STROKEXD

I have turned up the following supplier of an overdrive module=> http://www.gearvendors.com/
.. that bolts to the rear of an auto and effectively gives you an overdrive ratio, but also gives you split shifts between the gears.

So a C4 ends up with 6 ratios: 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3 and an overdrive. Sounds like the best of both worlds and you could get an older muscle car performing like the new factory performance vehicles - great acceleration AND economy!

Apparantly these units can take the grunt of a modded 8.

Has anyone out there had experience with this manufacturer before I order one?

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Walkinshaw

they get used in motor homes. Most have 500bhp v8's and bulk toqrue. Go for it.

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Ive been described as a vault of usless random knowledge.

Ill take it as a complement i think.............

Thunder Kiss

That looks pretty good. The only problem, I don't think these things are cheap (anyone know how much?). If you want an overdrive, an AOD 4 speed auto would work out a lot cheaper.

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STROKEXD

Yeah it's not a thing to do on a budget. About $2200 US for the kit but I'm prepared to pay it.

Apparantly they take upto 1200HP, so I've made my mind up and am going ahead with plans to fit one. Just been waiting on the company to get back to me about a local or atleast Australian distributor.

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pandaman

The old volvo pumper in the local fire brigade is set up like that, it works pretty good.

spaceman347

As much as I think that we would all love a 6 speed auto, from my reading of how these ones work, it would be a royal pain in the ass to drive. From what I read, you would start out in first and then engage the overdrive (for "first-over"), then change into second and at the same time disengage the overdrive (otherwise you'll go straight into "second-over"). Lots of changing gears and pushing buttons going on.

If your only looking for an overdrive, the AOD would definitely be the way to go, although they aren't necessarily cheap either (I was quoted $2400 for a fully rebuilt AOD with B&M clutch packs and all the necessary mods for a strong 351 - another $600 to fit it and setup the change patterns / kickback properly)

ClevoCapri

What is the physical size difference between an AOD and a C4?
Has anyone made this swap? I wouldnt mind overdrive in my Capri, tunnel space is a premium though.

STROKEXD

spaceman if drag racers in the States are using them, then surely it can't be that difficult to change gears. But I would set it up in my application with the overdrive unit only kicking in in top gear after a certain speed - they talk about that on the web page too ie not using the split gears function.

Can AOD's be made as strong as a C4, I thought they couldn't???

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spaceman347

You've probably got a point, when I first read the website, it just sounded annoying, not that the idea isn't tempting, although AUD$3000 is too much for me at the moment.

I've no idea about the strength of the AOD, I half-heartedly looked into them a little while back when I had a desire for the overdrive, but then the price stopped that desire (maybe if my c4 dies I'll look into it again)

xdc351

It sounds like a lot of money.... the AOD's actually come from the factory as the setup you want to run.

I've heard of some very serious cars running AOD's in the US, even supercharged mustangs running in the 9's so I reckon if they're the same as C4's (ie can be tough as if built right!).

Here's some good info i've found in the past:
http://www.baumannengineering.com/pguide.htm

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