Best 5.0 Manual Transmission?

untohim · Oct 30, 2013

I just bought a 91 lx coupe (my first fox body), it has a fully built 306 (forged internals, heads, roller cam, etc) and I am contemplating throwing a 5 speed in her. the motor is ready to be unnaturally aspirated and I plan on single turboing it eventually. It has a built AOD with 4rw70 gears and a 2800 stall converter in it, supposedly its "good for 800 horse power". Whats this transmission worth? and whats the best 5 speed I could build/buy to replace it that still can hold a good amount of power and that I can build with around the same amount of money I can sell the AOD for +$500?

thanks, ya'll

GroverDill · Oct 30, 2013

Keep the auto if you are going to a turbo, it will be faster with the auto

revhead347 · Oct 30, 2013

What do you want to use the car for? Built autos are cheaper, but you can build a manual to be faster. Especially on a turbo car. It's actually totally irrelevant, because a fast manual transmission costs a fortune, which I'm guessing since you are factoring in the value of your auto you don't have a fortune to spend. It really depends on what you want to get out of the car.

Kurt

srtthis · Oct 30, 2013

revhead347 said:
Built autos are cheaper, but you can build a manual to be faster. Especially on a turbo car.

you'll never get a turbo to go faster with a manual over an auto if the auto is set up right.

larrym1961 · Oct 30, 2013

GroverDill said:
Keep the auto if you are going to a turbo, it will be faster with the auto

Take his advise! This is a guy with an 1100 H.P. twin turbo Stang. He knows a little bit about them.

If you were take your Stang to a drag strip with a turbo, you can spool up a turbo with an automatic trans much better than with a manual. I personally am N.A. with a 5 speed Tremec but that is what I have herd about turbo cars.

srtthis · Oct 30, 2013

larrym1961 said:
Take his advise! This is a guy with an 1100 H.P. twin turbo Stang. He knows a little bit about them.

If you were take your Stang to a drag strip with a turbo, you can spool up a turbo with an automatic trans much better than with a manual. I personally am N.A. with a 5 speed Tremec but that is what I have herd about turbo cars.

this is true... you can get them to come up on boost on the footbrake.

there is ways to do it with a manual also but it doesnt work as well.

A5literMan · Oct 30, 2013

^^^ agree 100000xx!! Built auto all day with a turbo. Grover and srtthis said everything I was going to say already

untohim · Oct 30, 2013

I really appreciate the advise guys! I guess I will stick with the auto for now. what's a good shifter? I have the stock shift in it and when i throw it in 1st and shift to drive it goes straight to what sounds to be 3rd, I was looking at like a hurst ratchet shifter? thanks for your patiences guys, I'm new to drag racing and auto cars

A5literMan · Oct 30, 2013

untohim said:
I really appreciate the advise guys! I guess I will stick with the auto for now. what's a good shifter? I have the stock shift in it and when i throw it in 1st and shift to drive it goes straight to what sounds to be 3rd, I was looking at like a hurst ratchet shifter? thanks for your patiences guys, I'm new to drag racing and auto cars

Hurst quarter stick is a good shifter. I know a few people with them and they all liked it.

revhead347 · Oct 30, 2013

srtthis said:
this is true... you can get them to come up on boost on the footbrake.

there is ways to do it with a manual also but it doesnt work as well.

20 years ago before they had 2 step ignition retards and stuff this was true. Now you can run them up to full boost on the step retard with the clutch in and not pump a whole bunch of heat into your converter. It's totally beside the the point though. What is relevant for a race car is not the same for a street car. Don't go down to the race track to figure out how to build your street car.

Kurt

GroverDill · Oct 30, 2013

With no load on the turbo no significant amount of boost is gonna be made.

If I can save up enough pennies I am going to replace the viper spec in my car with a FB AOD

stykthyn · Oct 30, 2013

I second the 6 speed. its pricey but if you want a manual its the best bet to hold any significant amount of power.

revhead347 · Oct 30, 2013

Turbines turn heat into mechanical energy; the load on the engine is just one way of getting heat into the exhaust, but not the only way. There's a good reason a great number of outlaw, radial, and pro cars have swapped to a 5 speed manual with a big turbo. It's not like they are losing either. Back in the early 90s they were all autos. You can take it from a guy who operates a pair of $3 million turbines every day.

The T56 is a great transmission, but if you can deal with one less gear the TKO600 is stronger and about half the price.

Kurt

hoopty5.0 · Oct 30, 2013

untohim said:
I just bought a 91 lx coupe (my first fox body), it has a fully built 306 (forged internals, heads, roller cam, etc) and I am contemplating throwing a 5 speed in her. the motor is ready to be unnaturally aspirated and I plan on single turboing it eventually. It has a built AOD with 4rw70 gears and a 2800 stall converter in it, supposedly its "good for 800 horse power". Whats this transmission worth? and whats the best 5 speed I could build/buy to replace it that still can hold a good amount of power and that I can build with around the same amount of money I can sell the AOD for +$500?

thanks, ya'll

Careful what you read on the internet, man. It's not always accurate. I'm not interested in a debate right now, but Groverdill HAS a turbo car and I'd be more inclined to believe what he says and I'll leave it there.

My advice is if you want to sell this AOD, you NEED to find out what's in it other than stuff that's "good for 800hp". Any informed buyer is going to want specifics.

srtthis · Oct 31, 2013

revhead347 said:
There's a good reason a great number of outlaw, radial, and pro cars have swapped to a 5 speed manual with a big turbo.

really like who???

2 steps and anti lags DO work on the stick cars... BUT not as well as a transbrake

srtthis · Oct 31, 2013

to give you an idea... everyone i know with a stick car with antilag and 2 steps and all that can make MAYBE 4-5lbs. we have the turbo car turned down boost wise and at 4000RPM we make roughly 6.5 and we have a HUGE turbo with a small motor. we are slow to bring the boost in right now and we reach 30+lbs at 2.11 seconds into the run which is what the controller is set to. we bring that number way in this weekend. id think somewhere in the 1 second range.

how many stick shift 347's can make 30+lbs of boost on a BIG 88mm in under 1 second?

revhead347 · Oct 31, 2013

Here's a discussion on it, all be it short. A couple of guys right here.

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536515

Either way, we are getting off topic which is a diservice to the op.

To the OP, in order for us to help you we have to know what you are using the car for. Is this is a street car, or is it just for the track, or is it a mix of both, do you sit in traffic a lot? Most people go from an auto back to a stick to get their car to be more streetable. If you just want a drag car, then I would stick with the auto and there isn't much more to discuss. Even if a racing manual were a better option, I don't think it's an affordable one. However, if you are having trouble with it on the street, or you are driving this car to work everyday and the gas mileage is killing you, or it's overheating a lot then we can discuss manual options based on what you use the car for.

Kurt

untohim · Oct 31, 2013

revhead347 said:
Here's a discussion on it, all be it short. A couple of guys right here.

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536515

Either way, we are getting off topic which is a diservice to the op.

To the OP, in order for us to help you we have to know what you are using the car for. Is this is a street car, or is it just for the track, or is it a mix of both, do you sit in traffic a lot? Most people go from an auto back to a stick to get their car to be more streetable. If you just want a drag car, then I would stick with the auto and there isn't much more to discuss. Even if a racing manual were a better option, I don't think it's an affordable one. However, if you are having trouble with it on the street, or you are driving this car to work everyday and the gas mileage is killing you, or it's overheating a lot then we can discuss manual options based on what you use the car for.

Kurt

I am planning on driving the car on the street (split the driving amount with my truck so its not a full DD). I understand about auto cars being quicker and all this stuff but I'm really looking for a fun car that I can go to test and tunes and mess around up in the mountains with. I enjoy manuals more then autos which is really the main reason I want to swap. I don't plan on the car making 1000+ or having a 80mm that takes all day to spool, I'm looking for a reliable 500-600 hp that can tear up a corvette or whatever i run into on the street, this being said I don't need to build boost from a dig. What is the best manual (5 or 6 speed) that I can put under my car that isn't gonna make me refinance my truck to buy. I'd like to sell the transmission (gonna call the builder to get a parts list) and if possible pay for the new tranny with the money I made off the AOD.

Thanks, Austin

A5literMan · Oct 31, 2013

untohim said:
I am planning on driving the car on the street (split the driving amount with my truck so its not a full DD). I understand about auto cars being quicker and all this stuff but I'm really looking for a fun car that I can go to test and tunes and mess around up in the mountains with. I enjoy manuals more then autos which is really the main reason I want to swap. I don't plan on the car making 1000+ or having a 80mm that takes all day to spool, I'm looking for a reliable 500-600 hp that can tear up a corvette or whatever i run into on the street, this being said I don't need to build boost from a dig. What is the best manual (5 or 6 speed) that I can put under my car that isn't gonna make me refinance my truck to buy. I'd like to sell the transmission (gonna call the builder to get a parts list) and if possible pay for the new tranny with the money I made off the AOD.

Thanks, Austin

You need at least a well built TKO behind that much power. The trans itself is 2k. Then you need the clutch,shifter,yadayadayada, all said expect minimum of 3k and more like 4k for a manual trans to stand up to 500-600hp. Even after selling the auto you are looking atleast another 2-3k to switch. No "cheap" manual option available will stand up to that power. I love manual cars. I've never owned a fast auto vehicle. I understand what you want. It's just going to cost you no matter what or keep the auto

mikestang63 · Oct 31, 2013

PA or FB AOD and be done with it. Make sure you upgrade your driveshaft as well.

Best 5.0 Manual Transmission?

untohim

New Member

GroverDill

GoldMember

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

larrym1961

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

untohim

New Member

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

GroverDill

GoldMember

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

srtthis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

untohim

New Member

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

mikestang63

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Best 5.0 Manual Transmission?

New Member

GoldMember

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

At least it is lumpy...

New Member

At least it is lumpy...

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

GoldMember

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

mechanicus terribilis

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

the guy doing it does every local racers rear end

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

New Member

At least it is lumpy...

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