I keep hearing that the best mod for a NA 5AT is swapping the stock 3.3 fd for a 3.5 fd from a 6MT.

Can anyone with this mod comment on their personal experience? What exactly is the performance improvement? (I've messed with just about every automotive system over the years, but not the gearing... so I'm in unknown territory here.)

Is there any downside to going this route? (I saw 1 thread where the cruise control only worked sporadically after the swap. Not a big deal since I don't use cruise, but it made me wonder if there might be other "unintended consequences.")

Thx guys!

 

dunno how much tranny swaps cost but i would just save up more and drop a 4.5 in there.. lot more performance improvement.

 

It is a worthwhile mod and you should be fine. That thread would be the first I have heard of a cruise control problem.

 

i have a friend that swapped from auto to manual in a tsx :O

 

you'll regret this if you go FI.. 3.3 is great for hardcore power!

 

I know that alot of the people who go FI prefer the 3.3. In fact I may end up swapping with someone who's going FI and wants to exchange his 3.5 for my 3.3.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to stay NA, tho, so I think the swap would make sense for the long term... just want to get a reality check on the benefits.

 

I have the 3.5 swap on my NA 5at. Youll feel the difference, and when it shifts. The only problem i ran into with the cruise control is once in awhile when it is on, if it shifts from high to low that it would click off the cruise.

 

sorry guys can you guys tell me what you guys are talking about cause I have no idea. Are you guys talking about a transmission swap??? Im confused

 

Hi, we are talking about a rear diff. gears. or a pumpkin swap. when you look at the rear of the car, just behind the exhaust muffler youll see the pumpkin housing, thats were the differencail gears are. does that help?

 

I definitely want to know more about this as well...

 

And to elaborate a bit more for the poster w/ the question, the differential gears in the pumpkin transfer the engine's power, via the driveshaft, to the rear wheels.

The FD in 3.3FD or 3.5FD refers to the final drive, which is the ratio between how fast the engine is turning versus how fast the wheels are spinning.

Maybe someone can weigh in with a more coherent explanation...?

 

ooo ok I see what your saying now haha thanks for the info +) I have a 5AT z also and I am currently getting bored of it really quick. I only have a little over 3K miles on the car so I can't trade it in or w/e for a manual so I am thinking of maybe doing a swap but doubt it will happen. =/ So chaning the final drive ratio to 3.5 will make the car quicker?
I get clueless when it comes to transmissions.

 

What I've read is that the swapping the stock 3.3 for the 3.5 gearing will result in a noticable performance improvement in Zs with the 5AT.

I started this thread as a reality check on that, and to find out if there are any downsides.

One nice feature of this is that it's a cheap mod. If you can find someone going FI, they may be willing to simply trade their 3.5 for a 3.3. So the only cost would be an hour's worth of labor at a shop to swap the 2 pumpkins. It's a win-win for both parties.

 

I'm looking to do FD&LSD swap... I have 3.3 FD open diff... if anyone if going FI and after market LSD and wants to swap, PM me.

 

that's some serious thread stealage right thurr..

 

MT owners ftw

 

Pumpkins ?
My mod advice would be to build a time machine.... go back to when you first got the Z.... then slap yourself for buying an AT
But hey the ladies love driving a Z

 

For the OP.. I did the swap from a 3.3 to the 3.5.. you can look in my sig. at the other mods I have done and the swap was the most noticeable. W/O peddling the gas and just mashing the pedal you will spin thru 2nd gear and the bottom of 3rd ( just 2 give u an idea of the difference ) I have since moved up to 18" rims from the stock 17" set up and traction has improved and can feel the added acceleration even more... a must do for the 5at N/A