VF SS first modifications

[3onTree]

Just purchased a stock standard 2017 VF SS with 80k on the clock, will be picking it up on Tuesday. I have a few things in mind such as an exhaust system, new wheels and eventually a cam package. I'm a bit overwhelmed and wondering where/what I should start with and what the best brands etc. are as I have never owned a Holden or a v8 before (had a Golf R before this).

Any suggestions/ideas? Thanks in advance.

Firstly, congrats on the VF and welcome.
Those who know will ask you what you plan to do with the car. Its a very good question to start with. If it's purely a street car and you want more sound and performance , then there are the incremental improvements that address exhaust and intake.

Packages offered by good workshops, there are plenty out there who can do this, are a good place to start. I have happily used APS in Frankston and there are others out there like GM Motorsport, MPW etc. all experienced , you need to check them out and talk to people who have actually had work done by them. I can only speak of my experience with APS - all good. So if you are in Melbourne, you're spoilt for choice. I just don't know the national capability, you need to check out your nearby workshops.

As a start, I recommend doing mods that don't compromise the drivability of your car. Looking back, I think that Headers, Cat-back, OTR and tune are the best mods to start with and they can be built upon if you go further later. 1 7/8 headers 4 into 1 headers are the best for performance, as tested by HPF (another experienced shop out there) they did some videos testing headers and Rob from HPF ran some good dyno tests proving 4into 1 , 1 7/8 headers to be the best. 2.5 or 3 inch catback , from Rob's testing made no difference on the dyno. So if yours is a wagon go the 2.5 inch catback with the metal cats, otherwise up to you if you want more drama go the 3 inch. I used HP Headers at the time, I know they're not in business anymore. Checkout XForce, Di Fillipo etc. Just make sure you put some heat shield on the coolant temp sensor - headers tend to cook this part over time.

Intake, go VCM or Harrop OTR. Get it all tuned.

Cams are another story. It makes your car run old school. Lumpy, smelly, choppy. I like that but you need to be aware. Even mild cams do this.

 

[mpower]

Edit: this website explains better than me > http://thetransmissioncentre.com.au/?page_id=105

i've read this before and stick to the adage of replacing fluids when they are due or before.

never had an issue with any of my autos over the last 20 years when i started driving them.

the cooler is worth keeping in mind if you are going to be towing and putting a lot of load on the transmission but for a mildly warmed over or a daily - totally unecessary.

 

[Ginger Beer]

I prefer to edge on the side of caution, a trans cooler is cheap, replacing a gearbox is not

Plus as soon as you talk high stall, your transmission temps rise considerably

I'm not suggesting that a standard car, that doesn't get beaten on, or tow, and gets serviced regularly "needs" a cooler, but as soon as you change one of those parameters you are going to compromise the life of the fluid, hence transmission

 

[Skylarking]

And what is the operating temperature for a automatic transmission fluid?

My transmission guy said low is good and to fit the biggest cooler that would fit

We taked in detail about it

My points were based off the OP talking about modifying his car and making more power

I believe ideal operating temperature of automatic transmission fluid is 80C +/- 12C (175F +/- 25F)

Within Holden’s limited editions, which are GM Level 3 Track Certified, all autos come with a transmission cooler mounted in front of the air conditioner condenser. The system also has a thermostat bypass valve fitted. This allows the transmission fluid to quickly build up to operating temp before it starts to flow through the fluid to air cooler.

Interestingly I don’t think the trans line doesn’t go through the radiator bottom any more. But in my mind, including a thermostat is an obvious measure to ensure quick operating temps are reached as too cold a fluid is bad (as is too hot a fluid).

The sorts of damage one gets with cold trans fluid relate to the lower viscosity and lower volume due to contraction of the fluid itself. Such causes lubrication issues, fluid level issues and messes with the smart learn shift functions of the gearbox itself...

But the damage caused would be proportional to the time taken to get to operating temps which is climate dependant. So I’d guess more of an issue in a cold climate country or if you live in snowy covered mountains during Aussie winters.

Having said that, big trans coolers on their own can’t be a great thing when reaching operating temps quickly is ideal even in a hot climate lime Australia. And as thermostats aren’t expensive, it’s an easy thing to include with a cooler.

 

[ol smokey]

My opinion on tires. I'm currently running stock 18" rims and I'm happy with what they do. Any larger rims I put myself in this scenario: you're driving way out in the sticks and you've just shredded a tire. You go for your spare only to recall that six months ago you used your spare and never got around to replacing it. You find the only local tire shop who looks at your 20" rims and says "you're up the creek fella, I don't have any in stock, it'll take 3 days. Pity you don't use the 18" stock wheels, I have plenty of them"

Comments? That's why I'm sticking to stock. They're cheaper too.

 

[Ginger Beer]

I believe ideal operating temperature of automatic transmission fluid is 80C +/- 12C (175F +/- 25F)

Within Holden’s limited editions, which are GM Level 3 Track Certified, all autos come with a transmission cooler mounted in front of the air conditioner condenser. The system also has a thermostat bypass valve fitted. This allows the transmission fluid to quickly build up to operating temp before it starts to flow through the fluid to air cooler.

Interestingly I don’t think the trans line doesn’t go through the radiator bottom any more. But in my mind, including a thermostat is an obvious measure to ensure quick operating temps are reached as too cold a fluid is bad (as is too hot a fluid).

The sorts of damage one gets with cold trans fluid relate to the lower viscosity and lower volume due to contraction of the fluid itself. Such causes lubrication issues, fluid level issues and messes with the smart learn shift functions of the gearbox itself...

But the damage caused would be proportional to the time taken to get to operating temps which is climate dependant. So I’d guess more of an issue in a cold climate country or if you live in snowy covered mountains during Aussie winters.

Having said that, big trans coolers on their own can’t be a great thing when reaching operating temps quickly is ideal even in a hot climate lime Australia. And as thermostats aren’t expensive, it’s an easy thing to include with a cooler.

My trans cooler is plumbed in post the "radiator" so that helps with warm up and with stabilising temps to around a 65-85° C temp range, typically the oil to air cooler drops about 15-20° of temp, going off my "ebay" lazer temp probe thingie

Another thing IRT the trans is its transmission tune, when you up the power you "need" to up the line pressure

My car is currently getting the transmission tuned to suit the latest lot of power mods, after more than doubling the engines torque, the line pressure isn't anywhere near where it should be, Craig's Automatics, in Chipping Norton, is currently filling the transmission with black magic

Me, I'm sitting in a local cafe drinking coffee and eating eggs

 

[lmoengnr]

I believe ideal operating temperature of automatic transmission fluid is 80C +/- 12C (175F +/- 25F)

Within Holden’s limited editions, which are GM Level 3 Track Certified, all autos come with a transmission cooler mounted in front of the air conditioner condenser. The system also has a thermostat bypass valve fitted. This allows the transmission fluid to quickly build up to operating temp before it starts to flow through the fluid to air cooler.

Interestingly I don’t think the trans line doesn’t go through the radiator bottom any more. But in my mind, including a thermostat is an obvious measure to ensure quick operating temps are reached as too cold a fluid is bad (as is too hot a fluid).

The sorts of damage one gets with cold trans fluid relate to the lower viscosity and lower volume due to contraction of the fluid itself. Such causes lubrication issues, fluid level issues and messes with the smart learn shift functions of the gearbox itself...

But the damage caused would be proportional to the time taken to get to operating temps which is climate dependant. So I’d guess more of an issue in a cold climate country or if you live in snowy covered mountains during Aussie winters.

Having said that, big trans coolers on their own can’t be a great thing when reaching operating temps quickly is ideal even in a hot climate lime Australia. And as thermostats aren’t expensive, it’s an easy thing to include with a cooler.

The LE's have the same trans cooling system that HSV fitted to the later E series autos and Gen F's.

 

[Skylarking]

My trans cooler is plumbed in post the "radiator" so that helps with warm up and with stabilising temps to around a 65-85° C temp range, typically the oil to air cooler drops about 15-20° of temp, going off my "ebay" lazer temp probe thingie.

With aussie cars you could still find that in a cold sub zero climate the trans cooler needs to be bypassed and in some cases the engine radiator needs bits of cardboard put in front to reduce cooling and allow things to heat up... (Cold climate cars can have smaller radiators factory installed. atleast that was the case when I lived in a frozen tundra). Luckily down under we don’t really have such issue to contend with at sea level.

Another thing IRT the trans is its transmission tune, when you up the power you "need" to up the line pressure

My car is currently getting the transmission tuned to suit the latest lot of power mods, after more than doubling the engines torque, the line pressure isn't anywhere near where it should be, Craig's Automatics, in Chipping Norton, is currently filling the transmission with black magic

I thought GMs 6L80E was designed for a max input (engine) torque of 440lb.ft or 600Nm and a max output torque of 664lb.ft or 900Nm. That would be with GMs reliability FOS built into it...

So what Nm’s are you pushing through your gearbox and what compromises are being made (reduced FOS)?

Me, I'm sitting in a local cafe drinking coffee and eating eggs

Your tuner will love you when you pick up the car

 

[Emco]

If it's LS3 , give it better breathing ie OTR cold air and full exhaust. Going too big on exhaust will likely hurt performance. I believe you don't need a 1 7/8 long tubes 4 in 1 and 3 inch system, 2.5 inch with 1 3/4 4 into 1 is more than enough. 3 inch and 1 7/8 probably better for supercharger and or high spec cam.

 

[Ginger Beer]

With aussie cars you could still find that in a cold sub zero climate the trans cooler needs to be bypassed and in some cases the engine radiator needs bits of cardboard put in front to reduce cooling and allow things to heat up... (Cold climate cars can have smaller radiators factory installed. atleast that was the case when I lived in a frozen tundra). Luckily down under we don’t really have such issue to contend with at sea level.
I thought GMs 6L80E was designed for a max input (engine) torque of 440lb.ft or 600Nm and a max output torque of 664lb.ft or 900Nm. That would be with GMs reliability FOS built into it...

So what Nm’s are you pushing through your gearbox and what compromises are being made (reduced FOS)?
Your tuner will love you when you pick up the car

Apologies, I'm running a 4L60e

The 6L80e could be a totally different kettle of fish when it comes to line pressure

Torque peaks around 950nm on low boost (biggest pulley)

As for FOS, the trans was built by Craig's, rated to hold 600hp (fly), I'm going to limit power to around 480hpatw (350kwatw) , that will hopefully factor in a little safety for the trans, the unopened engine and the rest of the drivetrain should be happy enough as well with that

I'm not expecting stuff to break, because in the end it is just a fun streeter, but, in the end, stuff breaks, if/when it does it will be upgraded