Tremec vs Ben calimer

[PaviSingh]

What’s a better option the tremec or Ben calimer in the future for my whippled mustang gt.

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[rolfe.oliver]

You have to consider that besides trans cost, the tremec will require driveshaft, cross member, clutch and maybe something else I am not remembering. T56 will be nosier. Unless it is an all out race car, just do a ben caliber stage 3 (though that also requires a new clutch).

 

[PaviSingh]

You have to consider that besides trans cost, the tremec will require driveshaft, cross member, clutch and maybe something else I am not remembering. T56 will be nosier. Unless it is an all out race car, just do a ben caliber stage 3 (though that also requires a new clutch).

I thought the Ben calimer was the noisy one?

 

[J17GT]

The swap to the Tremec or Calimer stage 3 have a few things in common:
-both require a new clutch due to the 26spline input shaft
-both require tune changes due to different gear ratios than stock
-driveshaft needed for the Trememc, but recommended for the Calimer stage 3 (if you’re making the type of power to need a trans upgrade, best to upgrade the driveshaft too)

Tremec would require also a bell housing and trans cross member. Plus a little wiring for the reverse lockout solenoid and back-up lights.

I went with the Tremec Magnum XL for my Whipple car when the MT82 broke. It is whisper quiet, not a peep out of it. The Stage 3 Calimer does have some gear whine due to the G-force gear set. Look for some YouTube videos.

I do some drag racing, so it’s nice to have a SFI approved bell housing with the Tremec. MT82 as an integrated bell housing, so not possible.

It was a simple decision for me. I hated my MT82 and never wanted another one in my car. The Tremec has been great and takes a beating without ever missing a beat. Plenty of shops rebuild them or beef them up if I ever needed too down the road. Do some searching and read about people’s experiences with both.

 

[PaviSingh]

The swap to the Tremec or Calimer stage 3 have a few things in common:
-both require a new clutch due to the 26spline input shaft
-both require tune changes due to different gear ratios than stock
-driveshaft needed for the Trememc, but recommended for the Calimer stage 3 (if you’re making the type of power to need a trans upgrade, best to upgrade the driveshaft too)

Tremec would require also a bell housing and trans cross member. Plus a little wiring for the reverse lockout solenoid and back-up lights.

I went with the Tremec Magnum XL for my Whipple car when the MT82 broke. It is whisper quiet, not a peep out of it. The Stage 3 Calimer does have some gear whine due to the G-force gear set. Look for some YouTube videos.

I do some drag racing, so it’s nice to have a SFI approved bell housing with the Tremec. MT82 as an integrated bell housing, so not possible.

How much power can the tremec handle? I’m not trying to buy a driveshaft or anything for the mt82 cuz I wanna just go tremec when it all goes bad and buy a package deal instead of buying parts twice u know. I also like that the tremec isn’t as noisy as the Ben calimer plus I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about his customer service

 

[J17GT]

Tremec says they are rated to 700 ft/lbs of torque out of the box. No idea if that’s at the engine or tires. Also the weight of the car comes in to play as well.

*I added some additional comments above after you quoted my message. Must have been posting at the same time.

 

[PaviSingh]

Tremec says they are rated to 700 ft/lbs of torque out of the box. No idea if that’s at the engine or tires. Also the weight of the car comes in to play as well.

*I added some additional comments above after you quoted my message. Must have been posting at the same time.

How does torque convert to horsepower or does horsepower not really matter for the tranny?

 

[J17GT]

How does torque convert to horsepower or does horsepower not really matter for the tranny?

Google horsepower vs torque. Plenty of articles on the subject that would better explain it.

 

[Angrey]

There several comparison at work here as one is a long format transmission with a tail section and the other is a short format with remote shifter. A more fair comparison would be the Calimer upgraded MT82 against the TR6060. The 6060 has the new Magnum internal architecture and is essentially the same as the Magnum without the tail section and some minor differences with advanced/non-advanced synchros for particular gears and the gear ratios.

Regardless of upgraded or not, the Magnum has several advantages (and a couple of minor disadvantages) over the short format trans.

First, the Magnum is not an integral bell housing. This is an improvement if you're wanting additional SFI protection. You can not currently get an SFI rating on the aluminum integral housings on the short format transmissions. WIth the additional safety and strength, you also get a bit of added weight (minor) with a steel bell housing. You'll also have to measure and fit the bellhousing for concentricity and parallel with a dial indicator, making the installation a little more complex, but nothing beyond even a moderate mechanical skill.

The Magnum with the tail section is a direct shift mount. It's not exaggeration to say that an average direct mounted shifter feels and performs better than any remote shifter. When someone who's never felt a direct shifter sits in the car, their reactions are pretty comical. It's like spending your entire life sleeping on a futon and then you spend a night on a very expensive mattress. You question how you lived for so long the other way.

The tail section, adds a small amount of weight, when compared to the typical beefy structural components you'll need for one of the higher end remote shifters. However, it also adds more strength and most importantly, it allows you to run a much shorter drive shaft, which all but eliminates critical speed vibration issues associated with the LONG single piece driveshafts that most people upgrade to. When I spoke with QA1, they were quite confident that the Magnum QA1 drive shaft would be rated to well over 200 mph for critical speed. The Magnum also allows you to run a slip yoke with a 1310/1350 U joint.

You'll have to do your own research as to the gear ratios and whether they're better for you or not. In any case, a properly setup driveline should involve max/average torque planning combined with the trans ratios and the rear final diff ratio to set it up properly for what you want to achieve. Tremec offers 2 versions now (used to be 4) which is basically a "close" ratio meant more for sustained high rpm road course applications to reduce rpm drop between shifts and a typical wide ratio format. Either one will work if you pair it with a rear diff ratio properly. This could become a consideration depending on how you want to use the car (drag racing, rpm at 1/4 traps, roll racing, etc) as you might have additional costs to set up the driveline optimally.

As far as strength and capabilities go, the Magnum basically set the bar to which Calimer upgrades the MT's to achieve. Beefier gear sets, better synchros, 26 spline input shaft, etc. Many shops can upgrade the Magnum, but it's slight, cryo treatment and polishing of the gears, better shift pad materials, better blocker ring materials, etc.

I personally opted for a .50 final gear drive which is a relatively cheap option from a reputable builder and it's honestly worth it's weight in Gold. Paired with a 4.09 rear, I can cruise at 77 mph at 2k rpms. On any car with an aftermarket exhaust or no active exhaust, this is crucial for comfort and actually using your cell phone without having to slow down to 50 mph. And it's great for fuel economy on long trips (if that's a concern for you). The standard final drive is .68, so it's a marked improvement. You don't get that option with the MT82.

In terms of cost, if you're starting from stock and upgrading EVERYTHING (trans, shifter, driveshaft, clutch) it's pretty comparable and nearly a wash in terms of total cost, if you're not upgrading anything on the Magnum. If you choose upgraded options on the Magnum (like pads and rings or additional oil squirters, etc) then the Magnum will get more expensive. In terms of total weight difference, the total Magnum setup (with CF shaft and direct mount shifter) will be slightly more weight than the MT upgraded with a heavy aftermarket shifter and longer shaft.

The Magnum is also a complexity for tuning/integration. There's very long threads about how to get it to work on the 2019+ and I'm not certain they've worked out all the bugs yet. on the 2018 and older, you simply run a Bowler harness that tricks the ECU and everything works.

Clutch selection is a little different for both. Most of the major manufacturers offer a clutch for both. Some are exclusive to the MT or the Magnum (like Tilton). The Magnum would allow you to run an aftermarket throwout bearing like the Tilton, if that's important to you. The MT you're stuck with the OE bearing, which is fine for most purposes.

At the end of the day, both are great options and much stronger than a stock MT82, but no manual transmission is truly bullet proof. Depending on how much torque you make and how grippy your tires/suspension are and how you use/abuse the car, you can break either or they can live for a long time. If you're dropping the clutch from 5k rpms on a dead hook prepped track in a 4k lb car, with a very grabby and high rated clutch, there isn't a manual on the market that will hold up to that shock loading very long. But if you're on a softer clutch, not as much grip or you don't launch from the ceiling, the trans sees less harsh loading.

I personally wouldn't give Ben Calimer my money. I have a list and he's on it. After he went after a small shop with his attorney for using the term "stage III" I put him in the douchebag group and I won't support his business ever. But that's my personal hangup. He's had a lot of happy customers, but there are a few who have nightmare stories. I'll leave that for you to evaluate. You RARELY see issues with Tremec products (in terms of quality control). They just make and sell a great product. But that's not to imply that many happy Calimer customers aren't out ripping around.

 

[rolfe.oliver]

I thought the Ben calimer was the noisy one?

The g force gears do whine sometimes, but if your car is Loud, you probably won't notice that much.

 

[SkyBlast]

I personally wouldn't give Ben Calimer my money. I have a list and he's on it. After he went after a small shop with his attorney for using the term "stage III" I put him in the douchebag group and I won't support his business ever. But that's my personal hangup. He's had a lot of happy customers, but there are a few who have nightmare stories. I'll leave that for you to evaluate. You RARELY see issues with Tremec products (in terms of quality control). They just make and sell a great product. But that's not to imply that many happy Calimer customers aren't out ripping around.

You are 100% correct to have him on your list. A good buddy of mine has a horror story about wasting money on a Ben Calimer rebuild on an MT-82. It broke within a week while doing nothing more than easy peasy break in miles... no hard pulls. Calimer would not help him at all. It was a lot of wasted money.

My friend now has a Tremec and he is very happy with it... and from his experience, Calimer is on my list as well.

 

[Crackerjack17]

Calimers shop is only an hour from me. My stg3 has been holding up fine. I don't go to the track a lot, so I'm not doing 5k clutch dumps. The gears do have some light whine, but it's no big deal and I have a direct mgw shifter.

I had excellent service at calimers. I stopped in the shop and picked mine up. They do a lot of trannys. There was a row of them going out that day.

 

[PaviSingh]

Calimers shop is only an hour from me. My stg3 has been holding up fine. I don't go to the track a lot, so I'm not doing 5k clutch dumps. The gears do have some light whine, but it's no big deal and I have a direct mgw shifter.

I had excellent service at calimers. I stopped in the shop and picked mine up. They do a lot of trannys. There was a row of them going out that day.

How loud is the whine?

 

[Crackerjack17]

How loud is the whine?

Hard to describe in text, but it's one of those things where you would have to shut the stereo off to hear it. Same sound as a straight cut reverse gear, but very, very low. Ever watch rally cars with the sequential shifter and you can hear the gears whining? Like that but so low that when you turn the radio to regular listening level you don't hear it.

 

[Grimreaper]

The swap to the Tremec or Calimer stage 3 have a few things in common:
-both require a new clutch due to the 26spline input shaft
-both require tune changes due to different gear ratios than stock
-driveshaft needed for the Trememc, but recommended for the Calimer stage 3 (if you’re making the type of power to need a trans upgrade, best to upgrade the driveshaft too)

Tremec would require also a bell housing and trans cross member. Plus a little wiring for the reverse lockout solenoid and back-up lights.

I went with the Tremec Magnum XL for my Whipple car when the MT82 broke. It is whisper quiet, not a peep out of it. The Stage 3 Calimer does have some gear whine due to the G-force gear set. Look for some YouTube videos.

I do some drag racing, so it’s nice to have a SFI approved bell housing with the Tremec. MT82 as an integrated bell housing, so not possible.

It was a simple decision for me. I hated my MT82 and never wanted another one in my car. The Tremec has been great and takes a beating without ever missing a beat. Plenty of shops rebuild them or beef them up if I ever needed too down the road. Do some searching and read about people’s experiences with both.

Great first hand experience thank you for sharing. How's the normal shift quality compared between the two? Gear clash/nibble when cold or improved over mt82?

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