I was searching in hopes of finding the answer to this question- "What is the best transmission for a D-series powered EF?" After numerous threads of missinformation and BS, I came across this website- http://www.effinmotorworks.com/

If you take a look at the site, in their transmission section, you will see that they have built what sounds like an effective and functional transmission for street/weekend warrior cars.

"Effin D-series Hybrid Transmissions:
So you've got a CRX. The Si tranny is the best acceleration geared transmission you can get, right? Well...it's okay, certainly better than a DX or Hf. Then there's the ubiquitous ZC tranny. Have you ever considered using the best parts each model has to offer to make a hybrid tranny?

Here's a brief breakdown of what you're dealing with:
Si - The 1-5 gears are okay. This is made into a "performance" transmission by offering it with a sporty 4.25 final drive
DX - The same 1-5 as the Si but with a more cruising oriented 3.88 final drive
Hf - 1-5 is a step more spaced out then either of the previous transmissions but not extemely so. Where the Hf gets it's fuel sipping granny acceleration is it's final drive of 2.95. The California market Hf had a little more acceleration with a 3.25.
ZC - Tight acceleration oriented 1-5 but with a softer 3.88 final drive.

The formula:
So we take the ZC 1-4 and pair it with the Si 4.25 final drive. We also use the Si 5th gear so highway cruising is not compromised. The result is a more much more evenly spaced gear ratio that pulls significantly harder than an Si tranny."

What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have expierience with Effin Motorsports or this "hybrid" transmission?

I'm giving this alot of serious thought for my DOHC ZC swap, which I'm planning out right now. If you have any helpful information, then please comment to help me out and others that might be searching for the same answers. Thank you in advance.

 

ive heard of this being done. although ive never personally seen it done. locally i think im one of the few dmotor fans.

 

This has been done by numerous people. I was seriously considering it for my EF. If they could do this for my EG I'd probably be all over it. You jsut need to realize that gas mileage will probably go down for DD in traffic.

 

I have been running this setup for a year or more, with one small difference. I didn't bother with the Si 5th gear, I kept the ZC 5th. This gives me the same overall final drive in 5th gear as an ITR tranny.

.878 5th with 4.25 final drive = 3.7315:1 reduction in 5th gear with D series tranny

.848 5th with 4.4 final drive = 3.7312:1 reduction in 5th gear with ITR tranny

I am now going to change my final drive to 4.4375:1 to make the tranny shorter overall. I used to commute about 60 miles a day round trip on the highway with next to no traffic either way (weird start and finish times) and the mileage was great even with the high-ish revs (3,700-3,800 at 70 mph). I would see 315-320 miles on a tank, and that was the small 11 gallon tank in the Civic STD (though the motor was far from stock, and not the OEM STD motor). I'd suggest you stick with the ZC 5th gear. Makes it alot nicer to just step on the gas when you need to pick up speed, instead of having to downshift.

 

Exactly how much better acceleration do the ZC gears give over the Si's? Is it worth 550 from these guys or getting the ZC and doing it yourself?

 

its so worth the 550, not only are they swapping gears, but they are rebuilding the transmission with new parts...

 

DIY. I was brave enough to crack open my B series tranny, it's just intricate, not impossible. Have a friend with you though, just to make sure you don't screw anything up, and check it before you bolt it back up to the motor.

 

I've got one from them on my '90 si and I'm really happy with it. I didn't think the price was out of line considering it's re-built. They don't just stuff the new gear set in and ship it out. They're good guys too, I wouldn't hessitate to do bussiness with them again. As far as real numbers go, I don't have any, the car's never been on track.

Dan

 

I have this setup, but certainly not from them. 550 .
Yes, it is rebuilt, but if you have 2 well functioning transmissions that if you take them apart and make one out of them you should have 1 that functions well also.

And it's easy enough to "rebuild" them yourself. Get a couple of sockets, an allen wrench a snap wring plyer and a helms manual (oh yeah, a bearing press would be nice too). New bearings seem "nice" but they are not a necessity what so ever.


**** man, I'll sell ya one for 350 shipped

 

has anyone taken this tranny to a road race track? my tranny is fine but i have a spare i wouldnt mind sending out for a rebuild... and if it really is what they say... its worth it... but i dont know how a ZC 1-4 will track?

 

Welcome to 1998.
I've gone through 3 variations of hybrid L3 (d-series) transmissions.

V1 = ZC 1-4, 92-95 S20 (d-series) 5th gear (which is .702), Si 4.25 FD.
This setup seemed great on paper, but the 5th gear is just too tall. It's fine to motor on the highway for nauseating hours, but don't expect much passing power without going to 4th. Also the RPM gap between 4th & 5th is huge, like skipping a gear.

V2 = ZC 1-4, Si 5th (.771), Si FD.
This combo is the most popular, but the Si FD was too short for my abundance of torque.

V3 = ZC 1.4, Si 5th, sedan FD (4.058).
Perfect, for my setup anyway.

If $550 is the price, that's not so bad if it's all done for you. Counting time & tools (if you have to buy some) it would probably cost you about that to do it yourself. That depends entiresly on how much you can get a ZC gearset (or tranny) for of course. Back in the day (1998), I paid like $260 for a complete ZC w/LSD tranny.

The ZC 1-4 is definately SUPERIOR to the Si 1-4. If you've noticed with your Si box, shift 1-2 is fine, but 2 into 3 and it takes forever to pull all the way through 3rd. The ZC's closer ratios fix that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by d357r0y &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have this setup, but certainly not from them. 550 .
Yes, it is rebuilt, but if you have 2 well functioning transmissions that if you take them apart and make one out of them you should have 1 that functions well also.

And it's easy enough to "rebuild" them yourself. Get a couple of sockets, an allen wrench a snap wring plyer and a helms manual (oh yeah, a bearing press would be nice too). New bearings seem "nice" but they are not a necessity what so ever.


**** man, I'll sell ya one for 350 shipped </TD></TR></TABLE>

Whatever toots yer flute I guess It was worth the extra money to me to make sure I got a good tranny. I do not have the time or patience to deal with someone elses used up junk.

 

I don't have spare transmissons sitting around, and I don't have the tools to rebuild the transmission myself.

Looking at the cost for this rebuilt transmission, I think it is more than fair. To get the transmission my my DSM rebuilt by Shepard, it was about $900 before shipping.

I have a couple questions. I will be using a DOHC ZC with this transmission. What would be a nice final drive for highway/gas mileage saving, driving? I don't mind downshifting to get power, I already have to drop many gears to get my DX up to Tahoe.

Second question, was it said above that the ZC transmission came with, or had the option of a limited slip differental?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wreckedrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Whatever toots yer flute I guess It was worth the extra money to me to make sure I got a good tranny. I do not have the time or patience to deal with someone elses used up junk.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the trans parts are still used in their transmissions. you get new bearings and syncros. its not like all the guts are 100% new so there is potential to get "used up junk" there too.

Just to be clear, wasn't implying that they don't do good work, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I've never delt with them to know if they do good work or not.

I was just saying that you can get both transmissions and all the parts to rebuild one for less than 550 and maybe learn something in the process.

 

Effin Motorworks did my swap and a bunch of other stuff when I was just getting started. They have a hybrid tranny on the shelf waiting for me to have them install in January when they get some time. It has ZC 1-4, HF 5th, and Si final drive. I've driven an Si with that combo and it seemed as quick as my ZC. The bump from 4th to HF 5th wasn't as noticeable as you would think. It was nice to settle into a lower RPM for highway cruising.

Dave and Mike are terrific straight shooters. They will do you right.

 

Thanks for the great responces so far. Keep them coming.

 

The Effin folks are great guys are helping me build my autocross car for 2005. I've driven Mike's ZC/Si/HF hybrid tranny and its the best of both worlds. The setup would be especially good for someone who regularly maKes a long highway commute.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by d357r0y &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the trans parts are still used in their transmissions. you get new bearings and syncros. its not like all the guts are 100% new so there is potential to get "used up junk" there too.

Just to be clear, wasn't implying that they don't do good work, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I've never delt with them to know if they do good work or not.

I was just saying that you can get both transmissions and all the parts to rebuild one for less than 550 and maybe learn something in the process.</TD></TR></TABLE>

True enough. I guess my point was they are really good guys, and I'd trust them not to send me junk. Buying used parts to do my own rebuild is more of a craps shoot. If I had the time to mess around with it and I thought I'd save a bunch of cash I might've given it a whack

 

I second the for Effin. Great guys, great work. And the tranny makes a big difference in acceleration!!

 

Thanks for the support!
Aww, you copy-n-paste all the text but leave the nifty gear chart out? What's up with that?


Any questions, feel free to PM me. We've been offering hybrids for a couple years now but that may be changing. It's getting harder and harder to find ZC trannys at a price that can maintain our current price structure.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">New bearings seem "nice" but they are not a necessity what so ever.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I'm guessing you've never had a input shaft bearing go bad on you before?



Modified by davens at 6:52 PM 11/17/2004

 

That is a smokin deal!!!!! I so glad i found out about this. I know what I'm getting for Christmas

 

For those hardcore DIY'rs:

Just checked on http://www.hmotorsonline.com and they have ZC trannys for 100+shipping. Check under used parts, the last page.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davens &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Aww, you copy-n-paste all the text but leave the nifty gear chart out? What's up with that?</TD></TR></TABLE>
No kidding. It was the nifty chart that sold me. You get the rocket launch up front and a highway cruiser in 5th.

 

Sorry about leaving the chart out,!

Davens- Thanks for chiming in. I'll be sending you a PM very soon.

Thanks everyone for the great information.