Roll call for 14 to m5 conversions

[Dirty8-un-Dreds]

My tranny is shot most likely. Perhaps those of you that have swapped could give me a little advice. How much did it cost and where is the best place to start looking?

[hockeyman]

If you are gonna do a conversion, make sure you have alot of time for your car to be outta service, extra money on hand because something always breaks, and no young children nearby to hear what you are yelling when something does break.
There is alot of money involved in doing this conversion, unless you can find a wrecked car with your engine and computer to do a straight-up swap. Yes, you WILL need to get an M5 computer, or find someone who can reprogram it for you (good luck). To start with, you are probably looking at an easy $1,000.000 for trans parts, and the price will go up from there...trust me! You'll need to upgrade your center console, brake pedals, flywheel, etc. and don't forget, you'll need to put in a hydraulic line for the slave cylinder.

I have done an auto-to-manual swap before on a 1976 TransAm, and it was alot more involved than I originally thought.

-Marc

[Magnus]

No!!!

Stick with the faster A4!!!

[George Holmes]

So far we are at $950 with a used T5, flywheel, and peddles. We purchased the clutch, bellhousing, master/slave, and fork new. Mine is a 93 and you will as mentioned need another computer and will have a different master and slave setup. There is a lot to it including wiring that will have to be modified, or a new wiring harness purchahsed, (you would more likely modify the wiring). If your a real good backyard mechanic with a couple of weeks a least and have some electrical knowledge of car wiring systems you can do it. I have done conversions before. The payoff is if you do a lot of around town driving and you like to be able to have the advantage of grabbing the gear you want it's worth it if:
1)You plan on keeping the car, and it's worth putting the money in.
2)You enjoy the satisfaction of doing something most people couldn't handle.

[camaro_zach]

psh easy swap, now making an m5 car an auto, not as easy. Just get wiring diagrams and you will need some plugs from gm for the m5 trans. No biggie. However, when i did the v8 swap i went back to auto, high stalls kick *** .

[staticpike]

Originally quoted by Magnus:
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>No!!!
Stick with the faster A4!!! <hr></blockquote>

What he said! You'd be very hard pressed to find someone who can out-shift an 4L60E. It's precise, it's one-of if not THE best auto tranny in domestic productions cars. You'll never miss a shift or replace a clutch. Plus, that lots of money to do a switch.

But hey, your car! Good luck if you try it!

[hockeyman]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by George Holmes:
The payoff is if you do a lot of around town driving and you like to be able to have the advantage of grabbing the gear you want it's worth it.<hr></blockquote>

Ever get caught in town during rush hour? Stick shifts then blow! Besides that, I wouldn't buy anything other than a stickshift. I've always owned them, and feel as though I have better control over the car.

-Marc

[awesomeame]

if you like stick, go stick. like auto? go auto. imho, it totally depends on what you like to drive.

a4's are fast, true, not to say m5's aren't....go look @ the 3.8 n/a timeslip page :D

i'm a stick guy forever...95% or more of my driving is done off the track, and i wouldn't want to ruin my driving pleasure for that extra 0.1...then again, maybe i'll just have a faster et someday :D

--matt

[George Holmes]

I have to add $100.00 for the center console to the $950.00. One thing I have had is the opertunity to own or drive 305's,LT1's,LS1's,3.8's, and 3.4's, with both stick and auto. My PERSONAL OPINION, not intended to offend anyone elses is: I always preferred the instanly availble torque and engine brake control that each one had with a stick. If you sit in traffic anywhere as most of your driving or just use the car for quarter miles you might want the auto. If you have patience and are familiar with working on cars you can do the swap. Believe me most people I have met couldn't handle the simple electrical conversion. So if that's you get some help fom someone who knows electronics. I isn't that hard except if you don't know what your doing.

[Cole Angrimson]

a Consol for $100 bucks? wtf. i got one brand new with the new flip up console door for $60. FROM A DEALER. of course i get 40% off to because of good business [img]graemlins/naughty.gif[/img] . anyway. i suppose i COULD get you guys some parts for pretty cheap if i wanted to but then you have to pay shipping. hmm. i smell profit here [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]