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There’s also a bag of black oxide 12.9 allen-hex alloy fasteners along with two thin-wall locating dowels that appear to be for the user to install on the DCT mating side of the engine adapter flange. .
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These are all the bolts to mate the adapter to the engine and the DCT trans to the adapter and the centering dowels are for the DCT side. It does not include the 6 bolts for mounting the input adapter and flex-plate/flywheel to the AT counterweight on the e-shaft. You’ll need to get those from ARP etc.
Experienced DIY’ers aren’t likely to need these, but a few diagrams Neal sent me for the adapter/trans mounting:
I think I am now set with all the parts for the conversion. Just picked up a 2019 F87 M2 DCT transmission with 1,600 miles on it. If I am correct, the F87 is the same transmission used in the F80 F82 M3 M4 cars and has the same gearing ratios. I guess I will see once the gearbox shows up.
The vision of a DCT paddle shifting 20B FD is on its way! Thanks again to Neal for putting this together and Sean for all of your support.
Last edited by David Hayes; May 29, 2021 at 06:11 AM.
^ None that I can think of. The question would be, will the DCT transmission fit into the Cosmo? Maybe you would have to do some shaping of the tunnel? The other question is what ECU are you running? The stock or aftermarket? That answer would dictate which of the transmission ECU controllers you would use, with the HTG being one that works with an aftermarket ECU and the MaxxECU a complete standalone unit.
thanks for the reminder, saw this the other day, a bit hokey in typical youboob video fashion tho’ … pretty sure it’s based on the kit being discussed in this thread
thanks for the reminder, saw this the other day, a bit hokey in typical youboob video fashion tho’ … pretty sure it’s based on the kit being discussed in this thread
I have a 20B JC Cosmo and found this thread while exploring AT swap possibilities. Is there any reason the swap would not work on a cosmo too?
Anthony from the Cosmo Owners Group is currently in the middle of this conversion to his 20B JC. He has posted some of the progress to the facebook group.
We just finished up the hardest parts of a solution for a manual rear iron with DCT. This is not meant to cut in on Islander (uses the I6 bell housing DCT) but instead to meet the needs of a different part of the market:
Our kit is for those wanting to use a manual rear iron without any cutting, and for the larger BMW V8 bell housing Getrag DCT.
Bolt-On. No cutting.
Currently finalizing a couple secondary items.
Low profile adapter. Clearance at the firewall. OEM heater pipe still fits.
Last edited by Monkman33; Sep 7, 2021 at 06:02 PM.
I'm curious to see how that works on a 20b when trying to get the engine as far back as possible to avoid moving the steering rack. Any pics of that? Main thing I'm curious about is the hump on top due to the design of the tranny.
I'm curious to see how that works on a 20b when trying to get the engine as far back as possible to avoid moving the steering rack. Any pics of that? Main thing I'm curious about is the hump on top due to the design of the tranny.
This is the V8 bellhousing DCT. That hump on top was where the BMW starter location was. The engine is mounted with the 13B-REW rear iron in the position of factory (or at least very close to) using FFE motor mounts. This design is situated for a bolt-on solution, but does not preclude anyone from possibly making modifications to use it in other ways. We just wanted to start with a no-chassis/iron-mods needed foundation and let people go from there.
I really like the slim adapter, i wish I could get the slim adapter for the straight 6 tranny without the hump haha.
The thin design only really works with the V8 bellhousing. In order to use this design with the I6 bellhousing, we would have to lengthen the adapter to the point where the savings of thickness would be less than half an inch from Islander's kit. Maybe I'm wrong, but anything less than an inch of thickness savings seems like not enough to justify adding a second, more expensive, option to a relatively small market with the I6 bellhousing.
This is the V8 bellhousing DCT. That hump on top was where the BMW starter location was. The engine is mounted with the 13B-REW rear iron in the position of factory (or at least very close to) using FFE motor mounts. This design is situated for a bolt-on solution, but does not preclude anyone from possibly making modifications to use it in other ways. We just wanted to start with a no-chassis/iron-mods needed foundation and let people go from there.
Monkman any timetable on when a kit would be available? Also curious how you were able to make the auto starter work without cutting the eyelet off the side. I designed an adapter plate plate for the V8 bellhousing but the starter gear's intersection with the flywheel requires cutting the manual rear iron to basically turn it into an auto rear iron. I 3D printed it and could not figure out a way to mount the starter without cutting the bellhousing or cutting the rear iron
Last edited by kelldog44; Sep 8, 2021 at 10:23 AM.
Monkman any timetable on when a kit would be available? Also curious how you were able to make the auto starter work without cutting the eyelet off the side. I designed an adapter plate plate for the V8 bellhousing but the starter gear's intersection with the flywheel requires cutting the manual rear iron to basically turn it into an auto rear iron. I 3D printed it and could not figure out a way to mount the starter without cutting the bellhousing or cutting the rear iron
We are hoping in a couple of weeks or so. We came to the same conclusion as you and opted not to use the auto starter. I will make a thread with complete information soon as we only have potato-phone pics and want to present in a more polished manner with all of the peripheral pieces complete as well. Lots of good news. Plus, we have been testing best install methods and such so we will have some feedback there as well.
We are hoping in a couple of weeks or so. We came to the same conclusion as you and opted not to use the auto starter. I will make a thread with complete information soon as we only have potato-phone pics and want to present in a more polished manner with all of the peripheral pieces complete as well. Lots of good news. Plus, we have been testing best install methods and such so we will have some feedback there as well.
Good to hear, count me as a customer when it's available.
sounds good to me, you guys can go buy up the other V8 DCT trans model then ... I do see your point about the iron, but didn't really consider it that big of a deal. The machine shop can trim that down no problem. If you can avoid it though, then why not.
I'm moving forward with a CD009 conversion first and saving the DCT for my other RX8 down the road, just ordered a new trans from the Nissan dealership today with the Labor Day discount. Hopefully the DCT controls and such will all be further advanced and simpler when I get to that point.
Anthony from the Cosmo Owners Group is currently in the middle of this conversion to his 20B JC. He has posted some of the progress to the facebook group.
Oh, I’ll go check it out. I’m in the group, I just barely ever check FB (and clearly take too long to respond).
My initial question was regarding the swap most of the thread was talking about. Currently the Cosmo drivetrain is almost 100% stock. After I finish the convoluted registration process and have enough walking around money, I’d like to make some pretty big changes too. Since spare time is not something I have much of thanks to my profession, I’m definitely going to have a reputable shop do any major work.
Hey all, I wanted to share some more DCT RX7 progress. My FC is no longer rotary-powered, but besides the adapter plate, the rest of the setup should be applicable. Happy to answer any questions since there aren't a whole lot of people running this swap yet.
Here's the rundown on my whole setup:
5.3L alum. block LS. Small cam, dual valve springs, pushrods, otherwise bone stock.
Twin EFR 6758s and Tial MVRs
F10 M5 (big V8) DCT
MaxxECU Pro for the engine management only
HTG GCU for the DCT control
Domiworks DCT adapter with custom 25# flywheel
Domiworks PCB and wiring harness and wiring service
SLG driveshaft adapter
Custom paddle shifters by me
Blink Marine keypad
BMW F80 shifter (yet to be configured)
The GCU takes a lot of tuning to get driving nicely. There are several maps and it's quite different than tuning an ECU.
So far, I've put over 300 miles on the car this month with the DCT and am really enjoying it. I'm only making around 500whp/500wtq at the moment on 7psi. The stock DCT clutches are usually good for up to around 650wtq in the heavier BMWs. I'm hoping I can get away with not having to spend $$$ on new upgraded clutches. Unfortunately the New England weather is pretty much done for the year and the roads are already salty. I plan on doing some small improvements over the winter and putting lots of miles on it next year.
Any reason why you're not controlling the trans via the Maxx Pro? I've tuned a few MaxxECUs however I've yet to be able to get my hands on tuning one controlling a DCT so I'm a bit behind the curve on that recipe.
Any reason why you're not controlling the trans via the Maxx Pro? I've tuned a few MaxxECUs however I've yet to be able to get my hands on tuning one controlling a DCT so I'm a bit behind the curve on that recipe.
The Maxx only controls the E90 transmissions, which are a 1:1 7th gear. Even if I put 2.73 gears in my 8.8" diff, that's too much gear. The HTG can control the F-series DCTs, which gave a .67:1 7th. I'd honestly still prefer even longer gears and may swap to a 3.08:1 diff. I have gobs of torque and would rather have a more comfortable highway gear. The 1st on tbe DCT is 4.8:1, so it's not like 3.08s will make it hard to drive! The Maxx Is also limited to the stock BMW TCU. HTG can run bigger clutch pressures and hold more torque. But I'd say the Maxx would definitely be easier to set up out of the box and require less tuning.
The Maxx only controls the E90 transmissions, which are a 1:1 7th gear. Even if I put 2.73 gears in my 8.8" diff, that's too much gear. The HTG can control the F-series DCTs, which gave a .67:1 7th. I'd honestly still prefer even longer gears and may swap to a 3.08:1 diff. I have gobs of torque and would rather have a more comfortable highway gear. The 1st on tbe DCT is 4.8:1, so it's not like 3.08s will make it hard to drive! The Maxx Is also limited to the stock BMW TCU. HTG can run bigger clutch pressures and hold more torque. But I'd say the Maxx would definitely be easier to set up out of the box and require less tuning.
Ah cool, thanks. I think I knew about the E90 requirement but I blanked, nice to hear that it wasn't an issue of Maxx dropping the ball (other than the stock requirements and lack of support for your specific transmission).
Ah cool, thanks. I think I knew about the E90 requirement but I blanked, nice to hear that it wasn't an issue of Maxx dropping the ball (other than the stock requirements and lack of support for your specific transmission).
The Maxx also uses the stock BMW TCU and firmware, which has pressure limitations for reliability and warranty. Which means reduced torque capacity. I believe they can be reflashed with different firmware (E90 M3 GTS?) but unsure if it gets you all the way to maximum like the HTG can.
I do see your point about the iron, but didn't really consider it that big of a deal. The machine shop can trim that down no problem. If you can avoid it though, then why not.
