Lenco or b&j trans

I WAS WONDERING WHICH TRANSMISSION I SHOULD BUY AND WHAT THE PROS AND CONS ARE TO THE LENCO CS1 2 SPEED, VS. THE B&J BIG BOY 2 SPEED. WHAT IS USED BY THE MAJORITY OF TOP ALKY TEAMS TODAY AND WHY?
I HAVE A BLOWN ALKY BRAD 5 MOTOR IN DRAGSTER. HAVE TO RUN A 2 SPEED PER THE CLASS RULES!!!
THANKS!!!!

 

More details , do you really need the big boy or CS1 ?

 

if you do a search this isnt the first time this has been asked, there are other threads and you will get peoples personal oppinions,

my oppinion is the CS1 is easier to dismantle/reassemble, Easier to find, more choice of shifters, Easier by far to find ratios and spares for, and will no doubt be cheaper,
the B&J is Smaller, (not by enough to give a performance advantage) complicated and expensive, but may ultimatly be stronger,

A big factor is this, When your at a track miles from home and you find your ratio isnt working out for you and you need to change it, or you bust something inside the case, Assuming you dont have spare trannys you have to go round the pits borrowing parts,
what do most of your freinds or fellow competitors use? if there all on lencos and you have B&J your going home....

A CS2 will also work for you, as you say you have a blown brad 5 im assuming you have some horsepower and its not a street 6/71, so you will undoubtedly need one of these bigger trannys
there you are pros and cons,
my personal choice is a CS2 for my pm car, if that wasnt available id have a CS1,

In an alky car the majority use 3 speeds and id guess the majority use the CS1 as its the more common tranny

 

B and J

I have run both, ran Lencos for most of my career. Switched two years ago because I was tired of hurting sprags. What a difference. The B and J is basically bullet proof. Get the one with the triple sprags and you'll have no problems. Most alky racers that I know run the b and j. It is a bit more complicated to work on but a way nicer part all in all. The bonus is the Strassburgs are super nice guys to work with. They'll bend over backwards for you. There are more ratios available for the B and J although probably less used stuff around. Call Mike or Jeff, they take trade ins and refurbish them for resale. They will get you set up.

Clint Thompson

 

again someone elses personal oppinion,
based on their personal experiences, i know guys here that have chucked out their B&Js as they were too much trouble,
its the same all over the sport CN block Vs Bae block, bae vs bae cast vs kb ect ect its all down to personal experience

i gave pros and cons this guy is totaly 100% behind the B&J, i can understand that because im 100% behing the NRE heads whilst it seems one or two guys have problems,
my stuff has been bulletproof

take your pick

 

"This guy" (Clint Thompson) has one of the best TA/FC's in the country and has run both. Seems to me like he is more than qualified to answer the question and has made his decision and recommendation based on his own personal experience with both.

If you know guys that have "chucked out their B&Js as they were too much trouble" please have them call me. I'll gladly take them off their hands. Maybe you could give us the names of one or two of these top running guys that have "chucked out their B&Js as they were too much trouble."

Your statement: "my oppinion is the CS1 is easier to dismantle/reassemble, Easier to find, more choice of shifters, Easier by far to find ratios and spares for, and will no doubt be cheaper,
the B&J is Smaller, (not by enough to give a performance advantage) complicated and expensive, but may ultimatly be stronger" is based on what? Have you ever owned one? Have you ever worked on one?

Contrary to what you say, the B&J is very simple to work on, easy to find parts for, very reliable and in many of the trailers at divisional and national events should you need parts.

 

ok ..... Johan Lindberg FIA( NHRA legal) pro mod champion has chucked out their B&J as it too much trouble,

best tafc in the country ??? actuly i thought that was manzo who uses a lenco,

anything else,???

your letting your persomnal judgment get the better of you,
the guy asked a question and i answerd it,

Im Reasonably qualified to have a opinion about trannys, I run NHRA legal pro mod in FIA competition
and no i never owned one, and yes i have worked on quiet a few, (B&J's)

I also use and love the leanders clutch, I bet we could argue about that for hours too,
I made a statement that I beleive to be true, ......I even admitted its stronger

look at what this guys doing, look at what i said, ....this whole sport is built on personal experiences with different equipment,... I know guys here who think BAE stuff is worse than shit and will only use CN
its the same with everything and every item on a race car, Will hates the 8973 others love it,
some say you have to have a billet block some like cast ones,
we will just have to agree to differ

 

http://www.insidetopalcohol.com/showthread.php?35006-B-amp-J-vs.-Lenco-Help&highlight=lenco+B&J

 

It's no use. An obvious expert has already posted the facts.

.

 

randy you were always someone i respected on here

Expert?? your words not mine im just a guy with an oppinion and two blown pro mod cars (yes real ones with $20,000 Hammer/chuck ford/ davenport blowers and Sean Brown is here regulary tuning for me)

If you doubt that ask Will, he is regulary in my trailer shooting the shit and drinking beer,

seems to me like for you its "your way or no way"
with no debating and no one allowed to dissagree with you withought getting sniped at

ITS ALL PERSONAL OPPINION...FFS !!


this isnt helping the OP,
Its way off topic and its becomming personal from one side at least,
so im done with this thread just goes to show all is not what it seems

 

Lighten up, dude. BTW, I really don't care what blower you own or who your crew chief is.

You came on here with your personal opinions (which is fine) then Clint gave his. You followed his comments by being dismissive of Clints opinion and saying people are chucking their B&J's along with posting a grocery list of negatives concerning B&J's and I call BS on it...and still do.

I have an opposing view point based on personal experience and will quickly defend B&J as I know Mike and Jeff at B&J will not step in it here. Your post writes positive B&J comments off as cheerlleading-like and finish your post with "take your pick" and the "confused" smiley, inferring that you can't understand why anyone would need any more information beyond your personal professional opinion.

I have a lot of respect for the hard work and dedication Mike and Jeff have shown at B&J as they have taken a transmission company they purchased several years ago from just being a second choice option to a preferred brand in the business and have worked hard to make it the strongest in the industry. They are racers and take personally any issues anyone has with their products. And because of what they have done for me I refuse to sit here and read total BS by someone who bad mouths a product they've never owned by a manufacturer that has worked hard to make the best transmission available.

Now if me defending B&J hurts your feelings, fine. I will point out to you in case you missed it, in MY statements of MY opinion I have said nothing negative about Lenco because I know Gary better than 99% of the people on this board, call him a friend and have nothing but total respect for Gary, his employees and his company as well. Like you said, Manzo as well as many others run Lenco transmissions. And if you came on here trashing Lenco and being dismissive to other people's opinions and posting "confused" smileys like you did I would be defending Lenco and Gary just like I'm defending B&J, Mike and Jeff.

Cheers.

RG

 

ok I understand what your saying
i was just letting you know that i wasnt a kid with no experience, with an opinion based on heresay and bench racing,

my confused smiley was just that, It wasnt ment to mean "im confused why anyone wouldnt take my opinion on trannys as the last word" Im not that clever or self centred, It was ment as..its a confusing subject and literaly take your pick, and it is,
even Clint admited the B&J is a little more complicated,
i realy ment it when i said its all down to personal experience,
I said i know guys that had chucked them out and i do but it was said as a responce to you, I also know guys who swear by them and wouldnt run anything else,
so has the product been reengineered or has it just been marketed better to bring it from second best to where it is in the US ,
Im in europe and B&J was always second best choice for cars and first choice for motorcycles,
I diddnt realize the company was brought out
I dont think i bad mouthed them ....i did state my oppinion though.... and im also big enough and ugly enough to admit im wrong when its proved i am,
I have no doubt the guys at B&J are good guys, most of the innovators in this sport are,

ok maybe a little misunderstanding here so im lightend up

thanks for taking the time to qualify your responces to my posts

Graham Ellis

 

I have never owned a B&J but I have read about all the great service from them .
I own a Lencodrive and I have had nothing but exellent customer service from Lenco as well !
It may sound cooler to say "I just got a good BJ" LOL but..you should be fine with either transmission after you get use to it !

 

We have owned both, and raced both for over 15 years! And still have both right now and the B&J is in the car and the Lenco is at the shop.

We can change gears or service the b&J as fast as we could the Lenco. Some of the new tools to set the pack in the B&J make setting things up quick and perfect every time. In 2 years we haven't had to change any parts, and we run the dual sprag. This thing is bullet proof.

If you are new, then the service provided by Mike and Jeff cannot be matched. They have always come by at every national event we have ever attended that they have also attended. They get to know you and your combination and stay very aware of what is best for the way you run your car. They can suggest things that make your whole combo better. At Indy in 04 they spotted a problem in our clutch pedal that helped us run faster and qualify for the race.

We visited their shop just a few months ago and some the new lighter and stronger parts that they have developed makes our lives much easier, and faster.

Our experience with both transmissions and both companies makes B&J and easy choice. And please, anyone tossing your B&J's out please let me know I will take them as well!

Kevin Hool
The Ghost TAFC
http://kandkmotorsports.com

 

Tranny's

I have used both for the last 23 years, starting with the Lenco CS-1 then the B&J Big Boy and coming back to the Lenco CS-2. They are all good transmissions.
I prefer the Lenco and switched back to it 9 years ago and have been very happy with it since. Gary, Matt and the crew at Lenco have been super helpful with any needs I had.
Good luck with whichever you choose,
Marty Thacker
TA/D 7

 

Ya see, there is a champion that has used both and went with the lenco and has had great service and sucess !

This thread could almost go on forever !

The simple fact is they are both well designed race transmissions and can both get the job done !

So at this point I guess you should just ask your self ....
****What would Sal Ramos do ? ****

 

B&J vs. Lenco

Without furthering an arguement I would say obviously both products work good, you see both at the tracks. I had my choice between both and went the B&J route based on a lot of people I talked to, this was about 12 years ago. I will say this, I can think of no nicer guys than Mike and Jeff Strasburg, I love there product. I've hung out with them at the track and they are top notch this isn't to say the guys at Lenco are not as I do not know them.

When I was looking at changing my gear ratios out on my rebuilt single sprag it was going to cost some money, In a heartbeat they took my rebuilt single sprag with used rqtios and gave me a rebuilt tripple sprag with new ratios of my choice for less than what it would have costed me to change the ratios for in my single and I came out with a stronger trans. That said I'm not Frank Manzo, I may never see a trophy and the Starsburgs know this but they made me a hell of a deal just the same. To this date they are 1 of only 3 parts manufacturing companies that have made me hellacious deals, they have also treated me with the same dignity and respect as a champion, I hope to make them proud and will wear a B&J patch proudly on my firesuit.

I will always run a B&J, again nothing against the Lenco. People have ran fast and hard with both. I was always told the Big boy is a little bigger diameter wise vs. the Lenco which is probably why its so cramped in my funny car but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Special thanks to Mike and Jeff Starsburg of B&J, Joe and DJ Safety, and Noel Manton of Manton engineering, you guys are the best.

Trevor Sherwood

 

badbird must have been right, he was able to successfully run a drug ring, that is until he was caught... hahaha

 

Lenco stuff has to be good, no experience with it. I use an older B&J single sprag. I have done all the work on it myself. Mike treats me like I am just as important as anybody out there. I have called him a couple times when he is at a racetrack tuning a big team car and still takes time to help a small time race team. That is pretty cool.

 

Seriously? Wow.