10R60 Category 2 BorgWarner rebuild kit expanded clutch capacity

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 10R60 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 10R60 transmission was advanced enough to handle the power of the Ford Explorer and Ford Bronco.

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 10R60 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 10R60 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 10R60 also has three overdrive gears, which it can downshift from very quickly.

10R60 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 10R60 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 10R60 rebuild kit comes with a new factory filter to ensure zero flow issues.

The Clutches 

BorgWarner 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. Borg's outstanding performance benefits are perfect for heavy-duty vehicles and high-stress driving. Testing of their 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 10R60 Rebuild Kit and Its Contents 

This is a complete clutch and steel module kit that fits the new Ford 10R60 Transmission. This module kit contains all of the clutches and steels necessary to rebuild your 10R60 transmission. The Ford 10R60 transmission comes standard in the Ford Ranger, Bronco, and Explorer.

This SunCoast upgraded 10R60 transmission rebuild kit comes with proprietary BorgWarner clutches, steels, 

This SunCoast 10R60 rebuild kit also contains all the frictions and steels you will need to do a clutch and steel replacement on a 10R60 transmission containing extra capacity "E" clutch modules. This 10R60 rebuild kit was designed to be a re-clutch for a stock capacity unit utilizing BorgWarner frictions and high-performance steels. Also included are a factory OEM filter and a high-performance overhaul kit.

The Expanded Capacity Clutch Modules

The 10R60 transmission, while a very capable unit, has its deficiencies just like anything else when it is asked to perform outside its original design intention. Since it's debut in 2018, Suncoast has been actively involved in research and development of this new platform. With our active partnership with BorgWarner, we can now deliver you the very best product to date with the 10R60 platform. These new Suncoast 10R60 transmission expanded capacity clutch modules that are included are completely drop-in replacements. Absolutely no machining is required.

The "E" Clutch

If the 10R60 transmission had evil twin redheaded stepchildren, the "E" clutch would definitely be one of them. This other proverbial thorn in your side would be the "F" clutch.

This clutch, the "E" clutch in a 10R60 transmission, is engaged in 1,3,5,6,7,8, and 9th. The real issue becomes apparent pretty quick. This clutch is cycled on 3 times and off 2 times by the time you are in 5th gear. The clutch is on in 1st then cycled off in 2nd, cycled back on in 3rd, then back off in 4th...only to be cycled back on in 5th gear. In higher-horsepower or higher-demand towing and hauling situations, this constant cycling on and off can lead to premature failure. 

Suncoast has addressed this issue with the 10R60 transmission by improving the clutch friction properties with the New BorgWarner material and increasing clutch capacity by a whopping 20%. This takes the clutch stack-up from a factory 4-clutch stack up to a 5-clutch stack-up. We simultaneously are addressing the heat issue with both improved friction coefficient, as well as increasing surface area. We are also utilizing 6 vs 5  full thickness steels . With the additional clutch plate and additional full thickness steel we are expanding the capacity without sacrificing steel thickness. This Suncoast 10R60 transmission "E" high capacity comes completely assembled and stacked up with a new (not used) OE machined drum, piston and backing plate.

The "F" Clutch

This clutch is also prone to premature wear as we have seen with other Lepelletier Ravigneaux Gear sets...oncoming clutches in higher gears seems to take the blunt of the beating. With the new 10R60 transmission, the "F" clutch is no exception.

The "F" clutch is engaged in R,4,5,6,7,8 and 9th. The quickest path to early or premature degradation to this clutch pack is wide open throttle or heavy-load-indexed 3rd to 4th shifts. This is especially prominent in applications where torque management has been deleted.

Suncoast has corrected this issue by adding 25% more capacity to this clutch pack by taking it from 4 clutches to 5 in this particular clutch pack.