I put down 418rwhp (which is ~490 lb.ft crank) on my T45 for a year without any problems. Now I enjoy my T56.
All trannys can take more than spec... Some Beefed up vipers put down 900HP on their viper T56 and it still holds!
Clutch, rear end... might break before if not upgraded too...
00s281sc368: I put about the same amount of power as you through a T5 and I have a friend who has about 540 at the flywheel and is doing the same thing. Both T5's are still fine, even though they are only rated at 300 ft-lbs. You are correct that transmissions routinely take more torque than they are rated for, however relatively speaking, a transmission with a higher torque rating should be able to take more torque than one with a lower torque rating before breaking. This is the case with the TKO 600 vs. the T56, and when the TKO is 2/3 the price of a regular (non-viper) T56, it would certainly seem the better deal.
Having said all that, I rarely use overdrive, and there is a big jump between 4th and 5th on the TK0-600 (I chose .64 overdrive), especially considering the multiplication through 4.56 gears out back, so it might be nice to have an intermediate overdrive like with the T56 on the highway.
As a side note, the TKO-600 cost about 18 HP at the rear wheels on a Mustang MD-600 vs. the T5. Maybe it would loosen up after thousands of miles, but a full season of drag racing and some street cruising has done nothing to restore the power. That's my biggest disappointment with the swap.
the t56 is a great transmission.. as is the tko600.. but if you want highway cruisin the t56 will work just fine.. and if your worried about the tranny not holding up.. you can always get a g-force t56..
The T-56 is the 03-04 cobras SUCK!!!!!!! They shift like crap...I personally cant stand them. I DO however LOVE the viper/vette spec T-56s. They shift like a dream.
So it goes like this 1 out of 10
T3650= 6 for comparo..stock