Thinking of buying a mates awd TL vr-x. If i do i want to then supercharge it and then a manual conversion. I think my best bet is a 3000GT gearbox, few questions. My 3.5 TJ FWD has a east-west gearbox config, do the awd models have the same setup? and do the 3000GT of any model have the same or similar setup and are interchangeable? 3000GT have a 6 speed manual, would be awesome in an AWD supercharged magna. Wouldnt you agree?

My father is a mechanic and will help me do the conversion, just prepping if its possible etc before I do anything else. I have heard that 3000GT have similar engines, but I think it all relates to the 3L models.

As far as i know the 3000GT gbox will only work in 2nd gens as there engine is flipped 180 aposed to the 3rd gens. Although i agree it would be cool.

The gearbox to get would be the ralliart gearbox, and if your gunna get that then your might as well just get a whole ralliart engine.

OR

You could do some mild internals work on your AWD engine before you get it supercharged.
( Sprintex im imagining ) if you do the internal work you should be able to bump up the boost abit and get some decent power. im thinking 250kw to all four wheels. ?
Then marry it up to the standerd 3.5L 5Speed with a LSD installed.

ANyways dude sounds like a sweet project. Not to say i havnt heard this before, but id like to see you follow through.

Good Luck.

Since i was the first to reply to your thread can i take it for a drive when its finished, pretty please ????



Thinking of buying a mates awd TL vr-x. If i do i want to then supercharge it and then a manual conversion. I think my best bet is a 3000GT gearbox, few questions. My 3.5 TJ FWD has a east-west gearbox config, do the awd models have the same setup? and do the 3000GT of any model have the same or similar setup and are interchangeable? 3000GT have a 6 speed manual, would be awesome in an AWD supercharged magna. Wouldnt you agree?

My father is a mechanic and will help me do the conversion, just prepping if its possible etc before I do anything else. I have heard that 3000GT have similar engines, but I think it all relates to the 3L models.

The box with the best chance of fitting is a 5 speed from an Evo 6-7. The Evo GTA shares the box with AWD magnas. A 3000GT box has very little chance of fitting.

as ive posted soooooo many times before.

evo 6 gearbox will fit with an adaptor plate.

this is because the evo 6 in europe and canada etc came in auto with the same invecs 2 box as the awd magna.

i tried finding a box for my awd vrx earlier. 5 grand for ta brand new box through mitsu. couldnt find a second hand one.....

Mr Bishi, I didnt think ralliarts come in awd, I dont think a 2wd gearbox will fit or be able fit a fwd, I would rather a stronger one with the supercharger and all. But maybe

Wooley, does this mean ill have to import this adaptor plate from europe? That 5 grand box is the evo 6 brand newy? Im sure there will be a second hand evo box available many places around australia, if not you can import one from jap.

Mr Bishi, I didnt think ralliarts come in awd, I dont think a 2wd gearbox will fit or be able fit a fwd, I would rather a stronger one with the supercharger and all. But maybe

Wooley, does this mean ill have to import this adaptor plate from europe? That 5 grand box is the evo 6 brand newy? Im sure there will be a second hand evo box available many places around australia, if not you can import one from jap.

evo box will be the only one that will fit.

i dont believe an adaptor plate is used in the evos... but an adaptor plate is definitly necessary for putting their manual box in the awd magna. i cant see it being too hard to make one up.... if you put both boxes side by side you could see the differences... and make one to suit.

a ralliart box deffinitly wont work.

if you want to do some engine work, really drop the compression and put some mad cams in it, then supercharge.

it would be awesome.

an auto supercharged awd goes fair well. love to see what a manual one would be like. especially with some big engine work......

Just to let ya know during R&D for the AWD magna, we had a EVO6 5speed manual equipped AWD magna and a jap EVO7 6speed manual AWD magna test cars AND before anyone asks, The cars were stripped and scrapped once the AWD magna was on the market.

Just to let ya know during R&D for the AWD magna, we had a EVO6 5speed manual equipped AWD magna and a jap EVO7 6speed manual AWD magna test cars AND before anyone asks, The cars were stripped and scrapped once the AWD magna was on the market.

well on that note id say get the EVO7 6 Speed box mate

Just to let ya know during R&D for the AWD magna, we had a EVO6 5speed manual equipped AWD magna and a jap EVO7 6speed manual AWD magna test cars AND before anyone asks, The cars were stripped and scrapped once the AWD magna was on the market.
How did they go?

i think the evo 7 had a much more intense torque control thing happening. meaning it would be harder to use. as i beleive the yaw control and all that **** is in the box controlled by computers and if not wired up will impede the workings of the box...

How did they go?

Very Very nice to drive but the cost of importing 2 different AWD boxes for a low volume car was deemed out by MMAL, so they chose the auto as that made up over 90% of magna sales, plus cost was also a major factor they had to consider.

Has anyone on here done (or doing) the swap? I thought I read something about someone trying ages ago. It would have to cost alot though. The AWD has a different floorplan, it would have to be a huge job.
The AWD's have a few NVH issues, mainly at idle. Using a custom flywheel and a retrofit manual transmission would only make that much worse. But how cares - it would be a great car!

Just to let ya know during R&D for the AWD magna, we had a EVO6 5speed manual equipped AWD magna and a jap EVO7 6speed manual AWD magna test cars.

Jason, do you remember if an adapter plate of any sort was required?
Difficult/expensive to make?


Has anyone on here done (or doing) the swap? I thought I read something about someone trying ages ago.

I thought I read a thread that hinted that Mitisman tried and ran into some problems...
anyone ?

-Dan

Perhaps the plate will be easy for me to make as my dad owns and operates an engineering shop.

So the evo7 6 speed has like an ecu in it? Will this be a problem? I would prefer the newer 6 speed, but if people have had problems I would prolly go 5 speed to be safe.

So the evo7 6 speed has like an ecu in it? Will this be a problem? I would prefer the newer 6 speed, but if people have had problems I would prolly go 5 speed to be safe.
It's a mechanical thing isn't it? Does it actually have an ECU? I mean, does a manual 2nd gen Magna have a TCU? Autos do but then in the 3rg gens there's just the one unit that is the ECU and TCU in one. At least I'm led to believe this.

Now, having smarts about the diff and AWD system but that's different.

im pretty sure theres an electronic side to it all for all that yaw steer and torque control stuff. i was told by someone unless you could find an aftermarket computer to work with it it wouldnt distribute power to all 4 wheels properly.... and you wouldnt be able to rev it out etc...

looks like the 5 speed is the one then

Perhaps the plate will be easy for me to make as my dad owns and operates an engineering shop.

So the evo7 6 speed has like an ecu in it? Will this be a problem? I would prefer the newer 6 speed, but if people have had problems I would prolly go 5 speed to be safe.
Um I would have thought that the TCU would only be for controlling the differentials as there's not much that a TCU can do with a manual gearbox apart from sensing gear speeds for the traction control. I would be more worried about the electricals than the mechanicals when changing to a manual box as there would probably be a fair bit of work there.

On that note would it also be possible to put EVO6-7 diffs and TCU into an AWD magna, as this would turn it into an absolute weapon.

Oh and I can't see why you couldn't put in and evo 8/9 manual box either, as the bottom end of the evos have all stayed the same so I would have thought that they'd all bolt up the same

im pretty sure theres an electronic side to it all for all that yaw steer and torque control stuff. i was told by someone unless you could find an aftermarket computer to work with it it wouldnt distribute power to all 4 wheels properly.... and you wouldnt be able to rev it out etc...
But the magna has completely different diffs to the evo. No yaw control. As far as I am aware the magna AWD system is completely mechanical

I will speak to a mitsu engineer about it to clear all this up.

im pretty sure theres an electronic side to it all for all that yaw steer and torque control stuff. i was told by someone unless you could find an aftermarket computer to work with it it wouldnt distribute power to all 4 wheels properly.... and you wouldnt be able to rev it out etc...
Sounds like rubbish (no offence). Active YAW control is downstream of the transmission. For what it's worth... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_yaw_control

I think Redav is right at least if you got the right version of the box. As there are multiple versions in Japan GSR etc there are models without AYC and the active centre differential. However it would be interesting if the rear diff ratio was the same as the evos. Otherwise you would have to change that too. The other benefit of the evo box would be that the front diff would be a limited slip item.
But it really comes down to this. You can buy an evo 7 for under 30k from Japan and an 8 for under 40k. This would be a faster, more agile car.

5 speed is a better bet - the smarts (yaw control etc) are all downstream of the gearbox.

I would assume that the bellhousing would need to be changed (obviously - going from a 4 cyl to a 6 would complicate issues) Not sure about the clutch - the flywheel would be bigger on the 6 as well. You would need to make up a bit of a frankenstein between the engine and gearbox - probably all the bits from a manual magna (maybe the bellhousing from the Auto AWD as well - though it probably isn't that different.

The fact that the same autobox is used on the EVO's as the AWD magnas is promising though...

Cheers
Heath Young

I'm reviving this thread, with a vengeance!

Over HERE (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92462&highlight=) I started a project that would allow manual selection of gears in the AWD's automatic transmission. It started out as a push button concept that hijacked the cruise control switch, but evolved into a rudimentry arm and oversized gear stick. Point is it works, I'm now in control of the gears (when in tippy mode).

This is all well and good, but I've decided to step things up a notch - I want to drive manual again.... for those of you that don't know, I'm missing an arm - the important one - and wanting to drive a manual again raises a few challenges.

If you just want to tell me to buy a "new" car, or "live with" driving an auto' then please, go to another thread. I've set my mind to this and I wont respond well to negative comments.

So, I've developed a shifter that converts the H-pattern shift to a sequential shift - it works as a 3D model, and I hope to have a 3D printed prototype soon. If that fails I may look at using an Ikeya sequential shifter and modifying to suit. This coupled with the arm I am currently using should allow me to select gears. Thats the first hurdle cleared.

Next step is the car - I need a manual gearbox for the AWD ($2500?), or I switch to a FWD manual Magna VRX ($7000), or I find a manual FTO ($5000+). I like FTO's and I'm approaching my midlife crisis, so a red one would fit well.

Considering the costs involved with this project my budget is going to be stretched thin. I have to build, or buy, the shifter, install an electric handbrake, certify the vehicle modifications, be assessed by an OT with the modified vehicle and then sit my driving test again. So, I'm not going to have much room in my budget for a whole car, and this leads me back to fitting a manual gearbox to my AWD.

Mal', mate, I've sent you an email - can I get some feedback, a price, a lead time etc.

In the meantime, I want to source the right gearbox to fit into the AWD. I understand the Legnum or EVO box fits, but I'm concerned about the final drive ratios and how that change may effect the Magna's AWD system. I'd like to know that fitting a Legnum/EVO box want cook the centre dif' when I run a 4.11:1 front diff over a 3.312:1 rear diff. In my mind the two ratios must be closer to each other. If somebody can clear this up for me once and for all that would be great, if somebody could provide the Legnum ratios + Front diff' ratios that would go a long way to helping.

I hope I was entirely wrong with the above statement.

It appears as though the front differential is essentially a primary reduction. Engine RPM / Gear Ratio / Front Diff' Ratio = Front wheel RPM. Engine RPM / Gear Ratio / Front Diff' Ratio / Transfer Ratio / Rear Diff' ratio = Rear wheel RPM

So @ 1000rpm works out to be 243.2 rpm Front Wheels / 243.9 rpm Rear Wheels. Meaning, if I have my math right (please somebody check), the legnum (or even an EVO box) would effect the AWD system like I had feared... hopefully. It will essentially just lower the overall ratio.

I contact Mitsubishi direct and their response included the attached table;
http://imgur.com/9aHOJUP.jpg

Any help, positive comments, or good one armed jokes would be much appreciated.

Still bumping this thread.

Submitted my proposal to QLD Transport for the vehicle modifications and was given the list of hoops I have to jump through. Then on to a certifier, who seems positive and walked me through what he needs from me.

Then, I contacted Ikeya, no price yet, but their response was "EVO only" as far as the shifter is concerned. But, I covered modifying the Ikeya shifter in my application to the engineer.

Big question is the car. Not looking good as far as dumping a manual box in the AWD judging by the life of this thread. So, I'm opening up my options - looking at VR4's, GTO's and an EVO VIII (budget pending). I did see a manual Ralliart on carsales.....

To confirm, manual AWD is possible, I have mine up and running, just have a slightly broken gearbox soon to be fixed, but otherwise working well... No issues with front to rear ratios etc. Any Evo6-8 or some legnum gearboxes should work ok.