Pros and Cons of Doing an 6L80E/6L90E Swap
Updated: Feb 20, 2021
First and foremost, with technology constantly advancing, so do our vehicles and the parts that drive them. I personally have experienced the added advantages of doing this swap in my 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 2wd, the difference between the 4L60E and the 6L90E is night and day.
To do this swap I had the help of some very good companies and people, Like Current Performance Wiring, Mr. Abe Neufeld, Scott and Dickey GM Performance, PATC, and Asylum Motorsports.
But, Before I tell you everything about my experience let's look into why the 6L80E/6L90E transmission is a good transmission to swap to. The 6L80E/6L90E future a gear Ratio of 4.02:1 first, 2.36:1 second, 1.52:1 third, 1.15:1 fourth, 0.85:1 fifth, 0.67:1 sixth. Also the 6L80E/6L90E is a really strong transmission when tuned properly, and when built correctly can hold up to some amazing power. Justin and his team at Asylum Motorsports have proven this with their insane 1500+RWHP SS Car that is currently holds the world's fastest 6L80E. With the new parts and the knowledge on how to tune these bad boys, they have made the 6L80E/6L90E a force to be reckoned with at the track. With an impressive 4.02:1 first gear improving your 60-foot times will be no problem. With an extra gear added in between first and the 1.00:1 Ratio this will be helpful in tightening up the RPM split between gear shifts and will reduce the load on the engine between gears allowing it to stay in the power band longer, and this will help to drop your track times.
The performance advantages is just one side of the transmission, with an extra overdrive your fuel economy will improve also saving you money at the pump. As you can see the 6L80E/6L90E transmission is quite the upgrade to any vehicle and the results are impressive.
For myself, I wanted a transmission that would be stronger than my built 4L60E and give me more of an advantage all around. By running the 6L90E I was able to replace my 4.10 gears with 3.42s and still have a lower first gear coming out of the hole, and with the 6L90E I was able setup my vehicle perfectly for a good 140+mph run in the 1/4 mile, maxing out the RPM in fourth gear as seen in the picture down below.
I have 3 driving modes setup in my truck TCM, the first driving mode is for fuel economy, the second driving mode is the tow haul performance mode where it only uses first through fifth gear and the final driving mode is TUTD.
To do this swap in a Gen3 it will require a 58x reluctor wheel and a 4x timing sprocket setup, along with a custom engine and transmission wiring harness made for the E67/6L90E, I called Current Performance Wiring and they hooked me up with a nice plug and play wiring harness, and it works flawlessly. Do to the body control module not using CAN-bus communications in the Gen3 that controls the gauges and a lot more, the E67 ECM will have to be used instead of the E38. In my setup I'm using a E67 ECM with a 2009 Trailblazer SS OS with a 2009 6L90E transmission, the TCM OS is from a 2009 Chevy Silverado 1500. The ECM and TCM were flashed by Mr. Abe Neufeld, he has successfully done this swap over a dozen times and in my opinion is very knowledgeable when it comes to doing this swap.
Also the transmission lines had to be swapped out, so I called Scott and Dickey GM Performance and gave them a Vin number for a 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 equipped with the 6L80E and purchased them. I'm also using a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 12 bolt rear end. I needed a custom driveshaft so I called Performance Driveline and purchased a driveshaft that would hold up to the power that I'm running, and bolt directly up to the factory 2 piece driveshaft crossmember on the truck and the new rear end.
Here you can find links and info for the experts and companies I used:
Current Performance Wiring:
Abe Neufeld:
(620) 640-4816
Performance Driveline:
Scott and Dicky:
Asylum Motorsports:
PATC:
[ I'm not a paid partner as of the date posted, with any of these wonderful companies, but feel free to mention where you heard about them]
I hope this has been knowledgeable and helpful feel free to share to everyone looking for information on this swap.
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