ATX vs MTX

[Mellow23]

Hey guys, quick question,
in the probe game it was either MTX or nothing, the ATX probes were shunned.
On these forums for ATX seems to be fairly prevalent and common. Is that because a lot of the people on here cant drive stick or is the atx tranny as good as the mtx one on DSM's?

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

It's because they are more consistent and reliable for drag racing. They're also far cheaper to build vs a solid 5 speed (~$1000 vs ~$3000). In the past it wasn't known if they'd handle the abuse of high HP cars but guys soon found out that they hold up just fine. I'm sure everybody on here can drive a manual transmission if they want to.

 

[knochgoon24]

The autos on our cars aren't as fragile as other platforms. You have to strengthen the manual trans at a much lower power than the autos.

Also, since DSMs are popular for drag racing, the auto trans are popular due to consistent shifting. There are stock tcu's that can be reprogrammed with custom line pressure and shift points, making it a very attractive option for high horsepower guys at the track.

 

[Mellow23]

oh ok, cool.
thats good to know! at what power are we looking at to have to strengthen the manual trans?

 

[EclipticalGS]

It usually depends...Launching a 350awhp car on the stock awd MT, it might or might not hold up long.

Manual Transmission builds in my mind for our platform are necessary for anything above 300awhp...This also includes either a 4-spider center, or welded center..You choose.

That's my opinion though ive had my FWD transmission hold onto 450 crank hp with just an Act2600/street disk..Although I didn't ever launch it that way, it held up for a long time.

 

[Detroit Style]

Welcome from a 3 time Probe owner!

The auto is much better suited for drag racing, which is something most Probe owners don't like. I stlll think an auto turbo KL car would be killer. Just no one makes parts for the auto trans in the Probe.

 

[IPD]

Wow. That's quite similar to the sentiments I constantly hear from the 3/s community regarding ATX's. Only difference is, the 3/s also uses the W4A33; so there's even LESS of a reason for that.

 

[cliffkemp]

My .02 here

I had a plymouth laser with just 80k miles on the od. I put 2 transmissions in that POS thing and it was an auto. did I get a dud or something? It kept burning out the overdrive and was 2k to fix it and it did it again less than 4k miles later. It was a 91 laser rs that was stock 180hp. After that, I told myself I would never get another auto DSM again. My question is, was the 1g auto worse than the 2g or did I get a dud?

Even if slower due to shifting on the track, I still prefer sticks over autos as they are more fun to drive. to me, autos are for drag consistancy and cruising on long trips in which one would get a cts-v for that chore

 

[donniekak]

My .02 here

I had a plymouth laser with just 80k miles on the od. I put 2 transmissions in that POS thing and it was an auto. did I get a dud or something? It kept burning out the overdrive and was 2k to fix it and it did it again less than 4k miles later. It was a 91 laser rs that was stock 180hp. After that, I told myself I would never get another auto DSM again. My question is, was the 1g auto worse than the 2g or did I get a dud?

Even if slower due to shifting on the track, I still prefer sticks over autos as they are more fun to drive. to me, autos are for drag consistancy and cruising on long trips in which one would get a cts-v for that chore

2K to fix? The upgraded end clutch kit is less than $100. IPT End Clutch Kit | Mitsubishi DSM | W4A33

 

[cliffkemp]

2K to fix? The upgraded end clutch kit is less than $100. IPT End Clutch Kit | Mitsubishi DSM | W4A33

it burned up 4th gear. it was an auto. I am sure i overpaid but, was not familar with transmissions and prices back then (1995) when I had it done. they said 4th gear was toasted and it would only drive around in 1-3.

 

[IPD]

that sounds unusual, cliff. i had my f4a33 rebuild at aamco in 2005 and i had no trouble with it at all, including when i upgraded to the stock vr4 engine.

the used (40-60k) w4a33 i'm currently running has had no incident either; and it's been in the same turbocharged car for over a year.

 

[cliffkemp]

that sounds unusual, cliff. i had my f4a33 rebuild at aamco in 2005 and i had no trouble with it at all, including when i upgraded to the stock vr4 engine.

the used (40-60k) w4a33 i'm currently running has had no incident either; and it's been in the same turbocharged car for over a year.

the shop told me that my speedo cable broke and was causing the overdrive (4th gear) to burn up. At the time, i believed them until later on, I caught them lying to me about another problem after the second rebuild as it was under warranty from the first one. I know very little about auto trans and is why I dont like them now. Easy to get ripped off if you know little about them as I did. Sticks on the other hand, are fairly simple and easier to fix.

Is this true about the speedo cable causing the mess or just a line of BS? very curious about that even after 16 years.

 

[IPD]

I'm not a subject matter expert on the ATX (one of the reasons I joined here). That said, I find it hard to believe that a broken speedo cable would cause any kind of catastrophic damage; unless it somehow left pieces flying free in the transmission. Even then, I was under the impression that the speedo was tied to the front differential--which is actually in a different part of the transmission.

My only experience with a broken speedo was with an 88 Ford Escort. It did not impact the transmission in any way, shape or form.

 

[cliffkemp]

I'm not a subject matter expert on the ATX (one of the reasons I joined here). That said, I find it hard to believe that a broken speedo cable would cause any kind of catastrophic damage; unless it somehow left pieces flying free in the transmission. Even then, I was under the impression that the speedo was tied to the front differential--which is actually in a different part of the transmission.

My only experience with a broken speedo was with an 88 Ford Escort. It did not impact the transmission in any way, shape or form.

that is what I told the shop people there. it was a local transmission shop. they said since the OD was computer controlled, the cable breaking would somehow cause it to overheat. Something to do with servoes or something like that. I agree with you they were feeding me a line but, didnt know what else to say. They did tell me that my axle seal was eating my axle too. After that, I just said to heck with it and took it to another place to get the seals fixed.

 

[IPD]

Sounds like a lot of BS they were feeding you. If it was a computer/electronic issue, then they needed to look at the TCU and maybe the TPS and possibly even the "OD ON/OFF" wiring.

 

[white92talontsi]

Cliff I bet you had a bad tcu and its possible that bad tcu was killing the trans.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[cliffkemp]

Cliff I bet you had a bad tcu and its possible that bad tcu was killing the trans.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

thanks for the info. that sounds more like it and not just a cable. sounds like they just wanted it to keep going. they were too expensive too.

Sounds like a lot of BS they were feeding you. If it was a computer/electronic issue, then they needed to look at the TCU and maybe the TPS and possibly even the "OD ON/OFF" wiring.

thank you too for the info. I am sure that it will help others who may run into the same thing in the future.