Guys,

Just had the valve body upgrade done on my GS400. I don't have FI but I did it anyway to try and get rid of my limiter problems.

It ended up costing a lot because of overnight shipping and car rentals but I definitely think it was worth it. The shifts are awesome and very fast. It did not cure my hitting the limiter in first gear but I do think I spend less time hitting it before it shifts.

Overall I believe it is definitely worth the money

Between the LSD, TC and now this - traction is a biiatch!!

Jonny

 

Who did you have do the work? How would you describe the shifting of the tranny? Is it medium or hard type of shift. I've been waiting to have this done for awhile now but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

~Ken

 

Ken,

I bought the upgrade from swproturbo so you may want to ask him where he had it done. I had a local guy install it - pretty easy task from what I hear.

I would describe it as a somewhat aggressive shift - but not uncomfortable. Basically, instead of the lag time between gear shifts you have no lag and it feels like you get lightly catapulted forward.

I ended up using 4 3/4 quarts of amsoil when I had it put in.

Hope this helps.

Jonny

 

Cool, thanks for the info... I need to get this done.

 

i havent researched the gs400 tranny yet, but is it the same as the 300's??? i just got my tranny built but wasnt able to do a valve body upgrade of any kind. what was the price on this mod???

 

This is a good upgrade, as when a transmission is shifting, that is when you have the most wear. Very similar to slipping the clutch while shifting a manual. We've done a few with pretty good results, it also lowers the transmission operating temperature which is a VERY BIG

You also lessen the chance of hitting the limiter because the transmission will just shift, instead of lagging and slipping between the gears. Even though you don't change the rev limiter point, you do get a little more useable rpm since it shifts very promptly. Did that make any sense????

The valve body is removeable without droppping the transmission, but usually you have to send your unit out for modification, which creates some horrible down time with the transmission all apart.

Do be aware that this also puts more stress on other parts of the transmission though, so it's definitely not a cure-all. All in all a very good upgrade though, especially if you have an upgraded converter.

 

i have driven rmmgs4's car with pretty much all setup same BUT with the valve body upgrade as well. let's just say i was very impressed with the response of the tranny and how precice/fast, and yet smooth shifting on the tranny.

really made me wanna do it on my car!

 

This is probably a dumb question, but what is causeing you to hit the limmiter or is that what you are trying to figure out? Because I've heard of FI cars like DaveGS4 haveing that problem, but never NA. Just curious.

 

Nevermind, found it in anouther thread.

Should have used search first.

Not to get off topic, but rominl, did you know since you've joined CL you've averaged 26.4 post a day.

 

Don't bother him, he's busy posting

 

In 3 different forums at the same time...

 

hey you guys have no mercy on me!!!!

i am very thankful that i don't have the limiter problem on my gs4 with tc and lsd. otherwise i might need the valve body mod and i will need to sell my blood for that...

 

Ummmm...it'll cost more than that, try a hand or foot maybe

 

I wanted to do a VB upgrade too but do not like the wait time. Only if there was somebody local

 

Which kit do you recommend, Todd? Have you installed it yourself or just did the R&R on the valve body and then sent it out? I would definitly do this on my car but can't deal with extended down time...anyone have an extra valve body for a "loaner"?