I am in the final stages of finishing a turbo vg30 swap into a m30. Apparently the stock transmission did not like the amount of horse power the engine was making and went to crap. I still want to put a automatic in the car because it will be mostly used for dragracing. If I get a stock z31 turbo (automatic) transmission would I have problems with it breaking? (The motor is making roughly 450 to 500 hp). Thanks for the help.

that tranny would not be much better. Go with the Z32TT tranny

speeddocsson wrote:I am in the final stages of finishing a turbo vg30 swap into a m30. Apparently the stock transmission did not like the amount of horse power the engine was making and went to crap. I still want to put a automatic in the car because it will be mostly used for dragracing. If I get a stock z31 turbo (automatic) transmission would I have problems with it breaking? (The motor is making roughly 450 to 500 hp). Thanks for the help.

try the Z32 Automatic, or look for a ford C4 Trans.....

any pics of the car/build?

I'd agree with these guys. You will have far more luck with a TT Z32 A/T. Also

the Z31 a/t is known to be weak, the Z32 auto can take a beating and can be upgraded to take even more, if you are a hardcore drag racer the power glide is a far better option than the C4

ILL GET SOME PICS.....How easy is it to put a power glide in? is it a close match up to original space in the frame....like will i have to screw with the interior?

FYI, wrong forum. try Classic Z.

O and what would be the cheapest option...... im 17 and money doesn't grow on trees haha. I have most of the car finished i just need to finish the rear suspension and fix my camber issues in the front....... Just need the freakin tranny!

JDMZ32 wrote:FYI, wrong forum. try Classic Z.

Yeah....i just noticed that my bad.....you guys have still been allot of help i appreciate it.

speeddocsson wrote:ILL GET SOME PICS.....How easy is it to put a power glide in? is it a close match up to original space in the frame....like will i have to screw with the interior?

easy? it's not easy, it's all custom fab work

GREAT....what about the z32tt tranny? I have a engine lift and stuff but i just don't want to have to do too much fab work

the Z32 auto will bolt up the the earlier VG but not sure about the electronic controls, a 5 speed is a lot easier

Yeah the more that i have thought about it the more the 5spd makes sense.....

going out to take pics of car now

Just grab the 5 speed out of any year Z31 NA.

Ok so here are some pics of my car hope they work........

http://viewmorepics.myspace.co...52481

Is the NA a better tranny??? i would think that the turbo tranny would be a little more bullet proof. I changed my mind and will be doing the manual swap. who makes a good clutch and flywheel?

speeddocsson wrote:
Yeah....i just noticed that my bad.....you guys have still been allot of help i appreciate it.

it's fine lol, just pointing it out so you can post where you'll likely get even more help.

I disagree wiht the popular theory on the Z31 5 speeds, the T5 is a good tranny and can take about as much abuse as the n/a trans, both are known to fail somewhere north of 400 whp, the 87.5-89 R30A can take the beating but they are kinda rare and basicallyt he same as the Z32 n/a trans which is more common

evildky wrote:I disagree wiht the popular theory on the Z31 5 speeds, the T5 is a good tranny and can take about as much abuse as the n/a trans, both are known to fail somewhere north of 400 whp, the 87.5-89 R30A can take the beating but they are kinda rare and basicallyt he same as the Z32 n/a trans which is more common

I blew up the stock T5 with only 250rwhp. I replaced it with the R30A. But I've seen a few people with 400hp and more running the NA transmission and not having them break.

The R30A came in ALL 87 models. No mid year change for that. Forget ever hearing about that stupid date change. It rarely affects anything. Only the LSD and W series motor.

I've yet to read/hear about someone who makes an adapter plate that mounts a Z32 transmission to the SOHC block.

speeddocsson wrote:Ok so here are some pics of my car hope they work........

http://viewmorepics.myspace.co...52481

Birk's profile is set to private. This user must add you as a friend to see his/her photos.

If you want an automatic, the Level 10 upgrade is your best option.

AZ-ZBum wrote:Birk's profile is set to private. This user must add you as a friend to see his/her photos.

If you want an automatic, the Level 10 upgrade is your best option.

my bad here are the pics.........

Us guys should get a medal, all the 240 guys have to do is go find one of the thousands of trannys we got it hard man....haha.

so should the R30A be able to take the abuse?

speeddocsson wrote:Us guys should get a medal, all the 240 guys have to do is go find one of the thousands of trannys we got it hard man....haha.

so should the R30A be able to take the abuse?

The transmission the 240SX uses is the same transmission the NA Z31s use. The ONLY difference is the front bell housing.

The R30A will take plenty of abuse.

Ummm... Your pictures are rather small. I think my cell phone has a bigger screen.

O ok....yeah i don't know how to make the pictures bigger. I hate to ask so many questions but do you know any body who has or might have a R30A they could part with?

I know the Z31 community accepts the n/a trans as being stronger than the T5, it's my belief that they are all wrong

there was a movement towards the 240sx 5 speeds over at hybrid Z years ago, I was one of the early converts, the problem was the T5 had a tendancy to break after repeated track use with north of 400 whp, it was quickly found that the w71's were breaking at even lower hp levels and did not last as long and most of us abandoned them in favor fo the T5's which is what I have in my 240Z at present

it was the Z31 comunities embrace of these trannies that drove us towards them, but they simply could not take the beating that the T5 could

I know that there are some key differences between the S130 T5 and the Z31 T5 but as far as I know are pretty equal for potential power, and granted I'm going on memory and it was years ago bt I believe the big issue with the w71's was that the output shaft had a neckdown that the T5's didn't and thats where they were breaking IIRC, perhas the Z31 version uses a beefier output shaft but I thought they were the same

also i believe the Borg warner T5 was the same trans they put in the 80's model cameros and mustangs which I've seen put down some great horse power without problems.

From Wiki "The (US market only) 280ZX Turbo was offered with a manual transmission; this was a Borg-Warner T-5 5-speed model (this was the first Nissan and Japanese car in general which used a non-Japanese transmission; the T-5 was also used, most notably, in the GM F-bodies and Ford Mustang) in addition to numerous other American domestic vehicles"

The difference is that the Z31 got the non world class version while everything else apparently got the better model. guess borg warner figured the little V6 wouldn't make enough power and didn't use the better quality parts.

that's the only thing I can come up with.

there are many versions of the T5, ford and gm both used both world class and non world calss versions, the s130 and z31 were both non world class but were alo quite different from one another, imput shfts, output shafts, bellhousings shifter mounts and gear ratios all differ with model, the WC got larger bearings and shafts

the Z31 T5 imput shaft is longer than the S130 version also the lay gear tooth count is different which si a part of the imput shaft which means the companion gear should also need to be changed, it does appear that the static diameter of the Z31 T5 imput shaft is a touch smaller than the S130 and with the additional length might be a bit weaker than the S130 counterpart

Zbum, what is the procalimed weakpoint of the Z31 T5? just trying to figure if it's the imput or the output? I am quite sure the internal bearings and supports of the T5 are superior to the w71 series trannies

it just seems to be one of those regurgitated things, everyone says the w71 is stronger but no-one seems to know what the weak point of the T5 is

evildky wrote:there are many versions of the T5, ford and gm both used both world class and non world calss versions, the s130 and z31 were both non world class but were alo quite different from one another, imput shfts, output shafts, bellhousings shifter mounts and gear ratios all differ with model, the WC got larger bearings and shafts

the Z31 T5 imput shaft is longer than the S130 version also the lay gear tooth count is different which si a part of the imput shaft which means the companion gear should also need to be changed, it does appear that the static diameter of the Z31 T5 imput shaft is a touch smaller than the S130 and with the additional length might be a bit weaker than the S130 counterpart

Zbum, what is the procalimed weakpoint of the Z31 T5? just trying to figure if it's the imput or the output? I am quite sure the internal bearings and supports of the T5 are superior to the w71 series trannies

it just seems to be one of those regurgitated things, everyone says the w71 is stronger but no-one seems to know what the weak point of the T5 is

I blew the synchros for 2nd and 3rd gears as soon as I turned up the boost. After a transmission rebuild, it wasn't long before it wouldn't shift into 5th gear. Couldn't have been a linkage issue since it would go into reverse without any problems, although I never bothered to find out for sure. Found an R30A cheap enough after that.

syncro's are wear items, the W71 failures were a snapped output shaft I believe