Monitoring your Glide's health

[LZ]

Hello Dan:
Say a question fer ya.
So we found a Trans temp gauge to be a great asset for judging the next round. Also in just keeping an eye on it. As we are lucky that most days we can get a good number of runs in on our local track.
So with our new deal going together, it is going to have a glide .

 - With regards to pressure. Is it possible to say you have x components, in x car, you need x pressure and it should stay at x range..
 -  Is it a good idea to keep a pressure gauge on the trans so you can keep an eye on it?
 - Should said gauge have a telltale so you can see max on the run?
 -  Does pressure go up or peak on the run ?
 - Or is just putting a gauge on it once in awhile OK?
 - On a glide pressure is taken off Servo?
 -  is line pressure important?

 Not good at putting thoughts to words. Please excuse the lameness and thank you for your time.
Luke

[bikeguy307]

Yes line pressure is important. How much well that's good question with no straight answer.

To a degree the more power you make the more pressure you need to keep things "clamped". However there are some variables to consider, such as how many clutches you run and what band you run (material and width). example; 8 clutches will hold more torque load at less pressure than 5 will at a higher pressure. Most valvebody manufacturers make between 190 and 210 psi, I have seen as high as 230 psi. Too much pressure does more harm than good, it causes more wear on the pump, and robs horse power to run the pump at those high pressures. One other problem of higher pressure is the shift is not as clean. The band releases by equalizing the pressure on both sides of the apply servo, although it never truly equalizes because of servo pin making less surface area on the release side, thus the need for the spring, but as you increase pressure the pressure difference increases and over rides the spring causing the band to drag.

Ok now to checking pressures.
  Yes you check pressure at the test port in the servo in gear at an idle.
  If your pressure is correct it really only needs to checked again if your start having an issue. I check my units when first installed and again mid year just to keep records.     
 Not sure I would take the time to install one in the car, however as easy as it is to check it would be good peace of mind to check it one or twice a year.

Keeping an eye on trans temp can be useful info in tuning/predicting for your next run. But just like engine temp it's all dependent on each combination.

Different oils respond differently to temp changes, so no one answer to what temp is right. Again just like with engine temp you have to find what works best for your combo. this is why logging data is so important!

Sorry to have so long winded on this post but there are a lot of variables to consider on these two subjects. As for the pressure check with the manufacturer of your valvebody and check to see if your in their spec range, and temp thing just keep records and find what works best for your car.

Thanks for the questions and I hope this helps

Dan