4l80e install question

[1fastrock]

Hey everybody

May be a stupid question but I'm not too familiar with these trans. I'm looking to put a 4l80e into my 89 camaro problem is that its stripped of all computers since its a carburated car. Just wondering what kind of electronics I'd have to run to make the trans work.

Thanks in advance
1fastrock

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[Mr_Roboto]

Few options you can go with:
-Get a full EFI system. Sounds like that'd be a cannon to kill a fly.
-Full manual VBs do not need a TCU of any kind. Considered an "economy" option. Varying quality of kits on these, some will and won't incorporate a modulator I believe. Personally not a fan of the latter as the "street factor" of OD seems to go against the notion of running high line pressure constantly. Just get a TH400 at that point.
-a TCU. There are a few out there, these seem to be in the 700ish range typically. Not cheap, but if you're wanting a "put it in D and go" setup they would be the best option really. I'm doing the Megashift kit on mine, not altogether impressed with it but if you're willing to iron bugs out I can give you some pointers. JMO a commercial controller's bucks well spent.

Lastly, something else I will say is be conscious of the core you use for your 4L80E. The early ones have standard cooler line placement which may be an advantage, but some of the early ones use a different frequency for the PWM to control the line pressure. I don't think an aftermarket TCU would care (may be a check box) but if you ever think you may go to an OEM ECU later (EFI swap) then getting a later trans is well worth it. All of them are buildable, but I would definitely consider a shift kit in any of them especially the earlier cores which are known to have an overpressure issue in reverse that can crack the case.

 

[1fastrock]

Thanks for the information very helpfull. I would be intrested in the second option for sure since I already run a manual valve body on my th400 right now. So as long as i get the manual valve body I wouldn't have to run any kind of extra computer?

 

[Donnie]

Few options you can go with:
-Get a full EFI system. Sounds like that'd be a cannon to kill a fly.
-Full manual VBs do not need a TCU of any kind. Considered an "economy" option. Varying quality of kits on these, some will and won't incorporate a modulator I believe. Personally not a fan of the latter as the "street factor" of OD seems to go against the notion of running high line pressure constantly. Just get a TH400 at that point.
-a TCU. There are a few out there, these seem to be in the 700ish range typically. Not cheap, but if you're wanting a "put it in D and go" setup they would be the best option really. I'm doing the Megashift kit on mine, not altogether impressed with it but if you're willing to iron bugs out I can give you some pointers. JMO a commercial controller's bucks well spent.

Lastly, something else I will say is be conscious of the core you use for your 4L80E. The early ones have standard cooler line placement which may be an advantage, but some of the early ones use a different frequency for the PWM to control the line pressure. I don't think an aftermarket TCU would care (may be a check box) but if you ever think you may go to an OEM ECU later (EFI swap) then getting a later trans is well worth it. All of them are buildable, but I would definitely consider a shift kit in any of them especially the earlier cores which are known to have an overpressure issue in reverse that can crack the case.

Curious what you're not happy about with the MShift? This your first MS project?

Solid +1 though.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Curious what you're not happy about with the MShift? This your first MS project?

Solid +1 though.

Honestly, the documentation wasn't that great is a big first. Lots of misprints. Checking the 4L60E stuff (at the time anyways) was a good way to validate. Second off, the input circuit for the VSS singnal hasn't ever worked. It tends to amplifiy noise more than anything. I've actually talked with a few people who have gotten that working by just eliminating it and using an IC or two.

There's definitely a learning curve getting the CAN stuff going, you have to tweak the configs manually as they don't give you check box options to do it automagically. If you don't tweak the settings it bricks the MS it's attached to and you have to reflash. It's dependent on the code (B&G vs Extra,) and I didn't notice it because it was buried in the site somewhere. Hell I went looking for it so I could get a link and am having trouble finding it again.

Also got banned from the msgpio forum for asking about it a few years ago and the thread I started deleted. Naturally not too keen on that kind of "support." It seems as if their stance at the time was "no one is posting there's problems so there's not any." I have my suspicions of why there were not any posts of that problem. Shout outs to ashford at theturboforums.com for helping out with some stuff including a new VSS circuit and getting the CAN going.

I've got an MS2 V3.0 in the van right now. If it wasn't for the fact I have an early trans I'd probably have gone to some form of the 0411 with Vortec 350 code. That's a pretty damn steep buy in though, and I'd have had to have figured out the crank sensor too as well as rewire yet more than I already have.

I will say, that the integration with MS is awesome. You can do neat stuff like pull timing on shifts which is really handy if you want to run to the ragged edge. It's also really awesome you can tune it from one place. I will expand on that, tuning it isn't actually that bad. The initial table included with it sucks horribly, but I think I threw a screen shot or two in the build thread below to help with that. The idea is of course you hit the jam pedal it's going to down shift as much as plausible. The mid and low throttle stuff probably needs some more tweaking, but it should be pretty close.

Few links, first thread is my build of this beast. Second is a bunch of hints on getting this thing running. Overall I wish I'd have just bucked up for a commercial TCU, my sanity has a price. This will get you a lot farther along for a lot less headaches though.

http://www.theturboforums.com/threads/364550-Megashift-build-for-4L80E?highlight=megashift

http://www.theturboforums.com/threads/371628-Question-for-the-electrical-sorts?highlight=megashift

 

[Donnie]

Honestly, the documentation wasn't that great is a big first. Lots of misprints. Checking the 4L60E stuff (at the time anyways) was a good way to validate. Second off, the input circuit for the VSS singnal hasn't ever worked. It tends to amplifiy noise more than anything. I've actually talked with a few people who have gotten that working by just eliminating it and using an IC or two.

There's definitely a learning curve getting the CAN stuff going, you have to tweak the configs manually as they don't give you check box options to do it automagically. If you don't tweak the settings it bricks the MS it's attached to and you have to reflash. It's dependent on the code (B&G vs Extra,) and I didn't notice it because it was buried in the site somewhere. Hell I went looking for it so I could get a link and am having trouble finding it again.

Also got banned from the msgpio forum for asking about it a few years ago and the thread I started deleted. Naturally not too keen on that kind of "support." It seems as if their stance at the time was "no one is posting there's problems so there's not any." I have my suspicions of why there were not any posts of that problem. Shout outs to ashford at theturboforums.com for helping out with some stuff including a new VSS circuit and getting the CAN going.

I've got an MS2 V3.0 in the van right now. If it wasn't for the fact I have an early trans I'd probably have gone to some form of the 0411 with Vortec 350 code. That's a pretty damn steep buy in though, and I'd have had to have figured out the crank sensor too as well as rewire yet more than I already have.

I will say, that the integration with MS is awesome. You can do neat stuff like pull timing on shifts which is really handy if you want to run to the ragged edge. It's also really awesome you can tune it from one place. I will expand on that, tuning it isn't actually that bad. The initial table included with it sucks horribly, but I think I threw a screen shot or two in the build thread below to help with that. The idea is of course you hit the jam pedal it's going to down shift as much as plausible. The mid and low throttle stuff probably needs some more tweaking, but it should be pretty close.

Few links, first thread is my build of this beast. Second is a bunch of hints on getting this thing running. Overall I wish I'd have just bucked up for a commercial TCU, my sanity has a price. This will get you a lot farther along for a lot less headaches though.

http://www.theturboforums.com/threads/364550-Megashift-build-for-4L80E?highlight=megashift

http://www.theturboforums.com/threads/371628-Question-for-the-electrical-sorts?highlight=megashift

Good reads, thanks man.

Got any more pictures of your final product and integration? I'm going MShift myself for the Supra, along with MS2v3. Though not my first foray into MS products, it will be my first delving into a GPIO project.