Hey there everyone,
So with all of the consideration placed on which transaxle to use. I thought it was about time to address a few things that most people forget.
HEAT!!!!!
The biggest killer of any transaxle is heat. There are a several different solutions to this HUGE problem. I will try to outline a few that we use and recommend here. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or add to this post anything that you feel would be helpful.
First, address the cause of the heat. Namely friction inside the gearbox. This friction is what causes loss of HP through that drivetrain, and is a big cause of the overall heat generated inside.
Solution 1 - Reduce the friction. How? We highly recommend Cryogenic processing of the gearbox internals, combined with a two step REM process. This has been around in the racing communities for years and years now, and you will find most high end teams will actually have these machines as part of their shop now. It has slowly trickled down from Formula one, Indy Cars, to Nascar, and Top Fuel Drag cars to the general public. Cost - $1,500.00 for all internal components through us here at Carquip. Our process also adds a Temper stage to the process after Cryogenics. This adds two to three times the life to the internals, and lowers gearbox friction dramatically. Less friction = Less heat and more HP. How much? Well figure not the much in terms of HP probably 5 to 10 more on the Dyno. Reduction of heat upwards of 60 degrees F.
Solution 2 - Use a good transaxle cooler and pump to keep the gear oil cool and circulating. We recommend only the best pump, a Tilton, and a very high quality double pass cooler, usually used with engine cooling for most applications. Dimensions for the cooler are 6 inches x 11.5 inches x 2 inches. This is a very good cooler and will more then adequately cool your transaxle oil to a more reasonable temp, so long as you place the cooler in an area of airflow. Cost - $400 for both the pump and cooler, plus shipping. Keep in mind that this price does not include the braided lines from the transaxle, or the taps for the gearbox. Somewhat impossible as placement is going to make their length difficult to guess.
Solution 3 - Use a high quality transaxle oil. I am going to try to avoid upsetting anyone here by not expressing which oils I really do not like, but I will say that there are a couple that are better then the rest currently out, and call this good. If you really want to know my thoughts on a particular oil, send me PM or give me a call and I will be happy to share my thoughts individually.
Street applications - We recommend one of four. Either Swepco 201, Swepco 210 for harder driving and more heat protection, LE 703, and LE 704. Cost - $60 to $100 per gallon This might seem rather expensive in comparison to some of the other options used, but let me assure you, given some of the damage that we have seen here as a result of oil failure, and the associated cost of a rebuild, this is a very inexpensive solution.
Race applications - Either Swepco 210 or LE 9920. The LE option is a full synthetic and is the best of the best. It is not cheap at $100 per gallon, but it offers unparralled protection, reduces gearbox temps, has a wear-reducing agent that will not separate from the synthetic base, and simply the cat's meow of gear oils. Again Cost range is - $60 to $100 per gallon.
I know that I have kind of gone on here awhile about this now, but again given the amount of time and money you are already investing in the building of these very hot cars, it only makes sense to spend just a little more to keep the major component that the car so hot, cool.
I hope that this information has been helpful. I have everything that is mentioned here instock and ready for shipment out if anyone wishes.
Warmest Regards and happy building to all,
Erik Johnson
Carquip Sales
(303) 443-1343 ext 2 work
(720) 980-9407 cell
So with all of the consideration placed on which transaxle to use. I thought it was about time to address a few things that most people forget.
HEAT!!!!!
The biggest killer of any transaxle is heat. There are a several different solutions to this HUGE problem. I will try to outline a few that we use and recommend here. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or add to this post anything that you feel would be helpful.
First, address the cause of the heat. Namely friction inside the gearbox. This friction is what causes loss of HP through that drivetrain, and is a big cause of the overall heat generated inside.
Solution 1 - Reduce the friction. How? We highly recommend Cryogenic processing of the gearbox internals, combined with a two step REM process. This has been around in the racing communities for years and years now, and you will find most high end teams will actually have these machines as part of their shop now. It has slowly trickled down from Formula one, Indy Cars, to Nascar, and Top Fuel Drag cars to the general public. Cost - $1,500.00 for all internal components through us here at Carquip. Our process also adds a Temper stage to the process after Cryogenics. This adds two to three times the life to the internals, and lowers gearbox friction dramatically. Less friction = Less heat and more HP. How much? Well figure not the much in terms of HP probably 5 to 10 more on the Dyno. Reduction of heat upwards of 60 degrees F.
Solution 2 - Use a good transaxle cooler and pump to keep the gear oil cool and circulating. We recommend only the best pump, a Tilton, and a very high quality double pass cooler, usually used with engine cooling for most applications. Dimensions for the cooler are 6 inches x 11.5 inches x 2 inches. This is a very good cooler and will more then adequately cool your transaxle oil to a more reasonable temp, so long as you place the cooler in an area of airflow. Cost - $400 for both the pump and cooler, plus shipping. Keep in mind that this price does not include the braided lines from the transaxle, or the taps for the gearbox. Somewhat impossible as placement is going to make their length difficult to guess.
Solution 3 - Use a high quality transaxle oil. I am going to try to avoid upsetting anyone here by not expressing which oils I really do not like, but I will say that there are a couple that are better then the rest currently out, and call this good. If you really want to know my thoughts on a particular oil, send me PM or give me a call and I will be happy to share my thoughts individually.
Street applications - We recommend one of four. Either Swepco 201, Swepco 210 for harder driving and more heat protection, LE 703, and LE 704. Cost - $60 to $100 per gallon This might seem rather expensive in comparison to some of the other options used, but let me assure you, given some of the damage that we have seen here as a result of oil failure, and the associated cost of a rebuild, this is a very inexpensive solution.
Race applications - Either Swepco 210 or LE 9920. The LE option is a full synthetic and is the best of the best. It is not cheap at $100 per gallon, but it offers unparralled protection, reduces gearbox temps, has a wear-reducing agent that will not separate from the synthetic base, and simply the cat's meow of gear oils. Again Cost range is - $60 to $100 per gallon.
I know that I have kind of gone on here awhile about this now, but again given the amount of time and money you are already investing in the building of these very hot cars, it only makes sense to spend just a little more to keep the major component that the car so hot, cool.
I hope that this information has been helpful. I have everything that is mentioned here instock and ready for shipment out if anyone wishes.
Warmest Regards and happy building to all,
Erik Johnson
Carquip Sales
(303) 443-1343 ext 2 work
(720) 980-9407 cell
