My truck currently Has a Bel usb turbo, Bullydog 8 injectors ,and a Edge Drag Comp chip the truck has never been dinode but think it might be in the ball park of 500 hp. I guess my Question is will i be able to safely launch my truck at 15-20 psi with out the 3rd gear drum and intermediate shaft.

 

Call Bill at DTT for definative answer. He told me same thing Timinva says. At 500 hp and above they strongly recommend the Billet 3rd gear Clutch Pack/Drum. You will be ok with out the intermiediate shaft at <20 psi launches.

If you talk to Stephen...(Bill's Son) he is more of an advocate for the intermediate shaft...but I get the feeling he is more into spinning all 4 tires with 40 psi launches than he is in getting off the line quickly.

I would be too if I was trying to impress customers with the strenght of my tranny rebuild and what it could do.

Just my hunch.

RJ

 

When I talked to Stephan he did not try to sell me an intermediate shaft, actually he recommended not buying one, in order to save money. He also said he's not into high boost tire spinning launches, he likes to launch 15-20psi which nets the fastest ET's.

 

Interesting...no slam to Stephan intended. Hope it did not come out that way.
But.......he told me he has an Intermediate shaft in his truck???

RJ

 

Well, regardless as to what he said, I decided that when I get my tranny I will get all billet shafts, including the intermediate, better safe than sorry, just my opinion.

 

It's nice to read what others are thinking about when it comes to shafts. Though I don't understand why badley is concerned about how to much boost at launch that third gear will hold. Useing boost as a unit of measurement isn't really an exact science. Why is that? More boost doesn't always equal a faster/harder launch. The proper torq converter fluid coupling and torq multiplication are the key components. Then after that being able to control the boost and keep the tires from breaking loose would be the next concern. So to say that 35-55 pds of boost is required to break a intermediate isn't really true. I heard of an intermediate letting go after shifting into second gear while towing. The last guy I know of that broke a intermediate was Randy. He has his own shop "Randy's" up here in Washington and he too was told not to worry about needing an intermediate. Of the stock shafts it is the stongest shaft but it also has the largest diameter of the three.

Also there is a misconception of which billet shaft is the strongest. IMHO if you where to run all three shafts the next part to break would be the overdrive housing. The output shaft isn't hollow and has no holes and less stress risers than the other two. Though it is the smallest diameter it is the strongest of three now available.
(This is all provided that you are running the best billet shafts available, the ones made by Intelligent Engineering.) I make no claims for or against any of the 300M shafts.

Putting that aside, making the Dodge tranny hold up to the ever upping hp requirements of the Cummin's is going cause even more upgraded parts/designs to happen.

Opie

 

I relies that the stock intermediate shaft is susceptible to breakage under many different applications but judging by what most people on this thread are saying i should be ok launching my truck at 15-20 psi knowing that it is a gamble and maybe stupid not getting a billet shaft but it is a risk i am willing to take, anyway my main concern is the 3rd gear drum. After talking to Stephin at DTT he told me that the next part in my tranny that would break would be the 3rd gear drum and all i was wondering is how much abuse the 3rd gear drum can take before failure knowing that my truck is around 500 hp.

 

I doubt you will be able to break third gear. At 500 hp you will be roasting the third gear clutch pack though. Their 3rd gear does two important things. Increases applied pressure by over 50 percent and allows for another friction for more surface area. I don't see how this is related to how much boost you launch at.

 

The reason i have been poasting on this thread is because about 2 weeks ago i broke my output shaft. So i was wondering what else i should do to the tranny so i don't have to go through the process of taking it all apart again. Any way latter down the road i was thinking about putting the DTT 3rd gear drum in my tranny do you know if a normal tranny shop be able to do this. I ask this because Stephin At DTT recommended that they should do it.

 

That is a question to ask DTT, I don't know where they stand on that one...

 

Badley,

If I was already going into the trans to change one part it would be wise to make all the upgrades that are out there at the same time to save on labor.

Read what Opie said carefully because he is also warning you that internal parts are not the only thing that brakes on our trans'. I have broken two overdrive housings when doing high boost launches and getting into some wheel hop.

Todd