MT to AT swap? Doable or craziness?

[Dfyfzx]

I'm sick of this crap MT. I've had 37 cars in my life and 31 of them were sticks and I've NEVER had a transmission have this much grinding and all around problems as this thing. For a stock car it may be fine but being almost 400hp, I'm extremely unhappy. What's the point of having a ton of power if I have to ***** shift every gear for fear of shredding something? I'm over it...

I'd ideally like to swap for a V160, Magnum XL, etc, but I'm not willing to sink that kind of money for a full custom setup into it at this point. Eyeballing eBay and Craigslist, it looks like I can find a stock Ft86 AT setup that will handle my power level semi reliably. I think I can get the AT, shifter box, control module, steering wheel and gauge cluster for right around $1000 with some prudent shopping. Probably need a driveshaft also. Anyway, is hard parts all that would be needed or does it go way deeper into the main harness and would be an absolute nightmare do pull off?

Anyone know?

And no, selling my car and buying an AT 86 would NOT be cheaper. Swapping all the existing mods over to a new chassis, taxes and licensing, etc. would cost me way more than ~$1000-$1500, assuming the swap would consist of simple plug and play factory pieces.

[Cole]

I'll swap transmissions with you

[Falcon]

You are really complaining about the stock trans not being able to handle twice as much power?

Will subscribe this thread.
I am really curious what you will do.

[humfrz]

YIKES, Dfyfzx you're trying to cram 400 HP through a 200 HP transmission ..... and calling it a "crap MT" ....... UGH ...... no wonder it don't like you.....

I'm not certain a stock AT will hold up under that power, especially driving it hard.

Will it fit ...... ?? Like they say, anything will fit if you have enough money and a big enough torch .....

I'll be setten here with @Falcon .......eaten popcorn ......


humfrz

[finch1750]

The AT holds more power then MT but even at 400hp ita gonna be close.

Cars used to have different ECUs for AT or MT but maybe that isnt the case anymore with dedicated TCUs, I honestly have no idea. If it was different then swapping the ECU creates a whole nother mess with keys and the immobilizer.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by humfrz

YIKES, Dfyfzx you're trying to cram 400 HP through a 200 HP transmission ..... and calling it a "crap MT" ....... UGH ...... no wonder it don't like you.....

I'm not certain a stock AT will hold up under that power, especially driving it hard.

Will it fit ...... ?? Like they say, anything will fit if you have enough money and a big enough torch .....

I'll be setten here with @Falcon .......eaten popcorn ......


humfrz

I could be wrong due to failing memory but if I recall correctly, the AT can hold power up to ~400, especially with a tranny cooler.

But don't quote me on that though, I can barely remember by dog's name

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I could be wrong due to failing memory but if I recall correctly, the AT can hold power up to ~400, especially with a tranny cooler.

But don't quote me on that though, I can barely remember by dog's name

How about ....... Fido .....??

OK, lets hear from those out there that are putting 400 HP through their ATs....how long did they last ??.......


humfrz

[Irace86]

I wouldn't switch to an automatic, but I hear you. Stock was bad. Now, I have MTEC shift springs, Perrin shift bushing, Whiteline transmission bushing, and while I like the notchy feel, it is still a bitch to try to not grind gears or miss a gear when taking the car to redline. Never had a problem in any other manual car (lancer, civic, supras, 240sx, accord, etc). This is by far the worst. Seems like there should be swappable trannies out there with minimal fuss.

[JDM4E]

Originally Posted by Irace86

I wouldn't switch to an automatic, but I hear you. Stock was bad. Now, I have MTEC shift springs, Perrin shift bushing, Whiteline transmission bushing, and while I like the notchy feel, it is still a bitch to try to not grind gears or miss a gear when taking the car to redline. Never had a problem in any other manual car (lancer, civic, supras, 240sx, accord, etc). This is by far the worst. Seems like there should be swappable trannies out there with minimal fuss.

Are you on stock power? And why it is problematic at "redline"? And did you replace the trans oil for something better?

[churchx]

I haven't any aftermarket bushings and have no problems switching in any gear at all. Except known for twins MT hard to get into 2nd when cold for first minutes, that doesn't bother me at all, as certainly gearbox is long since warmed up when i'm redlining on track . Yes, there were some gearboxes, for which i liked tactile feel of gearswitch a bit more, but this MT certainly is above average majority, with long throws & mushy switches. I wouldn't ever think of putting at fault not handling well twice the projected load either.

[steve99]

The ECU's (engine control module) appear to be same hardware, between auto and manual. Wayno got a USA manual ecu and ran it in his Australian Auto car.


You will need to reflash the ECU with the appropriate auto rom with your turbo tune in it. You can force ecutek to do this, but you will need to get your tuner to provide you with the corresponding auto tune.


The dash cluster ,imobiliser ECU and key fobs are all part of a security set so any time you swap these components you will need to go through a procedure to sync them to security.


You will just need to reflash the ECU but to swap dash you will need to use the procedure in the service manual.


hopefully all the wiring loom is same and has poits to plug in all the auto trans control computers, also the VSC traction mich be different module and hopefully the extra console switches and flappy paddles connectors are all their . Their is also vaccumm pump for auto where the cam plate is on manuals, neutral switch instead of clutch switch and possibly heaps of other odds and ends.


you would want to do heaps of research.

[Summerwolf]

So swapping to a stock based automatic is the answer.....

[davmandave]

You're going to need the extra hardware for the center console as well. There is the extra Snow/Sport button. So steering wheel assembly for paddle shifters, center console for proper wiring/controls, and gauge cluster for proper display. On top of that, you have all of the shenanigans of swapping out the transmission.


Wouldn't it just be cheaper and simpler to beef up the transmission a little bit to handle the extra HP properly?

[kmbkk]

Swap cars with someone who has an automatic? Probably easiest.