This article was originally posted in the CarCraft Magazine April 2005 issue and written by Jeff Smith.
When it comes to GM performance automatic overdrive transmissions, most discussions center around the TH700-R4. While this four-speed auto has its merits, the TH200-4R offers equal if not greater strength with a slightly different set of ratios. In fact, longtime transmission expert Art Carr believes the TH200-4R is potentially a far better performance automatic.
Carr has been in the automatic transmission business for decades. A few years ago, he sold his original transmission business to the company in Texas that still carries his name. But Carr couldn’t stay away from performance automatics for long, and he created a new company called California Performance Transmissions (CPT) located in Huntington Beach, California. This time around, Carr is focusing his attention on the TH200-4R.
Why? To begin with, if you look at our included gear-ratio chart, the TH200-4R employs a more reasonable First gear ratio, along with…