Automatic to Manual Conversion

[Jimbo]

Has anyone ever attempted or done this? Just curious....

I have an automatic and I like it...But...

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1991 NSX Blk/Blk
1974 Vette 454 4 spd
Wht/Blk

 

[David]

You should ask Comptech if their six-speed conversion kit will work with an auto car. If you are going to spend the $, you might as well get the good tranny.

 

[DocL]

Jimbo, I had an automatic Mustang converted to a manual a few years ago. It was pretty much a straight swap, plus I chose a Tremec tranny to do the job. I am very satisfied and one would never know that the car was a automatic to begin with. I'm sure with a little research you can find a stock tranny and a reputable shop to do the conversion.

 

[Lud]

You would be better off simply selling the auto car and buying a manual transmission model.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I agree with Lud totally. Changing the trans will not get you a complete manual car. For one thing the cam profiles in the auto engine are different from the manual engine so this will not be the same as a car that came with a manual to begin with. You will also need to buy a complete clutch setup including the fylwheel. When all is said and done you will probably spend less if you sell it and get a manual car as a replacement.

Going from a 5 to a 6 speed is one thing, auto to manual I am sure will have additional challanges.

LarryB

 

[NSX3522]

I am interested in the conversion i have a 91 auto that i want to swap .I can see the differece in the cams but i am not going to let that stop me.
my car has some personal value that i dont want to part with so i want to swap instead of sale. Can anyone tell me if there is a place that can perform the swap?

 

[docjohn]

I am interested in the conversion i have a 91 auto that i want to swap .I can see the differece in the cams but i am not going to let that stop me.
my car has some personal value that i dont want to part with so i want to swap instead of sale. Can anyone tell me if there is a place that can perform the swap?

sift through these threads http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/search.php?searchid=3493913

 

[UnhuZ]

Hi,

my friend, whom i'm helping selling his parted out NSX, has almost all that is necessary to convert a auto NSX into a manual one... i say almost, because i don't want to make empty promises...

Nuno

 

[Honcho]

Best Motoring VTEC Club video has a whole segment about people doing the auto-to-manual swap. Apparently it is a popular mod in Japan. But Larry is right, it will take a lot of $ to do. The most popular swap according to Best Motoring is to swap in the 2nd Gen NSX-R 6-speed. You will need:

6-Speed Transmission
NSX-R Input Shaft
4.23 Ring and Pinion
MT Camshafts
MT ECU
91-96 Clutch Kit
Clutch Master Cylinder
Clutch Slave Cylinder
Clutch lines
Clutch pedal & parts
MT Gauge Cluster?
Probably more that I'm missing.

Both Tsuchiya and Hattori commented favorably on the swap after driving a modded auto car (a KSP I think) and the car lapped close to the NSX-R on the Ebisu circuit. But bring your wallet, dude. It's at least ten grand in parts plus labor. LarryB probably could do the swap for you.

 

[s14_tat]

Best Motoring VTEC Club video has a whole segment about people doing the auto-to-manual swap. Apparently it is a popular mod in Japan. But Larry is right, it will take a lot of $ to do. The most popular swap according to Best Motoring is to swap in the 2nd Gen NSX-R 6-speed. You will need:

6-Speed Transmission
NSX-R Input Shaft
4.23 Ring and Pinion
MT Camshafts
MT ECU
91-96 Clutch Kit
Clutch Master Cylinder
Clutch Slave Cylinder
Clutch lines
Clutch pedal & parts
MT Gauge Cluster?
Probably more that I'm missing.

Both Tsuchiya and Hattori commented favorably on the swap after driving a modded auto car (a KSP I think) and the car lapped close to the NSX-R on the Ebisu circuit. But bring your wallet, dude. It's at least ten grand in parts plus labor. Since you're in PA, LarryB probably could do the swap for you.

well the reason why that swap is popular because they sold almost as much autos as they did manuals in japan. The tuners wanted to start with a car that is less likely to be molested with lower miles ( an auto car ). But if you look at that how much work was done to make it match a stock R and also that they need I/H/E just to match the stock 5 speed baseline hp and things starts to look really silly. Sometimes I don't understand how the japanese tuners think.

 

[Honcho]

well the reason why that swap is popular because they sold almost as much autos as they did manuals in japan. The tuners wanted to start with a car that is less likely to be molested with lower miles ( an auto car ). But if you look at that how much work was done to make it match a stock R and also that they need I/H/E just to match the stock 5 speed baseline hp and things starts to look really silly. Sometimes I don't understand how the japanese tuners think.

Yeah, me too. The KSP guy said the best NA1 mod in his opinion was the 97+ LSD. I can think of a few mods I'd rather have first, headers being one. Besides, if the LSD is so great, why did Honda go back to the 91-96 clutch-type for the 2002 Type R?

 

[sahtt]

You would be better off simply selling the auto car and buying a manual transmission model.

This is usually true but if he would be purchasing a 40k+ vehicle he'd be looking at several thousand just in sales tax; something to consider.

 

[s14_tat]

This is usually true but if he would be purchasing a 40k+ vehicle he'd be looking at several thousand just in sales tax; something to consider.

40K vehicle? unless he is talking about a NA2 than I don't see a NA1 costing that much. For a NA2 6 speed, than the difference is even greater if he just did a tranny swap. It will be a 250hp, 7000 rpm, less aggressive cam, and .2 liter smaller than a legit NA2, 6 speed.

All Autos came as a detuned 3.0 liter engine, so you can have a 2005 NA1 techically if you bought a auto.

 

[goldNSX]

I just came across this section in my Japanese book where they explain the swap (ok, show pictures, that's the only dimension I understand in Japanese books ). It's costly and no way with completely new parts IMO ($10-12k). But as Nuno says: if you can part out a crashed manual car and get an used gearbox it can make sense (6-7k minus selling the auto gearbox 2k? = $5k). It all depends on the price difference between an auto and a manual. It's certainly interesting in very small markets where there are a lot of well-maintained autos but near to none manuals that has not been rotten down to its knees.

Back to my engine question: An auto offers the same level of torque like a manual I've read. The only difference is the rev-limit and the cam profile. I guess that both engines are par below VTEC. Above 6k rpm there's a slight advantage for the manual. If you throw an MT ECU in a converted auto-car what would be the difference? None below VTEC and maybe 10 hp in VTEC?

 

[Gofastguy]

40K vehicle? unless he is talking about a NA2 than I don't see a NA1 costing that much. For a NA2 6 speed, than the difference is even greater if he just did a tranny swap. It will be a 250hp, 7000 rpm, less aggressive cam, and .2 liter smaller than a legit NA2, 6 speed.

All Autos came as a detuned 3.0 liter engine, so you can have a 2005 NA1 techically if you bought a auto.

Can the engine be "un" detuned? If so, how? I just thought that it was the smaller engine?

 

[UnhuZ]

Thomas,

exactly... my friend has all that is needed BUT the gauge cluster, that is already sold (but i don't think it's ESSENTIAL to the swap).

Now the interesting thing is that he maybe found a auto NSX that he will buy and do the conversion himself, having 2 NSX this way :wink: (but is a very long project)

Let's see if it's a go ahead...if it is, i will surely document everything :wink:

Nuno

I just came across this section in my Japanese book where they explain the swap (ok, show pictures, that's the only dimension I understand in Japanese books ). It's costly and no way with completely new parts IMO ($10-12k). But as Nuno says: if you can part out a crashed manual car and get an used gearbox it can make sense (6-7k minus selling the auto gearbox 2k? = $5k). It all depends on the price difference between an auto and a manual. It's certainly interesting in very small markets where there are a lot of well-maintained autos but near to none manuals that has not been rotten down to its knees.

Back to my engine question: An auto offers the same level of torque like a manual I've read. The only difference is the rev-limit and the cam profile. I guess that both engines are par below VTEC. Above 6k rpm there's a slight advantage for the manual. If you throw an MT ECU in a converted auto-car what would be the difference? None below VTEC and maybe 10 hp in VTEC?