7A Transmission...dare I commit heresy?

delusional

pretty sure he's talking about a tranny cooler. and oil cooler is also a must for the track.

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brucelidat

i haven't heard much about a tranny cooler, is this a must for a beginner at the track?

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wstar

You *can* do a track day without an AT cooler, esp if it's one of your first. Just be cognizant of not overheating it too much. If you're only doing 10-15 minute sessions of balls-out driving and getting some cooldown in-between, it will probably ok, especially in winter weather. You'll know it when it starts getting too hot. It will start performing crappier (slower shifts, etc), you'll feel it.

As far as fluid changes go: from a factory service manual perspective, it's supposed to be "maintenance-free" for the consumer. So they don't provide a dipstick for checking the level, or any sort of easy filler tube either. There are procedures for checking fluid level and draining/filling, but the draining and filling is done via drain-fill plugs on the transmission body itself (much like with a manual or a differential).

The correct fill level, as with most things of this nature, is when it barely seeps out of the fill hole. However, to get the factory-correct fill amount, you have to check this with the internal temperature of the 7AT in a very specific range. The TCM knows this temperature, but only Dealership tools can read the temperature to know the fill is correct. That's the reason that, generally speaking, only the Dealership can deal with fluid checks/changes.

In practice, you should probably get the fluid swapped every ~20K miles for a hard-driven and/or lightly-tracked car, IMHO. The easiest and most reliable way to do it at this time is to have a dealership do it for you. Just make sure they don't just send some random tech to do a "standard" transmission flush. Be sure they've read the 370Z service manual and understand about the filling procedures and checking Consult-III temps, otherwise they're doing no better guesswork than you could in your garage.

Supposedly GTM was working out a set of instructions for us to reliably refill without a dealership. They probably developed a guideline based on spot-checking some point on the transmission's outer case with an IR thermometer. Never heard any more details on this though.

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b1adesofcha0s

How much does a transmission cooler for the 7AT cost?

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wstar

I started with Stillen's kit at $329, but I ended up replacing the hoses and some of the connectors. I think GTM and maybe Z1 have kits as well. This was my post about my changes to the Stillen kit, would've been cheaper in the end to put it together myself and buy the Setrab core directly.

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Jamaica

It is cheaper to build your own kit. Buy the 25 row setrab core, lines and fittings. This is what I have also.

wstar

I donno about the 25, I guess if you can figure out the temp range that works for you and use a blockoff. So far with the ultra-tiny core Stillen ships I haven't had to block mine off in the winter, and it's been sufficient for 15-20 min track sessions with no apparent performance loss.

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Jamaica

I have the 25 row and works great. Also have a transmission temp gauge. No complaints.

shaun66

Yeah 25 seems overkill for the tranny. What size cooler comes with the Stillen kit?

wstar

Well it all depends on what you're doing with the car I guess . I'm pretty sure the Stillen kit ships a 19-row Series 1 (e.g. https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...asp?RecID=8935).

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Jamaica

its looks smaller then a 19 row. 25 isnt a overkill for FI

wstar

Yeah it might be, it's hard to tell through the front grille and I'm not pulling my bumper off tonight. My best guess is it's the 19 though. It's definitely the right width for the little Series 1 sizes though.

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sonic370

.05 is not much when all you do is use the 7AT as a DD.
6MT vs 7AT will go on forever. whats important imo is that the auto guys
don't have to take a back seat anymore when it comes to performance.

the only thing i can say is i think the AT will offer less headaches on upkeep.

ImportConvert

I'm torn there. I always trash autos. Never trashed a manual.

wstar

I donno, I think in the very long run the 7AT is probably more maintenance hassle. It's just a lot more likely to need a rebuild/replacement. AT's in general are just more failure prone than MTs, there's a lot more moving parts and wear items involved. Add to that the fact that so far you can't even check and change your own fluid on the 7AT due to the Consult-III dealership temp thing.

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