Auto to Manual conversion

[IgnitionGundam]

Just go trade it in .. not like your parents will know the difference!

[nalc]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

I graduated with a bachelors in civil engineering, and I had time to party and enjoy college, fix or modify my car every other weekend, participate on pc overclocking competitions, watch 50 different anime series to completion, and managed to waste 10 days of my life playing black ops 2 online...

It really depends on your priorities, and what kind of learner you are. Everyone takes a different amount of studying for the same level of success. If you have a good memory and don't need to spend too much time buried in your books to do decently well, there's certainly free time available to you, but then it depends on how you prioritized it.

I lived on or near campus just about the whole time I was in school, and didn't even own a car for a good chunk of it. The time I did have a car and had it with me at school, it was a >10 year old one. For me, I liked not having to worry about a car, not having to maintain a car, and not having to pay for a car. I went to a fairly urban school so even getting a parking permit was expensive, finding parking was always a hassle, and there was a lot of danger to your car. I came out to parking tickets when I had forgotten to hang my permit or when I had parked in the wrong lot according to the arcane campus police regulations, I came out to a big scrape on my bumper where someone had hit me and didn't leave a note, I came out to more scratches and door dings than I could keep track of. There was a street near frat row where every couple of months, all the cars parked there had their side mirrors smashed by drunken students.

Having done that, I'd consider a college student or high school student getting a new car to be a bad idea. You're going to be driving it and parking it with a bunch of very inexperienced drivers, the rest of whom have old beaters and aren't going to think twice about damaging or even vandalizing your car. And, you yourself are an inexperienced driver too. Especially if you're not sure yet where you're going to go to school, and might consider an urban college where you either wouldn't be allowed to have a car or wouldn't want to, and would be stuck watching your expensive new car depreciate while it sits on the street in front of your parents' house while you are away at school.

[wrussi]

you have options:
1 throw a hissy fit on your parents (MTV's my sweet 16 style) for them being bad and not getting you the right car. have them get you something better. i mean they got you a scion!?! if they loved you more they would have gotten you at least a porsche.. dont u think

2. trade it in for a manual, im guessing you and your fam are somewhat wealthy and since you are considering doing a really expensive conversion. one can think you can shell out a couple thousand to make up for the difference to trade it in for a manual.

3. lets say you really want to do the conversion and have $$$ burning a hole in your pocket. here are some parts that you will need with approximate prices if getting everything from the dealership. all this prices are approximate so dont flame if they arent correct but from my experience with cars and parts and from looking around online this prices will give you an idea.. i might be forgetting stuff

1 MT transmission assy - $2500
2 MT master cylinder - 150
3 MT slave cylinder - 80
4 MT engine ECU - $800
5 MT engine harness - $500
6 MT gauge cluster - $350
7 MT shifter linkage assy - 100
8 MT clutch pedal assy - 130
9 misc engine and transmission sensors - $100 - 200
10 misc hoses, bolts, brackets etc.. $100
11 MT transmission motor mounts/brackets $ 150
12 MT clutch and flywheel $500

i am going out on a limb here and assume you wont be doing the work yourself so you will be paying a shop to do that.. most reputable shops will charge upwards of 1k and thats on the cheap side. most places will charge more due to the nature of the swap.


adding all that stuff together we see a ballpark figure of **drum roll*** = $6760!!!

OR

you can keep the car, enjoy it for what it is ( after all it is one hell of a good AT) perhaps go turbo in the future?

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by nalc

It really depends on your priorities, and what kind of learner you are. Everyone takes a different amount of studying for the same level of success. If you have a good memory and don't need to spend too much time buried in your books to do decently well, there's certainly free time available to you, but then it depends on how you prioritized it.

I lived on or near campus just about the whole time I was in school, and didn't even own a car for a good chunk of it. The time I did have a car and had it with me at school, it was a >10 year old one. For me, I liked not having to worry about a car, not having to maintain a car, and not having to pay for a car. I went to a fairly urban school so even getting a parking permit was expensive, finding parking was always a hassle, and there was a lot of danger to your car. I came out to parking tickets when I had forgotten to hang my permit or when I had parked in the wrong lot according to the arcane campus police regulations, I came out to a big scrape on my bumper where someone had hit me and didn't leave a note, I came out to more scratches and door dings than I could keep track of. There was a street near frat row where every couple of months, all the cars parked there had their side mirrors smashed by drunken students.

Having done that, I'd consider a college student or high school student getting a new car to be a bad idea. You're going to be driving it and parking it with a bunch of very inexperienced drivers, the rest of whom have old beaters and aren't going to think twice about damaging or even vandalizing your car. And, you yourself are an inexperienced driver too. Especially if you're not sure yet where you're going to go to school, and might consider an urban college where you either wouldn't be allowed to have a car or wouldn't want to, and would be stuck watching your expensive new car depreciate while it sits on the street in front of your parents' house while you are away at school.

That really depends on the school as well, my mustang never had a single ding in 2 years and my BMW only got 1 ding in 4 years...

[jonbonazza]

I actually got out of the car scene for the last few years of college and after graduating got right back into it.

[chas3wba0]

You owe it to your parents to drive and enjoy the car as is. It's just a sign of appreciation, much like wearing a gifted piece of clothing even if it doesn't suit your taste as much as intended.

I inherited my mom's car in college (ended up paying her 3k for it after I started working) and the only thing I wish was different was the transmission. But here I am 2 years later waiting for my new manual BRZ to come in ^_^

[HotLavaRoku]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

I graduated with a bachelors in civil engineering, and I had time to party and enjoy college, fix or modify my car every other weekend, participate on pc overclocking competitions, watch 50 different anime series to completion, and managed to waste 10 days of my life playing black ops 2 online...

but that begs the question, what was your final GPA, and did you ever take your FE? the only engineering students I ever saw with free time were the underachievers

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by HotLavaRoku

but that begs the question, what was your final GPA, and did you ever take your FE? the only engineering students I ever saw with free time were the underachievers

3.05 and I passed the FE without studying

[HotLavaRoku]

Very good (I wasn't trying to be an a$$ btw, the intertubes really does kill the tone).