I decided to 6 speed swap because...WHY NOT?
. Since I bought the car in 2009, that was my goal and after graduating college that was my first big mod for the SVX. Very well deserved! I wanted more reliability especially with my involvement in track days and autocross plus future engine plans
.
Although others had ventured into the 5/6MT swap world, none that I could find had gone with 6MT newer than 07. I believe there are three main reasons for that.
- Gearing
- Cost
- Lack of Speed sensor
The gearing in the 2004-6 models was shorter than that found in the 2007's thus making it a very desirable candidate.
- 2004-6 Manual gear ratios:
1st - 3.636
2nd - 2.375
3rd - 1.761
4th - 1.346
5th - 0.971
6th - 0.756
Reverse - 3.545
Final drive ratio - 3.90
- 2007+ Manual gear ratios:
1st: 3.636
2nd: 2.235
3rd: 1.521
4th:1.137
5th:0.971
6th: 0.756
Reverse - 3.545
Final drive ratio - 3.90
However the '06+ transmissions run 1.1:1 transfer gears therefore allowing a 3.545 rear diff.
What I found out is that 2008-2014's are the exact same gearing as the 2007 transmissions so I was set or so I thought.
I then realized that the newer swaps, even though 7+ years old, were more money. Something I should have foreseen... Anyway, not enough to be a deal breaker, but enough that I had to save up for two more months before I could afford one. In the meantime I continued to do research here on the Network and over on NASIOC. About 1 week before I bought the swap I read "there's no vehicle speed sensor on the +08's"
. I was about ready to say screw it
and almost bought a 2005 swap. Luckily a good friend of mine did some digging and informed me I could use a module to convert ABS signal to a pulse-width modulation that resembled the VSS (so that I could have a functioning tachometer/speedometer). Through the same company, MapDCCD Motorsport, I also found a solution to the DCCD. After a couple email's back and forth Matt gave me a great deal because I purchased both items at once.
I went ahead and purchased the swap 01/02/16, informed Robbie at GFTP of all the extras I needed to conduct the swap and he got me all sorted out. (He doesn't work there anymore but GFTP continues to sell parts)
I wish the money spending ended there but it didn't. Acquiring the swap was just half of the expense. At the end of the day I still had to figure out what Clutch Kit I wanted, fluids, materials to fabricate the transmission mount, plus all the unforeseen expenses that piled on to the project.
Below is the laundry list of all the extra items with prices:
For a total of
$5,646.66 I had everything I needed to complete the swap.