I was talking to a John Kilgore the other day and he reminded me of a transmission modification that he’s been perfecting for the TH400 automatic. John has basically completely redesigned the 400 and reduced the stock weight of the direct and forward drums from 28 pounds to 5 pounds. In a stock 400, in First gear the direct drum and clutches that weigh 13.5 pounds are spinning backward. When you shift the trans into Second gear, the whole assembly stops. When Third is selected, the direct drum must again accelerate up to vehicle speed very quickly. All this acceleration requires engine power. The Kilgore Superlite 400 drastically reduces the amount of power required to accelerate the transmission itself, which leaves the rest of the flywheel power to accelerate the vehicle. John says a typical 3,500-pound car could see a decrease in e.t. by as much as 0.4 to perhaps 0.50 second and the entire system would not be seen from outside the car. Talk about stealth power. Of course, all this isn’t cheap. A fully built Kilgore Superlite 400 will cost about $4,495 without a transbrake and $4,995 with a brake. Check out more details on this at kilgoretrans.com.