Auto Transmission Shifting Modification

Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 23:20:19 EDT
From: Dunder@aol.com

According to pg 88 of the Yamaguchi book (got mine Friday), the stock converter has a stall speed of 3000 RPM.

Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 08:24:34 -0700
From: " Ray Lochhead" (ray@shaneracing.com)

>> did you ever get any replies concerning your question about
>> a new torque converter with a higher stall speed? i have an
>> auto 3rd gen and was interested in doing the same thing.

You could send it to one of the converter shops that build race converters. They can cut it apart and modify the fins inside to allow it to stall higher. Coan Transmissions, , Continental Torque Converter, A-1 . etc... It will produce more heat in the transmission though.

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Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:13:40 EDT
From: "J Jones" (onebadrx7@hotmail.com)

Level 10 performance in NJ offers many mods for the auto RX7 tranny. Shift kit by modifying a vavle in the tranny, they can do torque converter work to get rid of the auto lag, and they offer a shifter mod to make it similar to the Porsche's triptronic set up on the wheel. This eliminates they need to have the factory comp sun the tranny so it is possible to run a stand alone ecu such as the Electromotive. All of these mods were around $500 give or take $100 either way. Not sure of the number but they worked on a auto Supra in SCC a month or 2 ago. Turn around in about 1 week on most things supposedly.

Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 15:35:07 -0500
From: "Conrad J. Koch" (ckoch@alphatech.com)

> Without Hold engaged, what gears are used when 1, 2, or D are selected?

1 will shift through 1, 2 
2 will shift through 1, 2, 3
D will shift through 1, 2, 3, 4

> Same question, but with Hold mode engaged - what gears are selected by 1, 2 and D.

1 w/hold        -       1st only
2 w/hold        -       2nd only
D w/hold        -       3rd only

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 21:52:37 -0500
From: "Mike McLeish" (MikeMcLeish@netchitect.com)

Ok you guys... I talked to John at PFS today. He is very knowledgeable and a great guy to talk to... anyways... about the Automatic to Manual convertion... they did one and confirmed the wiring harness convertion required, with ECU, and otherstuff.. it was a mess... but he could not confirm a rear housing difference or driveshaft difference though.... PFS charges about $2500 to do such a conversion... all in all.... blows that idea for me.

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Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 16:30:09 -0500
From: Shawn.Palandri@dtn.com

...but I wanted to let anyone who is interested in attempting such a thing know, IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I have been informed this procedure is fairly simple and really only involves a few parts, mainly the clutch, tranny and pedal set!! This last weekend, I actually saw a '93 touring that had the swap performed, and the individual who did it swore up and down that it is rather trivial... He did not even bother swapping out gauge clusters!! I wish I could document the exact steps necessary, but in all honesty, as he was explaining the details, I was off in never-never land, salivating over the single turbo setup he had bulging out of the engine bay..

If anyone is SERIOUSLY interested in doing this, please get in touch with Jason Siebels at HP Motorsport in Omaha, NE, 402.731.7301 or http://www.hpmotorsport.com for the complete nitty gritty.

Of course, I am in no way affiliated with this group, but I will be using their services in the near future, as Jason has gotten involved with HP to jump-start the import tuning side of things there, and happens to know RX-7's very well. Allegedly, he has helped tune a very well-know RX-7 drag car that many know to have a "unique" two-tone paint scheme...

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Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 17:45:01 PDT
From: "Dale Nesty" (yardiee@hotmail.com)

I am now at the point of no return with my conversion to 5speed. This weekend I took of the rear diff (3.9) and replaced it with a (4.1). They are different, the flanges are different, the driveshafts are also different. Well anyway that took about 4 hours. The power plant frames are the same though.

The auto engine and tranny is totally out, I am gonna connect up the 5 speed tranny to a R1 donor engine with dual oil coolers OH yeah. This should be really cool. I got an extra oil cooler if anyone wants it, I also got that auto transmission oil cooler which is really the same thing, as the oil cooler.

I put in a clutch, now I need a through-out bearing there is one attached to the transmission but I am afraid to re-use it, i am guessing i might as well put a newer one on there. If any of you guys got one laying around the house let me know.

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 09:43:50 -0600
From: "JDINKINS"

Ok I got tired of pressing the big button just to shift from 3,2,1 (basically I drive "hold" when in the city) and it's just annoying. Do this if you want, it works great for me (caution this also disables *needing* to press the brake to go from park to wherever.. you may not want to do this if you have younger kids:

Tools needed:

Phillips head
Cord Dremel (not the minimite) with cutting disks
Possibly a flat head
Tie Wrap

1. Unscrew the two screws toward front of the car on the shifter. These screws may have locking compound so it may be difficult to get them out.. also their heads are bigger than the surrounding rubber so you may have to pry a small flathead in there once you unscrew them to get them out. Do this first so you have no risk of loosing them through the tranny forever..
   
   
2. Remove big plastic trim holding the astray and everything (just pull up.. honest).
   
   
3. Unscrew the four bolts securing the small hard plastic around the shifter. This will allow access to the rod keeping us from shifter freedom.
   
   
4. Once this plastic is removed pull everything up so you can access the internals of the shifter well. Be very careful as not to sever any wires associated with the "hold" feature still in the top of the shifter boot.
   
   
5. Ok, play with it. Shift back and forth and you will notice that there is a rod sticking through the shifter perpindicular toward the base. This is the enemy. This rod is pushed down everytime you push the button on top (spring loaded) to allow it to move on the stepped steel plates. Push the shifter all the way to park. See the little metal tab it's hitting? This is important toward the end of the job.
   
   
6. Push down on top of the spring loaded rod (from the top like you would be shifting) so that the perpindicular rod at the base is easy access. Put the stick in neutral (straight up). Get the dremel, set at 30,000, and cut the rod. There will be small sparks. I didn't have a problem with them as it took 10 seconds.
   
   Now, once that's done, test it. Put the key in and shift back and forth and make sure it doesn't *catch* on anything (clean cut). Now take the key out.. don't panic. The reason you can't is because the rod you just cut used to hit the metal tab earlier and now no longer hits it. Tie wrap the metal tab so that it is in full contact with the metal base. This enables you to push in your key and remove it.
   
   
7. Put everything back together.