Ax15 Trans

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ramcharger

ramcharger

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Anyone ever consider using an AX15 in their A body? I've heard of it handling 400hp in Jeep LS swaps with ease assuming it's been taken care of. Seems like it could be an interesting 5 speed option..... Or maybe i'm just insane.
 
I would cruise some Jeep forums and see what they say. After real quick lookin, I see things like "for s 4.0 they are good but not for much stronger". And "they're garbage". Not my opinion, as I have none. Just what I found in 30 seconds.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I would cruise some Jeep forums and see what they say. After real quick lookin, I see things like "for s 4.0 they are good but not for much stronger". And "they're garbage". Not my opinion, as I have none. Just what I found in 30 seconds.
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As far as I've seen in the Jeep LS swap forums, dudes dig em and you really can't find an LS with less than 290 hp. Here's what Novak says. The Novak Guide to the Aisin-Warner AX15 Transmission
 
All I can say is try it. I'm gettin ready to put a world class Tremec T5 in Vixen, so I'll be seein if that'll hold up too. That's what it's all about, right?
 
RustyRatRod said:
I would cruise some Jeep forums and see what they say. After real quick lookin, I see things like "for s 4.0 they are good but not for much stronger". And "they're garbage". Not my opinion, as I have none. Just what I found in 30 seconds.
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Just a thought... I have one and really shifts nice, but I'm not a fan of wheeling here in the mountains with a manual. Autos make life so much easier. But, that means I'll have one layin' around and thought I might put it in the duster.
 
RustyRatRod said:
All I can say is try it. I'm gettin ready to put a world class Tremec T5 in Vixen, so I'll be seein if that'll hold up too. That's what it's all about, right?
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Well, what the hell. Blowing **** up is half the fun. I plan on destroying my old drag bike with a 75 shot of nitrous this year... Btw, it's only 600cc.

13882329_10208523419060809_7718882179192033170_n.jpg
 
i personally ran a AX15 behind a mopar performance 360 tcrate motor in a 93 truck. BUT, i only put 50 miles on it before i decided to put a stroker big block in with a 727. I cant recall if i hammered down on it any. but it drove the 50 miles with no problems on the highway. i drove it from nashville tn. to the drag strip in bowling green ky. and back. i had 4:11 gear in an 8 3/4 in the truck with big tires. dont remember the tire size but the rims were 15x14 with big *** Coker tires
 
el5dart said:
i personally ran a AX15 behind a mopar performance 360 tcrate motor in a 93 truck. BUT, i only put 50 miles on it before i decided to put a stroker big block in with a 727. I cant recall if i hammered down on it any. but it drove the 50 miles with no problems on the highway. i drove it from nashville tn. to the drag strip in bowling green ky. and back. i had 4:11 gear in an 8 3/4 in the truck with big tires. dont remember the tire size but the rims were 15x14 with big *** Coker tires
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Interesting... Probably couldn't handle launches with sticky tires?
 
el5dart said:
i personally ran a AX15 behind a mopar performance 360 tcrate motor in a 93 truck. BUT, i only put 50 miles on it before i decided to put a stroker big block in with a 727. I cant recall if i hammered down on it any. but it drove the 50 miles with no problems on the highway. i drove it from nashville tn. to the drag strip in bowling green ky. and back. i had 4:11 gear in an 8 3/4 in the truck with big tires. dont remember the tire size but the rims were 15x14 with big *** Coker tires
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I did not realize "big ***" was a tire size. Learn sumffin new every day. lol
 
i had originally put in a brand new mancini racing sure grip and i peg legged on me when i punched it. so my weakest link seemed to be the mancini racing sure grip.

when i went big block i changed it to a spool
 
coker tire kinda sucks too. i drove all the way to chattanooga to buy the tires and get them mounted and balanced. they mounted their tires on my centerlines and then told me "we aint got no weights ta' balance em'" i finally found a big rig place that balanced super singles to balance them.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I did not realize "big ***" was a tire size. Learn sumffin new every day. lol
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Revhendo said:
That's one size above honkin'.
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el5dart said:
coker tire kinda sucks too. i drove all the way to chattanooga to buy the tires and get them mounted and balanced. they mounted their tires on my centerlines and then told me "we aint got no weights ta' balance em'" i finally found a big rig place that balanced super singles to balance them.
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Lol! I have a of set them as well.

IMG_4862.JPG
 
My friend when I was in HS had a 4 cyl dakota with one of these. It's not the slickest shifting transmission by any means and the 2-3 shift is a big rpm drop. I think it will hold in a sub 400 hp applicaiton.

I also own an original 3.5L 5-speed 2004 Colorado with the AR5, the upgraded version and it still has a big 2-3 shift RPM drop. You really can't rush a 2-3 or 3-4 shift that hard. Owned the same truck for 15 years and when I got it it had 25k on it and still shifts the same now. I have seen people put them behind turbo LS' but they have broken them with those. The only AR5 with good ratios is the Solstice / Sky one.

I can honestly say its not in the same league as a T56/T56-Magnum for gear splits or shift quality.
 
goldduster318 said:
and the 2-3 shift is a big rpm drop.
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and this can be seen right here in the splits
AJ/FormS said:
Looking at the ratios
3.83-2.33-1.44-1.00-.79, splits of
---.61--.62--.69---.79
It could be fun, at least until it breaks.
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I could certainly see a 4 cylinder having trouble with that.

For a fun SBM streeter, IMO, you need to set it up, to be at or just over the power-peak, at or near 60mph in Second gear. If you have to shift into Third before that, your car will be slower.
With 26.5" tires (83.25"roll-out) and a power peak at 5000 you would need an overall reduction gear of
1/{ (60 x 1056)/(83.25 x 5000)}= 6.57 ;
So then, with the AX15 having a Second gear ratio of 2.33, you would need a rear gear of;
6.57/2.33=2.82 rounds to 2.94s, which would get you 5213rpm@60mph/ perfect..
And your starter gear would be 2.94 x 3.83=11.26 also perfect.
And 65= 1915 which is a lil low for a cam that peaks at 5000 which is gonna be about a [email protected], but you can buzz it up to say 71mph at 2100 and there ya go.
Now in normal driving, the distant 2-3 shift is still distant, but any hi-torque V8 with a small cam will be able to deal with it.
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Just for comparison,
Here is a fun bunch, my bunch
3.09-1.92-1.40-1.09-.78. splits of
--.62---.73---.78---.71od
Now before some cranky old man comes around; I am not advocating that you need a combo like mine and no other; I am just talking about ratios and fun splits!
Notice the first three progressive splits, and then a hefty drop into overdrive. That's the thing that makes a manual transmission fun. Is there a 5-speed out there like this? IDK ...... There wasn't in 2004, well the Richmond was there; but I use my GVod as a splitter and make my trans a very close ratio 6 speed.
3.09-2.41-1.92-1.50/1.40-1.09/1.00-.78od split gears in red; with splits of
---.78---.80--.78---------------.52 there ya go.
 
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The splits are pretty bad, like I said in my Colorado, you shift it at 6200 (yes the DOHC I5 revs that high), and it recovers at about 3800 rpm. It has a flat torque curve but its not ideal for performance. Below is comparing the RPM at speed with a 3.23 ring gear and 25.6" tires. My T56 Magnum on the left and an AX-15 on the right.

upload_2022-2-20_20-38-20.png


In my case I shift my 340 at about 6200 also and its recovering at 4300-4400 rpm, right where peak torque is. It wasn't too different with the A-833.
 
This guy ran an MA5, which is the Colorado version of the AX15. The rig is a C10 with a cammed truck 392 G3 Hemi, and it survived Rocky Mountain Drag Week.

 
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