tko 600 or t56 swap and whats involved?

[90_Red_LX]

The t5 in the car finally grenaded, and I'm tired of rebuilding it. Damage check is gonna be done here in the next couple hours, but unless I can cheap rebuild it with my parts in stock the cars gonna be down for a bit. The t5 just isn't taking me or the motor well at all. I was curious as whats involved in a tko 600 or t56 swap? Any welding or modification for a crossmember, or can I just buy another one that can fit in the factory mounting holes? I know a new bellhousing is in order, but I assume a 302 and 351w bellhousings can interchange. This may turn into a parting out of my motor and a 408 build, dunno yet. But for now I'm just curious whats involved with each swap, and which would you prefer? Would the extra 6th gear be worth the extra weight and parasitic losses vs a tko? I like to powershift so I need a good one. Thanks.

 

[Joey7508]

did alot of looking when I bought my transmission and wound up buying a vipert56. I bought it because it was rated for 660FT# and had a .50 6th gear. The other t56 you see advertised in summit are only rated for around 400 horse and have a final gear that is close to a t5 no real drop in rpms in overdrive. I ran my t56 with 4.10 gears when its NA but i swap to a 3.27 when I have my turbo on so it makes my 6th gear kind of a waste. I could have run the tko600, but I didn't know at the time I would be running a 3.27 gear with my turbo. I like the tko600. some people say they are notchy to shift, but they are not bad. Either way you will need a 26 spline clutch for either one. I paid about 4000.00 bucks by the time I got my D&D viperspec in the car. kit,new clutch, changing the exhaust to fit, pro 5.0 shifter for it... My buddy got a used tko600 with everything he need to put it in for 1500.00 I have come across a few that are being sold for around that. Other wise I had sold my tremec 3550 as a kit with every thing bellhousing, clutch, drive shaft, shifter pro 5.0, crossmember for $1000.00 when I swaped and have seen 3550s for around that price in the classifieds.

 

[2000xp8]

Cost for a TKO 600 setup is going to be like $3000 if you go new, you need a new clutch, the trans, driveshaft yoke, and a bellhousing. I got an entire setup new a few years back from somebody that had to sell for 2 grand, but prices have escalated since then.

I can live with the notchyness, what i don't like is the 600's gear ratio's.
Hopefully now that i have some more hp on the way, the long first gear won't bother me anymore, even with 3.73's first gear feels like forever.
Gas mileage is comparable to a t56, because of the .64 overdrive.

For lower hp setups, i honestly think the ratios in the tko500 would be more fun on the street.

 

[gt40_2003wes]

have you given any thought to a G force or aero A-5?

 

[Sicarius428]

I was in the same boat too and torn between a TKO 5/600 and a T56. I went with the TKO600 because I really didn't like the short first and second of the tko500 which is similar to the T5 in gearing. I also went with the 600 over the t56 because I really couldn't justify the cost for the .8 5th gear. Cool factor is definately a plus but the viper spec was way out of budget... as was the tko600 but moreso. The 600 is also a boltin with just the modification to the crossmember. I went with the HPM crossmember for 100 bucks which made it even that much easier since it is made specifically for that application. Definately need some gears though... I drove with the stock rear 2.87 and it was a dog. 3.55 is a minimum depending on your power levels... idealy 3.73 i would say. T56 is definately cool and if I had the cash to do it I would have but I was looking at the non viper spec and for less I got a lot more transmission going with the 600... and it was a bolt in. The T56 takes a little more with the crossmember and speedo.
Kevin

 

[Rcdgl]

Have a TKO 600 in a branc c cruiser and its awesome. Got the .66 ofd ratio, and with a 373 gear it still runs down the interstate very nicely.