The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support ExtremePSI
Please Support STM Tuned

Auto Vs Manual

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Panchoelkatch

Proven Member
124
5
Jun 4, 2014
Lemoore, California
Currently running a stage 3 Shep trans act 2600 combo, but really looking to do an auto swap. Mainly for reliability and consistency in launches.

Pros and cons?
Im guessing it will be easier to go ahead and find a donor 1g auto
 
In my opinion, if you drive the car a lot manual is the way to go. When I got into my 1g auto I grossly under estimated how much tuning goes into launching the car, especially with a bigger turbo. It's awesome now I have it figured out, but there's alot of trial and error. It's just so easy to launch a manual.
 
I definitely don't daily the car. It only comes out for meets and racing. Occasionally ill take it to work which is 2 miles away.

This is my second built tranny and 4th clutch. I just hate being inconsistent, not that I'm a bad driver but under pressure and some big bucks on the line, I tend to freak out and bog and or occasionally miss a gear haha. Not all the time, but the chance is always there.

Would you say with a proper auto setup your less likely to be breaking stuff?
 
Getting all the parts to play together on an auto is harder, but when they do...auto can be pretty darn awesome. And the instant shifts are glorious. Manual is more fun and engaging, but I don't ever see myself going back to a manual.
 
I love my 5 speed, and for a car in my area I don't see much reason to change. Last fall I ran like 10 consecutive 10.80's at 2 separate events. This was with about 550whp, and trapping 128-130. I can't imagine an auto ET'ing much better at that trap speed.

Right now the car doesn't ET well as I'm fighting traction issues with the new found power. Still though over the last 2 seasons I've ran about 50 10sec passes, and I've only broken 1 rear axle, and used up 2 clutch discs.

Anyway at this level I think I would rather go bracket race my pickup truck with an automatic in it than swap my dsm to an auto. I'm in it for the fun, and the challenge.

Now if I was one of these guys running low 9's or 8's I can see the appeal of the auto, but I still think the 5 speed carries a much greater hero factor.

Many ways to skin a cat, but this idea of needing an auto to be fast and reliable is bogus. Learn how to drive the car and set it up right and your golden.
 
For a drag car specifically, I think from a reliability standpoint the auto has it. Lets be honest, the auto is much easier on the driveline just about any way you cut it. Not to mention, the auto trans itself will handle more abuse than its manual counterpart.

I think where the auto truly shines is cost. You can take a nearly stock auto trans and pump a serious amount of power through it at a fraction of the cost a dogbox will run you. And, when you add up breakage over time, the auto will definitely be cheaper.

BastardDSM is right though, mad cool points for going fast on a slushbox. It ain't cheap or easy, that's for sure.
 
I guess less chances to mess up in an auto is what makes it appealing to me. Like GST mentioned, the overall reliability in a drag purpose car is nice.

Can't beat the cool points though, I just don't see myself spending the big pennies on a dogbox any time soon.
 
Standard syncro trans here and close to 700whp this season. Lots of 137-141 passes this year. Still kicking and I took it on a 300mi road trip yesterday. There's no reliability problems as long as you treat it right. I went rounds last year at IFO-STL, this year at IFO-Joliet, and at my local tracks monthly shootouts.
 
Standard syncro trans here and close to 700whp this season. Lots of 137-141 passes this year. Still kicking and I took it on a 300mi road trip yesterday. There's no reliability problems as long as you treat it right. I went rounds last year at IFO-STL, this year at IFO-Joliet, and at my local tracks monthly shootouts.

Yeah, but how many have you been trough? My guess is more than a few over the life of the car, and probably not all at 700hp either.

If your setup and driving are that reliable you should be marketing the whole package. There are a lot of people who can't get a manual trans to hold up at 700hp. Hence, a large portion of the high hp DSM builds moving to auto boxes.
 
I've been through several over the years, but I make a ton of passes.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
It's been on the same transmission since the shootout in 2015. I'm not saying it's bullet proof, I expect it to last about 25 more passes.


What I'm saying is the 5 speed isn't some crippling handicap. It can go rounds, and it's not going to just explode after 5 passes. Furthermore, it's not like the auto's are bullet proof either. Several guys broke a few trying to figure out how to stall it up without shredding, and you still have to keep after inspecting the transfer gears. The converters do get soft over time, and it sounds like it's kind of a hassle to get a decent converter. (on the other hand, a 2600 is in stock EVERYWHERE). The center diff is still a suck point on both, but it seems like a few guys have good luck with the stock 2 spider in an auto.
 
Last edited:
What clutch and trans do you Have?

A small part of me just wants to throw in a twin disk so I can get back on the road.

Ill probably be right around 600 whp

I'm on trans I built, the only good part is a 4 spider center diff I built. I'm also running an ACT2600 and a 4 puck disc.

What makes you think you need a twin disc? My 2600 is holding enough for 140mph traps in a 3200lb car.

If you are planning on driving your car like in your IFO post, I'd suggest going to an auto asap. Dumping is the fastest way to break dsm driveline parts and the slowest way to launch the car. If you do that with 600whp and decent tires, you will eject axles and tcases.
 
The convertor part does suck , very small aftermarket pool there. But Jeff Bush is working one that sounds pretty amazing, won't be cheap tough. The parts he's making for the auto look pretty amazing. Seems like you can build an auto to handle single digit passes for about half the cost of a dogbox.
 
Having a real tough time sourcing an Auto Swap for my car. Tranny and engine is already out, quick question though.

Would a 2g auto donor car work to swap everything over into my 1G? I Know I need rear end, differential, transfer case, converter, but I would much rather run a 2g Trans.
 
The rear wont work directly. The 2g case mounts different than the 1g. You could swap the gears from the 2g into your 1g case. You'lll also need to get a tcase that matches your trans. The 2g's have 2 different ratio t-cases. "At lease in the 5 speeds"

Pretty sure you need auto specific engine mounts as the engine is forward more in an auto.
 
You don't need a 2g dif to use a 2g auto trans. A 1g auto dif is what you need if it's a 1g car. The auto t cases are the same 91-96.

You would need to custom make/modify a trans mount for the 2g trans in a 1g, and I can't recall the exact combo but I believe you need to mix/match the front axles/intermediate shaft.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top