Lets talk about what you want to see in a Gen III aftermarket Block?

racerjoe said

Honestly, if I were to start a new build that was a cruiser, I'd use the 4L80 trans with a G3. The 4L80 is easy to control with a Holley, and you don't have to deal with all the silly nuances the modern Chrysler transmissions have. The biggest ones being you have to use the factory shifter and then there's only 1 company that supports the control system from a stand alone prospective. Let's not forget the aftermarket support for the 4L80.

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Exactly. I love the idea of an 8HP70 but the trans is big and the controller is expensive. At least there is a controller option now, but it is twice the cost of a stand alone one for the 4L__E.

Personal opinion, but I think the 8HP is a phenomenal trans and better than the GM trans. Not that I have data, just my opinion. And like most everything Mopar, it comes with some "overhead" like higher cost, difficulties to swap, generally much larger than the GM offerings, etc. I have to bet that the shifter output could be faked and that issue bypass, but no one has done it yet (that I know of). And I sure hope Holley is working on the software to run the 8A but who know when (if at all) it will be available. Even with that, my bet is the 4L__E swap will be more popular.

One 8HP70 use that has really intrigue me is in some BMW racecars. They use a clutch rather than the torque converter to get it rolling and then shift it like a paddle shifted manual. Just sounds like a killer way to use it, but I am weird. And that topic is for a different thread, not this one.