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- #81
Completed installation of the Nomad valve body this afternoon (didn't install the lockup switch but will do that in the near future). The install was really pretty easy and only took around 3.5 hours from start to finish, with me taking my time and refilling the transmission. It lost a total of ~7.5 quarts, or half the transmission volume during the install. A messy job for sure with fluid everywhere, but nothing was difficult.
Overall the impressions so far are good. Shifts are much more firm and crisp, although not harsh. They aren't quite as sporty as my old Mazda3 6AT was, but are much better than stock. They also get progressively firmer - at light throttle it's not much different than stock, but really tightens up under more throttle. The GX also feels quite a bit faster as it holds gears longer and downshifts quickly (and often does a double downshift). Is it worth the almost $2K pricetag? Maybe....I'm a mechanical-mods guy and like having every true mechanical upgrade that I can get for my GX. It definitely drives better. Probably a good mod if you are towing or have a heavy rig (armor/tent/fridge/etc), but probably not necessary otherwise.
I just took a few pics of the old valve body during the install and removal, mainly so I could make sure everything went back in the same place. I didn't get the new valve body (it looks exactly the same as the old one .
And here is a video of a full-throttle run (you can also hear the growl of my aFe cold air intake ). Shifts are much snappier/firmer under throttle than before.
Overall the impressions so far are good. Shifts are much more firm and crisp, although not harsh. They aren't quite as sporty as my old Mazda3 6AT was, but are much better than stock. They also get progressively firmer - at light throttle it's not much different than stock, but really tightens up under more throttle. The GX also feels quite a bit faster as it holds gears longer and downshifts quickly (and often does a double downshift). Is it worth the almost $2K pricetag? Maybe....I'm a mechanical-mods guy and like having every true mechanical upgrade that I can get for my GX. It definitely drives better. Probably a good mod if you are towing or have a heavy rig (armor/tent/fridge/etc), but probably not necessary otherwise.
I just took a few pics of the old valve body during the install and removal, mainly so I could make sure everything went back in the same place. I didn't get the new valve body (it looks exactly the same as the old one .
And here is a video of a full-throttle run (you can also hear the growl of my aFe cold air intake ). Shifts are much snappier/firmer under throttle than before.