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ok so I will be looking at doin a klze swap in my 96 gs probably this summer or fall, and I want your guys opinions on what tranny to couple it with. I can get a mx-6 trans from a local yard here and tear it down and rebuild or I can just use my trans and swap out 5th. So opinions on it and what you guys think is better.

keep your tranny and your 5th gear and be done with it

I would go with the MX-6 tranny. I've been reading alot of tranny stuff lately and if you talk to Fowljesse and others with ZE engines making 200ish HP they are not happy with the ratios all the way through the gearbox. The MX-6 has a taller final drive than ours so even though the individual ratios are similar, the entire box is about 7% taller. It hink it will make for moer usable power all the way up.

You're losing a little torque because you'll always be at a lower rpm than you were with the stock tranny, but the amount of power you have with that ZE makes first gear practically useless so you're giving up a little torque to regain an entire gear.

I've never driven a ZE car and I don't have an MX-6 tranny, this is just what I have surmised form the threads I've read.

I think it depends what your looking for. Gas milage, go with the MX6 tranny. Quarter mile times. You should be maxed out RPM wise at the end of the track and that means MX3 trans. Proper tires will give you traction for the hole shot. I'd prefer an mx6 trans as I'm not into street racing much (laws are very prohibitive in Ontario). Actually I love the sh*t. wahaaa. If you have a good MX3 trans than stick with it. Buying an MX6 trans just adds to the expense. If I was going to spend I go for an LSD trans.

I have an mx3 tranny w/ my ZE and while I am not making as much power as I can yet (need better grounds, CAI, better wires and proper VRIS) I can use 1st gear to some extent, but nothing like in most other cars. I still take off with first most of the time as it's nice to be able to ROCKET forward if I need to, and 1st can still get me to about 25-30ish if I remember correctly, its just if you push it too much the tires instantly squeal and will spin through if you want them to.

If you have the parts to rebuild a tranny, go with the mx6 if you have or are getting a ZE and maybe even swap out for an even taller 5th gear. New bearings and synchros will make your tranny feel new, and you will have a very useful gearbox w/ nice highway cruising! Keep in mind if you only drive 55mph switching to a taller 5th gear than the mx6 is not recommended unless you want to stay in 4th at those speeds...I remember a post from Yoda saying that he fouled his plugs from driving at too low of an RPM for extended periods of time.

If you drive closer to 65/70 on the highway though it is a good idea. A bigger gear will also grant you higher top speed (not that you should really be going faster in an mx3 w/o major other modifications or tires that can handle it)

Wyt is right. My first gear is almost useless. I have to be careful to not spin too much when I'm taking off into traffic. I live where I have to get onto a freeway from a stop, and sometimes I take off too slow to blend into traffic, because I'm sitting there spinning, trying to back off just enough. If you're planning any mods to the ZE, I'd recommend the tranny upgrade. Of course, when I get my LSD, it will be alot better. I want to get 35 mpg, so I want taller gears for that, too (I'm at 30-33).

yeah I do a mix of highway/city for the most part, I am a heavy equipment tech and I have access to parts for my pricing which makes a tranny rebuild relatively cheap for me with me doing the work of course. I am pretty familiar with it and I am going to be going klze for sure. I redid mine with all new syncros and bearings and am quite happy with how it shifts. Its just the 5th gear that bothers my but with that said I do want better mileage and coupled with a klze I think the mx6 5 spd would probably be my better bet, less screwing around overall if I go that route I think.