JohnCh

I was prepared to have my mechanic rebuild my transmission (2nd gear synchro is effectively gone), but then discovered that a friend of a friend has a 75k mile S2 gearbox available. So now I am weighing the merits of swapping in that box versus rebuilding mine. I've done a search and read the various pros and cons of the swap, but two things are still bothering me:

- I would lose the trans cooler with the swap. How important is that option?
- At what point from an engine mods perspective will 1st gear become useless?

The car is currently in a mild state of tune (Cyntex chips & cat bypass) and primarily street driven, so my guess is that the lack of the cooler and the much shorter 1st gear won't be issues at this time. However, I do intend to start upgrading the car over the next couple of years and begin to track it, so I want to get a sense of if/when this will no longer be the case. I will probably start with the Vitesse MAF this Spring and then upgrade to his Stage 2 kit when I rebuild the motor.

Is anyone running the S2 box or R&P with similar combinations? If so, is 1st still usable? I already have a car where it is impossible to give it close to full throttle in 1st gear and that aspect drives me crazy so I am having that box rebuilt with new ratios. I'd rather not find myself in the same situation with the 951 in the near future.

Thanks,
John

User 41221

I'm running a S2 r&p in my 951, and I take it easy in first gear or else I wind up lighting the tires up. Second gear, same story, if I go full on the throttle too quick. Its fun to do, but its not a very effective to lower track times. I am running 275's on the rear on 10.5" wide rims, which is about as big as I think you can get on the car without doing some work on the sheet metal.

I am running a Vitesse tuned MAF with custom chips from TT (basically, these are what Vitesse would provide), 55# injectors, 3" Lindsey exhaust and dual port wastegate and a stock K26/6 turbo, which I am guessing puts me solidly in the 250-260 rwhp range at 15psi on pump gas. I can't imagine that having any more power available to me would make the car faster anywhere, except in a straight line (yawn), unless I put wider tires on it.

Regards,

special tool

Yes - first and second are a waste. But its fun.

If your rev limit is not at least 6800, don't do it - because then it is just stupid with any mods.

JohnCh

Thanks for the information. It sounds like I won't be happy with the transmission once I begin doing my planned engine upgrades.

-John