Car makers don’t often collaborate on projects, especially when they’re direct competitors. However, looming government fuel economy and emissions mandates can make strange bedfellows. And so, the Ford 10R140 10-speed automatic transmission was born. It was co-developed with General Motors, although Ford apparently took the engineering lead on the design. The mission was to create a 10 speed transmission that could improve both the fuel efficiency and performance of high-horsepower engines. The resulting Ford 10R140 transmission was advanced enough to handle the power of the Ford F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550.
Like it or not, a CVT transmission is one of the most efficient gearboxes ever invented. Because there are no actual gears, optimal engine speed can be continuously maintained depending on the load. This allows for seamless acceleration under hard throttle, and lower fuel consumption when you’re just cruising. On a traditional geared transmission, a certain amount of energy gets lost every time a gear ratio is changed. This penalizes both fuel economy and performance, because the engine has to climb back to the RPMs it was just at. The Ford 10R140 10-speed transmission is designed to combine the efficiency benefits of a CVT, with the stepped feel of a traditional automatic transmission.
To create this optimal blend of performance and efficiency, the 10R140 transmission has a wide 7.39 gear ratio spread and a low 4.70 first gear for maximum performance off-the-line. Even though this Ford 10 speed automatic transmission has such a wide gear ratio, it has extremely small steps between the gears. This means the engine RPM only drops (approximately) 20% with each shift, which keeps the engine in the ideal RPM range to achieve either peak performance or efficiency (much like a CVT transmission). The Ford 10R140 also has three overdrive gears, which it can downshift from very quickly.
10R140 Transmission Gear Ratios
First – 4.70
Second – 2.99
Third – 2.15
Fourth – 1.80
Fifth – 1.52
Sixth – 1.28
Seventh – 1.00
Eighth – 0.85
Ninth – 0.69
Tenth – 0.64
Reverse – 4.87
As shown above this transmission offers a beautiful shift recovery in every gear which lends itself the perfect unit for narrow power bands. This allows the use of much larger camshafts in a naturally aspirated application. If you are looking into going to a forced induction setup this shift recovery allows for larger turbo and AR housing for max performance.
Newly Designed Thermal Flow Control Filter
This 10R140 transmission has a newly designed filter has two types of media, fine and course (medium). The course media is common in most filters (orange filter paper), the fine media filtration (White paper) is the newer material. There is a thermal plate inside the filter that separates the course and fine media. When the oil is colder (higher viscosity) at startup, The fluid will flow through both the fine and course filter media.
As the fluid heats up (less viscosity) , the thermal plate will bend and restrict the coarse media section; directing most of the fluid through the fine media. Therefore catching more of the finer debris once the fluid is heated giving it a far superior filtration system.
This new Suncoast 10R140 transmission comes with a new factory filter to ensure zero flow issues.
The Clutches
Raybestos Powertrain GPZ friction plates greatly increase transmission performance and durability. This state-of-the-art friction material far exceeds OE material to withstand high stress, high temperatures and repeated cycling. GPZ's outstanding performance benefits are perfect for heavy-duty vehicles and high-stress driving. Testing of GPZ revolutionary friction material shows that it outperforms OE materials by as much as 20%. Plus, its performance improves as the power increases.
Advantages:
- Withstands high horsepower
- Greater torque capacity
- Maintains piston travel
- Optimum performance
- Higher heat resistance
- Smooth engagements
- Enhanced shift feel
The 10R140 Transmission Assembly
This is a complete Transmission assembly that fits the new Ford 10R140 Transmission. This Transmission contains all of the upgraded GPZ clutches to improve the reliability of your 10R140 transmission. The Ford 10R140 transmission comes standard in the Ford F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550.
This Suncoast upgraded 10R140 transmission new Raybestos GPZ clutches, steels, factory OEM filter, new upgraded 10R140 pump Assembly, New 10R140 upgraded Valve body and high performance overhaul kit.
This Suncoast 10R140 transmission contains all the upgraded frictions and steels you will need to expand the performance on a 10R140 transmission containing a stock count clutches and steels. This 10R140 rebuild kit was designed to be a re-clutch for a stock capacity unit utilizing the Raybestos GPZ paper and high performance steels.
The Pro Loc Valve Body and Pump
With the SunCoast 10R140 Pro Loc valve body, we are addressing several key issues we have seen in regard to the 10R140 transmissions. This is not an approach that is simply bumping in more line pressure in hopes of ascertaining more clamping force; it’s a multi-faceted approach addressing several key issues when exposing these units to more demanding driving environments. These range from heavy towing and hauling to street racing and drag racing.
The factory 10R140 transmission lock-up circuit is an impressive one, in that it can make converter lockup seem somewhat uneventful. The refinement in its engagement is definitely next-level to what we have seen in the past. As nice as this feels in reference to the NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness), when we start introducing situations where the load demands are testing the limits or outside what the vehicle was initially designed for, it can become a huge problem.
In our SunCoast 10R140 Pro Loc Valve Body we are specifically looking to decrease the time from initial lock-up apply to zero turbine slip. In doing this, we are changing the lockup circuit by replacing the torque converter clutch (TCC) valve in order to increase lockup holding apply fluid pressure. The lockup oil transition time is also improved by modifying critical oiling circuits for the fluid to reach the TCC clutch, resulting in quicker apply time, and therefore, reducing TCC clutch degradation. By reducing degradation per apply cycle, we are allowing for improved reliability and performance.
(NOTE: For maximum results in power levels exceeding 800HP, it is highly recommended that the TCC apply offset be changed in the factory file calibration)
The next facet we address is the lube circuit. The lube circuit on the 10R140 transmission is responsible for supplying oil to the planets, clutches, bushings, etc. From the factory, the lube circuit oil is dispersed throughout the transmission as low as 6 PSI. Under normal load demands, this is perfectly acceptable. In more stressful and demanding situations, an increase in lubrication to clutches, steels, planets is ideal for removing heat and dealing with the increased demands.
In our 10R140 Valve Body we are specifically addressing this circuit from 6 PSI to a whopping 20 PSI. This is a 250% improvement from the factory calibration, resulting in reduced frictional heat generated. This reduction in heat helps lessen pre-mature failure that can become increasingly evident in high horsepower applications.
Another modification to our SunCoast Pro Loc 10R140 Valve Body involves the regulator valve (latch valve) circuit. This oil circuit is responsible for fully engaging the clutches, allowing for full clutch line pressure. In factory form, the regulator valve we are specifically targeting is responsible for A, B, C, and F clutch packs. Of course, our primary clutch pack concern is the 'F" clutch, which tends to be the first and most prominent clutch pack failure with the 10R140 in higher horsepower or more demanding environments.
In a factory 10R140 valve body calibration, the regulator valve (latch valve) becomes fully engaged, allowing full fluid flow for engagement at 120 psi. When this occurs, the oncoming clutch pack has maximal clamping force. When the clamping force is engaged to max capacity, we ascertain the greatest static and dynamic holding capacity. In stock form or even mildly modified vehicles, this is perfectly suitable; however, when we expose the vehicle to a more demanding environment this can be a weak link.
With our SunCoast 10R140 Valve Body we are decreasing the required pressure to fully engage the regulator to only 80psi. This is a 33% decrease in pressure needed to maximally engage the clutch regulator valve (latch valve) resulting in a quicker shift apply when engaging clutches A, B, C and F. This quicker engagement not only shortens shift times, but it also decreases the heat resonating in the clutch pack, preventing premature degradation and extending clutch life. To improve this shift calibration even more SunCoast is evacuating non-critical oil to increase apply rate.
The factory overall line pressure is modified on this new SunCoast pump/valve body combo. SunCoast is increasing overall main line pressure as much as 60psi. This additional line pressure not only increases maximal clamping force of the individual clutch packs but increases overall pump volume production. To reduce the potential for runaway pressure and the over-compression of clutch fibers, the SunCoast 10R140 Valve Body does have a built-in bypass, dumping excessive pressure above 420psi.
Features and Benefits
- Increased Line Pressure, as much as 60psi
- Increased clamping force on all clutch packs
- 250% Increase in Cooler Charge Pressure
- Increased Lock-up Apply Pressure
- 33% Decrease in Maximal Pressure Actuation of Clutch Packs
- Shortened Shift Times
- Improved Clutch Wear
