Has anyone replaced their 4 speed with a TKO 5 speed from Keisler. The fuel cost is eating me alive and I would like to have an overdrive to reduce fuel consumption and wear and tear on the engine. I'm also open to other transmission choices.

Thanks, Bill

good luck on getting anything from keisler.. service and support are the worst.

the product seems right.. but they will jerk you around at every turn...

you can contact these two places for this five speed swap...

either one of these guys will work with you and they answer email.. it took keisler 6 weeks to get back with me.

http://www.classicchevy5speed.com/
http://www.5speedtransmission.com/gear_calculator.html

jeff@classicchevy5speed.com
mjpell@5speedtransmissions.com

these guys are very helpful..

ive done a bunch of research on this.. let me know if you have any specific questions

and btw.. tell them Ben VanWagner sent you..

|UPDATED|8/25/2004 6:27:29 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

bill we have that 5sp o/d getting 19mpg with 4:10 gears it not a drect bolt in

This is the part that kills me and I hope it doesn't come out wrong and make anyone mad.

First off your driving a perform vehicle and by design they are going to use more fuel. I say just get use to it.

Secondly, yes you can do things to improve mileage. People ask me all the time if they swap to EFI will my mileage go up. Answer Yes. How much depends on how you drive and how well you tune it in. Average 10 to 15%. Lucky 15 to 25%. Doing the overdrive swap is a good ideal for increasing mileage. If your considering the swap only for mileage gain, you need to rethink.

First off a single Keisler swap kit averages $3500. If your only getting 12-13 miles to a gallon your only going to increase your MPG by 2 miles per gallon (15% increase). That means your only going to get about 36 more miles out of full tank. Thats right at 2.5 gallons at 1.89 gallon (national Average) your only saving $4.73 per tank. That means you will need to fill your tank up 740 times to get your money back on the swap. If my math is correct that computes out to 226,440 miles driven.

Umm, I would do the swap for fun and performance and let gas mileage be the last thing on my list to influence me.

You can also get a 4 year old used Dodge Neon for that $3500 and get your 30MPG if your using your vette as a daily driver.

After Shark said:First off your driving a perform vehicle and by design they are going to use more fuel. I say just get use to it.

I agree gas mileage shouldnt be a consideration in your vette..

but the cruising RPM can help your enjoyemnt of the vehicle..

my car is quite loud at 70 mph since its at 3000 rpm..

id like a wider range of gears, first isnt low enough, top gear isnt high enough..

additionally my close range 4 needs a rebuild..

i figure spend 1700 rebuilding a four when i can install a six for 2600$....

they all use the mileage savings as a selling point.. but as detailed above... this will never pay for itself.

if you want better mileage... raise your gear ratio..

costs alot less and will pay for itself fairly quickly

|UPDATED|8/25/2004 6:29:00 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

There are many more benefits and Ben is right on track.

Top of my list would be performance and you can classify that as quicker acceleration, more top end, smoother operation throught out the rpm range.

Next would be driving enjoyment and fun, which is a by product of the above.

Lastly would be fuel mileage.

A rear gear change is much less involved and much cheaper if you want to increase mileage, but be prepared to give up some performance, mainly in the form of responsivness.

I run a 3.70 rear gear with a turbo 350. High winding in its current form, and I plan to do the OD swap (auto), but fuel mileage was the least of my considerations.

I would still encourage you to consider the swap as I'm a firm believer in trying to find all the enhancements that are a bolt in conversion for our C3's that will improve their performance and enjoyment

I purchased a 91 camaro rs last week (350 with a five speed) am planning on switching out my four speed for the five speed starting in January 05. Going this way maybe extra work but I believe the cost will be much less for the conversion. After thought "does anything cost less on a Vet?"

All very good advice.

Only one thing cost less on a Vette. Free advice on C3VR

But for the performance aspect, the trans swap is a great thing. And an entire car to donate parts is probably the cheapest way to go, if you are pulling the old parts yourself.

btw...

keisler claims 36% increase in mileage...

this figured by the .64 overdrive...

I have a hard time with this figure..

I didnt think fuel consumption vs rpm graphed in a linear fashion.

even if it is linear.. this figure only applies to pure highway driving.

but under the assumption that you do alot of highway driving, and you have a 20 gallon tank.

assuming you save 36% on fuel cost (regardless of what your current mileage is) you would save $13.68/tank of gas and it would take you 256 tanks of gas to pay for itself.

or 5120 gallons. or only 102400 miles of highway driving at 20 mpg...

but good news for me.. mine would pay for itself after 57,344 highway miles since 8 mpg + 36% = 11.2 mpg

stingrayjim said: bill we have that 5sp o/d getting 19mpg with 4:10 gears it not a drect bolt in

hey jim.. what wasnt a direct bolt in about the keisler kit..

the two i listed say its bolt in with a lowrise offset shifter.

shafi keisler swore up and down that the tko-600 was bolt in when i managed to get him on the phone.