MT-82 to 6R80

[rpmr6]

MT-82 to 6R80
A while back there was some talk of swapping out a MT82 for a Auto. I was thinking about this not for reasons on a bad MT82 but my Bad knees and shifting is becoming difficult at times do to my physical conditions. I love my car and dont want to take the 5 to 10 K hit on trading it in for something not as nice looking (to me) as the Brembo car i have now. That said here goes my question.
I have found several 6R80 Auto transmissions at auto recyclers and salvage yards. What would be needed to put this into my car and make it work with the ECU or PCM that is in the car now being it is a brembo manual car. I think i understand the 6R80 has the controls onboard the tranny does my car have to be wired for this trans or are the plugs there to plug in the trans and shifter. Or has anyone done a Manual to Auto conversion for the street that could be lived with as a daily/weekly driver?
all ideas welcome and again i dont want to trade this car in and take that hit i would rather build something i truly can enjoy driving and looking at while driving. as i have been looking as GT auto but no 401a brembo options and i looked at a Chally but cant in my mind afford it as i want one..
Thanks

 

[kingnut]

i would think selling your car and buying an auto. then installing brembos on the auto would be alot less work and headache.

 

[legos_mustang]

I just (2 months ago) got an 2012 GT Auto trading in my 2011 GT Brembo. It was painful, and I did lose about 5500 on the deal (the price of the car wasn't too bad, but the taxes and registration killed me). My reason was totally medical as well.. At the time, it was becoming obvious that I wouldn't be able to drive a manual much longer. I loved my brembo car, and I'll be the first to admit, the auto was a slight disappointment at first, especially if you road race or simply drive the car hard. No matter what anyone says, you lose a little bit of control of your car when when you go from a manual to auto.

The good news is aesthetically, you can easily make the car look the same as you brembo car, without too much problem. I actually liked the look of the Boss 302 19" staggered wheels. I installed them with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110's at 255/19s front and 285/19's rear. They look and grip even better than your brembo stock tires. If you really like the look of the brembo wheels, think about buying a really cheap set of 18 or 17 inch wheels and tires and install them when you get rid of it (if you are considering trading it in. There are a lot of people that wouldn't know the difference). The dealership definitely won't notice and you can put the brembo wheels on after. You could do the same with the front brakes vs. an OE set, or just buy the Brembo brakes for your new car. Anyway, the good news is that it's not too hard to make your car look as good or better once sold.

Also, the auto GT's handling will feel a lot softer and boucy than the brembo... for me, I couldn't handle it as the brembo was about the perfect ride for me. I got a set of Steeda Sport Springs and Koni Yellows and now it feels like the car is on rails. It handles way better than the brembo (IMO), and I can dial the suspension in for exactly the ride I want/need.

I also updated the tune of the car and put in a 3.73 rear axle. That alone made the car preform actually better than the Manual. The car shifts quickly and crisply, and I worked with the tuner to get the shift points exactly where I wanted them. You still don't have as much as control as the manual, but for the most part, the car now shifts where I want to, and faster than I could do with the stick.

I guess that this rambling post is just a way of saying that you can have as nice a looking and performing car. I'll admit, it was a bit more costly than I wanted to spend. It was a kick in the gut loosing the money buying a new car in less than a year. I really didn't have an option though, it was either get the automatic, or stop driving the Mustang all together. I did look at swapping the transmission over, and got some good advice from some really smart people... all of which pointed to swapping the new transmission over being as expensive as selling/buying another car including some of the upgrades... bottom line, it's expensive either way.

My advice, if you can wait, look weekly at the specials / rebates and buy it on your terms as much as possible.

Hope it helps, I liked knowing there were at least a couple people out there like me that had to trade in their new manual. Anyway - good luck with whatever you do.

 

[5.0jake]

I did it and lost under $1k on the whole deal and haven't looked back. The funny thing is even with the stock gears the auto feels stronger and seems quicker from roll at any speed than my 3.73 manual ever did.
I'm getting the Steeda Sport Springs and Koni Yellows next and probably brembo wheels and tires.

Hey Legos did you notice the 3.73's making your upper end(like above 80mph) pull any weaker than with the 3.15'S ?

 

[SID297]

i would think selling your car and buying an auto. then installing brembos on the auto would be alot less work and headache.

This would be my suggestion. An auto swap would probably end up being more expensive than trading just because of all the other parts (shifter, pedals, wiring) you need to change.

 

[legos_mustang]

Jake - Wow - loosing less than 1K... that's awesome. I got an incredible deal on my first, not so much on the second... but what can you do.

I've only had it above 80 a couple times since the gear swap. I live in the city an haven't been able to get out where I could really open her up except for a couple of times. Both times, it seemed to be pulling a lot harder through 80 and on up through 110 than before the swap. I didn't realize how quickly it had accelled. What I really like is the power I have when I'm in pretty heavy traffic. I can often just give a little more gas and the car will stay in it's top gear and accell nicely when switching lanes. I haven't had it to the track yet, but hope to sometime soon.

 

[5.0jake]

Jake - Wow - loosing less than 1K... that's awesome. I got an incredible deal on my first, not so much on the second... but what can you do.

I've only had it above 80 a couple times since the gear swap. I live in the city an haven't been able to get out where I could really open her up except for a couple of times. Both times, it seemed to be pulling a lot harder through 80 and on up through 110 than before the swap. I didn't realize how quickly it had accelled. What I really like is the power I have when I'm in pretty heavy traffic. I can often just give a little more gas and the car will stay in it's top gear and accell nicely when switching lanes. I haven't had it to the track yet, but hope to sometime soon.

Yeah they gave a generous amount for my trade and I got a great price for the new car. :beer:

Do you have a tune too or just gears?

 

[legos_mustang]

I've got an Airaid CAI, and Bama Tune.

 

[rpmr6]

Ok Thanks All

 

[Bud]

I'd suggest shopping around to do a trade as well. I went from my 2011 M6 to my 2012 A6 without losing my ass. I was offered 2k less for my 2011 than I paid for it, and got my 2012 1k under invoice so I jumped at the deal. I got a smoking deal on my 2011 when I bought it though, and got the 2012 on xplan with some rebate and a brochure coupon so that helped.

Sales tax will be almost a wash, but tags/license still hurt.