hung_kuen

Hey i was talking to a friend that used to work on muscle cars in particular a 69 charger with 600hp he was telling me that automatics are fine for racing or "drag" racing. I don't know im partial to 5 speeds what do you guys think? anyone ever moded an automatic? like through an h22 into a coupe and kept the auto? feedback would be great thanks

Bone-23

Some muscle car guys like to use them for drag racing because they are more consistent and have less of a chance for driver error. I don't really know if imports use them much.

hung_kuen

Huh....... yah id be intersted in seeing if anyone has done it? and how would the import auto trans handle. And if there would be a huge difference if done right, aside from a difference in Rpms ect.

94EG8

for some cars, mostly big muscle cars automatics make more sense to most people racing as its easier to get consistant times, with hondas at least, can't speak for all imports, it almost never makes sense to use an automatic tranny, they're not exactly quick shifting, the ratios are pretty wide and they're heavy as hell. Some turbo guys seem to like them, but i think most of them swap out trannys pretty often. Personally i'm a 5 speed guy, doesn't matter what i'm driving or how i'm driving it.

ddd4114

Honda autotragics are not worth your trouble. As stated, they're heavy, long-geared, slow-shifting, and they do NOT handle torque very well.

Dasfinc

As ddd4114 mentioned, Honda automatics are not built to handle power,

You gotta think that those big RWD frag Monsters have transmissions often larger than our honda MOTORS to handle the torque.

visormurp

There is a company that makes kits and torque converters for Honda automatics.

I think it is TCI...check out their website for more info: http://www.tciauto.com/Products/SportCompact/

ddd4114

I believe these guys can beef up an autotragic, but it'll certainly cost you....

http://www.levelten.com/store/honda.htm

Rok_Stok

Honda is the only manufacturer to use a nonplanetary-based transmission. Its a constant mesh helical design just like a manual transmission where the synchronizers are replaced by clutches. This supposively makes for less drivetrain loss (someone correct me on this) but the flipside is that it is built for how much hp the engine makes in its stock form. This doesn't mean that i/h/e cam(s) will hurt it necessarily, but most likely it's on its limits. Now as for Honda manual transmissions......

Oh yeah, I used to have a JDM H22A Auto w/ the JDM TCU that shifted at 7500 and everything in a '93 Prelude....falls out of VTEC when shifting into 2nd for like 2½ seconds but I still beat a tC w/ i/h/e 5spd by a car and a half


Modified by Rok_Stok at 4:38 PM 7/22/2008

RoadconeTuning

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rok_Stok &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Honda is the only manufacturer to use a nonplanetary-based transmission. Its a constant mesh helical design just like a manual transmission where the synchronizers are replaced by clutches. This supposively makes for less drivetrain loss (someone correct me on this) but the flipside is that it is built for how much hp the engine makes in its stock form. This doesn't mean that i/h/e cam(s) will hurt it necessarily, but most likely it's on its limits. Now as for Honda manual transmissions......

Oh yeah, I used to have a JDM H22A Auto w/ the JDM TCU that shifted at 7500 and everything in a '93 Prelude....falls out of VTEC when shifting into 2nd for like 2½ seconds but I still beat a tC w/ i/h/e 5spd by a car and a half


Modified by Rok_Stok at 4:38 PM 7/22/2008</TD></TR></TABLE>

im glad i found this, i had always wondered why no one used autos in hondas... craptastic power ratings FTL.... it might be fun to have an automatic D-series with a TINY turbo just so you could brake boost at a stop light tho lol

HoNda PriNcess

just my .02, but i think its basically pointless to buy an import with an automatic. plus they are no fun. i think american cars are known more for the AT because there isn't room for error and its quicker. booo. manual is the way to go!

Rok_Stok

I think American cars are known for ATs because of Buicks, Cadillacs, and Lincolns.

Honda makes some of the best manual transmissions in the world, even magazines like Road & Track and Car & Driver say it when testing a manual Honda like the S2000 or Civic Si, it's always brought up how they're simply one of the best on the planet.

Syndacate

And because 2 speed power glides don't have 3 points of inactivity and usually connected to a trans brake with a heavy stall converter for a damn near perfect launch. As much as you may all hate to say it (and me as well), an automatic can shift 10 times better and faster than a person ever could.

The only problem is that automatics don't use a mechanical linkage, rather a fluid linkage, so they lose a lot of power, they lose more power than manuals.

This is ESPECIALLY true in the Honda world, for some ungodly reason, '92-'00 civic auto trans's were awesome at stealing your power.

Honda engineering as a whole is one of the best on the planet. It has a few objectives: Cheap, simple, and durable.

All what I look for in a car.

That's just a load of bullshit.

Tell that to the guy that spends 500,000 on his ferrari, with the F1 gearbox and diff - tell him it's pointless to buy an automatic.

And please, let's not forget all the germans...their target is high powered luxury - it'd be stupid for them to go standard for all their cars. Not everybody looks at their cars for "fun" - some people look for luxury, others look for......(here's a thought)....TRANSPORTATION.

Tell me how fun a manual is when you're sitting in rush hour traffic every day for 3 years on a 300 mile one way commute to NYC. Automatics have their purpose in life, also.

And he speaks the truth...

When the torque converter is half the size of your motor, the problem is obvious.

This girl I was ... knowing - had a Y7 (6th gen sedan) - SUCKED *** when you floored it, but KICKED *** for driving around town in. Also gets kick-*** gas mileage.

I've seen a lot of kick-*** cars in both auto and manual, and no, it doesn't really make a difference, it's more a preference - obviously manuals are better for tracks with turns because you can select your torque - but for daily driving, I'm a hardcore 4/5/6sp guy - but an automatic is fine, too, it serves its primary purpose, transportation.

Now, I've seen a lot of kick-*** muscle that's auto, and there's a lot of not-so-kick-***-should-have-had-more-torque-because-I-was-choking-it-with-a-small-carb-and-using-a-high-cam type muscle like my old camaro ('67) (4sp). They go both ways.

On imports on the other hand....no....

Why?

It's simple - FWD vs RWD.

Most heavy duty power handling transmissions are made for RWD apps, you simply can't fit it sideways. I've seen some people beef up auto trans's on Hondas for power - but the bang for buck was PATHETIC - you spend an assload on trans parts to make it not hold that much power, not to mention the amount of drivetrain loss you get in FWD because of the G style driveshaft.

If you swap an H22 auto into a civic I'm sure it'd work quite nicely (assuming it fits right) - the H22 auto didn't suck ***** completely - it wasn't as good as the H22 man, but it wasn't as bad as the D series auto.

END VERDICT: Don't bother, unless you hit tons of traffic every day - and if that's the case, perhaps you should think of a daily driver auto, and a "weekend" car.

Rok_Stok

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Syndacate &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Honda engineering as a whole is one of the best on the planet. It has a few objectives: Cheap, simple, and durable.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would have to agree. ^This dude never fails at pumping a thread full of tech, and you can tell he knows it from experience.

durfeec

couldnt be said ANY better.