To start off my fd is an auto.I was planning on swapping it to a 5 speed like many others have done. What really threw me off was when I talked to Rotary Performance.
I ordered a aluminum ast from them. The guy asked if it was a 5 speed and I told him that it was an auto but that I was going to swap to a stick. His reply was that theyve done auto to 5 speed swaps but that the cars never ran correctly afterwards. Of course this was unsettleing news. As I was planning on swapping to a 5 speed rather than trying to sell off the auto fd. Main reason is the fact that its a 93 with 112k. So it cant be financed. If someone wanted to buy it they would have to pay cash. Which would complicate matters quite a bit.Believe me ive thought about selling it.
Back to the topic at hand.My question to you guys woul dhave to be. Is what Rotary Performance said true? about the auto to 5 speed swap? Just need to know whether im beating a dead horse trying to modify the current car only to find out that I have to strip it down to oem and sell it off.Not my idea of fun. Thanx.

 

From what I've come to understand, there's really no reason it can't run great with a swap. IMHO Rotary Performance has steadily gone downhill since Trey Cobb left, but that's another story . I would take any advice they give with a grain of salt.

Think about it - why would the car not run right with a different transmission? There's really no good reason. But, it's a big enough job with enough that could go wrong for problems to crop up. It's been pretty well documented, though - if you take your time and be thorough about the swap, you'll be in good shape.

Dale

 

Exactly, why wouldn't it run just like a regular manual?

 

Glad to hear some good news.I was pretty bummed out. Especially since ive replaced so many parts on my car already. All new rats nest solenoids and vacuum lines,new injectors,new ignition coils, a good amount of the gaskets are new. It would be a shame to have to go through that all over again.
I just didnt want to spend any more money on a car that I would have to possibly sell.

As for rotary Performance. Why is their rep not as good anymore? and for what exactly? their engine work and maintenace ? or their customer service? Because I ordered my aluminum ast yesterday and it was shipped the same day and now its on its way. I should have it tomorow according to the tracking info. I must say I am impressed with that part of their business so far.

 

They're still a solid and reliable company, but I've gotten dumbass answers when calling and asking particular questions. Not saying they're bad or avoid them or anything, just take what they say with a grain of salt - they just don't have the knowlege base they used to.

Dale

 

I did the swap about two years ago, the car still runs fine.

 

ahh ok. I understand.
There was one thing that did stand out as somewhat unreliable info.The guy said to put more money into my car and ill have no problem beating 5 speed rx7's.
I honestly doubt I could beat a stock 5 speed rx7 right now.But thats probably because the car isnt running right.

 

thanx zyon,
i was wondering when you were gonna chime in with your experience thus far. what was the hardest part about the swap that you can remember? im not sure if i asked you this already but did you change the wiring harness at all? i was planning on just running a apex power fc instead of the stock 5 speed ecu.

 

anyone else with a cnverted auto care to share their experiences and how its held up through time?

 

really it depends on the experience of the person doing the conversion. Cause my buddie RX7INSAC did his conversion to 5 speed and it was a really clean conversion. No problem at all for a year so far.... But he paid a little over 6 G for it...

 

wow
6 grand is way out there price wise.Did he buy everything new?

 

I did mine for a little under 2 grand. You must do the work your self though. If you have a power FC then you can easily get away with useing the auto's engine harness. The hardest part for me was pulling the auto tranny out b/c one of the bolts on the driveplate would not come out. I think it was fused there Someone on here was messing with an auto tranny controller. Maybe with that and a few mods, you could make it pretty fast. Just got to weigh the options either way.

 

I wonder why it is most banks don't finance a 93? I guess i was lucky to be at the bank I'm at then. Anyways, friend of mine was thinking of doing the swap, is it hard to accomplish the swap? Just wondering what he was getting into.

 

Best thing to do is search for the threads(I think most are in the advance tech section), then read them front to back. You will have a very good idea what you need and what your getting into.

 

I've haven't had any problems for over a year, i now have a hestiation problem when the second turbo kicks in, but i think it's igtion or fuel related. I paid my mechanic to do the swap, cost about 3 G's , glad i did though. I went with upgraded clutch and 9.5 lb flywheel, and short shifter, never drove a manual stock, but it's definately more responsive and your able to modify it past 300-350 HP with out having tranny problems. Do it you won't be disappointed.

 

thanx guys.glad to hear that the swap is a solid one.
If I can use the auto harness with a power fc then thats what ill use. beats having to splice ****. thats what really scared me about the swap.
I have access to a shop so that shouldnt be a huge issue. how long did it take you guys to get it done?
I figure maybe 2 days. I dont see it taking that long.Taking off the downpipe shouldnt be too hard anymore.The one thing that I think will be a bitch is the differential.I still remember having to change out the fuel filter.What a pain in the ***.

 

From what I've read people are able to get away with the auto harnesses using a manual ECU. Only splicing they did was for the clutch switch and reverse lights.

I plan to go that route with my auto gauges, auto harnesses and use an M2 stage3. I'm hoping it works well as I dont really have the time to fiddle with wiring, installation will be tight as is for myself.

The one thing that really confuses me that no one mentions... the pedals... do you cut a hole in the chassis to get it into the cabin?

Let me know how yours turns out.
~Kris

 

For the pedals, there is already a hole for the clutch. It's capped off by a little plate you can screw off. The brake, you just install the skinnier pedal in the same spot.

 

so then the install doesnt seem as hard as I initially thought.I was going to get the apex power fc first and have Steve Kan from Gotham tune it for me. I doubt there would be any difference in tuning parameters between the auto and the 5 speed.But then again gear ratios are different. What do you guys think?

 

Okay, well SpeedDemon, if you wanna be ghetto like I'm gonna try and do (until I can get the manual harnesses) using the auto harness should be okay... I dont know for sure but I've read the various threads and thats what I'm seeing -- atleast for getting the car drivable.

Here are the links I've been reading, not sure if they were already posted or not.
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...06#post2569106
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...l&pagenumber=3

Seems that the wiring to be PROPER would need some major changes but just to get her running wouldnt be too bad?

~Kris