Hi all, i know i've asked this b4, but i never get any good answers... If i was to get the VB mod, is there any chance of me screwing up the tranny and blowing it up? anybody done this? Any wear and tear on the engine over time? What company should I go with?

Should I trust the quality of the valvebody? Is it easy to install?
Just assesing the risks , Thanks Everyone -Ksgarcia-

 

Very little. My friend did his car and had no problems. From what I understand its pretty much unbolt/rebolt in swap. Just make sure you keep your bolts and where they go straight. There is one small arm, dont know how to describe it, but you'll see it, its the only moving part, make sure its connected correctly and your good to go. The valvebody is actually better on your transmission than a stock one, faster shifting, kind of like not riding the clutch in a manual. No engine wear im aware of.

 

NO! This is not going to blow your tranny! It serves the purpose of lengthening the life of your tranny. the install isnt too bad. not exactly easy, but not too difficult. I would rate it about a 6.5 out of 10 (10 being the hardest).

the only wear and tear to anything would be to your motor mounts, due to the harder shifts, but thats not something i would worry about too much.

you have the option of going with MobilTek or with the maximum tuning vb. I went with mobiltek because they were having a deal like maxtuning is having right now. i had great service, got the vb very fast and was overall very pleased with the quality and service i recieved. a lot of orgers have had bad past experiences with mobieltek but I can say mine wasnt bad.

its definetly a good investment. id rather pay the $400 bucks for this than a new tranny down the line. the harder shifts do take a bit of getting used to at first. its a great feeling though. being able to chirp second and have that sports car feel makes it worth every penny! not to mention if you are thinking of running any kind of boost this is a must have.

also, dont forget about the tranny cooler you have to install too. its not too difficult just a little time consuming. feel free to PM me if you have any more q's.

-todd

 

It took me 4 hours to swap out the stock VB with the MobilTek VB. I had no problems dealing with them and this was like 3 yrs ago.
The only problem I had during install was having that plunger thing facing the wrong way and my tranny wouldn't shift, causing me to uninstall it and buying more tranny fluid.

 

I am debating this over a 5spd swap...

I want to do this, but from what i have heard, this actually RAISES your 1/4 mile times by .1 seconds...

i read it on maxmods for you that are curious... so im assuming its a legit fact...

is this counteractive if you have boost? im looking towards a SC setup...would it INCREASE my time or DECREASE it the same as with N/A?

 

People in previous posts have said that the vb mod doesn't increase your time at all. Since I haven't gone to the track I can't really comment on it.

 

Here's the thing with decreasing your time at the strip. I you really want to measure a 0.2 second difference in quarter mile time (from a given mod) you'd actually have to do 20+ runs to see it.

Why? Well because each individual run varies by more than 0.2 seconds depending on your reaction time, wheel spin, etc.

The VB definitely quickens your shifts. If you change nothing else, your car should be somewhat faster. How much faster is up to debate. If you could measure the time lag of stock shifts versus VB upgraded shifts you would know.

Reliable sources have put this down as 0.1 - 0.2 seconds depending on which kit you get. Some claim a full 0.4 seconds, but I can personally tell you that there is no way that our stock trannies have that much delay. I'm certain there is at least a 0.1 second increase. Possibly a little more. How much more would require someone to do 20+ dyno runs before and 20+ dyno runs afterwards without changing any other mods.

That's my 2 cents. If you disagree, I certainly won't argue. Personally I find the best part of the upgrade is the feeling of responsiveness that it gives the car. It will certainly "feel" much faster, even if the actual track times change little (0.1 on the low side, 0.2 probably the max).

 

wow, these are all excellent responses, if you guys know anything else, please let me know!

 

Hi,
Why would you pay some else $400. for a modified valvebody. If you are mechanically inclined you can buy the same kit they are putting in those $400 valvebodys for $47.50 + $6.00 S/H http://www.edgeracingconverters.com/

 

Those are definatly torque converters there maximaman.

 

Mobiletek is having a sale (last I checked) for $325 shipped.

Maximum Tuning on LI had them on sale for $350 shipped (or will install it while you wait if you are lucky enough to be traveling near the NYC area sometime in the near future.)

I had mine done at Maximum Tuning. They are very professional and installed in less than two hours. Also, they have another advantage: they have three different stages of kits depending on how fast (and hence harsh) you want your shifts to be. I got the Stage 2 kit which GREATLY increase shift speed, but isn't truly jarring like the Stage 3 racing one would be (instantaneous shifts). It's a nice compromise. You get most of the performance benefit, but your car still remains driveable for everyday.

Even with the stage 2, however, your car will shift much harder (and hence kind of harshly at times) due to the faster shifts. Most people are very satisfied. A few will miss their silky smooth ride. So you need to decide where you fall.

READ THIS THREAD:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=329580

 

They have shift kits and other trans parts also

 

I was talking to a friend of mine about this (he's a grad student, working on his physics Ph.D)

He made the point that your actual 1/4 mile time may decrease EVEN MORE than 0.1 - 0.2 seconds.

Why? Well, you gain about 0.2 seconds (we'll use that number for now) just by making your shifts faster. PLUS you also reach a higher speed than you would have reached before, PLUS your rate of acceleration will be slightly faster because you won't have a delay during acceleration due to the normally slow shifts.

So, what does that mean? You should gain slightly more than just the decreased shift time. How much? Well, I wish I knew. Maybe that takes off just another 0.05 seconds or maybe a full 0.1 on top of the 0.1 - 0.2 from the shift increase alone. Can't tell you for sure.

Would need lots of track time to test it out (both before and after the mod.)

 

Why'd you make another thread asking the same thing, it was answered in the other thread. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=332841

The answer is NO!

 

I sense some anger... I know that I certainly didn't notice the other post when I was glancing through. Things move down the list quickly on this forum with so many users and all. I understand the frustration, but there's no need to diss our fellow .org members. They mean well (usually).

 

ok i have a ? so my car just hit 100K 1998 gxe so this mod will extend the life of my tranny for how much longer? or will i no longer have to worry about my tranny breaking down or giving me problems.

 

My Opinion: This isn't an amazing cure-all for your tranny. It keeps your gears from grinding as much when the car changes gears. That's all. If your tranny's gears are already worn, it's not going to fix that. If they are in good shape, they may last a little longer (maybe not). It's still a nice mod though for some of us (depending on your taste for comfort vs performance).

Don't get it to save your tranny. It's not likely to work any miracles. Do get it if you want faster, harder shifts (with the compromise in ride comfort due to the loss of nice smooth shifts).

I had 116k miles on my car when I did the VB mod. Jeff at Maximum Tuning took it for a drive and said he was amazed at how crisply my tranny shifted, just like new despite the high mileage. I guess mine is still in great shape. Hopefully your tranny is in similarly good shape.

 

I emailed them about a shift kit. I asked specifically whats in the kit. They never answered so im thinking BS! I could be wrong, but for 32$ anything thats sounds too good to be true usually is. The valvebody mods ive seen replace all the normally soft parts in the trany with harder replacements. And they come with springs with a higher tension than stock for the firmer shifts.

If money is the concern you could always adjust the kickdown and add a cooler. Thats what 40$ for the cooler.
Id rather have a bulletproof VB mod for the auto. Shift kits are nice but you can adjust a cable and get the same result.

 

How do adjust the kick down cable? I got different information in the shift kit. They told me that the kits came with springs drill bits to drill out passages and instructions.

 

Wish I was as mechanically inclined - pretty brave of you to attempt switching the parts and drilling holes in your VB by yourself. I was happy to have Jeff at Maximum Tuning take care of all the hard work on this one. Would have loved to have saved $300 though. Plus there's the satisfaction of having done the mod yourself. No price tag for that (like those mastercard commercials)....

We've gotta get someone on this thread who has actually done it themselves (the $45 VB kit). I'd really be curious to see how these parts-only kits work out. And how difficult it is to do.

 

I don't like my stage 2. It's too harsh. I'd rather have my stock vb back.

 

I agree that it's definitely not for everyone. I happen to like it most of the time. It can be slightly annoying at times, too. Ride is a bit harsher. Shifts are occassionally jarring. Shifts are always hard. The car surges when the gear shifts, as if you were rowing hard on a manual. Of course, that is the point of the mod!

HERE's the big difference:

With a manual, you control when you are going to shift hard. When you want a comfy ride, you can go easy on the shifter and carry your passengers around in comfort.

With the VB mod, your shifting is always hard, even when you are driving slowly down the street. So it's like being forced to always row top speed at each shift. It's "always on", and that's where people get tired of it.

 

Oh yeah, have you considered swapping your VB with another member in your area? I'm sure someone out there would love to get one for a good price. Maybe they'd even be willing to do all of the work (meaning do the full swap in exchange for a really good deal.)

It would be a big inconvenience of course, but maybe worth a shot if you are that dissatisfied.

 

Do you think the car is more responsive though? Is it really that harsh, does the car feel like its slamming gears?

 

I have the same stage two mod. Sometimes it definitely slams the gears when you aren't expecting it to, which can be a little annoying if you've got passengers in the car who notice. Again, the hard shift is the whole point. The downside is that you can't "turn it off" for ordinary driving.

The benefits are: 1) slightly faster car; 2) car feels more responsive because the shifts are fast.

Overall I am pleased. Occassionally it does annoy me. BUT, I certainly wouldn't go back to stock in a million years! I'd miss my fast shifts!

 

i dont know about the max tuning vb, but i can tell you that the MobilTek VB adapts to your driving. When you get on the gas, the tranny shifts pretty hard, but under normal driving the shifts arent too noticeable at all. Thats what i like best about it. Of course, the shifts can still be felt somewhat under normal driving, but its not uncomfortable.

 

Yeah, with the Maximum tuning VB mod, the tranny shifts pretty smooth under very light acceleration. BUT, under even moderate acceleration the hard shifts kick in. That's when it can be a little jarring and unexpected.

You expect it to shift hard when you are pushing the car hard, but the casual driver will have moments when it kicks into gear very hard under "normal" driving.

Maybe Mobiletek set theirs to not kick in until you get into more serious rpms?

 

I got the shift kit today and it looks OK. I have put them in GM cars and this looks about the same. You just have to follow the instructions and take your time. $103 with the cooler and me doing the labor sure beets the hell out of paying $350 or $450 for one already done.

 

Read above posts, and read the facts on the VB mod...THIS DOES NOT MAKE YOUR MAXIMA FASTER....

 

If you want to see it for yourself...read...

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?...ionValveBodies

 

But I don't understand if the shifts are quicker, less slippage of the clutch bands, you're saving time in between the shifts. How can that reduce your 1/4 mile time? I hear a lot of people say the car is actually faster, I think mine is faster as a result of the Stage II mod.

 

Read the link the guy posted! Yes, it decreases your 1/4 mile time by .1

THAT'S GOOD! DO YOU WANT YOUR CAR TO TAKE MORE TIME OR LESS TIME TO REACH THE 1/4 MILE?

That guy just showed that the VB is KNOWN to improve 1/4 mile time. So what the heck is the problem? Isn't obvious that quicker shifts cannot possible make you slower?

The only big question is HOW MUCH FASTER do you get. Is it .0001 seconds or 0.1 seconds, or even better, 0.2 seconds? We don't know b/c it hasn't been tested in any systematic way.

1/4 mile times vary more tha 0.2 seconds between runs. So you need to take 15-20 runs with and without the VB upgrade to see that AVERAGE improvement in 1/4 mile times. That will answer the question. anything else is speculation. But clearly it cannot be slowing you down. Only faster. but how much?

 

Whooooooopppsssssss I confused decreasing for increasing, because someone else posted that it doesn't make you faster. Hehe, ofcourse decreasing your time is good that's part of the reason why I got it .

 

Ha ha. Yes, it was certainly an honest mistake that any of us (especially me) could have made.

 

I dunno man, i didnt post that up... And if i could explain it, maybe i would have been the one to type that "review"

Im just sharing information that comes from a well-known "reliable" resource, a site that most of us Maxima guys use. I have read nothing but good reliable information on that site, therefore i suppose it is correct.

I dont have a VB mod, so maybe it is BS. Take is as you please, but i cant "back" that one up lol

 

Huh? Did you read the previous two posts? The site you mention says good things about the VB! That it DECREASES 1/4 mile time. Decreased time = FASTER! In this case, a decrease is GOOD! Think about it for a second.

I agree that it is a good site. I am always skeptical, just to be on the safe side, but yeah, people seem to post pretty reliabe info.

 

OMFG...

I feel really stupid, HAHA!

I even typed it correctly and i still read it wrong.. haha...I appologise.

I think im goin crazy, i just read that on maxmods just recently and i thought it ment it INCREASED your time (wich is bad). I thought it was wierd. I dunno what i was thinking LOL...

My mistake, this makes it faster...

Im stupid...