I think the key words here are "Marlin Crawler" parts
of course all the rebuilt ones with heavy duty parts will handle the big hp/torque (torque is what kills trannies)

The ones rebuilt with stock are just "ok" (it's not my opinion, just stating what I've read in the MK3 section of SF)


I think the W58 has been underrated and picked up a bad rap.
Of course doing high rpm drag launches on a 4,000lb car isn't good for any transmission

 

Interesting info here, I might just keep my w58 after all.

 

The problem is they both have short comings when comparing it to the v160, too bad they cost so much lol..

I'll put it this way, i think the R154 is a little sronger then the W58, both are pretty good trans, but BOTH of them turn into time bombs when you start dishing out the abuse!

i guess my whole argument was if your gonna beat the ***** out of your 5spd i just don't know if the R154 is worth the extra money since it's most likely going to break as well, maybe you outta just buy two W58's .. i mean if both where the same price i myself would no doubt grab the R154, I just agree with everyone else and think the W58 always gets the bad rep for being made out of glass, when it's really not that bad depending on how you drive.

 

I have gone through 3 W58's at a little over 500whp. They always broke when I was rolling into 3rd doing 70mph roll-ons. They never broke when doing launches.

 

^ My friend mark was pushing like 420rwhp on his mk4 and lost his W58.

My brother and our friend rusty are both pushing 400rwhp on R154's without any problem, My brother launched his on drag radials at redline too, broke axles, differential, but not transmission.

 

Aweeesome info guys.

And yeah as you can tell by my sig, im going to be slamming the hell outa the tranny.

Clutch kicking and what not,
Iv been talking to lextreme and i cant give away all the details cus i want it to be a surprise, But ill be making something around 500-580hp with about the same torque at the wheels with the 1uz and im looking for something that wont shred apart when kick it out and slide it. id LOVE to do the getrag but 3 grand for a tranny.... come on now

 

Here's your choices from lowest price to highest price
~~~W58- first time you miss a shift in a 500hp car you're gonna need a new tranny.
~~~R154- $1200=1200hp marlin crawler tranny. People have gotten lucky but I say no stock 154 on over 600hp.
~~~Built Auto- Do your research and have a local tranny shop build an auto to your specs. It's pretty cheap and very effective.
~~~Th350- th400's weaker, malnourished little brother. LOL
~~~Boostlogic's built auto- NA holds like 600-700. TT holds more- lots of the better track boys are running the tt. Some people have had a bunch of great seasons with these- other people had issues. BL has since put out a how-to sheet so that the driver won't do things improperly and break it.
~~~TH400- Automatic 3sp...up to 1700hp depending on who's building it.
~~~V160- it'll hold more than you can throw at it. Needs a $5k Tilton clutch. If you think you aren't going to push enough HP to need a Tilton then save your $ and buy a 154 because you don't NEED a v160. It's only above the TH400 if you include the Tilton.
~~~4L80e- Auto w/overdrive...holds 1600hp depending on who's building it.

 

Damn jaxx, in it to win it, thats one of the best responses i have ever gotten on this site

 

My w58 has over 200k on it about 60 of which were after my 1jz swap and i have had no problems with it. R154 is better bc it was made to handle more power but it all depends on how much power you intend to make.

 

That's funny because I broke my differential, W58 still going strong. Let's see what happens with the LSD in.

 

if I were in your shoes I'd be saving for a v160. The r154 can handle a lot of power but it cannot handle hard shifting from 1-2 a w58 barely handles small amounts of boost on a 1 or 2 jz let alone the torque of a v8

 

Thanks- It was a little long but it's important that people know their options. I'm on my third tranny now- not because I shattered the other two (stock auto, then w58, now on th400) but because I didn't want an unreliable part on my car. I think that when you have 50% of people saying I broke a w58 and 50% saying I'm running mine on 600hp I wouldn't chance it over 450. But women prefer our cars to be a little more dependable than you guys seem to. If something's rated to 900hp it's a guarantee that a bunch of you are going to try running 1200 through it. Then when it pops you buy the same damn thing and break it again.

 

LIES!! When do we ever push the envelope? Come on....seriously? Us guys always think and consider the consequences, I find that offensive!!!

 

I know of a r154 at over 1000hp that has lived for a while , and if you are from south fla most people know the car.

 

Stock 154? Any rebuilds on the books?