Any track ****** on here (meaning do track events almost once a month or more) run the 6spd?

I am curious if anyone has killed one yet and how and what gear.

I killed 4th gear at thunderhill today, 10 laps into the day . No idea how or why but it let go. Makes nasty nasty nasty noises now in 4th gear. I had to tow the car home. I'll be calling TRE and Shep tomorrow and getting some info.

 

Yeah, I do, but I may not have done enough sustained track time (e.g. more than 20 mins full speed) to cause a problem. I've seen Works talk about their woes with the 6spd tranny and how it has cooling deficiencies due to less fluid in the case, but I haven't seen anyone else comment on this from road racing their MR.

As a precautionary measure, though, my sponsor VIP Garage is making me a special trans cooler that I plan to use. They already made one and installed it on a 5spd Evo IX running SCCA-T2 nationally _after_ he started having trouble with 5th gear and had Shep upgrade his tranny.

 

Is it going to have a pump and everything?

 

Yes.

 

i go to the track 2 to 4 times a month and have done over 30 runs and its fine. but i only have 4k miles on the car

 

this is why i trailer the car to events.

I've put what, 9 events on the evo in about 16 months. No tranny issues yet, but i know when they arrive, the syncros are gonna need replaced from my earlier lack of heel/toe.

 

i know the auto supra's use a tranny cooler, that would be nice to get one for the evo too!!

 

It's not unusual for an AT to use an oil cooler.

 

on the topic of trans temps...i spoke to jon at TRE about this and he told me that the evo trans temps do not stabilize (when racing/HPDEs) and continue to climb the longer you run the car. he advised me to run no longer than a 30 min session without a cool off. I'm also running a 50/50 mix of redline MTL/MT90 as the mt90 provides better protection at high temps, and the possible expense of some shifting smoothness. anyway, a trans cooler sounds like a good idea

 

i also know a person who tracks his car and blew his 4th gear driving normal in his MR.

 

When I get the trans cooler installed, I'll do my typical write-up with pics and such. If it works/helps, you guys can think about ordering one. Obviously, this one will be tough to provide empricial evidence on, though.

 

Would a tranny fluid temp gauge be helpful?

 

I know a guy who ran a 6 speed MR in SCCA T2 who is planning on, or may have already gone to, a 5 speed because of reliability issues.

 

No problems whatsoever. I change the tranny fluid after every event (as well as transfer case, rear LSD and engine oil). I've driven the car to every event and not so much as a hiccup. Car just broke 10K Miles. Most of this has been track use.

 

that'd be good, any thoughts of putting a gauge to meter temp while doing it? just to see what kinda temps we're talking.