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Which tranny is best

3K views 37 replies 10 participants last post by  ezzejacobs 
#1 ·
What’s best w55,w58 or the r154 or actually what will they handle each
 
#11 ·
It's fine, just search around. These things are more complicated than just buy this buy that and put it in the car. There's a lot of small details that are documented throughout other peoples builds in the forum. Look at the top right of the webpage and use the search function, read, and then come back with more specific Q's. Good luck man!
 
#12 ·
I’m going to get a 2jzgte from eBay as I can’t find any cheaper any where else the one I found on there was around 2400 that was the motor with the auto trans already attached and it comes with the ecu and maf as well I’m not exactly sure what else I need to make this work besides the tubing and intercooler but I did try to look I up and couldn’t find anything
 
#16 ·
The w55 and w58 have historically been regarded as fairly weak. If you’re doing the effort of manual swapping, then spend a bit more for an AR5, R154, CD009, or T56. For your power goal I’d stay with the 5 speeds because the 6 speed swap snowballs into also a diff swap to get the rpms back right.
 
#18 ·
i could have sworn i posted in here a couple of days ago, but i cannot find my post. oh well, here goes.

you are not ready to do a swap. you need to research A LOT more, or pay a shop to do the swap for you.

knowing the difference between the W and R series trannies and what they are rated for is day 1 stuff that can easily be obtained through a google search.
 
#21 · (Edited)
so, you've been around since 07 and swapped a trans in your GTE car without researching the limits of your AR5 trans? bold move.

the listed 'limit' on wikipedia is 260 ft/lbs although i have been told this is a useless number put out by MFGs. FWIW, i just read the r154 is only rated for 254 ft lbs (according to this thread AR5 Trans Take Two: The Solstice Solution | Supramania), but we all know it can take more than that.

applying the same logic to the AR5, id say its in the neighborhood of a R154.
 
#23 ·
Again, I knew it was the succesor to the R154 clunker I ripped out of there so it was at least stronger than a W series :puhlease:. I do not need anything more than that. W55's I've seen hold up but I've also seen brake under stock power so that's that.

And yes, in my first post I say that most of the "it should hold this or that" is based on the fact that it is derived from the R154. I just haven't seen many "Blew my AR5 at XXX tq" threads anywhere other than that solstice dude pushing 700.

I wish I could say I was as bold as you suggest :D but I'm not.
 
#25 ·
it is surprising that there isnt more info out there regarding the AR transmissions. with how popular they are you think there would be more info. i anticipate as more start to make the switch info will become more available. with the CD009 being so popular, i feel like that trans gets far more attention than the AR 5.

its such a shame we get all of these great power plant options, yet every trans option we have available to us has some sort of major drawback, or requires more money in swap parts than the trans itself.

i did come across a solstice thread earlier i chose not to share because some were claiming the trans would go (along with the rest of the drive line) at 400 whp. there was no definitive proof, so it seemed as if it was all speculation.
 
#27 ·
Everything is speculation. Those who see the glass half full say 700 those who see it half empty say 400. The transmission feels solid and it's been working great for close to a year now but the R154, when sitting next to it, seemed a bit beefier. Then again, it shifted like shit and probably needed a rebuild or something. I do not miss it.
 
#32 ·
In round numbers:

Trans - 3200
bellhousing - 700
Driveshaft - 700
Hydraulics - 750 (tilton slave and tilton 3/4" master and stainless lines/fittings)
crossmember & mount - 300
Clutch - 1700 (at a minimum)

https://www.grannasracing.com/products/group-buy-deposit


Theres some other incidentals also, but it basically works out to $7500ish. The cost of a good clutch is not an incidental, it makes up a big part of the cost. I already have a "stage 3" ceramic puck single plate clutch, and I hate it. It's noisy, and its engagement characteristics suck. A clutch that drives nice and handles a bunch of torque (a multiplate) is expensive, no way around it.

As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time considering how best to skin this cat, to include piecing something together instead of buying a complete kit. I found old non-magnum LT1 and LS1 T56s for $1500ish, and TR6060's from LS2s and LS3s seem to fetch between $2k and $2.5k. Then you need a $350 midplate for the bellhousing to work, plus the gear ratios are unideal. It just doesn't seem worth getting a used/unknown trans and having to buy parts to get it all to work, when you can buy a NIB T56 magnum with the right gearing for $3200.

You could shave a couple hundred off by fabricating the crossmember yourself, and also by using lower quality hydraulic parts. The Tilton 6000 is $400 and requires a 3/4" master, which is $350 more. The OEM GM slave cylinder/release bearing is a known weak point, so that isn't (much) of an option. In fairness though, you can save a handful of dollars buying a cheaper master and slave.

Anyway, cutting every possible corner I could, I figured this setup was gonna cost me $6k minimum. A lot to spend on an old Toyota hardly anybody cares about - but I have a hard on for these cars; so I'm not gonna spend $6k on a "decently done" job when I can spend $7500 on an "awesomely done" job.

Wasn't sure if you're joking about recouping the trans swap cost via increased fuel economy? Are we both talking about high power 2J cars???
 
#33 ·
In round numbers:

Clutch - 1700 (at a minimum)

https://www.grannasracing.com/products/group-buy-deposit
Ah, there it is, that's what I was thinking next, you got the nice clutch, but you're saving a little with the group buy. I decided not to do the group buy since I wasn't going for the clutch upgrade.


You could shave a couple hundred off by fabricating the cross member yourself, and also by using lower quality hydraulic parts.
If you've seen Joel's video on the cross member, he seems to do a really nice job for as much as he is charging, so I saw it as a worthwhile investment. I personally love Rude Boy performance's billet aluminum cross member, although Joel doesn't include it in his kit.

Wasn't sure if you're joking about recouping the trans swap cost via increased fuel economy? Are we both talking about high power 2J cars???
Haha, unfortunately we are not on the same level. I'm still N/A, so I can't get on it the same way as some of you guys. Hence why I was sticking with the stock clutch.


On another note, are you sticking with the stock dual mass flywheel, or does the clutch come with the flywheel all nicely balanced with each other?
 
#38 ·
Haven't posted in a long time and thought I would chime in, for the OP, as I have owned all the toyota 5 speed and 6 speed manual trans. In regard to the cd09, t56, and ar, I don't have experience with those. I broke 3 w55's , 2w58's , 2 r154's. All of these transmission's have variables on what there limits are. The most import would be what torque level and what type of clutch ie pressure plate, disk material, puck vs disk, driving style, etc...

I am a little harder on parts so my 58's broke between 325-350. I broke the w58's around 450ish and the r154's 560 for one and the other had Marlin Crawler parts 670. I ran my v160 in my first car with no issues, and now with my 2nd IS. But, I had a friend of mine that had issues with his single disk clutch which was iron material and it welded itself. I currently run a RPS Billet twin disk and need to go to a triple disk setup due to making more torque now.

So to sum up, in my opinion, go for a transmission that will handle more torque that what your target goal is for.
 
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