Auto to Manual Transmission Swap
 

Before anybody says just sell my car and buy a manual... I am not going to sell my car... lol

I plan on doing a transmission swap from Automatic to Manual in the distant distant future... when my engine dies and i am financially stable in my life to where i can turn my car thats currently a DD into a weekend car.

I havent had any luck as to seeing any posts on the forums saying it has been done... Only the bashing of don't waste your money and just sell your auto for a manual... blah blah blah lol

so has anyone on here done a auto to manual swap successfully with the all the electrical components functioning as intended?

Any obstacles you ran into, things you woulda done different?

Thanks,

Mike

I think I would research the reasons why people say to just sell and buy a car with a auto if I was you......may be good reason.


22R

I am still waiting to come across someone who have done it.

Can it be done - Yes, but will require new ECU, wiring, modification to tunnel and lots of headache.

I think it would be easier to put some other motor and transmission all together after you have blown ur current motor like 2jz with V160 trans, or some V8 power plant with

It would be helpful to define your far into the future goals and logic behind keeping the car versus trading for the manual.

If you are planning to swap to a 86 manual then you will likely need the transmission, drive shaft, ECU and pedal system to start.

I'm pretty sure the final drive is probably different, so you might need the manual's final drive or the full differential, that is, if the differential housing is different in how it connects to the driveshaft. The wiring harness might need to be swapped or modified, but there is a chance the manual transmission simply lacks a few plugs that the auto requires, so you could leave those plugs hanging. I'm sure the transmission mounts are different, and there is a chance the bolting locations are different, so there might be some drilling and tapping to be done or custom mounts to be made. The transmission for the auto is likely larger than the manual, so you wouldn't need to hammer the tunnel, but you might need to modify the tunnel to accept and mount the shifter assembly.

Then you would need to tackle the pedal assembly. You will need to get the manual 86's clutch pedal assembly. A clutch safety switch is a good consideration, but is not required. It is also not required that you use power assistance for your clutch pedal, but if you find you do want to avoid a leg workout with each track day event then you will need to add the clutch's hydraulic system to the car.

Lastly, and what is the most difficult part of this install, is the decision of which aftermarket shift knob to buy.

Pat Cyr has done it.

The basic formula is to take a wrecked MT car, basically strip it, and put everything but the engine into your AT car.

Well, Mike, let's hope you come to your senses before that time comes ....... here, let me get you started ........:slap:

:D

PS - I once helped a friend swap an AT for a MT in a 1956 Chevy ...... the process was sort of like @Cole mentioned above ...... :bonk:


humfrz

Guaranteed it'll be way cheaper to sell the auto and buy a manual vs swapping it. If you're really lucky finding parts and do all the work yourself it might not be much more expensive, if you're paying a shop to do it it'll be A LOT more expensive.

There's a lot of wiring differences, a lot of parts needed and a lot of time to take it apart and put it all back together.

I was considering doing this too because I dont want to sell my car (first car, good memories). I honestly dont mind swapping it, just hesitant because I havent a successful swap and I have no idea what needs to be done in order to do so. But sometimes I like my auto so idkkkk

Have you considered just replacing your engine (when it dies) with a rebuilt motor, keeping the auto, and then just buy a second twin with a manual transmission?

Basically spend a little money to keep the auto up to dependable DD condition, don't buy another car for DD duty, and then use that money for your manual twin car.

By the time your engine dies you could get a manual car for cheap.

Well let's just go with the price list on what you'll need.
Pedals, tranny, manual ecu, linkage, shifter, clutch and flywheel, drive shaft maybe?
Now add on top of that repair cost on the rebuilt/new engine when you decide to do it.

When you add it up your better off just buying a manual car.

Another great reason WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A MANUAL.

:slap: ......... you needed that!

This ain't one of those situations where all you need is an a-dapter kit ..... ;)


humfrz

Your paddle shifters and your Sport button will stop working.

Sure, I get that but regardless of what happens to the car the memories will remain. I think it would be better, nicer, more positive to have good memories of your first car rather than the bad memory of how much time, effort and cash you wasted on a pointless exercise.

I'm chiming in here because of some miss-information listed in some of the threads above. :bonk:

I was so turned off by losing all my write-ups due to photo bucket I gave up on finishing the auto to manual conversion write-up. There are a few different ways to skin a cat. One is removing all the computers and wiring from a doner manual trans car and rewriting the vin number of the recipient car to the doner ecu AND marrying all the body and other system computers to your new setup. (which I can also do) or.... the way I do it, keeping all the computers and wiring you have and making it work with the new transmission with custom firmware.

I do the auto to manual swaps at my shop on the side in San Diego, CA. I worked with a team of master ecu tuners and software engineers to come up with a solution for the swap WITHOUT swapping any modules/engine harness/ and other canbus components from the doner car. This process took many man hours to complete. The conversion requires a special firmware that basically tricks the auto computer into thinking the transmission is still there but functions like a manual swap. It will throw soft codes but nothing that shouldn't allow it to pass smog. (No check engine lights). I did this conversion on my 2016 brz limited with smart key. check out my instagram @subtledriver, the master tuner is listed on my posts about the car.

I have driven about 15k miles daily so far with the conversion and took wins and and several podiums in about 7 races, track, autocross, and off-road rallycross. I offer to do the work on the side over a period of a few days. So drop off the car with all the parts needed and wait about a week for the process and pick it up converted. It costs about 3-4k (sometimes less or more) give or take on average depending on your price on parts and if you have complications on your end.

All you need is transmission components, clutch system components a few wiring tricks on my end and a reflash of the ecu with special engineered firmware custom made for your car.

maybe sometime soon i might post the writeup on the major work if things let up for a few days here at work.

WOW! ....... that's impressive!

All the more reason just to switch cars ...... :iono:


humfrz

All that farting and pushing just to shit out a twig.

Seems like people love to over complicate things. It's not like the twins are super rare car, where you dig through a hay stack to find one. But only to find one that's an auto.

The conversion is pretty simple for me. I have seen way too many of these cars with accident and frame damage to sell one with a perfectly straight body and amazing condition engine and go hunt for one with a manual trans that might have a worn or abused motor and possible crash damage. I like knowing what I'm getting. I guess it's a good idea to sell yours and find another that is already stick if your car is falling apart, or been abused or crashed.

I've converted a multitude of vehicles to manual trans over the years. Bmw's, infiniti q45, v8 swapped s13 with manual conversion, 240z with rb26 and manual conversion, honda, brz, ect. Pretty basic stuff. Not rocket science and not that expensive, plus you get to choose what clutch and flywheel you get and there are lots of options along the way. And you can sell the auto as a spare or replacement to offset some of the cost. The difference between the auto and manual cars is about the same value as just doing the comversion. And you can go back to auto in a few simple steps.

It's a very simple conversion, swap transmission, install clutch pedal, few wires get jumped, upload firmware and your car is now a manual.

Or try to sell your car, and find a manual car in same or better condition that is fully paid off with cash from your previous automatic car.

Im replying to a lot people here... thanks for everyone who gave some info though.

Im going to guess that you meant to say manual vice auto?

Auto is definitely great for me, especially since SF BAY AREA traffic is ridiculous and I hated being stuck in stop & go traffic and some stupid steep hills in SF with my old DC2 5 years ago before more tech startups popped-up here.

I just miss being able to shift... although the AT w/ sport mode on is fun as well.


I was not expecting that lol. But i appreciate the plethora of information prior to this statement.


lol only time can tell, it is still awhile before my engine breaks down.(knock on wood) im still under 50k miles for a 2013.


I feel you on that man, my car has some sentimental memories and when i look back on it, purchasing this car by myself when they first released the summer i graduated High School in 2012, actually made me make some life changing decisions. lol

The memories(or hardships) of dropping outta college to work full-time just to make payments.... and then saying fuck it im joining the military to make the payments.... lol but now im back and the cars been paid off, and finally got rid of the mindset I had back in the days.


I actually have considered that, but im not sure exactly which engine im fond of tbh. Lol, i actually wanted to get a twin but thatd be a little redundant and I'd rather just have this car and then a DD/Family car.

Thats dope man, definitely going to check it out!

My wife drives a 2015 AT FRS and I have a 2016 MT FRS that we autocross. (I drive a company vehicle for work.)

We both prefer the manual on the track and the AT....pretty much everywhere else. (Well, we go to the Tail of the Dragon every year so we want the MT there too)

We have owned a lot of cars between the two of us and the AT FRS is our favorite DD car that either of us has ever owned.

Unless you need a lot of room, you already have an excellent DD. (For people who enjoy driving anyway) -no need to downgrade your DD experience.