The Automatic Performance Thread

[Dj laBBy]

Yeah sounds like you need abit bigger (or smaller size in reality!!) converter to make use of the transbrake.

Funny you should say that, i have a 3800rpm stally standing by.... though having a higher stally will only make things worse unless i have slicks.

I just spoke to Mike at MV today about what im doing etc . He said 450rwkw is right on the edge for the 4 speed jatco..... hmmm .... Also, you can get a transbrake for them, however he buys it in from the states (the valvebody), and its fully manualised, running full line pressure always...(ie really drags only type car use) ... about $7-800 odd....... So that put a stop to that plan......, will just have to sort out weak as piss rear brake problem so i can stall up the old fashion way.

He also agreed something sounds wrong with my converter also, as they aim for only about 6-7% slip up top...... i have alot more . So when motor come out, it'll go down. They don't do the converters themselves, they have a contract with a converter shop. not sure which one.

Gary

Which jatco 4 speed are you talking about?? the old school VL manual type or the RE401 late model skyline 4 speed??

I know of an RE401 taking about 1000hp with standard planetary sets, just uprated clutches and bands. They are esentially the same box as the auto in subaru(except with a transaxel)which rigoli has used to get into the 8's i think. BMS make a reverse pattern valve body for them. i think it has been covered in earlier posts.

The 4spd i'm getting is the RE403, which is from the 300zx, Q45, cima and patrols. Rated to around 1500hp with upgrades.

Having a full manual box is still awsome.. I've had 3 and love em. Best compromise of auto and manuals.

[Fastrotor]

haha yeah might be best to wail till the slicks arrive i'd think

Yes its the RE4R01A. Well i guess i'll find out how well it lasts

This car is an all rounder, with baby seat in the back for my son !! So full manual is out of the question.

Gary

[Dj laBBy]

haha yeah might be best to wail till the slicks arrive i'd think

Yes its the RE4R01A. Well i guess i'll find out how well it lasts

This car is an all rounder, with baby seat in the back for my son !! So full manual is out of the question.

Gary

Don't worry about being manual. Just try it before you say its out of the question. Yes it isn't the softest shift, but unless your giving it revs it doesn't shift that hard as oil pressure is comparison to rpm. Ie faster you go, harder it shifts.

I hope you wouldn't put your son in a 300rwkw+ car and drive hard anyways. You can still drive normally and shifts are reasonable as long as you don't give it to it.

Yah trust me, my R31 is gonna have a car seat in it too, thats why i'm down powering it. Still want a box that won't break, thats why i'm going the RE4R03A.

[Fastrotor]

I've built a custom auto controller and during initial testing i set it up for full manual... racing would be fine, on the street , not for me Also the reason i want to retain electronic control is to make it tiptronic , with steering wheel paddles.

Best of both worlds then.

Ah no, i drive like grandma when he's in the car. I'm not that irresponsible !!

Is the Re4R03A a stronger box ? Same fit as the 401 ?

Edited November 13, 2009 by Fastrotor

[cactus]

I run a KEAS built box with a full manual valve body, bloody awesome fun, but doesn't support a transbrake

Got my RB30DET running on Tuesday night with run in tune on Wednesday... Holy shit, you can instantly notice the difference in torque. I have a GT30R running on the side, and it is about as laggy as the stock turbo on the 25 was lol. It is incredible how different the car feels and pulls down low in the rev range.

I thought there would be a difference, but not that huge! Gets tune in two weeks so will definitely post up details, and my drag time that same week

[Fastrotor]

Go the HQ !!!

Yeah i was thinking of calling KEAS to see what there able to do etc ..... I just wish someone made a valve body with transbrake that retains the electronic control still.....

Whats the specs on the motor Matt ?

Gary

[Dj laBBy]

Cactus, Your the one that used to have rb25 and old man with a HQ coupe with 1UZ yah??

How was the conversion?? I think i saw somewhere you used a CRS kit.

I ask as i'm building a HZ tonner and am gonna probably drop in a full built rb26/30det in it. I'm still tossing what to do really, single cam or the twin setup.

How does the rb pull the Quey?? obviously now, pretty good.

which gearbox are you using?? jatco or RE??

Yah the RE403 box is stronger from the outset.

Get one from a 300zx, put a stage 2 shift kit in it and it should be good enough for around 250 odd rwkw no probs. Yah RE401 bell housing bolts straight to it. I think it is larger in diameter and valve body, but still fits in the standard tunnel.

How did you make the controller??

does it use simple electronics?? I think i may ned to do something similar with this new box. cheers

Edited November 13, 2009 by Dj laBBy

[cactus]

Gary - Its the series 2 block with a rebuild kit from Spool Imports (with 9.0:1 CP pistons), standard head with a slight port/polish, 6 boost manifold, GT30R, EMS Stinger, 550cc inj., Greddy intake 80mm TB. Bit of other gear. Spent a bit of money, was considering building an RB26 head for it, but bought myself a house instead and a trip to Europe lol so funds are very dry!

The KEAS box is brilliant. Tough as hell. Manual valve body makes things a little less street orientated. But hey, its worth it. Big stall doesnt help also.

DJ - Yeah it used to have a built 25, but was lacking the torque a 1700kg box required. In the rev range it was fine, but down low (as shown by a 2.4 60 foot time with a 4200rpm stall) it was struggling. The decision to go to a built RB30 seems to be a good one, so far!

Conversion wise, it was tough. Engine mounts are from CMS, but my old man had to fabricate the new sump, gearbox crossmember and sump. Modify exhaust manifold (keep turbo away from inner guard), our own wiring loom etc. Biggest issue was not being able to fix a manual box in the car, the gear selector sits too far back on any RB box, so had to go auto (which has worked out well anyways) - so I'm running the RE401A.

The RB25 pulled it beautifully, only reason I went 30 was for drags Otherwise, its a perfect combination. I think a ute might be a bit of a dog though, leaf springs and little weight in the back. Rather than dog I should say a handful!

[Fastrotor]

Sounds real nice Matt, can't wait to hear what it runs once sorted..... going by all the comments i've read, most people are blown away by the extra low down the 30 makes over the 26 or 25 ....

Robb, i custom built the circuit board so that it replaces the stock computer..... i just rat the blue factory connector off the original board and solder it onto mine, so it all fits inside the std auto comp case. It uses a microcontroller to run the whole show.

Its still being developed.... as you might imagine it takes quite abit of testing and trials to get it sorted. I've also done a "universal' board of the same controller, so its a possibility to sell later on.... but its still got a ways to go.

Gary

[Dj laBBy]

Matt, yah the sump is what is getting me thinking.

might have to cut the standard and spin it around.....

Will try and get a patrol sump, but it could be hard to get one.

Engine and gearbox mounts shouldn't be hard to fabricate, just need some 5mm flat bar and sheet.

You know its funny, thought about manual, actually mates are saying manual, glad i disreguarded pretty quick.

Yah it would be a handful, but easy to convert to 4 link, which should help, but hey its really only getting built for the weekends and drags. Can't wait to finish it and take it to the drags and show those redneck "V8" dicks what a turbo can do... just have to keep the bonnet closed!!

Gary, so your an electronic tech??

It would be interesting to see how you do it. What sort of micro controller is it??

To do manual should be pretty easy. find out the solenoid wires, signal wires and go from there. (i think) Would paddle shift be easy??

[Fastrotor]

yes Robb, electronics tech for 20 years now ! Lots of scoping with an oscilloscope to see what signals are coming in from what etc , then design the board in software and send board design off to be manufactured.

The microcontroller i used was a ATMEGA64 (atmel) ...... looking at upgrading to a newer atmel micro in the next version as it has more 16bit timers i need. Anyway bit too deep for a car forum i think.

Yes manual is easy, once you work out the solenoid order, just base it on the T-bar input. quickest way to test all the hardware. Writing the software to do all the 'auto' side of things is the challenging part for me. I'm not exactly a guru software guy !

Paddle shift is easy. I'm just looking for a factory steering wheel that will fit the R33 S1 and look half decent !!

Gary

[Dj laBBy]

Wow, yah you know your stuff.

I have a basic understanding and know what your talking about, but to start pulling out oscilliscopes and what not, too much for me. I'll just buy something. Obviously you've talked to MV, as he makes a controller. You working together with this at all??

You know you can get a boss kit with paddle shift so you can strap on a sports steering wheel?? I know its for a commonwhore, but not sure about skyline spline. Might work.

Do the solenoids use PWM to control things like clutch/band speed activation and line pressure, though i think line pressure is spring tension controlled.

[Fastrotor]

Oh ok, that sounds interesting..... although i'd prefer to keep a 'skyline' wheel of some sort to keep it looking stock if possible.

Mike knows i'm doing my own one, but there was no info exchanged. I had to figure it all out myself.

The main gear selection is done via 2 solenoids , using a binary arangement, ie on,on off,on on,off etc . Then there is a separate overdrive solenoid and a separate lock up clutch solenoid. These are all just on or off type

The line pressure solenoid is via PWM , 0 pwm is max pressure, to 100% on for lowest pressure.

This is why , when you disconnect the 'brown' plug to the auto, it defaults to 3rd gear (3rd = off,off) and line pressure is max.

Gary

[Dj laBBy]

Ah very interesting.

Yah that makes sense. Yah the 2 solenoids would be for band engagement and the other for clutch engagement, between the 2 of them, will give you 3 gears, then overdrive and as you say lock up clutch. The lock up clutch and overdrive would be easy to hook up, simple switches if you like, but its the whole PWM thing. So really you can make it all a sports shift(ie 100%line pressure and full clutch/band engagement) with simple micro switching or have it grandpa spec with stock type PWM outputs.

Would you be able to make up a system whereby you could simply switch from using the standard computer to then use a micro controller or even manualised?? Possibly similar to "ECO/SPORTS" switch.. I think thats how they might do it in some cars.

It all sounds so simple!!! heehe

[superjet760]

I know it doesnt fully complie with your rules. But r32 gtr 30/26 jatco 4 speed 9.95 147mph 880hp at4w

[Dj laBBy]

I know it doesnt fully complie with your rules. But r32 gtr 30/26 jatco 4 speed 9.95 147mph 880hp at4w

What do you mean qualifiy?? 9.95@147mph is rocking!!! good on yah!!!

Thats what i want to be doing.....

What was done to the box?? Is it the RE401 or 300zx base, RE403?? Obviously its not the old style hydraulic jatco 4speed.

[Fastrotor]

Mate its a nissan motor, and auto ...... it qualifies Thats quite amazing. I would love to see how you got the auto to work with the gtr 4wd system, got any pics and info on how you did it ???

Also as Robb asked, what box & whats done to it ??

Got any vids or pics of the car ?

Gary

[superjet760]

Its a re403a with gtr tranfer any more info you will have to call BMS performance steve will help you out. Reverse manual valve body.

The box is fully built with a dominello converter.

[KB240RB]

Currently my RB25 S1 is Manual. Id like to change to a Automatic. What all needs swapped over? Is it just the Trans, Flexplate, Converter, Trans Wiring, and TCM?

Edited November 26, 2009 by KB240RB

[Dj laBBy]

Currently my RB25 S1 is Manual. Id like to change to a Automatic. What all needs swapped over? Is it just the Trans, Flexplate, Converter, Trans Wiring, and TCM?

Yah pretty much. Depends what you want out of it. If it is full manual, you can just use an intercept box. What box you want to put into it?? your in the states yah?? might find it hard to get a full kit for rb25, though not sure. Although a trans from a 300zx or q45 box(re403) and just get a bell housing for an rb and your set. You may have to get a tailshaft made/modified.

Its a re403a with gtr tranfer any more info you will have to call BMS performance steve will help you out. Reverse manual valve body.

The box is fully built with a dominello converter.

Nice, yah i think Dizzy in perth has done the same thing.

Good box.

I just got my re403a and rb bellhousing. So can't wait to drop it in.

How do you like the reverse pattern?? would feel kinda weird shifting backwards..

Edited November 26, 2009 by Dj laBBy