2.4L LE5 Performance Tech 16 valve 171 hp EcoTec with 163 lb-ft of torque

Torque limits on LE5 gearbox

Old Jun 6, 2018 | 11:07 PM
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Question Torque limits on LE5 gearbox

Hi there - I've ordered my clutch kit because I'm swapping a 2.4L from a Saturn Ion into my '06 Cobalt SS. The engine arrived last week all cleaned up and ready to go. I'm putting in the new right rear wheel bearing tomorrow.

Thanks again to the gentlemen who suggested I fix the 06 SS NA rather than try to make the supercharged pigs ear into a silk purse.
I was planning on ordering a header, and possibly other performance mods. The problem is that I've read the gearbox on the LE5 for that year is fairly weak, at least when compared to the supercharged version. So I'm wondering how do you guys and gals do performance mods on these SS LE5 cars when the gearbox apparently can't handle much more torque than the stock setup? Like, if I do it, should I just count on the gearbox not lasting as long, or do you folks who do these mods (i.e., from the Performance sticky) also swap out the gearbox, or drive the car differently/gently? How do you get away with it?

I'm guessing a header won't affect the torque too much, if at all, and guessing that GM might've understated the tolerance of the gearbox.

I'm going to swap the thicker SS SC front sway bar into the LE5 - it looks pretty easy to swap out. And possibly the springs because I'm guessing they're a little bit stiffer on the supercharged car. Is that right?

Any thoughts?
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 08:24 AM
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The F23 transmission is plenty strong. Some people with the supercharged or turbo cars even swap to the F23 because they are readily available for cheap and handle good power.



I'm running 350 ft-lbs of torque through my F23 and there are others running more.
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 08:27 AM
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f23 will handle whatever you throw at it for the most part.
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 08:35 AM
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Thank you very much - wow - ha ha well I guess the ceramic coated stainless shorty header is a go with no worries!
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by OhSixBalt
Thank you very much - wow - ha ha well I guess the ceramic coated stainless shorty header is a go with no worries!

Definitely. Unless you add boost or nitrous, bolt ons won't really net you significant gains in power anyway.
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by jdbaugh1
Definitely. Unless you add boost or nitrous, bolt ons won't really net you significant gains in power anyway.
Ok that's good to know - the worst thing for me is to break the car - I want reliability at this stage in the rebuild.
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 09:10 AM
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Originally Posted by OhSixBalt
Ok that's good to know - the worst thing for me is to break the car - I want reliability at this stage in the rebuild.

I would honestly do other mods like cat-back exhaust and CAI (more for sound than anything) before doing a header. The stock header isn't really a restriction point with your setup and is an expensive piece for no more than it will change the characteristic of your car.
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Old Jun 7, 2018 | 09:26 AM
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Originally Posted by jdbaugh1
I would honestly do other mods like cat-back exhaust and CAI (more for sound than anything) before doing a header. The stock header isn't really a restriction point with your setup and is an expensive piece for no more than it will change the characteristic of your car.
Ok excellent - I'll think about the header some more - I have this 2 1/2" downpipe and cat....



...and a Magnaflow exhaust from the cat back - looks like 2 1/2" (hard to measure without calipers) without a resonator. So it's a slight improvement.

Last edited by OhSixBalt; Jun 7, 2018 at 09:52 AM. Reason: added words
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