lonewolf452

Hey guy,s new to the forum. I have a turbo'd 2.4l LE5 with 301 hp to the wheels, i am trying to choose a tranny...trying to decide between the f23 and f35, thinking I want the F35, but i dont know if it will bolt to the 2.4 block...can someone let me know if that will work???

noorj

iTrader: (17)

Nooo stick with the F23. Cavi guys have pushed the F23 to 500+ whp and it has held up considerably well. As long as you don't NLS and don't miss gears a lot you'll be fine

yellowsupercharged06

iTrader: (3)

yea there is a big turbo lsj out here on LI with a F23 cuz the F35 wouldnt hold up

lonewolf452

Interesting, soo...i like the LSD option in the F35, also i like the int shaft to reduce torque steer. I REALLY like that. Also i can see that there are two sides to the whole f23, f35 story here...some guys like the f23 (like u i guess lol) and some guys like the f35...big talks about gearing and all that.

My car is a light weight 88 Pontiac Fiero with an 07 2.4 le5 turbo to 301 hp. Im not 100% sure on what gearing would be best. But i like the fact that an f35 has the int shaft and stock lsd. F23 doesnt. So i wanna know if the f35 will bolt directly to the le5, or will i have to change something, and why.

Thanks for the help!

ECaulk

iTrader: (6)

Def stick to the f23

lonewolf452

That suprises me that the f35 didnt hold up when its supposed to be the tranny that goes with boosted higher hp applications...why is the f23 apperantly stronger?

newt

iTrader: (2)

What they said, the F23 is stronger than the F35.

I'm somewhere around 350-370whp, and I launch my car off a two-step (builds about 6psi) and NLS every gear and my trans is still in one piece.

yellowsupercharged06

iTrader: (3)

the tranny did go lol .... why do u think all of these ZFR guys are blowing trans... its the F35 there going through.


the specifics i can not answer, it was explained to me at one point buy im drawing a blank at the moment, i just know F23 is stronger lol

ECaulk

iTrader: (6)

The gearing ratio is different. Also I recall there being a solution for LSD on the f23

newt

iTrader: (2)

Your car is RWD, so you don't need to worry about torque steer, plus the intermediate shaft is ussually less strong than the short/long axle setup.

You can order the same Quaife LSD that the F35 has for a F23, or get the cheaper OBX knock off.

Also, if it comes to gearing, there are gearing options for the F23 to increase the FDR.

For the price you can get a F23 for, you can probably put a LSD in it and re-gear it and have it come out to only slightly more expensive than a F35.


As for why the F23 is stronger than a F35, to start its made by Getreg and not SAAB....also the F23 uses a 3 shaft design as opposed to a 2 shaft design like the F35.

This causes more load that is needed to be handled by each shaft which causes it to flex where it mounts to the case.

Once the shaft flexes, the gears miss align and causes the gears to strip or break, which is what happens to 3rd gear in a lot of F35's.


At least thats my understanding of it anyways.

yellowsupercharged06

iTrader: (3)

yes this is what i was told, just couldn't get it off my tongue.

also, isnt there a fair amount of work to do in order to get the F35 to bolt up to a non-lsj/lnf ?

and i would assume the axles need replaced which will be difficult if its going into a fiero.

lonewolf452

Wow lots of good info...okay

lonewolf452

So, does anyone know of a good gear set for this transmission? The f23

noorj

iTrader: (17)

4.17 from the '05-'07 HHR is a direct bolt on from your trans. The saturn vue F23 has a 4.41 but has different mounting points so you would need to replace just the ring and pinion, not really worth it.

lonewolf452

So if i order a gear set for the 07 HHR, a tranny shop can swap the gears out and i'll be good to go?

Also if i do this swap, what difference will i experiance driving wise? What will i notice between driving the stock gears and driving the hhr set up?

noorj

iTrader: (17)

Yeah but with the 05-07 HHR you can just buy the whole trans and swap it in, I think you would save money like that if you swap it yourself. Or you can just buy the gearset and pay to have someone do it.

edit: Sorry missed your second question. Better acceleration but higher revs while crusing. Go on a gear ratio calculator if you wanna figure out exactly how much revs will change

lonewolf452

Would this still be an M86, or is the HHR an m94? Are they the exact same transmissions? (mounting brackets, cables, bolt patterns?)

noorj

iTrader: (17)

yes the 4.11 HHR trans is an M86, you'll need the M86 for it to have the same mounting locations

lonewolf452

are we sure about that, i dont see an m86 for an HHR with a 4.11 final drive ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getrag_F23_transmission

noorj

iTrader: (17)

sorry meant 4.17

lonewolf452

cool thanks!!

LE5

A month old I know, but great thread!
I was all set for the F35 and just wanted to see if it'll mate to the LE5, but now it doesn't matter as the F23 is better and that came on the LE5 ha.
Thanks guys!!