I've got a little over an hour with my newly built up DTT Trans.....all i can say so far is AWESOME!

Installed: Single Disk Converter, Valve Body, Billet Input, Billet Flexplate, Shift Enhancer, 2nd and 3rd gear stuff, Billet accumuator and piston....other misc....little over $4k.....Installed by Fred Swanson in Arizona (He's been great!)....truck has 12k on it.

What i noticed (Smarty Beta 4.4 on level 3):
- Get's the power down, no lag, no wait....direct connect, punch it from any gear and it just goes...no more 50mph downshift to 3rd and wait for the mph to climb as the tach is at readline, no more slop....3rd and 4th lockup (T/H Mode) is very smooth as it's already tightly coupled...
- Firm Shifts 1-2 is the firmest as he didnt use a spring on some part.....it chirps the tires in 2nd without effort, 2-3, 3-4 are firm.....warning not a wife favorite......but she gave it an 8 out of 10 on the worth it scale
- Fred noticed one issue in 30mph steady cruise....hunting between 2nd and 3rd.....and he saw a instant pressure drop....going to contact DTT and hopefully fix next weekend....it's not a smarty thing...we returned to stock and it still did it!
- If you want too, it'll smoke em out
- On the test drive with Fred, he said dont worry about the trans and did a 2wd boosted (5psi) launch and lit em up for 40 feet......
- From a stand still, no brake launch, it'll spin em and chirp 2nd gear (Not sure what Tq Mgmt Beta 4.4 has in it...and remember, level 3)

Next Round of Testing: Mileage changes, slow speed / traffic driving, play with the different levels on the shift enhancer, try smarty at level 5, 7 and the 3.08 wild...ordered a gdp....will wait for that to try level 9....

From what i've seen so far, worth every penny and recommended to anyone with the $'s and planning on keeping their truck for more than a year!

 

Fred is a good guy. Greg Boardman recommended him. I lost his number,care to share it. Sounds like a good investment.

 

I plan on doing my transmission in the next month or so. I am a bit worried because I am reading a lot of posts where guys with built transmission are having issues with the 2-3 shift. It's not brand specific either.. It's a sticking point for me because my stock tranny is fine and I will have to drive a significant distance to do the install. I really don't want to make a couple of return trips to have the bugs worked out. For the amount of time and money it will cost me, I will be more than disappointed if they can't get it right the first time.

 

the 2-3 shift issue isn't really that big of a deal (at least on mine). its just a slight annoyance. the truck shifts fine with a little (1/4 or so) throttle. only time it does it for me is when i'm just barely accelerating.

I wouldn't let that hold you back from upgrading your trans if you're planning to keep the truck a long time.

 

Yeah, the 2-3 shift issue wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me either. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't have that problem with Beta 4.4. It will do it with regular Wild programming and Beta 4.2 and 4.3, but not with 4.4.

Chirping tires when shifting into 2nd under moderate throttle doesn't sound too good. I'm sure it's fun for the first few hours/days, but I think that's going to get old real quick. A tranny should shift firm and fast, but it doesn't need to knock your fillings loose to accomplish that. By shifting that hard you're adding a lot of unnecessary shock to the whole driveline too.

 

Fred did mine too. His #: 623-910-9575

 

100% agree.....we got it to do it twice....and we were purposefully trying to do it....it's not easy to do....not a big deal....

 

Yeah, sure it'll wear on me...going back next saturday, will probably get the spring put in....wife wasnt a big fan.....but it's cool to see / experience....he explained it to me...i just had to try it!

 

I hear ya. It sure is cool...when it's someone else's truck!

 

Fred did my '99. I had to return(five hr. drive) for a couple of updates. He does good work,too bad he's so far away from San Diego. That's one boring drive. Beautiful Gila Bend was always the highlight of the journey.

 

Whats the opinion about DTT's shift enhancer? I have one on my truck now but my truck is torn down for injectors/cp3/rail. I can't wait to play with my shift enhancer

 

What a shift enhancer?? Something for the CR guys??

Chris

 

http://www.dieseltrans.com/dodge/whats_new.htm

 

Aha...thanks!

Chris

 

I got mine with the tranny build, so it's hard to tell what it's soley responsible for....i can tell you that there isnt any more 12-12-12-12 shuffle....but i am having the 2nd-3rd indeciceveness at 30mph.....very infrequent and at light throttle....it's not the smarty, we put it back to stock and it still does it....Fred S is going to try to eliminate this weekend....did notice that on race it'll light the rears going into 2nd....with beta 4.4 on level 3