Best way to firm up shifts?

[wingnuts514]

I'm sure this topic is a dead horse so I apoligize in advance. I have an early 99 truck, and i want to firm up the trans shifts and maintain the reliability. first off, I am not sure if my truck has the E40D or the 4R100. I put an aftermarket valvebody in my 2001 lightning (which has the 4R100) and it made a night and day difference and it is supposed to make the trans run cooler because the shifts are quicker.

On my PSD I am running the edge chip and it does have the ability to raise the line pressure for shifts but i have heard it can hurt the tranny having raised pressure all the time so I have been leaving that stock.

I do some towing, mostly a ski boat and on rare occasion a dump trailer or mini trac-ho around 11,000lbs.

I miss the solid shifts my lightning had with the valvebody, so what's the best option for my f-250?

[jesilvas]

Valve body
And a chip tuned custom to the valve body.

[taylorking]

There are some great aftermarket valve bodies on the market for these trucks. But if you don't want to spend alot of money, you can get a shift kit for pretty cheap.

[wingnuts514]

I know there are valve bodies available like the BTS and the woods, but are they actually safe for serious towing? or would something like the banks power trans command be a better option for performance/reliability.

[jesilvas]

For serious towing? Oh definitely. Those guys build transmissions for the BIGGEST racers and sled pullers. And their VBs are just as high quality.

[Hemicross]

Anyone have a link to a tried and true tested valve body, I think I need one to

[jesilvas]

Originally Posted by Hemicross

Anyone have a link to a tried and true tested valve body, I think I need one to

Like a review of someone actually using one?

[Hemicross]

Oh, if you have one but mainly a highly recommended by our forum users that actually put it to the test, more of a product link to a website I can order from

[jesilvas]

john woods valve body - Google Search
BTS Valve Body
I forgot a Factory Tech VB.

[wingnuts514]

I had the greg evans factory tech valve body on my lightning, but I assumed it was designed with the lightning in mind, not just the 4r100 in general. The ftvb comes in two versions, street and strip. i went with the street version, nice smooth shifts when cruising but WOT it would give you whiplash...I can only imagine what the strip version would be like