Valkyrie

Ok, there's a 1990 non-turbo GTU (sigh) that's actually near my hometown, and I figure maybe it would be a good idea to just buy it and do a TII conversion in the long run rather than searching in vain for an S5 TII.

There's some questions that I have:

Are the GTU and TII trannies different? Does the TII transmission have different ratios (outside of the final gear) or higher durability than the GTU?

Do GTU's come with 5-lug or 4-lug wheels? From the crappy picture of the one I'm looking at it looks sort of like a 4-lug but I can't confirm it.

What would be different on the inside? I don't care about things like steering wheels, seats, and shift *****, but I wonder if the speedometer is different (I know the tachometer is).

What's the difference between the TII's exterior and the GTU exterior? I think both have spoilers, but something I hear about the TII having an airdam or a lip or something. If they're different, would I be able to put a TII front bumper on it in place of the GTU one? Would a FEED front lip still fit?

What does it take to change the GTU brakes to GTUs/TII-level?

If you change out the rear end, does that mean you have to change the entire drivetrain to TII spec? (I already read that if you change out the tranny, there's assloads of other things that must be changed, even starters and flywheels, etc)

Does the S4 and S5 have different final-gear ratios? I hear the S4 has a better LSD (mechanical instead of viscous) so that's why I'm wondering.

What are the differences besides the engine, electronics, exterior, drivetrain, interior, and brakes? Is there something that would have to be switched out in the suspension besides calipers and springs? I assume the sway bars are part of that.

Does the TII have higher body rigidity than the NAs, or any reinforcements? I figure they would do that for the higher power, unless it was already stiff enough.

That's all I can think of.

Yes, I have done searches and I know that most of these questions have been asked before, but I couldn't find all the info I needed from searches and I'd like to hear it "live."

dajusta

im almost 100% sure that it is SO much better to just buy a turbo, than to have a turbo swap

if u count all the headaches...

Valkyrie

So am I. Except that this one is 20 miles away while the nearest Turbo I could find is 500+.

MrSparkle

unless you're in some kind of hurry to buy an fc i would wait. i waited about a year before i bought my tii and it was worth the headache of doing a turbo swap.

Valkyrie

Yeah, I'm not in a hurry since I won't be back in the States till late July/early June. There's also someone looking for one (that or a Hachiroku) in auctions all over the Southeast for me (well, as a favor for my dad), but no luck so far.

Hmm... the GTU doesn't even have a bloody tilt steering column. Screw that idea

I've been meaning to find out if the *two* S5 FC's (and one of them is just a complete S5 conversion) that I could find are still for sale (since they dissapeared off AutoTrader), so I guess I'll do that. Too bad they're both hours away.

Ok, I've anwered two of my own questions:

Yes, the GTUs and Turbo II tranny has different ratios than the standard 5-speed.

And no, the rims aren't 4-lug, since I looked in the Standard Features thread and I saw the same thing (looks the same at least) and they have five lugs.

Valkyrie

Ok, just out of curiosity, could you put a tilt steering column into a GTU?

With racing seats and a MOMO steering wheel, most of the other interior differences would probably be nill anyway... And who doesn't like roll-up windows? lol

(I wonder if it has a sunroof...)

Let me guess this right, for a true TII conversion (from an S5 GTU), you would need:

A long block Turbo engine
All the electronics and wiring (ECU, harness, etc)
a TII or GTUs tranny (ratios are the same, but maybe the TII is reinforced?)
All the TII drivetrain bits (drive shaft, axle, flywheel, clutch, etc. Once again, aftermarket parts are a good option for some of them.)
The TII or GTUs Differential (Maybe a Cusco/Kaaz/Etc LSD or an S4 mechanical one would be better?)
TII or GTUs brakes (What would be required to vent the rear GTU brakes like the GTUs and Turbo II? Could you actually install ABS into an NA? I guess aftermarket calipers or some sort would make a good substitution for TII/GTUs parts)
A TII Starter
A TII Hood
A TII speedometer and tachometer (just being picky here)
The TII boost sensor
A boost guage (aftermarket, since the stock one doesn't work when you do boost-up tuning anyway)
A TII air flow meter
A Turbo throttle cable
Wheels and tires (aftermarket just as good a choice as TII stuff)
Suspension bits (doable with aftermarket stuff)
Anti-roll bars (once again, aftermarket)
The whole god damn steering column (especially if I wanted the light-up keyhole Once again, this would just pickyness)
The front lip/bumper cover (???)

Jesus Christ that's a lot of crap. I wonder how much it would cost...

Oh, one thing, if I actually did this, it wouldn't be right after I got the car. It would probably be a long-term project, where most of the time is spent finding and collecting the parts, since I could live without El Torque and El Boost for long enough to do so. Hey, and I'd get to use regular. And pay lower insurance. I'm sure there are good things to learning to drive with less power anyway. Woo, autocross.

(maybe I'll just have to find a nice J-Spec parts car for $500-1000 or so? buahahahaha...)

takahashiRyosukeFC3S

don't forget to get off this forum and visit haruna (aka Akina) and akagi while in japan. it's worth the drive. trust me. it took me a bullet train and a rental car (R-32 ha ha) from tokyo to get there...WELL WORTH IT.

p.s. try and schedule your visit for a fri or sat night. around hmmm you guessed it 10:00pm

Valkyrie

I had already intended too. I was going to go to Haruna on the way back from snowboarding, but I was too damn tired to do anything but get my *** home.

So are there really a lot of hashiriya every weekend at night? hehehe

I might go some other time though.

Valkyrie

Something I meant to ask before:

Are S5 engines and ECU's backwards compatible with S4 OMP's and other such more durable mechanical parts?

I read about someone switching out the OMPs but I don't know if he really did it or not. I thought the S5 ECU gets pissy at you when you disconnect the OMP.