Well my trans went in my balt i have no 1st or reverse i think i still have 2nd-4th so i have to replace/rebuild it but i dont want to do all that work to have it fail agian. this is where the discussion starts, (correct me if im wrong) from doing research ive been looking at the building the 4t45, or swaping in a 4t60/4t65. so from what ive read and my experiance the 4t45 is the weakest of the 3 then its the 4t65 then the 4t60 and where talking in stock forum. building or replacing the 4t45 is the easyest of the 3 but i plan pushing more power from my ecotec past 400hp. quad 4 4t60 would be intermediate becuase i would need a tranny controler but its a direct swap except maybe the half shafts not sure. the 4t60 from what ive read is more beefy then the 4t45 and the 4t65 but the cluches are the weak point. so i dont get flamed the reason i say the 4t60 is a bit better then the 4t65 is that in built 4t65 they use some parts from the 4t60. now for the 4t65 i would still need a trany controler, i will need a custom adapter plate along with 2 fly wheels and a custom spacer and custom mounts but a fully built 4t65 can hold up to 8.9 seconds or more in the quarter

now my options are rly only the 4t45 or the 4t60 transmissions, ive had both trannys and i have beat the crap out of my 4t60 (stock) and ive never had a problem but with my 4t45 (stock) i pass someone in 4th gear and it fail. now for the 4t65 i wouldnt have all the cash to do the custom work, so 4t65 out of the question i just put that in there for some thought.

now my question and discussion topics are how much could you rly build the 4t45 and the 4t60 practically, also stock vs stock whats the advantages/ disadvantages between the too.

thanks for your input im just thinking

 

the 4t60 is not that great of a transmission. really the 4t65e was an evolution of the 4t60e. the 4t60e is semi electronic, the shifts and lockup clutch are controlled with solenoids, however line pressure is controlled by a vacuum modulator. the 4t65e is fully electronic, it adds in a pressure control solenoid so the pcm has full control over line pressure.

as for swapping it in, both will need bellhousing and flexplate adapters. the 4t60e did come behind the quad 4, however the quad 4 is not the same bellhousing as the ecotec. the q4 was also the only 4 cylinder to be used with the 4t60e. the 4t65e was never used with a 4 cylinder, its available only with the small gm v6 bolt pattern. no matter what one you choose you will need a stand alone transmission controller, some custom axles, and custom mounts.

the biggest thing here to consider is your honest power goals. the 4t45e is a pretty good transmission, you can build them to take some good power, and generally thats all you need to do. the 4t65e is better, it will take far more power when its built up, however its heavier, has more parasitic losses, and its going to be very expensive to swap. if your going to be the next 10 second 1/4 mile cobalt, better spend the money on the 4t65e, however for what most people with automatics do to their cobalts, a warmed over 4t45e is likely plenty strong.