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Seeking recommendation on 6 speed tranny

Old 01-12-11, 12:35 PM
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Seeking recommendation on 6 speed tranny

I have Lotus 7 variant with a modified 13-B engine.It has the stock Mazda tranny for the 13B non-turbo. The 5 speed leaves a lot of winding up in 5th gear and it is asking for another gear. I think a 6 speed would work perfectly. Is there any 6 speed transmission that can mate with the 13B housing?
Old 01-12-11, 12:56 PM
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An RX-8 6-speed.

From the 2nd gen FAQ:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...49#post5131249

MazdaTrix makes a TII transmission to NA rear end driveshaft, so if you don't want to swap your rear end, you can use that shaft instead.

Can I install the RX-8 6 speed transmission into my 2nd Gen RX-7?
5th gear on the FE tranny is the same as the 4th on FC trannys anyway, so there is no real advantage of using the RX-8 tranny if you are thinking that the 6th gear will be a extra gear for an overdrive, and actually 6th on the FE tranny (.83 vs .71) is shorter than the FC, resulting in lower gas mileage at highway speeds.

Using a RX-8 tranny would be like adding a extra gear between 2nd and 3rd to a standard 2nd gen RX-7 M or R type transmission. If you look at the gear chart this does not match clearly, but in simplified operation it is the nearest description to what happens.

Add in, that the RX-8 6 speed transmission is also about 4 inches too short, forcing you either to relocate the shifter 4 inches forward in the car, or move the engine 4 inches backward (towards the firewall) to make it fit in the stock shifter location as well as fabricate a custom drive shaft and transmission mounts.
The gearing will overall be more suited for acceleration, and top gear will be shorter.
Old 01-12-11, 11:56 PM
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Yes, we have 2 rx8 six speeds modified to fit. You need an rx8 starter (newer gear reduction) and a slightly modified slave cylinder. You have to re drill the mount in the trans and make and cut down a drive shaft.

we road raced ours but got our hands on two emco 5 speeds instead. contact us through the web site if you are interested in purchasing one (fresh rebuild, 0 hours).
Here is a link to us racing one of the six speeds. Watch the tack, it not a bad gear set. 3rd gear syncro was toast.
http://www.youtube.com/user/retrorac.../2/rZBazjKOodA

Jeff
Old 01-13-11, 09:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Heffe
Yes, we have 2 rx8 six speeds modified to fit. You need an rx8 starter (newer gear reduction) and a slightly modified slave cylinder. You have to re drill the mount in the trans and make and cut down a drive shaft.

we road raced ours but got our hands on two emco 5 speeds instead. contact us through the web site if you are interested in purchasing one (fresh rebuild, 0 hours).
Here is a link to us racing one of the six speeds. Watch the tack, it not a bad gear set. 3rd gear syncro was toast.
http://www.youtube.com/user/retrorac.../2/rZBazjKOodA

Jeff
u just opened urself up to vendor and everything that goes with it. mods will probably be contacting u.
Old 01-13-11, 06:43 PM
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Really? So if I answer a guy who has a question and have something that might help, I am a vender? Wow......
BTW, not my first choice of six speed for that car, it's a little heavy. There is an ultra close ratio 6-speed box available through Caterham that is just amazing, I finished third overall driving for another team at the 2009 25 hour race a Thunderhill raceway with one and it was perfect throughout. Not cheap, but what is that is any good these days.
Sorry if I broke a rule or something, pull the post if required, no problem here, just trying to help.
Old 01-14-11, 05:18 PM
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You're fine. No rules broken.
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