Just got the car back after the transmission install.

The original had 150K on the clock, and was starting to act up. It would occasionally pop out of gear during clutch engagement, or, even more annoying, would just not go into gear unless double clutched. 2nd gear was the biggest culprit, and 1st sometimes did this, too. Third has always been a jerk, so... I'm not sure if it was getting worse or if that was just it's normal behavior as of late. I've also had it grind going into 6th, if you can believe that. Often, when cold, it would not slot reverse at all, no matter what, unless you tried it first, then revved the gas to make it grind, then go back to N and then back to reverse. Anyway, out with the old, in with the new.

I went for the level V instead of the IV because it seemed like the IV was little more than a factory rebuild with minimal improvements. I wanted something that would last longer and hold more power than my original transmission. The level V came with all the bronze pads and steel forks and special gear polishing, etc.

The "best" thing about the transmission is that it's coming in behind a tired old dog that was on it's last leg, so by comparison, it already looks like a superhero. I keep being pleasantly surprised when I come off the clutch and it just works like it's supposed to.

I also notice that the shifting effort seems to be reduced. I have not tried any full throttle/redline shifts yet, but with the old trans, no matter what rpm or how wide open the throttle, there was a detent-like effect going into any gear. No matter how hard you pushed/pulled the gear selector, it would "stop" before letting you slot the gear. No amount of strength could bypass it. The result was really slow shifts and all the rpm loss that comes along. I thought that maybe it was a problem with the clutch (LS7) being too sticky for the trans/engine, but the new trans seems to have fixed this.

I'm guessing that all the upgraded forks and pads and keys and whatever else they do is what is contributing to a certain precision that the factory transmission lacked (even when it was young with 40K on the clock when I bought it). I'll need more seat time with it in order to really learn the nuances that make it different, but for now, it seems like a very "nice" transmission.

I'd say it's a worthwhile expenditure if you have to pay to have the transmission cracked open anyway. Put as much money into the internals as you can afford while it's open, and then never open it again. As a "maintenance" item, it's definitely worth while. My car doesn't make big power, so can't comment on that kind of application.