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Once my ZF comes out damaged, it will never go back in

What are folks replacing the ZF6s with?

It [ZF] has proven to be a very reliable and durable box.

If you could test drive he TKO and then the ZF, you would buy the TKO.

ol"Rj has the TKO600 in his 1986 , 406ci car turning 11.5's at 121 mph and he road races it,,,and that TJKO tranny makes no noise, no rocks in a box noise at all...

You do loose the 6th grear but with the TKO , it's not a big deal.

If my ZF takes a dump then I make the swap, but in reality, the clutch geometry & hydraulics is what makes me a little sour on the ZF.

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It [ZF] has proven to be a very reliable and durable box.

Isn't that the same ZF but different models that go into BMWs?

If you could test drive he TKO and then the ZF, you would buy the TKO.

Unless some transmission-fairy-god-mother gave me one of the Williams-Renault CVTs from the mid 90's I think I'd just want another ZF to go in were mine to fail. I know some complain about how it shifts and even about the amount of pressure required to operate the clutch but I like it just fine.

At $1,500 you can't lose in your situation. Those ZFs aren't going to breed in your backyard, so it would make sense to stock up on them at that price.

since when did Williams Renault use a CVT in F1?

Wasn't it also used in an Aston Martin somewhere along the line?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_Virage

Anyhow, some news:


I'll no longer recommend a ZF clutch on an OEM 84-85 vette flywheel. The outer edge of the clutch hangs past the friction surface a bit, but still grinds against the flat surface around the bellhousing bolt holes. It actually pulled a chunk out of the edge of the clutch, and also appears to cause uneven loading on the clutch, which may be related to the clutch slipping (with only 200 rwhp).

And.... the Chinese "Perfection" clutch was actually fractured, just waiting for an excuse to grenade.

Also anesthes may have something right where he says the clutch fork alignment is causing the slave to preload the clutch. Unfortunately I just sold him my longer ZR1 pivot stud for 1/2 what I paid for it. I'll try just shimming the stock pivot stud further out, or maybe spacing the slave cylinder rearward a bit.

Right now I'm waiting on a new clutch set to come in (3rd in 22 months). Hopefully the Luk set isn't Chinese too. In the mean time I guess I'll swap the Hurst onto the new unit.

I've driven both in a C4, it was even back-to-back, and I wasn't all that impressed with the TKO. The shifting didn't feel as smooth, and the ratios didn't feel right.

Also anesthes may have something right where he says the clutch fork alignment is causing the slave to preload the clutch. Unfortunately I just sold him my longer ZR1 pivot stud for 1/2 what I paid for it. I'll try just shimming the stock pivot stud further out, or maybe spacing the slave cylinder rearward a bit.

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If you could test drive he TKO and then the ZF, you would buy the TKO.

I've driven both in a C4, it was even back-to-back, and I wasn't all that impressed with the TKO. The shifting didn't feel as smooth, and the ratios didn't feel right.

The ZF noise isn't an issue apparently with the dual mass flywheel. I agree that the clutch setup is stupid, but there's several options for push type clutches now. I'll consider one if the clutch is smoked. Otherwise, that money will wait for another day. I finally got some time to mess with it today, only got about 3 hours into the bastard so far pulling it out.

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I've driven both in a C4, it was even back-to-back, and I wasn't all that impressed with the TKO. The shifting didn't feel as smooth, and the ratios didn't feel right.

Ratios on the TKO600 are essentially the same as the 4+3. Plus you don't have to swap out the 3.07 gears like you had to when you installed your ZF. You drove the car when the trans was brand new, it has smoothed up a bit.

I liked the Hurst shifter on your ZF better than the shifter on my TKO600, but once you get used to the CC5S TKO shifter it is pretty sweet. You can hit the gears pretty hard. I don't think the shifter feel difference is enough to choose one way or the other, all things being equal. Plus, I don't see the need for six gears with a torquey TPI.

The benefit to the TKOs are their strength. You will snap a u joint before you will hurt that trans.

:tongue:

Also anesthes may have something right where he says the clutch fork alignment is causing the slave to preload the clutch. Unfortunately I just sold him my longer ZR1 pivot stud for 1/2 what I paid for it. I'll try just shimming the stock pivot stud further out, or maybe spacing the slave cylinder rearward a bit.

Your impressions are what they are, but I wonder why dont they make the ZF for Vettes anymore?

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Your impressions are what they are, but I wonder why dont they make the ZF for Vettes anymore?

Last I checked they aren't putting TKOs in them either.

Sweet, that is the one I ordered, thanks for the confirmation. I'm picking it up today. I'll post the results later why I'm using that one vs. oem.


As for now, anyone doing a ZF swap (with ZF clutch) on a 84-85 should change their flywheel to this one you listed. This is different from what I had posted endlessly before that the oem FW was ok.

I must have missed something, what flywheel exactly is this??