While our Gen-3 Coyote boasts the latest go-fast technology to help us exceed the performance of a GT500 on the dragstrip, this 2018 Mustang GT also comes with 90,000 miles on the clock. The higher mileage kept our purchase price reasonable, but it also introduced some risk. To be fair, certain components — such as the 10R80 transmission — can decide early in their lifespan that the boosted life isn’t for them, as we discovered with our Pony Wars GT years ago.
Since the last track date, Project Magneto has been exhibiting some unusual behavior. The dyno session didn’t go smoothly, and although we suspected something might be wrong, we couldn’t pinpoint the issue. A week after the track session, the S550 was transported to North Carolina, where both it and I, the author, now reside. Upon arrival on the East Coast, I scheduled an appointment with Pro Dyno in Fort Mill, South Carolina to put the boosted GT on the dyno for diagnostics and potentially some tuning.
During the dyno session, we attempted to make pulls using sixth gear, but encountered slipping. We contacted Suncoast Performance in Fort Walton, Florida for a fresh 10R80 transmission. The stock transmission was removed and shipped to Suncoast, where it received fresh Raybestos clutches, a proprietary valve body, and pump. When the transmission arrived in South Carolina, it included a Suncoast billet flexplate and a modified stock converter (details on this will be covered in a subsequent transmission build article).
Pro Dyno got started by installing the Suncoast billet flexplate and adding 7 quarts of trans fluid to the converter. Three clicks ensured the converter was seated on the input shaft of the 10R80. The converter uses studs (not bolts) to connect to the flexplate. A trans jack was used to raise the trans into place and bolt to the block and crossmember.
Charlotte, We Have A Problem
Upon pulling the stock transmission, it became apparent there was another issue: the factory converters were starting to fail. About half of the drivers-side cat had vaporized. There was no telling whether the addition of the supercharger and subsequent tuning had done the damage, or if the mileage got the best of it. At this point, we decided that our CARB-legal testing had run its course and it was time to get serious. If we were going to beat a GT500, we were going to have to turn it up a notch.
We contacted Kooks, renowned for crafting some of the finest fitting 304-stainless steel headers…
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