weaklink

You WILL destroy the tranny in short order by brake torquing. If/when you destroy the tranny, I would go ahead and do the swap as it is much cheaper than having your auto rebuilt with better components. The labor alone was over 3K, parts $1.5K.

weaklink

No. The stock stall is already 3K. I have a level 10 TC and the highest they recommended was 3500. Anything higher would not be streetable.

speeddemon7

ouch.thats pretty costly.I guess A tranny swap is inevitable sooner or later.

gmanggg

I drive a lightly modded auto:
Apexi Intake/dp/RacingBeat cb
4.3 gears
Tokico Illuminas
XS Engineering remapped auto ecu

The few times ive tried, I make sure I'm in L(hold) and break torque to about 3000rpm before the tires start to break loose. When I release the brakes, the car is shoots forward very quickly. It hits redline within a second or two so I quickly have to shift to S(hold). S pulls nicely, but not as hard at that warp speed feeling of L. BTW, I've never taken it to the drap strip.

Honestly, its not as satisfying as driving a manual because it hards to tell how fast you're accelerating with no "jerk" of the clutch engaging.

However, the auto still instills fear into the hearts of my passengers and a puts a big smile on my face every time I drive it. The auto is definitely not a drag car, but when you want to have some fun (especially on the twisties), it definitely delivers. I would like to do the manual swap, but I just can't convince myself that its really worth the ~$4000.

SlingShotRX7

Haha this is hilarious.

Now you guys questioning whether I even have an FD??
ROFL.. geee I wonder.. Well.. gee umm, I owned a FD
while some of you were in a Diapers.. Lets see..
92 was production date for the first FD's, Umm
Let me see I have been the original owner of my 93 r1
since august of 93..

Although I have a digital video camera, but none of my
Laptops have a USB port.. BUT if you insist on wanting
a picture of my car.. Do a search on " whiteRXseven"
my avatar has my FD on it.. And whle you are at it.
DO a SEARCH on automatic FD's.. and my Case will
be RESTED.

For the one that wonders why noone is here to defend me?? Haha.. Umm maybe this issue is like beating a Dead Horse. all the RX7 gurus and pros and a like
are tired of even answering threads like this..
Waste of TIME.. obviously non of you schmucks want
to hear sound advice.

I think you guys are just bitter because you got
suckered into buyig a girlie auto FD..
I am sure all the admirers like your car then they look
in the car, and say " ITS a auto" with a cringe..
Must be a wonderful feeling..

Hmm WELL still no auto FD's runnign 12's..

GEE i wonder why no HIGHly modded Single Turbos
or 20b's have Autos... Because they are the weakest
link in the whole transmission. Not only are they Lemons and have all kinda BS issues. and breakage.
the aftermarket ones are no better.. LIVE and learn.
and like I said.. After who ever build up their car to
a certain level. and their transmission keeps needing
rebuilds. WORSE than the DSM's.. Like I said.. " the
same guy gonna do the Manual Swap" like all th e OTHERS.

BTW.. about the BIKE thing.. I rode for about 17 years
before the wife and kid came along. Yes the bike was
the first t hing to go. Yea i started off with a Slingshot
Gsxr750, then a 93 Gsxr 750 and then a 96 ZX7.
all were ported polished, with timing advanced/exhaust
stage 3 Jets and carborator kits.. And my comments
about not beign able to do a wheelie.. LOOK, any
idiot can do a power wheelie and kill themselves
and or even by mistake.. the question is beign able
to do a wheelie " when " where" and for how long"
Yea i am one or was one of those guys that can
be cruising along at 60mph, downshift Redline it
pop the clutch and ride a wheelie out to 120mph.
Or be a redlight and do a wheel stand just for kicks.
yea i was one of t hose that went out and LOOKED
for cops to chase me. for kicks.. If one of my best
friends didnt almost die from a accident on his cbr
long ago. I would of been part of team highside,
racing the wera and ama circuit..

Anyways.. Take it for what its worth.. I am done with
this thread...

and I STILL LOVE YOU GUYS..

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

Dont tempt me

SlingShotRX7

Speaking of GN's..

87 Grandnational was my First car..
Traded her in for my FD..
had stage 3 kit for it to from applied tech.

Fast as a SOB, but turned like a truck and
shake rattle and roll. nothing Domestic built
during the 80's

SlingShotRX7

Speaking of GN's..

87 Grandnational was my First car..
Traded her in for my FD..
had stage 3 kit for it to from applied tech.

Fast as a SOB, but turned like a truck and
shake rattle and roll. nothing Domestic built
during the 80's

particleeffect

the people posting in this thread actually have auto's. alot of them know just what they are talking about. FYI, most believe launching an auto is much easier than a manual, and gear shifts much more consistant. it's kind of hard to tack on 2 extra seconds for driver error in an AUTO. what are you going to do? miss a shift? no, not possible.


now with that out of the way, personally i'd like to see more support for auto FD's. it's rather funny how so many people insist that you somehow need a manual transmition for whatever reason and then go sit in traffic all day long in their FD's.

speeddemon7

After all this talk I seriously dont know what the hell I want anymore.I mean manuall cars are supposed to be quicker and whatnot but not very practical as far as day to day traffic.I like the auto because its simple to drive.Mind you that I only drive the car in hold because I like being able to shift gears whever im ready.It just seems to me like having a stick would be a bit of a pain in the *** to drive in traffic and in areas with lots of hills.In colorado theres plenty of hills and inclines.
It is a bit depressing that there really isnt much support at all for the auto fd.
Finding a aftermarket ecu for the auto fd isnt exactly easy.Upgrading our radiators will also be a pain in the ***.Because the auto has a secondary tranny cooler in the bottom of the radiator.These are just a few of the downsides.Plus no off the line power.I guess im worried that I may not like my car after the conversion to manual.

novadan67

I may get flamed for this but oh well... I would bet that in a stock or lightly modded car a *newbie* driver would be faster in an auto FD. I have a manual FD and I have gotten pretty good at launching it, but it is difficult. There is a fine line between tire smoke/wheel hop and bogging the car. You have to know exactly how much to slip the clutch, which would be very difficult for an unexperienced driver. With a lot of practice the manual car will be faster, but will not be as consistent as the auto.

speeddemon7

thanx nova for your input.I do like consistency.Which the auto fd does bring to the table.I know pretty much when to shift just by listening to the engine.I dont know I guess ill just have to see how much of a change in power the downpipe adds and then ill make a decision after that.Who knows maybe the extra power the downpipe adds will be enough for me.If not then I guess an auto to manual swap will be in order.

Fumanchu

You're entertaining buddy. I honestly think you are responsible for one of the most ignorant posts I have read in a long time. And to think you are not some 16 year-old either. Could of fooled me.


And for your unrelenting n00bism, here is your reward...

VortechPony

A 3500 stall is streetable, it depends on the person too. In the automatics the converter locks up in 3rd and 4th gear. The biggest trans cooler that I have been able to find is made by Tru Cool (or True Cool ) part number is H7B, it is rated for 33,000 GVW.

I will throw a bet out to Slingshotrx7. Since no AUTO FD can even go in the 13's, lets put a wager on it. By the end of the summer "A" ( maybe mine ) auto will go 13's. Want to put money on it fine, bet something else fine. It is funny how you went from a auto doing 13's to now 12's. Why is that? I think it is you are full of ****.

If you haven't noticed that every FD has problems than give me some of the stuff you are smoking or sniffing. Because maybe thats because you don't own a FD at all and just like to make some more **** up.

Yes, before you open your mouth again on something you don't know, I do have a FD go to www.BanzaiRacing.com it is the White one.

dexmex88

All I have to say is you are a total moron.

dexmex88

my bad F'ed up

re_rotary7

auto or not it is still a 3rd gen rx7.

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

I've owned 17 FDs, one was an auto. With that car I took a trip to the biggest city in this little state and got stuck in traffic for 45min. That sucked, but wait with the auto it wasn't all that bad.

What I want to say is that for the type of driving I DO the auto isn't ideal, but it does have it's place and isn't the worst thing since sliced bread.

t-von

iTrader: (8)

I tend to agree with SlingshotRx7. The problem with the auto is that it was designed to be more economical than the 5 speed and isn't geared for acceleration. Just look at the factory gear ratios....

Manuel
1st 3.48
2nd 2.01
3rd 1.39
4th 1.00
5th .71
axle 4.10

Auto
1st 3.02
2nd 1.61
3rd 1.00
4th .69
axle 3.90

Things would be alot differant if the auto was a 5speed and same gearing but it's not. Also there isn't enough low end torque from the 13b to make the auto a true performer(especially off the line).

SlingShotRX7

Dexmex
Vortech pony

Yea ok, I tell you what..
Bring your SLOW POS auto FD and your MONEY.
My imaginary T78 FD gonna just pretend to take
your MONEY... Losers...

WE'll see who the moron is..
The idiot who buys the high performance, no frills
sports car with a automatic, or me
Dont sing it BRING IT.
DEXMEX i see you in are VA. When ever you are ready
MIR, Capital, where ever.. 5K enough for to bring it??
thats enough for your Manual swap.

bajaman

Everybody ought to just settle down a bit....no need for the hating......

Slingshot, all I and some of the others here are trying to say is that the transmission is NOT what makes the FD the wonderful car it is. It makes absolutely NO difference in the handling of the car, which is the true virtue of the FD. The FD was NEVER intended to be a drag car, not with the inherent low torque of the rotary.
Hell, even monster HP modded cars have relatively pitiful torque numbers. Oh, the car is certainly quick...no doubt about it. But deriding the car, or ANY high-performance car simply because it has an automatic is not really justified. After all, most of the newer exotics have got away from manual transmissions in favor of semi-automatic trannies.

But this debate really is pointless, as it is EVERYTIME it comes up on the Forum. There are lots of folks that can't stand the idea of an automatic in a "sports" car.
I was that way myself in my youth. You are welcome to your opinion, really.

Now, let's go get our cars fixed and running!

dexmex88

You never heard me say that my auto was fast, hell I haven't even really drove it yet, you never heard me say I could beat you, but I did say that auto's don't suck. I'm sorry I couldn't afford a REAL FD like you, but you have no reason to down an auto. There is no way I could beat you, and I don't even care, I am happy to have an FD and I don't give a **** whether it is an auto or manual.

speeddemon7

wow.things have heated up quite a bit since I last posted.Im not really sure what im going to do.But I do know for sure that if my auto tranny goes out.Its a manual swap for me.

nillviod

Well... Slingshot is talking a little too much but I have to agree with him on one point.

"I think you guys are just bitter because you got
suckered into buyig a girlie auto FD..
I am sure all the admirers like your car then they look
in the car, and say " ITS a auto" with a cringe..
Must be a wonderful feeling.."

Honostly, whenever I see a nice car and I go to look inside and see that it's automatic - I just dismiss it. (Especially Corvettes, RX7's, 300ZX's, etc. M3's, AMG's, etc are exceptions).


I know that this isn't a "smart" or mechanically correct way to look at it because the auto I'm looking at could be fast as hell, but I dismiss it nonetheless. Go ahead and call me an idiot, but I just think that sports cars are meant to have a clutch, that is what makes driving them so great. I have a manual FD and I've driven an auto. It's just not as fun, by any means. I never think, while I'm sitting in traffic, "damn this is horrible" with my FD. I don't even care - I like shifting in to first gear every other second :p

On the issue of speed, the auto I drove was unmodified and my FD has a catback, intake, and downpipe (installing a pfc as soon as I fix a wheel problem) and my car felt -way- faster. We both agreed on that. I'm not a big track man though (not yet) so I'll leave that subject alone.

TeamChin

iTrader: (1)

I'll post times...once my car is finished....hopefully in the next few weeks....Auto that I guarantee will be in the 12's

....fully built turbo 350 with brake and race converter...