Question Regarding Nissan GTR Transmission And Other DSG's

[Crispy]

Many of you will know of my extreme distaste on DSG Transmissions, otherwise know as the flappy-paddle gearbox. If they were cookies they'd be Oatmeal Raison, if they were women, they would be Ann Coulter, point being I'd live with it if it was an only option, which it seems it might be in the very near future.

My question however is, "if money was not an issue, and you had an infinite supply of parts, could you be able to swap a 6-Speed Manual Transmission with a Clutch into a car such as a Nissan GTR successfully, without destroying the car past repair?"

If I ever win the lottery I would love to buy my favorite car of all time, a Nissan Skyline R34. But since you can't have those in the US without the government destroying it the second it washes up on our oil slicked beaches, I would have to go with my almost favorite car of all time, the Nissan GTR. Which by no means is bad, I'd just very much wish it had a Clutch and 6-Speed. And since I would have won the lottery, money wouldn't be so much the issue.

 

[Punknoodle]

With money to pay for engineering anything is possible, however I'd think the computer systems for the transmission, diff etc are all integrated, meaning even with a nice Hollinger or something in there you still may not have all the smarts related to the run the diff etc properly, and, on a car that size with such a complicated system, it will probably perform hopelessly.

 

[Keef]

All you need is a clever fabricator and his tools. Anything steel can be repaired pretty easily, anything aluminum takes a little practice, anything plastic takes some interesting technique, and try not to set anything on fire because then nothing can be fixed.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Manual transmission swaps have been done for GT-R's, but mostly for drifting purposes only. The advantage given by the seamless shifting on track and road is more than enough to keep the original configuration.

 

[homeforsummer]

Many of you will know of my extreme distaste on DSG Transmissions, otherwise know as the flappy-paddle gearbox.

We do? Have you ever used one?

 

[Zenith]

Give a good engineer an objective and a supply of money and he can build you anything. I don't think a stick shift fits the GT-R, but it can be done.

 

[jet1991]

The DSG in my parents VW Touran sucks. It has no flappy-paddles, but VW call them DSGs so I guess we are talking about the same type of transmission. That gear box doesn`t want to stay in the same gear and it`s really hard to crawl slowly because it doesn`t want to slip the clutch. The clutch is on or off which means you have to almost floor the accelerator to make the car move from a standstill if you are stopped in a small slope. I hate that transmission.

 

[niky]

DSG/DCT/Dub-Dubs-Yo only suck in the sense that you can't execute a clutch-kick drift or a burn-out.

Neither of which are possible with the current GT-R, anyway... considering it has more mechanical grip and torque than the drivetrain can cope with if you want it to cope with both at the same time. Ever try to drag-launch an AWD car with lots of power? Rev it to insanity, to keep it from bogging, drop the clutch and ride the drivetrain clunk and wheel-hop to a reasonably quick quarter mile... at the end of a couple of these, you either blow a driveaxle or dump your transmission on the ground. Earlier GT-Rs did this if you switched off the VDC, but on the new ones, you can still do sub-11 quarters with VDC on and a few choice modifications.

I've driven sports cars with dual-clutches, and for racetrack work, they're heaven. With the flappy paddles and the near-zero-time torque interruption, you can shift mid-corner without lifting (much) and you can concentrate on actually... driving.

That's IF they give you complete control via the manual function. Some don't, and yes... these suck.

On the street, a manual is more involving. But if you were that kind of person, you wouldn't be getting an all-wheel drive car with electronic chassis controls (Vehicle Dynamic Control) in the first place.

 

[Philly]

The DSG in my parents VW Touran sucks. It has no flappy-paddles, but VW call them DSGs so I guess we are talking about the same type of transmission. That gear box doesn`t want to stay in the same gear and it`s really hard to crawl slowly because it doesn`t want to slip the clutch. The clutch is on or off which means you have to almost floor the accelerator to make the car move from a standstill if you are stopped in a small slope. I hate that transmission.

I have daily driven a DSG in my GTI for four years now. I would definitely give the advantage to the DSG over a manual on the race track, in city traffic and on hills. Also, I always use the flappy paddles (I like that extra control, especially in traffic) and I've only had a problem of the clutch being jerky when I'm trying to park in a tight space and at ~7 mph, when the engages/disengages instead of slipping.

So for everything other than spirited driving, or driving just for fun, I really do like the DSG boxes. You still get a lot of control, the feel is great and those instant shifts are just awesome.

 

[Mike0105]

I have daily driven a DSG in my GTI for four years now. I would definitely give the advantage to the DSG over a manual on the race track, in city traffic and on hills. Also, I always use the flappy paddles (I like that extra control, especially in traffic) and I've only had a problem of the clutch being jerky when I'm trying to park in a tight space and at ~7 mph, when the engages/disengages instead of slipping.

So for everything other than spirited driving, or driving just for fun, I really do like the DSG boxes. You still get a lot of control, the feel is great and those instant shifts are just awesome.

The GTI has a different DSG box though. Yours will be the 6speed. Most other DSG's are 7 speed and are supposedly nowhere near as good. The 7 speed actually kills the Polo GTI and Fabia VRS (no manual option either). These would be great cars with a better box.

 

[niky]

In those cases, it's more a problem of programming than the box itself. Same as with any automatic transmission.

 

[homeforsummer]

The GTI has a different DSG box though. Yours will be the 6speed. Most other DSG's are 7 speed and are supposedly nowhere near as good. The 7 speed actually kills the Polo GTI and Fabia VRS (no manual option either). These would be great cars with a better box.

Err... kills them? Really? Every review I've read of those cars (and the SEAT Ibiza Cupra with the same 'box) has praised the gearbox, but the testers have just said they'd like to see a manual option too.

"Wanting to see a manual option" =/= "the 7-speed is rubbish".

 

[Mike0105]

Err... kills them? Really? Every review I've read of those cars (and the SEAT Ibiza Cupra with the same 'box) has praised the gearbox, but the testers have just said they'd like to see a manual option too.

"Wanting to see a manual option" =/= "the 7-speed is rubbish".

Maybe kills is a bit strong and I am a bit biased towards manuals, but the long term Top Gear test (magazine, not tv) on the Fabia VRS expressed concern it was too jerky and wouldn't keep the right gear when going up a mountain pass. It just took too much fun out of the car. The 6 speed doesn't do this to the Golf GTI.

Edit: it was the seat cupra, not the Fabia they tested long term. They described the box as stubborn and frustrating. The VW and skoda are a little better, bit still not as good a the 6 speed. The 7 is also a dry clutch so is limited 250nm for the time being.

These boxes do overide the driver and won't let you hit the redline, shifting around 200rpm lower and will kickdown even if you don't want it too.

 

[McLaren]

Now-a-days, with cars like the GT-R, 458, & MP4-12C, the transmissions play vital roles in how the manufacturers build the cars. Trying to replace it means you'll more than likely be running into all sorts of headaches & with cars of these values, it's not worth it, imo. There's a reason high performance cars choose DCTs over 6-speeds & it has more to do than cutting costs on the other end.

Anything can be done with money, it's just a question of whether it's a smart idea or not.