Auto to Manual conversion
 

Ok so, the story goes like this,
when I turned 18 my parents got me a Scion FR-S from the 10-series.
I love the car and it was the one I wanted, but there was one problem. My parents got me the 6-speed shiftable automatic. First things first im not trying to be a spoiled little rich kid, my parents got me it because they figured with all the money they saved from college because of all the college courses Im taking now that they would give me that money back for my efforts.
I was thinking of converting it into an manual, not now, but some time in the later future.
Here is the overall question, should I do it? If so what parts would I need and around how much would it cost?

It would probably be cheaper to trade it in on a manual.

Sell the car and buy a manual. It'll cost more to do a conversion.

I'm assuming you know how to drive a manual? The ratios are stupid similar between the auto and manual, you're really aiming for a clutch if you want the differences.

Personally, i'd leave it as is. Learning how to drive this automatic properly as a manual (Alright, so you can't clutch drop or hell and toe) i find it to be just as rewarding. Oh look traffic, and i just put it into drive. I'm also a sucker for paddles.

Have you really driven the auto hard? If you aren't putting it in sport/VSC sport mode then you aren't having fun.

Its my first car, so selling it is out of the question.
short of a meteorite crushing it beyond repair, im keeping it.

Then keep it as an auto and buy a manual later.

If it is possible, and it should be, my guess is that we are looking at $3-4K or so to do the conversion, give or take depending on labor.

I agree, unless you really want that clutch, its just as fun.

Proper driving of the auto.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gBM3RCzU3I"]Scion FR-S Automatic Paddle Shift speed - YouTube[/ame]

Go to college twice and then get a manual the second time around. :D

You're in luck. There's one on ebay, and it happens to be located in Florida.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-SCION-F...84e538&vxp=mtr

It will be expensive, even more so if you dont do the work yourself. This car has a very good automatic. If you really want a manual get an older car, like a ae86 =)

If it makes you feel better, you won't find a faster shifting transmission for less than 60k. I'm sure you've already read its a modified isf trans. I'd say just leave it be and have driving the car.

My old DSG GTI shifted faster. I think you mean that you won't find a faster shifting torque converter automatic.

Whatever helps the op love his car.

100% this. I obliterate my mpg when I drive it manually but damn is it more entertaining. I give it a good balance. With MT you're stuck in manual mode all the time... Just a thought

That is both awesome and terrible at the same time! It's like getting married to a supermodel after she became an amputee. (sorry AT drivers, I'm just expressing my opinion)

This automatic downshifts so much better then the DSG in the GTI.

Both are the best auto transmission under $60K, period.

I've owned both, and I disagree. I still love my auto BRZ, but it did not upshift or downshift as smooth or quickly as my '11 DSG GTI.

I owned one and rented the other. :lol:

I just find it to downshift better, gotta be the rev matching. It is faster, but of course you have all that shared tech from Audi and Porsche in that transmission...

It's close don't get me wrong, but the DSG can go from 5th/6th to 3rd/4th faster than you could even making a single manual downshift. There is literally no lag at all. The other thing to consider is that there's no drivetrain loss in the DSG (the very reason the DSG is faster than the manual GTI in 1/4 mile times).

Now reliability is another story. I feel much more confident blipping up and down all day long in the BRZ. The DSG GTI gave me an uneasy feeling, like I was going to blow the tranny if I pushed it extremely hard.

The DSG is way more advanced technology that this auto, I also own 1 and can testify to it. While it has less immediate response to throttle input than this car it is way more efficient when it comes to actually shifting. Were talking seamless shifts 3->6 gears. Very very impressive stuff. However, it does require very expensive maintenance every 40k miles. Annoying but true.

theres brand new cars that can be had for under 60k with duel clutch

Like an Audi S4.

True, but not all dual clutches are good.

Does $50K make you more happy? :D

Tell your parents u wanted a manual...and change it to a Limited BRZ while you're at it.

$3-4k would be a godsend for a Auto- Manual Conversion, the manual transmission itself for the FR-S is $3k Brand new or $2-3k used. Factor in all of the different parts like (E.g. ECU, Transmission, Steering wheel, Gauge Cluster, Pedal Assembly, Master Clutch cylinder, Clutch+Flywheel, Diff, Driveshaft, Plastic Trims, and Wiring. You'll be looking at a figure close to $10-12K, how do i know this because i wanted to do a Auto-Manual conversion haha :lol:

I'd say trade it in for a manual 10-series, you'll lose give or take 2-3k depending on condition and Mileage. Or if you're paying it off i think that would make it easier less of a loss.

Don't do it. I was in your exact (okay similar) shoes when I got my Civic. I wasn't into cars when I was car shopping with my parents for a college car, but in case I did, I decided to get a Civic since the community is huge for it and it will keep my busy. Long story short, I found that I did get into it and felt that I could have gotten an SI. The car's not under my name, I'm not making the payments, the work/cost would be huge, it'll never feel the same way as a manual straight from the factory, and it'll OBLITERATE the resale value.

Just stick with it and be glad you got it for free. Use it as a motivator to get your first real car (like I am now for an FRS) with your hard earned first-real-job money.
Not only that, but later on post-college there might be something better, and you'll end up regretting all the work you did. Instead, you should keep the AT 10 Series as the daily driver, and that new car as the fun car. It's win-win all around.

Hell you're stuck with something that has a generally considered fun auto-sport mode. I'm stuck on a stinking Civic AT. This is a POINT A TO POINT B car. It's hardly sporty. It's an appliance to most people. I lost out on not only the transmission but the engine (I still wonder what a K20Z3 feels like; arguably one of Honda's best engines), the suspension, and LSD.
Appreciate what you got man. I know that lingering feel/regret will stay for awhile, but give it some time and you'll get over it.

It took me about 2 years though, lol.
If you REALLY had to, trading it in is the only sensible choice. Hell, maybe you can trade it with some other 10 series who wants to switch to auto (yes that happens but obviously not as often). But if that's out of question, just live with it. You're still young.

Or a Ford Focus. Or a Ford Fiesta even.

DCTs are rapidly trickling down to even econoboxes now because they're a fair bit more fuel-efficient than standard Automatics.

I'm sure that Subaru would have gone with one as well considering how it otherwise was fairly focused on MPG. But, off the top of my head, I can't think of any DCT that Aisin has in its stable. They almost all come from European suppliers.

The Focus and Firsta "power shift" DCT is not even comparable to the VW DSG. Reliability issues have plagued it, and up/down shifts are annoyingly slow.

I would rather the slush box in the twins any day over Ford's DCT.

you should do it in the future, yes. like, many, many years from now.

I'm sure it's possible to do and you wont have problems finding transmisisons/pedal assemblies

What he said!

Seriously, blaze the trail when the time comes. It would be an EPIC DIY

List price on a new box is about $6300 when I looked it up at work a couple of weeks ago - there are no remanufactured 6MT boxes available right now. That may have changed in the last few weeks. Auto boxes are about $2300, which is cheap compared to Camry's - about $3200.

Also, no one is gonna buy a converted auto to manual car, so you're screwing your resale hard. Just don't do it, unless you like blowing money.

Just bethankfull your parents bought you a car. That is an incredibly generous thing they could do for you....

Annnnnnd, I will apologize for this poster's innapropriate metaphorical use of amputees.

Eric G

I feel your pain..when I was 17 i got my first Honda...it was clean but it was automatic..I had to be the only one in my little "crew" with an auto..it was embarrassing..haha

OP, I think a lot of us have been in similar situations when we were your age. When I was 17, I wanted to find a shop to install a big block V8 to replace the puny 307 in my Oldsmobile station wagon. There's a certain attachment of "This is my car, I don't want to get a different car, I want to improve my car" to your first car, which you'll lose after you've bought, loved, and gotten rid of several cars. I think a big part of it is at your age, you can buy aftermarket parts and do stuff like that on your own, but you couldn't or wouldn't sell your car and buy another without your parents being involved, and you know they'd be opposed to it. Trust me, this isn't something you want to do. You will absolutely without a doubt be better off trying to sell your car and buy a MT than you will be trying to do a swap.

People do transmissions swaps on older cars, when they can buy transmissions salvaged cheap at junkyards. They do it when they find an older car in great cosmetic condition or with a rust-free body or with a great running motor, but want a MT. If, in a decade, your car was still in beautiful condition, but you wanted a MT, and you could find one for a thousand bucks, versus $$$$ for a used 10-series with a MT in as nice of a condition, then it might make sense. But doing it on a brand new car is just dumb. You're going to spend a fortune to do it, you're going to completely void your warranty, resale value is shot (at least for the next 5 years, nobody is going to pay nearly as much for a car with a transmission installed by a shadetree mechanic or an amateur as they will for the same car with the transmission installed by the factory).

Really, what's the point of an auto to manual conversion at this point in time for the twins? All our cars are new, in pretty similar condition, and with similar mileage. It's not like you just picked up a '96 240SX automatic with 35k on the clock that was garaged for its entire life and was driven to church by Granny once a week, where you're getting a body in fabulous condition and a low mileage motor that you'd never be able to find somewhere else, and all you've got to do to make it the perfect car is find a $500 junkyard transmission. You can find another 10-series with the same mileage and in the same condition as yours easily enough. You'll have to bite some taxes, but it's still a long shot cheaper, and you're not shooting yourself in the foot for warranty and reliability issues down the road.

The fact that you wrote this obviously means you are not thinking objectively about your situation.

If you'd rather spend $6k to ruin the resale value of your car and take a huge risk with your warranty than spend <$1k to sell it and buy a MT, you really should leave financial decisions to your parents.

I can tell you that's not true at all

Keep your free car and enjoy it.

I guess I'll leave it as is.
I know how to drive manual, i guess im going to have to learn how to properly drive a shiftable auto.
Thanks for all the advice.

BTW this would all be coming out of my pocket, I have a good amount of savings from some jobs I did.

what's the point of this video?