Super T10 Transmission Experts?

[IROC]

So we've got a race vehicle (Chevy S10 pickup - before you chuckle, it's not that bad - sub 1:55s on street tires at Road Atlanta on a regular basis for instance). Anyway, the original NV3500 5-speed gave up a couple of years ago and rather than go back with another NV3500, we opted for the reliability of a 4-speed Super T10 (this is endurance racing). Bought a used one and rebuilt it. Anyway, the Super T10 has been nothing but trouble. Shifting issues, broken tail shaft housing and recently the unwillingness to stay in 3rd gear.

So, we pulled it out and took it to a professional (a guy that builds race transmissions) and he told us that a Super T10 is junk for road racing (or at least ours is). We got a second opinion and that guy said the same thing. They are recommending a Tex Racing (?) transmission.

This seems like overkill behind our 240 hp 4.3 V6. We thought the Super T10 was the long-term solution. Are we missing something?

[John Rogers]

Well it is not overkill if it does not break and you get to finish your races. Why not switch to an automatic and let the transmissions brain do the work for you? Before you laugh......remember the Chaparrals used semi automatic transmissions so driving would be easier.

When we did the road/street sports car races in Baja CA, there was a guy who ran with us with some sort of spec series pickup truck that had a spec series Chevy engine AND an automatic transmission. That this was super fast!

If you stick with the stick shift I would suggest a trans cooler and lube system like the vintage guys use who race Porsches with a 901 trans.

[IROC]

We have thought about an automatic. There is another quick car in the series (an Infinity) that runs an automatic and - watching his in-car footage - the lack of shifting is nice...

We installed a trans cooler, but valved it out and have since removed it after we found that the gear oil temps didn't warrant additional cooling. Since we're running 14-hour races, we figured the trans cooling was more of a liability if it wasn't needed.

[onevoice]

A super t10 should be built proof behind a mild v6. I have tracked one with twice your hp and never had a problem.

How does a tail shaft housing break without hitting something? Hate to tell you, but the shift problems are being caused by the person rowing the lever.

[sammyg2]

I am definitely NOT an ST 10 expert, but these guys are:

Motorsports | Custom Gearboxes | Muncie | Autogear

[IROC]

In reality the tailshaft housing crack was likely due to an "off track" excursion but it did cost us a race. Ever since we installed this thing it has been cantankerous and that's why we took it to an "expert" for a rebuild. He quoted a little over $800 for a full rebuild but cautioned that we'd be back soon. I have about 25 years of track/racing experience and take care of the equipment (my 76 911's gearbox is still original - never been rebuilt after thousands of track miles) but the other guys on the team are new to this world as of 4 years ago.

I am skeptical that this thing is crap, but we're at a crossroads as we've to do something to get back on track. Literally.