Having had both trannys in the same car, I have to say I like the 5-spd better. I do however miss the pluses of the auto, but seeing as how I actually use my car for autox on a regular basis, the 5-spd is the ticket.
I was told that Honda auto’s were junk. This is untrue. I beat the living piss outta my auto. It took 100,000 miles under my leadfoot and 3 seasons of autox before it started to show signs of wear. Upgrades for them would be a definate cool option to have, Cant say Id wanna convert back, but it would be cool for the auto owners to have some options besides the conversion.
wow its very interesting how people view the whole auto vs manual situation
even tho its been CLINICLY PROVEN that with the CORRECT auto setup its better for racing
the time u lose shifting its time off the clock
yea on a manual u control the gears it whips it beats a auto
but it depends on the setup and the driver
ive whipped sum manual a$$e$ out there with my auto
on a 1/4 and on the street and iam still workin on my car for more hp hopefully i want to get the most hp out of it ,more than u think
it can be done ive seen it
so for all u auto tegs who want to keep your rides i say do the research with professional opinions from trany companies and race teams
lucky i have the likes of people from drt and performance factory to back me up
I was thinking of replacing my auto tranny (175k), and sending the torque converter to LevelTen. Is this worth it? Should I just send the tq to them, or have both done. What exactly are the advantages of the torque converter in common terms?
Levelten is probably going to only be able to slightly modify the stall speed…if my guess is correct. You want to get the coverter to “flash” right around where your engine combo starts making power. Flash is the point where the converter is transferring most of the power. Say a converter flashes at 3500 rpm. This would mean that the car is making decent horsepower and torque around 3500 rpm. The standard has always been that this is measured race car conditions (on a trans brake, good traction, enough gear ratio to cross the finish line at the upper end of the power range). Imports may be measured differently. If your engine really starts making power around 3500, you want the converter to flash around 3500 rpm.
As far as the transmission, levelten may be able to build it stronger than factory, but it looks like these trannies in stock form are tough. Horsepower is utilized better by changing the stall speed of the torque converter. I am probably going to buy the levelten trans kit and have a tranny guy do the rebuild. I think that’ll be a lot cheaper and the final product will be about the same.
is there any way of changing the fact that the auto tyranny sucks about 15%-20% of your horsepower? the only part i heard auto entusiatists is the torque converter
I’m in the same boat regarding having an automatic. People have suggested going ls/vtec and i have given it thought. Is there any company that could reprogram the automatic ecu? Does anyone know much about the stock JDM automatic ecu’s that came with the old school JDM B16A’s?
AYE…CHECK OUT A PLACE IN STATON, CA…UP BY ANAHEIM. AT A PLACE CALLED “JAPANESE ENGINE LAND” THEY CAN EASILY GET U A B16 AUTO ECU. .AND ULL BE SURPRISED AT THE PRICE…KEEP IN MIND…THEYRE NOT VERY POPULAR. …MIGHT BE CHEAPER THAN U THINK…I DONT KNOW THE NUMBER OFF HAND…BUT I USUALLY CALL 411…
2simplex: No, the power loss in the auto trans is due mostly to the pump. Unless the aftermarket makes a more efficient pump, you can’t even reduce the loss of power, let alone remove it totally. You could try something like amsoil synthetic trans fluid, its probably honda approved, and it may help free up a little power.
Originally posted by Dev90GS Ok, here’s my $.02… I bought my car with an auto… (blah) like 3 yrs or more ago… about 2 months ago I put a 5spd in it… (woooohooo!!!) If you have all the parts or can locate all the parts for that swap… I’d much recommend that… I know how your attached to your car b/c I bet 99.999% of us on here are… so think of the long run… are you gonna be happy with a auto for a long time? I wasn’t… got old fast… but again that’s jus my $.02…
Yes, I’m happy with my auto. My sedan is my cruiser on the boulevards while my hatch is for my manual. Two selection what to choose.
i think having vtec on an auto is a waste. when its built up its meant for the high rpms. you cant control the rpms with an auto. if you raise the rev limiter does it even go higher? no i think its controlled by the tranny computer. has anyone ever modded that? never heard of one… some say 200whp is the safe limit of the honda slushbox, even with a tranny cooler. then the high cost of a torque converter doesnt make it practical either.
so if youre gonna stick with your auto i say b20, boost, n2o, or a combination of the three. i for one curse my auto everyday of its existence, and swapping/buying a manual isnt viable at the moment… however ive been bitten and im slowly moving toward the darkside muahahaha :devil:
How much does that all add up to $700-$800. So now you run STOCK 5spd times. Its gonna take a lot of money to make an auto “quick” since Honda never designed it to be applied in race situations.
Originally posted by XDEep
[B]i think having vtec on an auto is a waste. when its built up its meant for the high rpms. you cant control the rpms with an auto. if you raise the rev limiter does it even go higher? no i think its controlled by the tranny computer. has anyone ever modded that? never heard of one… some say 200whp is the safe limit of the honda slushbox, even with a tranny cooler. then the high cost of a torque converter doesnt make it practical either.
so if youre gonna stick with your auto i say b20, boost, n2o, or a combination of the three. i for one curse my auto everyday of its existence, and swapping/buying a manual isnt viable at the moment… however ive been bitten and im slowly moving toward the darkside muahahaha :devil: [/B]
I have a B16A1 Del Sol ECM, stock convertor, and a 7200 revlimiter and it shifts at 7050 rpms in everygear. I have 150K on my auto tranny and can chirp into 2nd and 3rd, of corse, this is probably because I am boosted to 6.5 psi and soon to be 8psi. Instalation of the del sol ECM was a pain in the ass, but well worth it. You have to cut the ECM harnesses off of both the Del Sol ECM and the teggy harness. Then you look at both the wiring diagrams for the teggy and the Del Sol. non of the wire colors match, so you match up the wires that have corosponding functions and solder those bitches together. though w/o the rev limiter the motor continues to rev and bounce of the revlimiter under full throttle and will not shift! so you need the rev limiter adjusted. (please note that you will lose s4, and can keep the s3, so it goes,“P R N D s3 2.”
I have a B18A auto and in March, I’m gonna do the 5 speed swap. When this is done, I wanna go VTEC, how much would it run to do the ls/vtec conversion in parts. Or should I save up and go with the B18C???
I’m an auto tranny guy too. I agree with an earlier post that many guys in the tuner world have little or no experience with the automatic. I also agree that the 5 speed can be more fun at times. I find that the fun wears off and it becomes a grind (no pun intended) rowing through the gears in traffic every day. Those guys who say you can’t hold a shift in the automatic are incorrect. I have a 92 automatic. I can’t hold it in first or second but can in third. The 94 + automatic can be held in every gear by shifting manually from 1st through to fourth. I also have a 2004 TL. It has a sports shift that lets you shift manually except for 1-2. I have compared the manual shift to just stomping it and letting the automatic do its thing. You know what? The automatic wins and it doesn’t miss shifts. So in a way you can have it both ways with an automatic.
The swap I am working on now is a JDM B18C with automatic into my 92 Integra. That is a challenge mainly because its much more complex electronically than a manual and there are very few guys to discuss it. The JDM model does not use TCM. The ECU does it all. I have not been able to find anyone who knows anything about this ECU. Check another post on this subject for more details about the issues.
It’s better to keep one thread on topic than to keep making new threads about the same topic spread all over the place.
Concerning AT and MT cars, my old 1991 MT Teg is sitting next to my “new” 1990 AT Teg, and both are getting a B20Z swap this weekend. The MT car is now owned by my buddy, and it has basic I/H/E, but my AT car will have I/H/E, IM, larger TB and 403 cams. I expect my car WILL be faster than the MT car…both being nearly the same setup…why?? Because my buddy sucks at shifting…and my AT will probably fairly speedy when done.
I swapped my 95 Legend from AT to MT, and I can say honestly the MT is not really much faster in the case of the Legend. Maybe the teg is different, but I NEED an AT because I dont want to drive a stick anymore, and I want some satisfaction of building a fairly quick AT.
i had a 90 rs 5 speed and it was quick yes but now i have a 91 gs auto and when it comes to the track i get better reaction and 60ft times with it stock than my modded 5 speed ls. i am also on the search for a better torque converter like a high stall one and a transbrake would be awesome to have,this car can be just as quick if not quicker as an auto.So as i leap into the auto world im looking forward to it.
My sedan is my cruiser on the boulevards while my hatch is for my manual. Two selection what to choose. 