Swap an S4 transmission
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,670
From: Binghamton, NY
That's basically it. And given that the rebuilt gearbox is going to cost 3/4 of the value of the car, just find a used box from a partout and install it. As Mike said, the gearing in the S4 box isn't ideally suited to an A4's powerband and it's likely to make driving it awkward.
The two ideas that come to mind for me from this thread are:
1) would the S4 box be more suitable for a 30v car with a supercharger? I'd think so, mainly for the reason Mike mentioned above - that tall 2nd gear and the commensurate RPM drop wouldn't be much of an issue for a torquey blown V6. Yeah the overall ratio for that box is similar to the stock five-speed box, and yeah you'd have to shift one extra time in a tradeoff for the steeper in-gear ratios and expected quicker acceleration, but with that steeper gearing, I'd think it would be very hard to catch such a car flat-footed since it'd have that wide torque curve and aggressive gearing regardless of what gear the car was in.
2) I wonder about the feasibility of installing the S4's 4.11 diff in a 30v car, while leaving the rest of the stock A4 drivetrain as-is. Would it be overkill and make the car run at excessive RPM in a steady cruise? Yeah, of course, but for the dedicated performance driver who for whatever reason ended up with a V6 rather than a turbo model, or for someone who used their car for autocross, or if they were just plain nuts (remember TheRussian?), is it physically possible to transplant it? Even if the car were taching higher than normal in cruising, it would definitely wake up the 30v car's acceleration and add some fun to it.
The ways the tired mind wanders late at night...
The two ideas that come to mind for me from this thread are:
1) would the S4 box be more suitable for a 30v car with a supercharger? I'd think so, mainly for the reason Mike mentioned above - that tall 2nd gear and the commensurate RPM drop wouldn't be much of an issue for a torquey blown V6. Yeah the overall ratio for that box is similar to the stock five-speed box, and yeah you'd have to shift one extra time in a tradeoff for the steeper in-gear ratios and expected quicker acceleration, but with that steeper gearing, I'd think it would be very hard to catch such a car flat-footed since it'd have that wide torque curve and aggressive gearing regardless of what gear the car was in.
2) I wonder about the feasibility of installing the S4's 4.11 diff in a 30v car, while leaving the rest of the stock A4 drivetrain as-is. Would it be overkill and make the car run at excessive RPM in a steady cruise? Yeah, of course, but for the dedicated performance driver who for whatever reason ended up with a V6 rather than a turbo model, or for someone who used their car for autocross, or if they were just plain nuts (remember TheRussian?), is it physically possible to transplant it? Even if the car were taching higher than normal in cruising, it would definitely wake up the 30v car's acceleration and add some fun to it.
The ways the tired mind wanders late at night...
Last edited by ImTheDevil; Jan 22, 2010 at 12:24 AM.
1st Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9
May be a little late, but try this link for an 01A rebuild kit for US$440...
http://www.jhmotorsports.com
As to the 6 speed conversion, besides dealing with the difference in final drive ratio, you also need to understand that the 01E 6 speed does not give you an extra overdrive gear, it gives you a close ratio box with 6th having the same overdrive ratio as 5th in the 01A gearbox you already have.
The better bet is if you plan on rebuilding your gearbox anyway, convert to a lower 5th gear using this conversion:
dthaus.com
Cheers
Marty
http://www.jhmotorsports.com
As to the 6 speed conversion, besides dealing with the difference in final drive ratio, you also need to understand that the 01E 6 speed does not give you an extra overdrive gear, it gives you a close ratio box with 6th having the same overdrive ratio as 5th in the 01A gearbox you already have.
The better bet is if you plan on rebuilding your gearbox anyway, convert to a lower 5th gear using this conversion:
dthaus.com
Cheers
Marty
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 591
From: NC
May be a little late, but try this link for an 01A rebuild kit for US$440...
http://www.jhmotorsports.com
As to the 6 speed conversion, besides dealing with the difference in final drive ratio, you also need to understand that the 01E 6 speed does not give you an extra overdrive gear, it gives you a close ratio box with 6th having the same overdrive ratio as 5th in the 01A gearbox you already have.
The better bet is if you plan on rebuilding your gearbox anyway, convert to a lower 5th gear using this conversion:
dthaus.com
Cheers
Marty
http://www.jhmotorsports.com
As to the 6 speed conversion, besides dealing with the difference in final drive ratio, you also need to understand that the 01E 6 speed does not give you an extra overdrive gear, it gives you a close ratio box with 6th having the same overdrive ratio as 5th in the 01A gearbox you already have.
The better bet is if you plan on rebuilding your gearbox anyway, convert to a lower 5th gear using this conversion:
dthaus.com
Cheers
Marty
Not exactly true. The 01E 6 gear is much taller then the 5th gear in both the 1.8t and 2.8 5 speed.
Top speed in top gear at 7000 rpm
A4 1.8t = 154 mph
A4 2.8 = 163.6 mph
S4 2.7 = 178.5 mph
A4 1.8t 5 speed
A4 2.8 5 speed
B5 S4 6 speed
Last edited by Mike-2ptzero; Jun 23, 2010 at 10:36 AM.
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