I've been gathering parts for an LS swap, and of course the kicker is it has to be manual, so I need a good transmission.
I've heard of the TKO transmission a little bit, but I don't know much about it.
I found one pretty locally for sale that is a TCET5009, but it is stuck in reverse.
So, is it worth an $800 gamble, and will I like that transmission in a pretty low powered LS Miata? I'm shooting for ~350-400hp, more focused on long term reliability for drifting than for high power.
I'd be more tempted to buy a new TKX for $2500 than gamble on a used probably busted TKO. Everyone I ever knew that owned a TKO did not like the way it shifted. The TKX is supposed to be a big improvement on the original TKO design if I recall correctly.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
Ooooh, I may have mentally been mixing the two up. It's a TKO for sale, but I think the decent things I had heard were for the TKX.
Yeah, the TKO was more of a hotrod manual, in that it was built to look like it was for speed and make you feel active while driving to cars and coffee. The thing about it was that it was supposed to really suck at shifting at higher RPMs. If you don't care about that, you should be fine. They could hold decent power . . .
The TKX definitely fixed things.
Is the tkx much better shifting than the t56? Hate my t56.
For the same cost and better shifting I would go for a used E36 trans and an adapter plate. Depends on how you want to drive it too.
A TKX is definitely lust worthy. It's also $2900 bare. Add shifter, bellhousing, clutch, slave, etc and you're nudging on $4k.
I thought the Nissan cd009 with adapter plate was the answer to this question.
The TKX is a bit of a nickel and dime machine.
Buy the box
Buy the shifter
Buy the bellhousing
Buy the clutch kit
Buy the release fork and bearing
Buy the hydraulic release system
Buy the flywheel.
Ls engines are cheap as chips until you want a manual gearbox behind one. Then the combo falls apart because the 6 speed boxes are made from swarovski crystal.
I have a tremec 3550 in my duster, the early version of the tko. I have no complaints shifting at 6k, or any other time. I like the trans way better than my t5, my a833, or my saginaw four speed.
wvumtnbkr said:I thought the Nissan cd009 with adapter plate was the answer to this question.
Clutch choices suck for this. I love how mine shift but I loathe the stupid 6 puck clutch. And the berkeleyer is huge and the shifter is 18 miles behind the flywheel and it's not much cheaper than a T56 these days with Drift Tax
NOHOME said:The TKX is a bit of a nickel and dime machine.
I desperately wanted a stick behind the LS in my '61 Apache, but it was a whole LOT cheaper running a 4L80E.
RacetruckRon said:wvumtnbkr said:I thought the Nissan cd009 with adapter plate was the answer to this question.
Clutch choices suck for this. I love how mine shift but I loathe the stupid 6 puck clutch. And the berkeleyer is huge and the shifter is 18 miles behind the flywheel and it's not much cheaper than a T56 these days with Drift Tax
Yeah, CD009 transmissions seem to be at a premium. $1000 to start, then adapter plate, and clutch setup.
Might have to do some more research and work on a more comprehensive thread.
What about the ar5? You will still need an adapter but the transmissions are pretty cheap.
In reply to AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) :
The appealing part to me is that you can grab a new one from most Nissan dealers (no idea on lead time just no freight costs) for something like $1900. Having to cut the bell off is a pain though.
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