gas is I can't break out without a hell of a tail wind.

Re: transbrake question
 

How close are you......What size front tire.....What air pressure in front....Is the frontend travel limited.....

There are a few things you can do if your close.

Re: transbrake question
 

Eric, I've got a 4000 lb pickup, pump gas 540, turbo 400, 9" 4:30 gear, non tubbed, 11" slicks 30" Tall, 26" front tire, 35 lbs air, ladder bars, A1 shocks front, Varishocks rear.
Runs 10:70 @ 122 balls out in decent air. I've never put it on a dyno and I run 36 degs timing and shift @ 6400. Launch @ 3400 also. Goes thru the lights @ 6600-6650.
The only reason I started this thread was to find out if I was slow or my equipment was. I can't get better than a .120 on the .400 tree.