Today, when I was having my transmission fluid changed over to synthetic, I started talking to the guy. I've known him for a while and he is very friendly/professional/knowledgable. He is also into cars as well. He has a turbo LeBaran that he has highly modfied. He says over 300 HP at the wheels on a dyno. Anyway, back to our discussion. I discussed EVERYTHING with him. Torque converters, transmission coolers, manually shifting, Vb modifications, etc. I printed out everything I could get at Mobiletek's web site and Level 10's regarding valve body modifications and showed him . He read everything from head to toe. He then went and consulted a few more guys at the shop. He came back and he said "I know exactly what this guy is doing. This is an old practice and we have done this for people. All he's doing is drilling some holes in the valve body and replacing some accumulator (sp.?) springs. And he's working on a bench! He desn't have to do the labor. This guy's making a pretty good penny at $450". He said that they could do the exact same thing (or more or less- whatever level I want) for $225. And is very confident. That includes EVERYTHING (labor, parts, upgrade, new fluid, etc., etc.), all done for me. To quote him "If you want to chirp second, we'll make you chirp second. Gauranteed.". I don't know. What do you guys think? I like that Don specializes in Maximas and it's tried and tested but I like how this guy is cheaper, local and will do all the work for me. Anybody else every go with someone local for a VB upgrade? Thanks guys.

 

Essentially, that is what Don is doing. What you're paying for is the time/experimentation it took for him to know exactly what to do for a Maxima. Your shop may be able to get it right the first time, but then again, they may not.

 

where are ya located?

 

What shop is this ?? My local ammco will put in a Trans-go but they don't do that custom ****.

Damn...they garentee you'll chirp second ? That's somethin else...

 

You might try checking out his profile.

And Shadow is right. Don has been doing this for a while and for many Maximas already.

The shop says, "Oh, we know what he did." Not to knock their professionalism or their experience, but what if they don't produce the desired results.

The $450 from Don isn't just for the VB ...

 

Hate to break it to you bro but ptatohed is supercharged.
-Cyrus

 

CLee, wat is wrong with your site?

 

DAMN I forgot about that! Damn he shoulda gotten his VB upgraded BEFORE the supercharger His tranny must be feelin' the pain..

Yea...uh with a supercharger I expect him to SPIN through second ...withOUT a VB

 

When I load it, it works.

It's on and off ... kinda p|sses me off.

 

right. The website shows how to remove the VB. Good luck. The first few times we "thought we had it right", we lost a whole tranny. Thats a big risk to save a few bucks. Including a $25 dollar gasket and fluid? He's right people have been doing this for years, but every tranny is different.

Which springs? replace with what? what spring rate? spring travel? all of them or just a few? Holes? In which plates? top, bottom? Each plate has over 100 holes in it. Don't forget to get the gaskets (all of them).

94 parts in the Maxima VB, valves, springs , bearings, pins. Let me know how it turns out.

 

wow... if your local tranny shop can do this, I wondeer if mine can too. What info did you show the guy? can you send it to me? Ill ask my local guy to see if he know anything, Thanks.

 

http://www.mobiletek.net and I'm not sure what Level 10's website it.

 

I can speak from experience. I just had my tranny completely redone (it went completely out), and I had it done by a very experienced mechanic who only does transmissions. Basically, he said the same thing except he did say that it was tricky on our tranny than doing a vb mod on american type cars. He put the shift kit in mine, but I am very unimpressed with it. I notice no difference. I personally regret not setting something up to get the VB done while my mechanic had the tranny apart. Oh well, you live and learn. I did have a HD torque converter built, so hopefully it will fair better on the juice. My 2 cents.

 

Poway CA.

Like clee said, in the profile...

 

I hear you Don. When you say 'let me know how it turns out', I never said I was going to do it, I am simply asking opinions of others. I like what you said and you're right. (However, I don't really appreciate the classic-salesman pitch of "to save a few buck". A few bucks, by definition, is $2. This would be $225 right off the bat, plus fluid (synthetic) plus gaskets plus, most importantly, my time! So, no it isn't 'a few bucks'.) But yes, I get your point and I realize you have experience specifically in the Maxima field. Which you can't really put a dollar amount on. I guess I just have to weigh: tested, garaunteed, tried and true - vs. - much less expensive, local, less downtime and zero labor on my part (thus someone else is resposible if something goes wrong). Thanks Don.

?????...

 

You really cant weigh anything. Your taking a 100% gamble here. You have no idea how its going to turn out and yur putting money on the line. If your lucky it will go good and you will have saved yourself $225 but if not your going to have to get a whole new transmission and then get Dons mod.
you gotta be really desperate on cash to try that.

 

ptatohed, I wouldn't trust a local transmission shop too much. You are better off going with Don's or Level Ten's VB. I told you to get the VB before you get the SC, you are just playing with fire there with the SC with no upgraded VB. The VB does more than just improve upshifts(I say that because the lag is still there on downshifts from time to time, the VB is good, but not great), it protects your transmission. So, if anything, get the VB for the protection. Since you're running on stock boost, I think that's ok for the moment. You got the tranny cooler already right?

 

That's where you're wrong. That was one of my points. If something goes wrong, I am not responsable.

 

I got the cooler but I haven't installed it yet. This weekend for sure. I have to take off my '97 bumper/grill (just test-fitting it) and put back on my '96 so I'll have pleanty of room. Cuma, are you going to get another charger or stay N/A?

 

I'm going to stay N/A for now. I'm not going to do anything major to my car. I'm going to just keep the car for one or two more years. After that, I don't know what I'll get, I'll have to see how I'm doing financially.

 

Good luck to to you bro.


P.s. Would you be interested in trading VBs? If so, how much?

 

I just emailed Don about getting this done. What does it do besides save the life of yoiur tranny in the long run, anything? also how much does this usually cost?


Jay from CT

 

I don't know, I'm really torn. My tranny shop says that the VB has no relation to extended transmission life. So I question that. And the 'anything else' you ask about is quicker shifts for better performance (ex. faster 1/4 mile times). And I question this as well since half the members say they saw gains while half say they didn't. Not sure what you mean by 'regular cost'. It is $450 I guess as stated on Don's site.

I'm just reeeealy torn on this one. I want to extend my transmission life, if that's the case, and I want faster 1/4 times, once again if that's the case, but I don't want a rough shift!!! It's not the money. I would have spent the $450 a while ago if I wasn't torn. I love my luxury and I bought a smooth shifting car for a reason. I really don't know what to do.

 

The supercharger will kill off the transmission if you do not get a tranny cooler. If you just get the cooler and not the VB then you have prolonged your tranny life some but not as much as if you went with a modified VB and tranny cooler together.

Cost of this mod is around $450 if memory serves me right. You could just buy a seperate VB and ride around on your stock one. Send the extra VB that you bought to Don and when the modified VB comes back send off your stock VB. I think he does something like that.

Have you ever noticed how long and drawn out the shifts are stock or supercharged the way you are now (no modified VB or tranny cooler)? With the VB you tranny shifts when you change gears. Instead of waiting when you shift from 1-2 in the upper RPM range with your stock VB, the modified VB will shift pretty much right when you change the gear lever from 1 to 2. Might take a fraction of a second, but it is nothing like the wait you experience with your stock VB.

Can anyone that has ridden in my car put it better than that? Bosco, Max88........

Bottom line: Spend the $450, get your VB modified and install your tranny cooler. Relearn how to drive your AT so that it shifts as smooth as possible. Keep the speed and RPM as low as possible while shifting from 1-2 and you will barely know that it is modified.

I could have a local shop install a N2O system because they say they can, but I trust the people that did it first and have the experience with it. Don may cost a bit more, but I trust in the work that he does and the research he put into making this a reliable performance modification for us AT's. I have not had a problem with his product. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of problems. $175 is not worth me wondering whether or not my VB will work correctly or hold the power of my car in the long run.

 

I just got a used one (mobiltek) a few weeks ago and like it a lot. Not a rough shift at all, my car just feels faster. Haven't had it at the track though.

 

thank you, this information helped me alot with making my decision on the VB mod. I got a B&M tranny cooler from JEGS and now I will get this VB upgrade when i get the funds together. Any other suggestions?

p.s. how much does this help with the 1/4 mile time? also do now stomp on the gas you say?


Jay from CT

 

As long as you have the VB and tranny cooler you should be fine..... that is unless you are going with a 3.25 pulley (a whole nother story all together). The stock transmission internals should hold out even if you are using a 3.33 pulley on your supercharger with a modified VB, tranny cooler and a step cooler spark plugs. Go to a 3.25 pulley or smaller and you will need to have your tranny built by Level10 and go with 2 steps colder spark plugs.

I am not sure how much this helped out in the 1/4, but if I had to guess I would say that it dropped at least .2 and at very best .5 but this is just a guess.

Stomping on the gas is fine if you are going for all out acceleration. If you want a smooth and soft shift then you will have to relearn how to shift your car. The trick is to shift into 2nd gear with as little speed (MPH) and RPM as possible. That is what makes the 1-2 shift seem more like stock when you need it to be that way.

 

I am going with a 3.43 Pully.......

 

Well, it's been two months after the start of this thread. I've been thinking a lot about my transmission over the last two months. The only safe-guards I have done are synthtic fluid and a cooler. I hear so often that the Maxima 3.0 is a damn good engine but the automatic is the week link. I don't know how to take that. I have seen people with over 160,000 miles on the stock transmission. I have 130,000. But everyone tells me that if you have a SuperCharged auto, you NEED the Vb mod. And, like I said, I wouldn't hesitate if it weren't for the rough shifts. I have only 3,000 miles on my SC but I see no problems. But, I am concerned because of everything I have read. So, I have thought about this a lot and I decided to do something. You guys aren't going to like this though. Cumalot is going to kill me! Well, despite some of your warnings, I am going for it! I went to the transmission shop I spoke about last Thursday and said 'let's talk transmission options'. We spoke for hours. What I have decided to do was let them make me a 'bullet-proof' transmission to quote him. He will also be upgrading my valvebody. I dropped my car off on Friday. I know I am gambling but I am willing to take the risk. I trust them immensly and they have a lot of exerience. They often work on drag cars. So, with all that said, wish me luck! I'll let you guys know how it turns out. The last thing I need to get back to him on is a High Stall Torque Converter. Would it benefit a supercharged car? Thanks guys.

 

It is very true that our tranny is the weakest link. Nissan designed the transmission not for performance but for smoothness. I have been told on more than one occasion by transmission mechanics that our tranny sees a lot of down time in higher milage cars due to the fact that the engine still makes reasonable amount of power even after high milage but the tranny weakens. Dunno if this is true, but makes some sense. Either way it sounds like you have put your faith on your transmission shop. Personally, I debated over the same thing. I have N2O and a week after my install I blew up the converter. My mechanic that did my total rebuild said that nitrous just sped up the inevitable. I opted to go with stock clutches and a hand-built torque converter. I also installed the biggest cooler I could fit. I had them install a "trans-go shift kit" but was truly dissapointed with it. The shifts were basically stock. I contacted Don and got his VB mod. After a few install mistakes, in my part, I can now truly say that it was definetly worth it. It is a difference from night to day from the trans-go. The key here is the fact that the alterations Don makes are precise. Unless your mechanic has experience with Maxima's or has some how figured out what springs to change, where to drill, what size ball bearings to use, I don't think the VB mod is going to be the same. I hope so, for you because the VB mod definetly makes a huge difference in the way the car shifts. Everyone knows the advantages of the VB mod, so I will not take anymore bandwith to repeat. I honestly hope your tranny guy knows his stuff because putting a "shift kit" in domestics is a far easier to do than making our cars shift like they do with Don's VB mod, and I know from experience how you are looking forward to that first aggressive shift after you leave the shop and it not being there.

 

Yeah, thanks Jaime. I hope so too. He is fixing anything that is worn, he is upgrading any and all parts that can be upgraded, he is strengthening the TC, he is upgrading the valvebody and he is looking into adding LSD. Thanks for the info.

 

Well, I got my car back yesterday! I got a 'bulletproof' trans. with every part upgraded that can be upgraded. I got anything that looked worn replaced. I got my torque convertor raised 200 RPMs. I got my VB modified. And I put in Mobile One synthetic (although already had it before). What started out to only be a $225 VB Mod., transformed into a $2500 rebuild! Oh well, I feel much better now. And I feel better about throwing on more HorsePower in the future (Ex. smaller SC pulley, NOS, etc.) The VB mod would have been $225 but ended up only being $85 since they had to go in there anyway! Just for going in, it was ~$450, the $VB was ~$85, the TC was ~$400, the 'bulletproofness' was ~$1050, and repairs were ~$500. So it would have been $2000 if I didn't have any prior damage and it would have been $1600 if I opted not to do the TC. But I'm glad I did everything. I told him it's a daily driver so take it easy on the TC and VB. I can't even tell the TC stall speed was raised and as for the VB mod, I can feel it but it isn't all that bad I guess. When the car is cold, I almost can't even tell. Once it warms up, the 1-2 shift is pretty firm but not totally annoying. The 2-3 shift is just barely firmer but not much and the 3-4 feels just like stock. Just curious, is that how Don's VB mod is? Firm mostly in 1-2 only? I haven't punched it yet to see if I chirp second or anything but I will shortly. I also have to get it to the track (read G-Tech) and see what she can do. I was at a cr@ppy, high time of 14.7 before but a nice, high speed of 100.1 so I hope if I can just 'get out of the box' quicker, I'll lower my time.

 

Don's mod is very firm 1-2, firm 2-3, quicker 3-OD but not firm. I like mine a lot. If I wanna go, It will go. It has noticebly better down shifts and the car accelerates w/o the lag since it shifts faster. I did notice the other day like you stated, when cold the shifts are not as firm. No biggie though.