auto to manual tranny swap?

[misterjj2u]

Has anyone done this? I'm a noob to the Audi scene and just picked up a B6 Avant (love it) but want to switch it out to a 6 speed.

Is this straight plug and play? or Should I just avoid it and settle for the auto tranny?

[Maverick]

it costs a lot of money and it's not worth it. there are few members have done this because they can source the tranny cheaply and do the work themselves.
if you really want to get the 6spd, sell your car and buy a 6spd otherwise stay with what you have.

[04QuattroTurbo]

it costs a lot of money and it's not worth it. there are few members have done this because they can source the tranny cheaply and do the work themselves.
if you really want to get the 6spd, sell your car and buy a 6spd otherwise stay with what you have.

+1 The other way around maybe easier and more cost effective, but either way, the best way is to sell and buy one that you like.

[widgget]

Everyone is going to say "don't waste your time, sell it and get a stick if that is what you want".

i was in a jam and needed a car FAST so i ended up with a tiptronic 2003 A4 1.8t rather then the manual 2000 S4 that i was originally set on. at this point i am happy that i have a B6 body style over the B5 and i can work on the engine fairly easily (S4 you need to pull the engine to take the turbos out). As of last week it's got a full stage 3 setup and i'm faster then the S4 would have been. taking all of this into account i'll deal with the tiptronic tranny. It's really not taht bad, kinda like playing a video game since i never have it in anything but manual shift mode. going to do a level 10 valve body and tq converter soon though so i get much quicker shifts and don't have to worry about the stage 3 power hurting the tranny.

Do you have the tiptronic (5 speed) or the multitronic-CVT (6 speed)?

[Papachristou]

Should I just avoid it and settle for the auto tranny?

YES! or sell it and buy a six speed as suggested below

it costs a lot of money and it's not worth it. there are few members have done this because they can source the tranny cheaply and do the work themselves.
if you really want to get the 6spd, sell your car and buy a 6spd otherwise stay with what you have.

more words of wisdom

[kepone]

You guys would be surprised how little a swap like this can cost.. in my old Jetta, i swapped out the o1m 4 speed automatic with an 02m 6 speed manual setup and in total it cost me under $3500 including labor- in other words, significantly less than a new auto or manual gearbox.

[misterjj2u]

Interesting, thanks for the replies;

I'm probably just going to keep it as-is, I wanted to see if anyone else had done it.

[widgget]

so, is it the 5 or 6 speed auto?
your better off with the 5 speed which is the tiptronic.

[A4TL]

i'd throw a BT on it and have fun. or sell it.

imo the tiptronic programming limits the "fun" of this car with the k03/k04 programs.

until someone cracks the ecu/tcu code or makes a piggyback to make things more fun on the shifting side of things i would not recommend even chipping the car.

i may have been tainted by my dark side car but pressing the gas 1/3 and no downshifting but rather going going going (fast no less) is alot more fun than a hunting tiptronic that jumps over the meat of the powerband every time you jab the gas (even in tiptronic mode).

heck i'd rather have a 3.0 than the 1.8T (k03) it is just that much more pleasurable of a driving experience.

don't get me wrong i love my a4 it is an excellent bargain car but damn the tiptronic and chip made it retarded. back to stock its decent but even slower.

had i to do it all over again i'd have bought a 3.0 or thrown a BT on the car from the get go. either path with tiptronic would have been much more fun. wasted several years with the sub-par tiptronic experience. you only live once man.

[grimlock]

i'd throw a BT on it and have fun. or sell it.

imo the tiptronic programming limits the "fun" of this car with the k03/k04 programs.

until someone cracks the ecu/tcu code or makes a piggyback to make things more fun on the shifting side of things i would not recommend even chipping the car.

i may have been tainted by my dark side car but pressing the gas 1/3 and no downshifting but rather going going going (fast no less) is alot more fun than a hunting tiptronic that jumps over the meat of the powerband every time you jab the gas (even in tiptronic mode).

heck i'd rather have a 3.0 than the 1.8T (k03) it is just that much more pleasurable of a driving experience.

don't get me wrong i love my a4 it is an excellent bargain car but damn the tiptronic and chip made it retarded. back to stock its decent but even slower.

had i to do it all over again i'd have bought a 3.0 or thrown a BT on the car from the get go. either path with tiptronic would have been much more fun. wasted several years with the sub-par tiptronic experience. you only live once man.

I agree 100% with this. When I first got my tiptronic chipped it was great because of the dramatic difference over stock. Over time though, I've really come to hate driving in 'D' mode because the shift program simply was not written to accommodate a chipped ECU. I have to either drive it in tip or 'S', but even that can feel restrictive at times. I miss the factory smoothness of the car.

[MikTip]

I've swapped an Audi automatic for a 5-speed manual, on a B4....

http://forums.audiworld.com/9080/msgs/8154.phtml

I researched everything for several months, then DIY accomplished the actual swap in a weekend, lying in my driveway.

Best mod I ever did for my Audi 90!

[misterjj2u]

A4TL, would a big turbo include doing a chip mod? Recommendations for setup?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^a BT would just cause it to shift like stock, because it spools later, and doesn't affect the programing of the tranny! any eliminator or even 71R would be fine!

and for the guy who swapped his Jetta's tranny: $3500 is not cheap! thats the value of the Jetta right there!

[18twagen]

I agree 100% with this. When I first got my tiptronic chipped it was great because of the dramatic difference over stock. Over time though, I've really come to hate driving in 'D' mode because the shift program simply was not written to accommodate a chipped ECU. I have to either drive it in tip or 'S', but even that can feel restrictive at times. I miss the factory smoothness of the car.

GIAC sells a reprogram for the Tiptronic, probably the GIAC ecu program and tiptronic program together would be the way to go?!

[widgget]

GIAC sells a reprogram for the Tiptronic, probably the GIAC ecu program and tiptronic program together would be the way to go?!

the tip chip from GIAC is only for the B5, you can't get anything (maybe custom) for the B6 or B7 with the excetpion of a few of the RS cars i believe.
replace the valve body with one from level10 to get quicker shifts, but nothing for the shift timing.

oh, did you disable the new style shifting in vagcom yet, that makes a big difference.

^^a BT would just cause it to shift like stock, because it spools later, and doesn't affect the programing of the tranny! any eliminator or even 71R would be fine!

i have a stage 3 setup with a GTRS and i don't like the way the auto handles the shifts, just drive it in manual mode, it's not that hard and it's more fun ;)

[kepone]

^^a BT would just cause it to shift like stock, because it spools later, and doesn't affect the programing of the tranny! any eliminator or even 71R would be fine!

and for the guy who swapped his Jetta's tranny: $3500 is not cheap! thats the value of the Jetta right there!

I actually misquoted the price, it was more like $2800, i had some other work done that day ( r32 pedals , GLI aluminum trim kit and center console/armrest )

It's not that bad really, a replacement automatic was going to be $4500 for a new one or $2500 for a 30k miles remanufactured one. I was able to source out the all the parts necessary for about 2000 and the labor took up the rest of the $2800.. it was well worth it, shaved 2 sec off my 1/4 mile time and allowed me to rev out to 7400 on my cammed vr6..

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^well in traffic it isn't and well i have a tendency to shift after releasing the throttle like a manual which puts tons of pressure on the TC!

[widgget]

^^well in traffic it isn't and well i have a tendency to shift after releasing the throttle like a manual which puts tons of pressure on the TC!

do you mean you down shift to brake? or easing on the gas between shifts?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^easing in between shifts, it's the better way to shift, but is very stressful on the tranny!

[widgget]

scares me to power though a shift with stage 3 and a stock tranny. I can't imagine it would be any better for it then letting off the gas very slightly, i'm not talking about popping it and i am smooth back on the gas. but i could be wrong, it's happened many times in the past :)

[[email protected]]

I think it would be better the leave the car as is. You are asking for trouble by doing the swap, and like everyone said, nothing will work quite as well as stock.

Audi does a great job of programming their vehicles right, and although there may be a few mods worth doing, I'd trust the Germans; seems as if they know what they are talking about! LOL

[AudiA4_20T]

I'm almost positive I could do this for you if you lived closer, like everyone is saying would be a few thousand but really not that much

[18twagen]

the tip chip from GIAC is only for the B5, you can't get anything (maybe custom) for the B6 or B7 with the excetpion of a few of the RS cars i believe.

I guess you did not check the GIAC site ?

Programming for - The 2002 B6 A4® 1.8T Transmission Software
For optimum perfomance the software must be coupled with GIAC Engine Software and Tiptronic® Transmission. These tiptronic® software upgrades increase shift speeds and are calibrated for higher torque levels

2002 B6 A4® 1.8T Transmission Software 8E0927156A No

oh, did you disable the new style shifting in vagcom yet, that makes a big difference.

Yes i am aware of this, i will be trying that.

[My OOOO My]

GIAC sells a reprogram for the Tiptronic, probably the GIAC ecu program and tiptronic program together would be the way to go?!

Yes.... but it is ONLY for the 2002 B6 Tiptronic tranny (not the 2003, 2004 or 2005).

[18twagen]

Yes.... but it is ONLY for the 2002 B6 Tiptronic tranny (not the 2003, 2004 or 2005).

My car is a 2002 B6 Tiptronic. Yes but i was just pointing out that it is available for B6 but yes unfortunately only for 2002 year.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^and if u can only have that for GIAC software than that's lame!

[kyran A4]

im actually bringing my car in on Tuesday to have this done along with a k04 + 225 injector package. Changing out the tranny and making it manual is costing me 4,500. All of them say to sell your car, but the car market is not so hot right now nor has it been for a while. Good luck with whatever decision you choose.

[rtb98]

by the way, if i've got a 2003 tip

witch manual trany i can put on it (swap)

i guess 5 speed from 2002-2003 A4 and the 6 speed from 2004-2005

anything else ?

thank

[AudiA4Turbo22]

2.8 manual 5 speed, B5 5-speed, etc

wow i used to use so many EXCLAMATION points i got tired of watching that LOL.

a manual swap isn't very difficult as long as u have all the parts and someone who can do it for cheap.

[Frey7190]

If I were you... sell it, and buy a manual... Not only do you have to do the swap of tranies, but theres all this car modding (software wise)

IMO i wouldn't hassle it

[rtb98]

ok, my tip is going to die !!!

i will probably switch to a manual transmission. (it will cost me the same price anyway)

so, can you help me out guys ?

witch trany can fit on it, cross member ? ecu, trany support, shifter + cable and center console, clutch ! qhat else ?

thank

for any post about my english, read my sig.

[vdubstreets]

I'm pretty sure the cranks of auto motor are diffrent then that of a manual motor so its not a direct swap. In addition to the ecu, peddle cluster, etc.

[trueno429]

I'm pretty sure the cranks of auto motor are diffrent then that of a manual motor so its not a direct swap. In addition to the ecu, peddle cluster, etc.

very true..during the summer we swapped a passat 1.8t from a manual passat into a automatic passat and some internals had to be changed out along with the obvious like ecu, addition of the pedal, and etc

[b6onboost]

dunno why people who want a manual buy tiptronics. sell it, swap it, whatever is easier/cheaper.

[AudiA4_20T]

very true..during the summer we swapped a passat 1.8t from a manual passat into a automatic passat and some internals had to be changed out along with the obvious like ecu, addition of the pedal, and etc

OMG STOP spewing untrue info... Have any of you confirmed that on an 06A block this is the case? I am almost positive that this is true for only the older 058 blocks (AEB/ATW) and NOT the newer ones

[pattshreds]

Has anyone done this? I'm a noob to the Audi scene and just picked up a B6 Avant (love it) but want to switch it out to a 6 speed.

Is this straight plug and play? or Should I just avoid it and settle for the auto tranny?

im in this process right now, if you research it and read DIYs you can do the swap yourself so your only cost would be parts.
i would say its def worth it. plus itll be fun to know how to do a tranny swap!

[widgget]

^^ If you do go though with this please document it in detail along with photos for a DIY. i would be interested in seeing this as keep going back and forth with the idea of upgrading my tip, swapping it to a manual, or just trading the car for a manual.

[dougyfresh]

Way to bump this from a 2 year old hole.

[Dolphin18T]

[Ashman]

i just got a 05 A6 3.2 auto ive been wondering this myself. the possibility of either tranny swap or reprogramming for faster shifts and throttle response. im new to audi any tips would be great