Staying Automatic

[BaliLover]

I'm trying to put together a nice S13 Coupe for my GF. We decided that since I have an SR, she should get an RB (either 20 or 25) but she wants to keep the car automatic for practical reasons.

How difficult is it to retain the automatic? I can't find much information on it. I know it can't handle as much power, but this isn't a car thats going to get beat on too often, and there are no plans to change it from the stock RB setup. Would the McKinney or Siko mount kits work with an automatic, or are they all configured for 5 speeds? Are there linkage issues between the S13 shifter and the RB trans?

Is the wiring pretty much the same as the 5 speed RB swaps?

[Joe]

to be honest, if she is just putting the engine in the leaving it alone, a RB is a waste of money.

[matt_calgary]

AUTO RB? your crazy son! If it was coming from an automatic car w/ an auto RB, since the 5-speed to 5-speed doesn't have issues, I'd say yes. But I dont think anyone has kept automatic that I know of so I cannot verify this information.

[SeVa-S13]

Yes people have doen auto RB20 swaps.Yes it's a waste, but most auto modification is.Wanna be faster, cheaper, and a ton easier? Budget KA turbo kit.

[BaliLover]

A budget KA turbo kit isn't something I would want to do since her KA isn't in the best shape. No matter what swap we do, its staying auto for convienience and we're looking to keep stock Nissan reliability so we don't want to do much modding. The basics is really all we'll be doing. Exhaust, intercooler, boost controller, fuel pump, turbo timer then call it a day for power.

I'm pushing close to 400hp out of my SR so its not like we need another car with that much power, but we want a motor with enough power in stock Auto form to be fun and able to hold its own against the local ricers.

I built my car for speed at the sacrifice of comfort, hers will be built for comfort and still be fast.

The problem with the few RB20 Auto swaps I've seen is they failed to swap in the 4.36 rear end from the R32 so the motor probably feels more sluggish than it really should.

Reliability and comfort are the primary concern to whever swap we do, and it doesn't hurt to be a bit different than the rest of the crowd.

[blues14]

I actuall had my rb20 originally installed as an auto in my auto s14. the driveshaft had to be shortened and they used the r32 crossmember, no special mounts needed. the gear shifter sits back a little further back, but not really noticable. the biggest problem is wiring in the automatic transmission. I had a professional shop install it and they sent me home in the car with only 2nd gear claiming the transmission was bad....but it was actually their wiring job and the transmission was in 'safe mode' It took them about another week of pulling out their hair to figure it out. when they did, the car still held on to 2nd gear too long and it sounded like i was racing everybody:) the coolest thing about the car being an auto is that boost did not drop at the gearshifts. so it pulled like a madman. it was fun, but now my car is a 5spd and its more fun, but the auto was cool. if you do this swap, make sure you get a complete front clip. also, draw up a contract with the installer so you dont get screwed out of extra money or a bad install. AT front rb clips are also usually cheaper than 5spds. make sure they also install the 'power/hold' switch. I still have mine if you need one. In my opinion, it is a cool, well worth it swap if it is done RIGHT.

[BaliLover]

I plan to do the swap myself. I do all my own work whenever possible.

[blues14]

Well, I hope your girl doesnt mind taking the bus......cuz its gonna take you forever to figure out the wiring on that AT. (that is IF you figure it out)I am not over exaggerating the difficulty in this task.

[rb20jdmizzle]

Everybody had their own opinion. I loved the 5-speed but yet I chose to do an automatic rb20det swap also. Reason? well, just wanna see how the auto vs 5-speed once it built up to it potential...and off course i kinda got tired stucking in traffic jam . but like blue14 had say....it's pain in the *** when come to wiring an automatic. I am doing my own wiring and right now i still had to figure out where the hell all the engine a/t control input signal go to. So yes, it's harder than wiring the 5-speed and it's challenging. But it would be cool as hell if you succeed....

[BoostFab]

if she will be driving the car mostly, have you asked her if she want to go without A/C? that's part of the comfort, i believe.

ka-t =D

[Imissmyturbo]

I would go Auto RB25. If you arn't going to do alot of mods then you will get the most Power out of that setup vs an RB20 auto. Also you can pickup an RB25 auto clip for a good price since there isn't much demand for them. I couldn't tell you how mounting or wiring will be since I have no first hand knowlage of the Auto RB's. But you will have a pretty sweet daily driver if you get it working properly.

Oh... and swap the rear from an Auto rb so the gear ratio is right. I would also try to get the cluster so the tach and speedo read correctly.

[burnin240sx]

i'm working with a customer who is doing an rb25 auto swap. we haven't done a auto swap in shop yet. i've done the wiring for an auto. but i'm sure you have to make a driftshaft(unless your going with a rb20 trans and a auto s14,then you can use the stock one.) swap your VSS if you can and you have to deal with linkage. let me know if I missed anything.