The conversion is a matter of swapping the GEARBOX and implementing the new linkages. ACD/AYC have nothing to do with this. We have discussed this before.

BTW: the ratios on the 6speed are not all that, and the box feels like ****te. imho.

 

GVR4kid, would be interesting to know how you can be so sure that the EVO 6-speed box is weaker than the 5-speed? I have seen both boxes from the outside and the 6-speed looks totally different, it's larger and has a different shape to it. If you make the box larger one could think that it should be possible to make it as strong as the 5-speed couldn't you?

When you say "not so hot ratios" are you reffering to gear ratios then? The ratios of the 5-speed is quite nice except for the huge gap between 4th and 5th, in the 6-speed that gap is eliminated by making 4th lower, 5th in between and finally 6th even higher. In the same buy you also get closer ratios on 2nd and 3rd while 1st remains unchanged.

 

Just curious, I presume you have driven the 6-speed judging from what you write? As I have not, could you compare the two boxes a bit more in detail and describe the difference in feeling and gearing?

 

Outward looks can be deceiving... many of the gear materials in the six speed are lighter / thinner than the W5M51 5 speed .. it holds up well to street driving, but there have been some questions about its strength.... i will try to find some links for ya.

 

doea anybody make a gear set for the 5sp?

 

Hi Thomas, I had a E8 GSR playing around with the other day ... nice car. Its the second E8 i've driven. The six speed does not have the direct "fighter plane" like feeling that ours has (JDM E7 box = same as the American Evo 8),

It feels 'mushy' , changing down quickly feels unsure.

It never seemed to come alive until 3rd gear.. after that bang!!

 

This is a video of the 5-speed VS. the 6-speed

http://www.rallyjamaica.com/misc/E8_Gear.WMV-link.WMV

and remember the USdm Evo8 has the same gearbox as the Evo 7 GSR.

 

Thanks for the input, I'm just in the process of deciding if I should sell my LHD E7 RS2 and order an E8 MR RS. The general export model (LHD) comes only with the 5-speed but Ralliart Germany where I buy my cars (current E7 and previous E6) had ordered three 6-speed boxes to evaluate and investigate the possibility to fit a 6-speed box afterwards. I would really like to test drive a car with the 6-speed before deciding, wouldn't like standing there being disappointed of if after spending extra money to get it

What are your thoughts about the E8 MR RS? I have the possibility to choose specs very freely, all starts with a pure RS and then I can add the following more or less independent of each other:

17" wheels + Brembo brakes
Bilstein suspension
Central door locking
Power windows
Power mirrors
Recaro seats + Momo steering wheel
Manual A/C
Color (grey metallic, white, silver and red)

I have started to lean towards going for the pure RS only adding the 17" wheels and the brembo brakes, getting it as light as possible and then put in race seats, cage, coilovers etc. etc. installing my MoTeC management system and a nice turbo kit. Should make a very fast track car but still keeping it street legal, except maybe for emissions

Compared to my E7 I will lose the ABS brakes and the AYC, the RS still has ACD though.

I have also seen in a japanese product brochure that the MR RS has less torque than the MR GSR and I heard some rumors that the RS didn't have the new turbo and the new cams etc. from the GSR but I have not been able to confirm that. RA Germany didn't know much about it but said it definitely had the new cams and turbo and thought it sounded strange since the RS didn't have to comply to certain emission standards and had less restrictive emission control. They said that the RS unofficially had 300bhp, 20 more than the japanese 280 limit.

 

mitsu recalled a lot of the evo's with a 6speed when they made them. Just some thing to think about

 

But the UK Evo 8's do not have the same emissions 'stuff' around the gas tank....this stuff takes up much of the room that was once occupied by the ACD/AYC system....Your tanks is completely different. Your ECU's are also different. So it's not just a matter of plugging in a few extra things and suddenly being able to have a 6spd AYC/ACD system under a US Evo VIII....ie it is not a dead simple switch.

 

is the final drive of the 6 speed different?

 

EVOVII_SWE, I will pm you with some thoughts on the matter ...
caio

 

So, if your 6th gear is taller than our 5th does that mean that the top speed is greater than that of the 5 speed?

 

Thanks, I'll be waiting....

 

Well, theoretically it is for sure, I don't have any figures at hand of how much it differs but my VII with 5-speed box and no major mods quite easily hits the 7000 rpm redline and on a cold night it continues some 500 rpm into the red field as well if I give it some time. Then I have 280km/h on the speedo, about 175mph and that could probably be correct as I have seen stock VIIs measured to 256km/h 160mph in real speed. If I'm not mistaking the 6th gear isn't that much taller than 5th on the 5-speed box so probably the top speed would increase slightly.