I never hear anything about automatic trans upgrading or are we just out of luck. Can I do something better without changing to 5 speed? ever heard of a highly modified gen. 3 with auto trans.

 

Search for posts by "weaklink". He has a single turbo automatic and apparently it's not a cheap way to go.

 

If you want to have a fast automatic FD (or any car for that matter), just change the gear ratios and upgrade the torque convertor. (I don't know if i spelled that right, c..o..n..) Anyways, find one with a 4000 rpm stall and you will be set.

 

If you search for posts by "weaklink", you'll find out that you need a little more done then that as the tranny still can't hold enough power in stock form.

 

As long as you keep things down to 300 rwhp or less, I don't think you are gonna compromise the tranny's life.
A lot depends on what you want to do. You can do the basic reliability upgrades, do an exhaust and intake, MAYBE an intercooler upgrade and still be okay. Keep in mind that this transmission is perfectly capable of handling the weight of the MPV and the torque of the V6, which I imagine puts something similar 'stress-wise' on it compared to handling a little more power in the lighter FD.
No, you aren't going to auto-X with one, and I don't recommend daily drag racing with one either. But driven normally you can easily do a few mods and not have to worry about blowing the tranny.
Keep in mind that a lot of FD owners have very grandiose plans in mind when they first buy the car, i.e. "I'm gonna mod the **** out of it and have a big single and three fuel pumps with 1600cc injectors and this HUGE FMIC...man, I am gonna be puttin' down 400 rwhp....."
Only to find that just keeping the car on the road in stock or semi-stock form is a challenge sometimes!
Just ask yourself what you want out of the car and read the various posts and make your decision.

 

what he said
...read the sig....