So ive been saving up for along time for a ppg dogbox, the gearset alone is costing me around 6k, not including having the transmission built. I have access to several 1g awd automatic transmissions. I guess my question is what exactly does it take to drop in a automatic transmission in a manual car? I understand what it takes to build the transmission. Im assuming a tcu or some sort of controller, maybe a cooler? Does the automatic use the same rear end ratio etc?

Diff mounts. Transfer case i believe. Rear diff. Trans control unit. Wire harness. Shifter assembly.

Auto is faster (except boostin performance) but if your car is mostly a street car 5 spd is way more fun. Just learn to launch smoothly and you wont break too many parts haha

I say run your stock trans and upgrade as it breaks. Go to the track and hit some 10's

trans
converter
Rear diff
Xfer case
shifter
shift cable
front, rear, trans mounts
TCU
Crank bushing
spacer plates
bell housing cover
starter plate
TCU/trans connectors

This is what I could come up with quickly, there may be more things. And some of those things you don't need in a modified setup like the TCU. I'll let someone else comment on that as I don't know all the ins and outs of the forced4 boxes and what not.

I agree with the above post, there's ways to give the manuals a good service life. The autos break stuff too, just not as much.

gsxeclipse102 said:

I say run your stock trans and upgrade as it breaks. Go to the track and hit some 10's

Click to expand...

That's way to much work ......ppg it is, I'm not in the mood to change all of that.

I'm almost positive , at the torque I'm running. The dyno put me at 440 at 29psi, I've had the car up to 37 psi, the differance was incredible. I can't imagine the transmission or tcase surviving at 500+ ft lbs on a launch. That is why having a slightly weaker clutch will save your ass, almost like a fuse

You'd be surprised how often stock automatic cars come up for sale. I purchased 3 seperate automatic 1g car this winter with full automatic swaps for under 1500 each.


I'd only go automatic if you race at the drag strip.... from all of the building of your car and you still haven't hit the track to judge your successes so maybe an automatic isn't for you? I understand you could of broken things but even with soft launches you can get trap speeds and safely make multiple gear pulls...

You gotta sliiiiiip it haha. The manuals all break eventually, even without 500ft/lbs. The biggest killers it seems are lots of torque at low rpm or sudden torque spikes and doing lots of full rpm range pulls.

Not at all against autos, great for consistency. Just no fun for me on the street.

If you want to keep your trans alive try ramping the boost up. It will have that honda feel to it where it just keep getting faster as the revs go up. Youll lose that low end torque hit but also free up time to drink beers when your not rebuilding your trans. Every other week haha

Aaron talks about the honda powerband around 4:25. I did something similiar with my boost control in an attempt to save my motor when it was stock.

I'm now in the Auto club and VERY happy I waited as long as I did for car I was looking for.

You could always just do like me... and not make so much power

Seriously though, I still have a 3 bolt rear end and 90 transfer case (aluminum hat), and haven't broken anything *knock on wood* but My car doesn't make more than 330hp or torque at the moment. (goal being more like 380) IMHO once you start approaching 450+ it becomes exponentially less of a street machine and more of a drag car that can be driven on the street. These drivetrain parts just were never designed to handle that much power. Which is really annoying considering the capabilities of the engine.

IMO if you REALLY want a powerful 4G63 car without breaking the bank or lots of AWD parts, swap the engine into something else with a trans and rear end that can take the output. Just my two cents.

There's a whole nother side to tuning an auto setup that you simply don't have to deal with in a manual. It adds another layer of complexity to the parts you pick and how you tune, especially if you want to launch the car with a big turbo. But once you get it right, it's amazing. And as for fun on the street, if you get a properly spec'd converter you'll forget what lag feels like. Being able to flash a converter straight into boost and your powerband is a beautiful thing.