NORBI Posted December 12, 2002 Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 I am about to have my transmission changed in my 88 Cutlass with 2.8 due to high slipping. I heard that trans from Pontiac Grand Prix and Cutlass Supreme International have different gear ratios and are little faster then trans in a CS SL and base version is that true and which trans would anybody recommend me to have installed. I need to let my mechanic know today so he will look for one. Thanks a lot guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted December 12, 2002 Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 All I know is that I changed the transmission in my 89 Supreme International with one from a Pontiac Grand Prix and I had no problems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted December 12, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 was is same or did you nottice any difference in performance was it any faster i heard that GP trans is little faster because of gears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted December 12, 2002 Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 I noticed absolutely no difference at all...where the heck did you hear this? Because it doesn't make any sense... GM made the 440-T4(4T60) transmission for all W-Bodies, 2.8 and 3.1, the exact same, they wouldn't waste money trying to make the gear ratios different for different cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBuick Posted December 12, 2002 Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 get a stick shift screw the automatic. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted December 12, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 I used to have a 89 GP SE and i have a base model of CS and i see a big difference in gears and how it changed gears, and somebody on this message board long time ago said that GP and International have different gear ratios then other models. Maybe you didnt see any difference because you already have a International model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZMonte Posted December 12, 2002 Report Share Posted December 12, 2002 not where else to find it but here is the w-body link.. it isn't working now but that all i know: http://www.w-body.com/transaxle.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 I noticed absolutely no difference at all...where the heck did you hear this? Because it doesn't make any sense... GM made the 440-T4(4T60) transmission for all W-Bodies, 2.8 and 3.1, the exact same, they wouldn't waste money trying to make the gear ratios different for different cars... Uh, where did you hear that? I have 23 different tranny codes just for 1990. I know for a fact that the 3.33 ratio in the TGP is different from other wbodies. I can't tell you exactly which trans went in which type of car, but the did vary.Final drive ratios varied from 3.33 to 2.84. Sprocket counts also had an effect on the drive ratios. The sprockets are the cogs that the chain rides on to transfer engine power from the input shaft to the drive section of the tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted December 13, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 So i was right about all of this. would you know about Grand Prix trans that mounts to 2.8 is same as a trans that fits the base model of CS with 2.8. I dont know what to tell my mechanic and which trans to look for me i would want to get the fastest one but i think i will tell him to get a low milage one from CS international or Grand Prix SE 88-90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 Uh, where did you hear that? I have 23 different tranny codes just for 1990. I know for a fact that the 3.33 ratio in the TGP is different from other wbodies. I can't tell you exactly which trans went in which type of car, but the did vary.Final drive ratios varied from 3.33 to 2.84. Sprocket counts also had an effect on the drive ratios. The sprockets are the cogs that the chain rides on to transfer engine power from the input shaft to the drive section of the tranny. So you're saying that when someone purchases a 440-T4(4T60) transmission, that you have to tell the seller what gear ratios you need?? Explain why when someone wants to purchase a new or used tranny for a 2.8 or 3.1 W-Body,(non turbo), it will list all W-bodies? For example, if you do a search on any "good" auto wreckers for a, example, 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, all it asks is engine size, and when you're search is returned, it will list transmissions from Grand Prixs, Regals, Luminas etc...same with when you buy a new one, all the seller EVER states is something like "This transmission fits the Following Vehicles: 1985-1992 GM / Chevy Front Wheel Drive cars w\ Overdrive, 4cyl or V6." I don't know...from what you say, it just doesn't make sense...are you sure that these 23 different tranny codes are for W-BODIES? It's obvious that other cars, like Beretta's etc... that also used 440-T4s probably had different gear ratios... It's almost like you're saying that GM sat there and said "OK, for the Cutlass' we'll use this gear ratio, for the Regals we'll use this one, for the Grand Prixs this one, and the Lumina's will have this one" etc..."even though they all weigh the same, have the same chassis, and same engine" Doesn't make sense to me... Also, 23 different tranny codes doesn't mean 23 different gear ratios... Now I do know that 440-T4s were pretty much changed/upgraded every year, so a 1988 tranny MAY be different from a 1990, but I still doubt it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBuick Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 It is very true. the gear ratios on my regal are ungodly high. I can only imagine how quickly the car would accelerate if it hat a 4t60 from a 3.4 DOHC w-body, with gears that low it would BLAST out of the hole. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 All 2.8/3.1/3100 W-bodies have a 3.33 Final Drive, and that INCLUDES the TGP. All 3.4 DOHC W-bodies have a 3.43 Final. 90-95 Regal with 3800 Series I have a 3.06 Final. 96 Regal w/3800 Series II has a 2.93 final. So the only higher ratio tranny you could get for your 2.8 is the one from a 3.4 DOHC, but it won't work because it's electronic and you need a non-electronic tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 THANKS SHAWN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted December 13, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 Yesterday i asked my dads friend that have a Grand Prix and his trans was changed and he changed it for Cutlass Trans and he tell me that its not so fast at the starts but on the highway his RPM's are little lower since its tuned for a family car and Grand Prix is more sporty. SO right now i am getting confused by all of the trans's. But i drove most of the w-bodys except regals and i did nottice a difference between GP and CS base models and regals. Well i hope he will get me a low mile transmission that will work for long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 Yesterday i asked my dads friend that have a Grand Prix and his trans was changed and he changed it for Cutlass Trans and he tell me that its not so fast at the starts but on the highway his RPM's are little lower since its tuned for a family car and Grand Prix is more sporty. SO right now i am getting confused by all of the trans's. But i drove most of the w-bodys except regals and i did nottice a difference between GP and CS base models and regals. Well i hope he will get me a low mile transmission that will work for long time The problem with what you're stating is that you are ASSUMING that all of these differences that you and people you know experience are a result of the transmission gear ratios, or the transmission at all. There are a ton of transmission related reasons that your dads friend would feel his Grand Prix didn't accelerate as fast as before, and none of them would have anything to do with ratios. It's almost nieve to think that changing a transmission, whether it's from a similar car, or the exact same car, would not make any difference in drivability such as acceleration, RPMs, gear shift timing, gear shift 'feel' etc...etc... This is ESPECIALLY the case when talking about USED trannys. All trannies have been driven entirely different, and we all know that "acts of God" can cause two of the exact same transmissions to be and act entirely different from one another...ie. some 440-T4s will last 200,000 miles, some won't even make it to 50,000...some will slip like a son-of-a-bitch, and some will be extremely tight...etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted December 13, 2002 Report Share Posted December 13, 2002 No two trannies shift or feel the same. My wife's '88 Cutty and my '89 are virtually identical and both trannies have the same ratios, but they both shift very differently and feel different. I think a lot of it has to do with wear and tear, age, fluid condition, modulator, TV cable adjustment, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.