M4 454 + ?

I'm planning on putting a rebuilt mark 4 454 big block on my 96 c1500, should I keep the old 4l60e, or should I put something else in it, I'm looking to have around 500hp+, I'm looking to make it for the drag strip/Street cruiser

The 4L60e in stock form will not survive long in that application.

Most of the time people opt for a 4L80e which is what that engine would’ve had equipped (if automatic) in a truck.

williamtdg said:

I'm planning on putting a rebuilt mark 4 454 big block on my 96 c1500, should I keep the old 4l60e, or should I put something else in it, I'm looking to have around 500hp+, I'm looking to make it for the drag strip/Street cruiser

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You're gonna become the local transmission shop's best, or worst, customer - depending on their warranty policy.

You'll need to upgrade the rear end, too.

Richard

I know nothing about 4L60Es but I still know the answer to the question.

Pinger said:

I know nothing about 4L60Es but I still know the answer to the question.

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Yup, there's a few reasons why GM used the '80 in the 2500/3500.

you need to swap to a 4l80e or 4l85e th400/3l80 if you do not need/want overdrive or go manual with a nv4500 sm465 if you can find one sm420 for doing truck things there are other manuals out there that are more fun oriented but but I do not know what they are

I agree with these folks, the 4L60e will fail you!

4l60/4l60e/700r4/4l65e/4l70e=

williamtdg said:

I'm planning on putting a rebuilt mark 4 454 big block on my 96 c1500, should I keep the old 4l60e, or should I put something else in it, I'm looking to have around 500hp+, I'm looking to make it for the drag strip/Street cruiser

Click to expand...

My personal preference is always the standard transmission version of any vehicle, car or truck, new or used.

But of the small handful of (used) cars I've owned with an automatic over the past half-century, the Turbo 400
was far & away my gold standard.

And in the past 25 years I've bought exactly 1 vehicle with an automatic. And my plan was to covert it over asap to
a stick. (It's a '99 C2500, L29 454 / 4L80-E / 4.10 8-lugger.) But this transmission reminded me so much of what I
appreciated about the Turbo 400 experience that I did a little research, and this familiar 'feel' made perfect sense.

With a 500hp big block the 4L60 would be a 'be careful' experience. And lots of finger crossing that today isn't the day that it fails to proceed at the track.

But with a healthy 4L80, enjoying your 454 will be a carefree experience. (Especially if it is optimized by a SME like @NickTransmissions.)

Up here in upstate NY the 'get to drive' season is short, and flies by. If the transmission fails early in the season, the season might be over
before the good shop (that's backed up with work) can get the truck back online. To me this is one part of the Total Cost of Ownership
that is often overlooked.

In my past, in order to save a little I've added lots of power in the engine bay, coupled to an underfunded/underbuilt drivetrain behind it.
(ie: Being short sighted, I would blow my entire budget on the engine.) And rarely did I get away with it. Usually we were learning where
all the weak links in the chain were located, one slightly stronger link at a time. :-(

But I was doing this in my '20s & '30s, back when time to burn stretched out forever into the horizon. And I learned a lot from doing this,
albeit the hardest way possible. :0) But now that I'm at retirement age, time spent (lost) from finding/fixing/upgrading overstressed parts
is so much more valuable than it used to be.

Given all of the above, at my advanced age I'd invest in a healthy 4L80-E over keeping a 4L60-E 10x out of 10.
For my 'get to drive' days are increasingly finite & precious to me. :0)

Just one more data point for what it's worth.

PS: Looking forward to following your build. Sounds like great fun!

Road Trip said:

My personal preference is always the standard transmission version of any vehicle, car or truck, new or used.

But of the small handful of (used) cars I've owned with an automatic over the past half-century, the Turbo 400
was far & away my gold standard.

And in the past 25 years I've bought exactly 1 vehicle with an automatic. And my plan was to covert it over asap to
a stick. (It's a '99 C2500, L29 454 / 4L80-E / 4.10 8-lugger.) But this transmission reminded me so much of what I
appreciated about the Turbo 400 experience that I did a little research, and this familiar 'feel' made perfect sense.

With a 500hp big block the 4L60 would be a 'be careful' experience. And lots of finger crossing that today isn't the day that it fails to proceed at the track.

But with a healthy 4L80 enjoying your 454 will be a carefree experience. (Especially if it is optimized by a SME like @NickTransmissions.)

Up here in upstate NY the 'get to drive' season is short, and flies by. If the transmission fails early in the season, the season might be over
before the good shop (that's backed up with work) can get the truck back online. To me this is one part of the Total Cost of Ownership
that is often overlooked.

In my past, in order to save a little I've added lots of power in the engine bay, coupled to an underfunded/underbuilt drivetrain behind it.
(ie: Being short sighted, I would blow my entire budget on the engine.) And rarely did I get away with it. Usually we were learning where
all the weak links in the chain were, one slightly stronger link at a time. :-(

But I was doing this in my '20s & '30s, back when time to burn stretched out forever into the horizon. And I learned a lot from doing this,
albeit the hardest way possible. :0) But now that I'm at retirement age, time spent (lost) from finding/fixing/upgrading overstressed parts
is so much more valuable than it used to be.

Given all of the above, at my advanced age I'd invest in a healthy 4L80-E over keeping a 4L60-E 10x out of 10.
For my 'get to drive' days are increasingly finite & precious to me. :0)

Just one more data point for what it's worth.

PS: Looking forward to following your build. Sounds like great fun!

Click to expand...

simple answer to why you like the 4l80e in you truck so much is a 4l80e and 4l85e is more or less a th400/3l80 with overdrive