rb20det with auto gearbox - any good?

[Bozza]

G'day,

Due to a tight (student) budget, i'm NOT wanting to covert my auto n/a VL commodore to manual when i put in an rb20det I have planned for it...

My Q is: Is the R32 GTS-T auto box heaps worse (in terms of performance) than a manual setup?

I've heard that if it's not turbo, there's a big difference, but autos in turbo cars have advantages such as being able to hold boost through gear changes, etc..

Cheers

[Col-GTSX]

Well my car standard was auto...

I converted to manual due to loss of much needed power throught the drive train... Holding boost through gears changes is a good point as doing this in a manual is just asking to snap a gear box... But because you are holding max boost the air in the plenium is getting hotter and hotter every second until the turbo wind's back a couple of psi... You would be asking for piston melt down if you held it from 1st though 150kph in third...

I have a plem temp meter... When i was auto it would be around 40C at the end of 2nd gear..... Thats with a massive FMIC (Trust core)

Now im manual that same figure it 24C....

Those little breaks between gears helps so much.....

[Bozza]

so, it's not safe to have 40*C air in your plenum??

i know in general, hot air is never good for the car, but i'm just wondering, will it blow up parts or shit if i run it hard thru gears?

Thanx

[slip]

Bozza - that conversion would almost be considered a downgrade. The RB20DET has bugger all torque, and when combined with an auto transmission it will hurt driveability. I would only consider this conversion if you used a manual, but youre really just better off turboing the rb30. The diff in your VL will make the car very lifeless if its a 3.45 or something like i think it is. The R32's have a 4.11 diff.

You have to look at the end result that you get for what you spend, in the end youll get a less driveable car.

Generally - an auto is worse than a manual, and id say especially in the case of an rb20det. How many auto race cars do you see (apart from drag cars which are only run flat out) ?

Drive an rb20det auto (or even a manual) and youll see what I mean.

My RB30E R31 Manual doesnt get beaten too badly by RB20DET cars. Turbo the 3L for best results.

(not talking my car up either, its a shitbox.)