New to the forum

Piston · Post by **Piston** » Wed May 20, 2009 9:45 pm

Hi guys/girls

Just thought I would pop in and say hello, i have been browseing around the forum for a little while now taking a cloaser look at the fto's.
I personally have never really been a car man always been obsessed with bikes, after being involved in a high speed crash on my bike and to this day still not being able to work out how come I am still alive I have promissed the missus I will get my car license, funny being in my eary 30's and being on my L's

Anyways all of the cars I like are eithier over 50 grand or run turbo's and then thiers the Fto, even in standard form I like the way that the fto looks, but saying i am the type of guy that just cannot leave well alone I have to tinker and modify what ever I own..lol
And the other bonus is that the fto is p plater friendly.
I will be looking for a auto trans I take it this it the trip that I hear mentioned on this forum, is this just a standard auto gearbox? I will have to look into it a bit further. I am not sure about the price i think that I will be looking at spending between 10 to 12 grand on one.
I should be looking at picking somthing up in about four weeks.
Anyways looking forward to reading the forum some more.
Thanks
Andy

arctan · Post by **arctan** » Wed May 20, 2009 10:50 pm

WTTC

They come in either tiptronic or manual gearboxes

The tiptronics are semi-automatic meaning you can put them in drive and drive like a normal auto or semi automatic and shift gears without a clutch.

It shouldn't be too hard to get a decent one with your budget

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Wed May 20, 2009 10:54 pm

Where are you based?

FTEvolution · Post by **FTEvolution** » Thu May 21, 2009 8:36 am

arctan wrote:WTTC

They come in either tiptronic or manual gearboxes

The tiptronics are semi-automatic meaning you can put them in drive and drive like a normal auto or semi automatic and shift gears without a clutch.

It shouldn't be too hard to get a decent one with your budget

I agree, you will get a decent condition one. Look for the normal gremlins though and use those to drive the price down: rattling windows, air con issues, delaminating headlights, tappet noise. All common and easy to fix (DIY).

Important note: Stay away from roof rust, it is the debil!!! (waterboy anyone?), also, make sure that the cambelt has been changed if it is over 100,000 k's

As a side note to the gearbox, the FTO tip box was designed with Porsche, they are the smoothest and most responsive tip box I have ever driven/been in. Faster than any normal manual IMO (great on the drag strip too, so consistent)

Good luck with the purchase, you won't be disappointed as long as you do some research...

Oliver89 · Post by **Oliver89** » Thu May 21, 2009 12:24 pm

Welcome to the club champ

Hopefully you come up with a nice FTO that your after

Post by **dstocks** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:36 pm

Faster than any normal manual IMO

I would have to argue about you on that one. I have owned both and Manual is much more responsive (at least in the ones ive had - and there have been a few)

Welcome to the club BTW

J · Post by J » Thu May 21, 2009 5:25 pm

Faster than any normal manual IMO

I would have to argue about you on that one. I have owned both and Manual is much more responsive (at least in the ones ive had - and there have been a few)

+ 1 ive driven my mates gr quite allot(manual) with the same mods as mine and yes i reckon the manuals are way more responsive

arctan · Post by **arctan** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:29 pm

the gearing on the tiptronic isn't that good imo

2nd gear will hit 120 but it does take a few revs to get going

koolio1234 · Post by **koolio1234** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:08 pm

Either way mate, youve made a good decision to get an fto. You wont regret it. WTTC

FTEvolution · Post by **FTEvolution** » Fri May 22, 2009 8:33 am

J wrote:
Faster than any normal manual IMO
I would have to argue about you on that one. I have owned both and Manual is much more responsive (at least in the ones ive had - and there have been a few)

+ 1 ive driven my mates gr quite allot(manual) with the same mods as mine and yes i reckon the manuals are way more responsive

Here we go again, by the time you depress the clutch, change gear, then lift off your foot again then press the accelerator again to get torque back onto the black top again you have taken (at a minimum) twice as long to change gear as the tiptronic (bare in mind, the tip must of course be in good condition, but that is a given).

We aren't talking about engine response here, of course a manual will be crisper and not as "slushy", after all you have a torque converter there with a reasonably high stall

I am talking about actual change time, which, in all honesty, is blindingly fast. You also missed the part where I said, because it takes out driver error, that it will make your driving CONSISTENT. And that is the key to what I was saying.

Yes manuals are great, I never had an auto before my first FTO. But now I will never change back. You will lose X amount of torque with a Tip, the same as any auto box, and the gearing is by far different, but it doesn't have that much effect.

FTO tip's are bloody strong too, mine has handled ~300 hp for 2 years now with just one munched axle at christmas (and a little diff damage from the vibrating axle). That included some good old fashioned drag strip caning. Don't listen to the people saying that manuals are better and won't listen to other arguments. There is nothing wrong with a the FTO tip box, they are a fantastic piece of kit.

When you get one though, disconnect the battery for ~1/2 an hour before going for a drive (this resets the memory) in manual mode. The gearbox will "learn" your driving style (how you rev it out, and how/when you change gear), then in D the car will attempt to mimic the way you drive yourself. Brilliant innovation there.

Oh, and as I always say, it is great being able to weave in and out of motorway traffic while still sipping on my morning coffee

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri May 22, 2009 9:07 am

Change time may physically quicker, but the power transmissiom losses thru the tip box see it on average 0.3 of a second slower doing 0-100 & around 1 sec over the quarter. Not to mention the 40 odd kg's heavier the tip box is to stick.

None the less, one of the best auto boxes out there.

*Thanks Porsche*

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:40 pm

@ FTO Evolution .. I didn't know that it only 'learned' your driving style from what you do in the tiptronic mode.. would have been nice to know over the last 4 years

I've owned both & I LOVE my Tip box... even though the old car isn't as fast - I'm still in two minds about which one I like driving more..
It's definitely a drag at first going from the VR4FTO straight into the Mivec .. but I love the Mivec roar & the tiptronic box and after a few days of driving the GPX again you forget about the downgrade in power & it seems so much more nimble.. and being able to take corners without having to worry about changing gears / downshifting is great..

On the other hand, the manual is quicker off the line & is the main point you lose time with an auto .. you can't rev past 2.5k - 3k RPM in the auto, and the manual box is a lot more fun .. being able to take corners in a manual is fun too, being able to change into the right gear at the exit of a corner so you can accelerate out properly is awesome.

At the end of the day, I don't think it matters .. you're not going to care about the .001 of a second lost using either of them unless you're into competitive racing .. in which case;
1.) Your car will have more power than a standard FTO
2.) You're not going to want to keep the standard FTO Gearbox - whether it is auto or manual - IMO the ratios are too short when you start making bigger power..

The standard g'boxes are IMO extremely good .. especially that the manual holds up to the extra power really well.. but I think I will eventually swap to a VR4 gearbox when the time comes when / if the current one packs it in.. the gear ratios are designed better for the extra power .. might even look into swapping in a late model EVO box..

FTEvolution · Post by **FTEvolution** » Fri May 22, 2009 2:12 pm

Agree Mr-C, but Ben, all I was saying is that they do shift faster. It's gearbox response I am talking about, not engine response (and power losses).

All I am saying is that they are a bloody good choice. Not that they are better.

As for not being able to put more than 2.5-3k revs in the auto... that has mine on boost loading up that dirty SOB torque converter. Cloud of smoke, here I come... On the strip I had my best times by just planting boot from idle TBQH. Anything else (like TC loading) had me just sitting there hehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pu0KeCbiRc

Excuse the quality of the vid and music not really mixing in well, just some shots of my car at AS '06 and on the strip (before my zorst, intake and IC were done properly)

Got a 4 13.8's in a row, with a best of 13.856 @ 100 flat. Now I will say again, that was with standard GR exhaust and standard VR4 intake and IC piping. Since then I have run a single 12.81 and was very happy, happy enough to not do it again (scared for my dif after that time). No vid of that one.

EDIT! And yes, @ 4:45 I did lose an IC pipe. That was the run I got the 13.856 @ 100, lost the pipe @ ~3/4 track, thinking I was on track for a 13.5 perhaps cos my trap speeds were up over 110 mph for the rest of the day... sucks that my best launch and 60 ft time (can't remember that) were runined by an IC pipe haha.