Hey Scotty, long time fan from Australia. I have a 2004 Holden Commodore V6 Auto, have done some major work to the engine including (stroker kit (taken it up to 4.2 litres from 3.8 Litres), stage 2 performance camshaft, cold air intake, exhaust system, all that kind of stuff. My transmission is a 4L60e with a stage 2 Shift Kit and a corvette servo, just wondering if that would be able to handle 362 horsepower that it will have or if I will need to upgrade to a better transmission, was thinking a powerglide 2 speed, I can drive manual but find auto a bit more fun relaxing and cruising around in. Also I'd love to hear what you have to say about the 3800 GM motors, or the Ecotecs as we call them here, they're a nice 6 cylinder that has a lot of work that can be done, just want to know if you guys have the same motor in cars there, we have factory supercharged ones here. By the way I've rebuilt and done all the work myself just not very knowledgeable on transmissions. Thanks, David.
Those transmission are rated for 355 to 360 hp. I'm not a transmissions expect so I cannot say if that's the actually max or can it handle more.
You have the 6l80 4l65e transmission to look into . There both a bump up with the 6l80 better able to handle more.
The GM 3800 was originally introduced as the Buick V6 and was a very well made engine, especially compared to today's GM engines. I believe the Buick V6 was in production close to 40 years by the time it was retired. A carbureted model was the entry level engine in my 1979 Pontiac Catalina when it was brand new.
that's the same transmission that's in alot of early 2000's gm SUV's, pickups, camaros, etc.
it was a factory transmission until 2014
Gearheads still hotrod them to this day.
So the worked V6 is making alittle more power than then 5.3 & 5.7's there often mounted to,
It's about the same as a corvette.
But torque is more important than power when it comes to transmission strength.
Welcome to the forum!
I think Rob is right, more or less. That transmission should be fine for that load, but not much more than that. If you have the chance to upgrade to a more robust option, I would.
As far as the 3800, it’s one of GMs better efforts. More of a workhorse than a rockstar, but good bang for the buck. And cheap to fix. Yeah, they are all over the place in the US with many still going strong. The supercharged versions were pretty solid for a forced induction motor, if memory serves. The Buick Park Avenue was something of a sleeper, back in the day.
3800's are great, one of the best engines ever built. As far as the 4L60e goes, that's the same transmission that's in alot of early 2000's gm SUV's, pickups, camaros, etc. So the worked V6 is making alittle more power than then 5.3 & 5.7's there often mounted to, but it should handle it for some time. I know alot of 4L60e's end up going on the trucks/suvs around 150k miles, so they are known to needing a rebuild over time, but most guys have them rebuilt anyway bc the rest of the vehicle is typically solid. So yeah that thing should get you going for some time. I would look at getting a 4L80e if the 60 fails. I *think* there's a bell housing that bolts to the 3800 to 4L80e, but not 100%. If you want this to be a cruiser, i dont recommend getting a power glide.
