That Evo GTA has a detuned engine because the automatic can't handle it. The only autos I know that can handle that much torque or HP are Ricardo race trannys and Allison diesel truck trannys. Of course Mercedes has a strong automatic, but imagine the $$$$$$$$ they spent on R&D. Good luck finding a straight automatic that will work. If not an E55, why not an RS6? Paddle-shift and everything.

 

The heat generated in a stock AT from a engine with 500whp would nuke it. Maybe www.levelten.com can help. They've done great things with Nissans.

 

why switch to an auto??didnt u buy your car for the fun of shifting?i had an auto in my max and was so boring..everytime i goosed it the auto would get confused and shift like ****.i emailed hollinger about there gear sets for our trannys about 1 month back.they said that there gears would work in our 5 speed trannys no problem-the cost is about 6700 u.s..another supplier would be magnus motorsports in canada and ctcmotorsports.you also have shepard racing in ohio and team rip engineering.so,i think the choices are plentiful for your standard .so why switch to an auto? i emailed quaiffe 2 times with no response as to gearsets or sequentail trannies for our cars.awhile back i asked if anyone new about the trannys they offer if they would fit our cars.i guess nobody was interested at that time.sequential through them are like 15000 so be prepared to lay out some bucks.skyline sequentials are for a longtitude application not transverse like our cars.id say get the gears for 6300 or so from magnus or hollinger.

 

i just think an auto would be a bit different but make the car more practical as a 4 door, autos when set up right are faster out of the hole...and I am using it as an every day car....trying to get information on the astrength of this auto tranny is like pulling teeth...but I am on it

 

C in HB, you hit the nail on the head. He should look at the RS6.

I think that thing is about 75k off of the lot though..

 

An auto can certainly be built to handle that much power, but you'll need a damn loose converter to get a good launch off the line which would make the car feel real soggy for daily driving. Expect to have custom planetaries (Gearsets) shafts, torque converter, Clutchpacks, bands and drums (the housings the bands go around) fabricated from billet steel to handle the power.. The custom parts alone may run around $10k not including the housing (since the only things you may be able to use is the housing, and even that may not be structurally strong enough at the bearing supports to hold the power)

Just a heads up.. Does anyone know of some sort of Squential shift, and SMG programmable ECU and clutch actuator setup that could be made to work (as a standalone) that can be hooked up to a paddle shifter mechanism? That may end up costing you as much, but you have a better chance of getting something and upgrading what you have.

FWIW, for drag racing you would use an auto, with loose converter, with as few gears as possible so shifts take less time (and less parasitic loss) you'd also want to sacrifice stop-end for dialing in the gearing so you cross the traps in top gear at nearly redline on your engine.. Not a practical setup for the street but you'd be amazed at the gain in 1/4 times...

BUT at what sacrifice? Most of us generally like the car because of its ability to do EVERYTHING its designed for well.. I'd hate to give up on handling, or drivability, just to get an outrageous 1/4 time which really isn't something you'd use much on the street.

 

invec ii 5 speed tranny with a dual mode gate at mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/inter/technology/invecs_5at.html check that out

 

If you really want to do an Auto setup, you'd be much better off with a RWD conversion and a 2 speed powerglide, Even the fabrication for the conversion, and the parts, and having the chassis shop set the car up would probably cost you the same $15-20k as any of these other options.. You would also completely remove anything that made the Evo what it is..

Please, don't take this personally.. I understand WHAT and WHY you'd like to do it.. this just isn't the car for it. I've been working on cars at this level for 20 years at this point.. If you REALLY want to do something like this, you might consider getting a Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup, or a Starion and swapping a nicely built 4G63, a powerglide, airshifter, and all your goodies onto it. You would have a monster of a drag car..

 

actually i dont want a drag car...but youre right im having flashbacks to some of the cars I had with super loose converters and hard shifts...I just wanted to see if in fact I could get a very versatile evo without it being difficult to live with (manual transmission in traffic or a hard shifting mushy automatic) its amazing how mercedes managed to put a decent automatic in their AMG line thats neither rough nor mushy

 

This all boils down to what I wrote earlier: Mercedes/AMG spent MILLIONS on development of their 6- and 7-speed automatics for their high-torque monsters. No other company would spend that much for that specific application. Most tuners don't have that much R & D money for all of their products, let alone a tranny that very few people would buy. I think your best bet is going to end up being some sort of electronic sequential with a dog-box. Check with Hewland, Ricardo and a few of the others. I guarantee it will be a custom application unless they've done someone in Europe on an Evo VII. This is a very interesting topic to me and I'd like to keep checking on your progress, John. As you know already, it all boils down to $$$. Good luck, man.

Chris

 

well im looking around...if i could find a system i can live with and that isnt rought and harsh...im gonna get it...Id like to lose that clutch

 

One last thing I thought of - call Blair at RMR in California. I believe that have some info. And if anyone knows about Evo stuff, it's them.

 

well here is another thought to ponder...the F1 ferraris....I knwo they use stand alones on some of the challenge cars so im sure a stand alone can operater the paddle system...and most of those are f1 paddled cars...now all the f1 is...is a series of solenoids and electric motors ( im making it seem simple for a reason I know its much more complex) on the same exact 6 speed manual transmission..people are under the impression that the F1 is a different transaxle...it is not..in fact its a relatively simple system if u saw it off the car...I believe aston uses ferraris system...

 

They both use a Magnetti-Marelli system with different specs (same with the new Maserati coupe/spyder). Once again, this would cost HUGE coin. You are correct that theoretically someone could hook up a pneumatic/solenoid system to a stock Evo tranny and make it a paddle shifter. Just think about the complexity and cost...

 

there was an article in one of the tuner magazines w/ a WRX with an auto tranny that was built up and holding a pretty good amount of power. I can't remember which magazine though