Let's Talk About Manual Transmission Swaps

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Ammar, are you planning to do it? I say study what EAG did, source the parts and do it yourself.

IIRC, there was some ECU related warnings issues but the swap was straight forward.
It's on the docket for sure! Just don't have the time for it right now, especially since I'm daily driving the Supra right now. I'll keep doing the research and sharing it here though! I think I have the swap mostly figured out, so it shouldn't be too complicated once I get around to it.
 
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I think you would just need to have the ECU stuff turned off?
Personally I'd do a 2J swap and put whatever transmission you'd like. You'd also benefit from not needing to worry about keeping BMW's ECU happy.
This is a lot easier said than done, unfortunately. Modern CANBUS electronics control every function of the car down to the dome lights. Very little is on a traditional relay system. If you want the car to have ABS, Power Steering, functioning headlights and taillights, etc, then you need to integrate with the BMW FEM/BCM.

If you're building a fully stripped out racecar that's one story, but for a streetcar, the BMW stuff is here to stay. This is no different from any other modern car though. FRS/BRZ platform had to be full decoded and translated before proper plug and play swap kits were made. That took years of development!
 

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It's on the docket for sure! Just don't have the time for it right now, especially since I'm daily driving the Supra right now. I'll keep doing the research and sharing it here though! I think I have the swap mostly figured out, so it shouldn't be too complicated once I get around to it.

Remember the good ol days when Elmhurst did the homework for MKIV owners and sold the complete kit for an AT to 6 speed swap.
 

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This is a lot easier said than done, unfortunately. Modern CANBUS electronics control every function of the car down to the dome lights. Very little is on a traditional relay system. If you want the car to have ABS, Power Steering, functioning headlights and taillights, etc, then you need to integrate with the BMW FEM/BCM.

If you're building a fully stripped out racecar that's one story, but for a streetcar, the BMW stuff is here to stay. This is no different from any other modern car though. FRS/BRZ platform had to be full decoded and translated before proper plug and play swap kits were made. That took years of development!
That's kind of my point.. If you're looking to heavily modify this car (ie. transmission swap) you'd be better off removing the BMW ecosystem entirely. At the very least I would look into a full standalone setup via Motec. Or better yet find a cheap car with a manual transmission to fill the void since a mod like this, even if executed perfectly, will not improve overall performance.
 
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Remember the good ol days when Elmhurst did the homework for MKIV owners and sold the complete kit for an AT to 6 speed swap.
I miss the days when Kurt was there too man. I've had some bad experiences there getting parts for this car. Lots of wrong stuff delivered and bad communication. Still a great discount though!

That's kind of my point.. If you're looking to heavily modify this car (ie. transmission swap) you'd be better off removing the BMW ecosystem entirely. At the very least I would look into a full standalone setup via Motec. Or better yet find a cheap car with a manual transmission to fill the void since a mod like this, even if executed perfectly, will not improve overall performance.
I think the challenge of figuring out the electronics is more fun to me than just going full racecar though. But I agree, it's definitely a lot of work and more than 99% of people would want to undertake. The way I see it though, we will always be battling CANBUS integrations and encryption going forward, so I'm trying to get as familiar with it as I can.
 

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Yeah, hardware wise and financially like most companies. It wouldn't make sense to completely reinvent the wheel in that regard. Specially, not germans who always just slightly make changes that annoy consumers. Ultimately, I think is very feasible. Shit I would do it myself if I had the money.
 
 




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