The Transaxle Thread

GLAMIS WEATHER
Pretty sure it hasn’t been brought up in this thread so here we go.

Is ths Md5 still a thing?

Logistics of converting a 2d 4 speed to a md5?

Are the gears skinnier?

Less durable?

Brainstorming for a 400hp Subaru car that might turn to 500 in the off season, and interested in stretching the legs out a little

Car gets duned pretty hard so being cautious about durability
 
KyleDodd said:
Pretty sure it hasn’t been brought up in this thread so here we go.

Is ths Md5 still a thing?

Logistics of converting a 2d 4 speed to a md5?

Are the gears skinnier?

Less durable?

Brainstorming for a 400hp Subaru car that might turn to 500 in the off season, and interested in stretching the legs out a little

Car gets duned pretty hard so being cautious about durability
Click to expand...
Have you considered the PBS sequential that CEK has for sale on here ?
 
KyleDodd said:
Pretty sure it hasn’t been brought up in this thread so here we go.

Is ths Md5 still a thing?

Logistics of converting a 2d 4 speed to a md5?

Are the gears skinnier?

Less durable?

Brainstorming for a 400hp Subaru car that might turn to 500 in the off season, and interested in stretching the legs out a little

Car gets duned pretty hard so being cautious about durability
Click to expand...
The MD5 is mostly obsolete as of now. Parts are no longer being made for them, specifically R&P's and 1st/2nd main shafts. They will eventually die off.

There are few short course racers that still use them, but they don't burn through the specific MD5 parts that fast.

Best option to replace a 2d with a 5 speed would be going to an S5 sequential, or Weddle HV-25 if you prefer the H-pattern shifting.
 
Hondajimz said:
Have you considered the PBS sequential that CEK has for sale on here ?
Click to expand...

SeanRitchie said:
The MD5 is mostly obsolete as of now. Parts are no longer being made for them, specifically R&P's and 1st/2nd main shafts. They will eventually die off.

There are few short course racers that still use them, but they don't burn through the specific MD5 parts that fast.

Best option to replace a 2d with a 5 speed would be going to an S5 sequential, or Weddle HV-25 if you prefer the H-pattern shifting.
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Thanks!
 
My excellent transmission guy sent me a pic of the parts going in my IMG_0508.jpeg091. I know it needed ring&pinion and 3rd gear. Care to guess what the rest of these parts are?
 
SeanRitchie said:
The MD4E will someday go obsolete. The cost to make those parts are just as much as a 2D part, so it is no longer an "economical" price point.

the only truly specific MD4E components are the R&P and input shaft, everything else is common between VW and 2D.

We still have plenty of 5.14 Gleason R&P sets on the shelf to last for a few years at the current rate of sales.

We are somewhat ok on input shafts for now. Again, based on current sales rate, we should have them for the next few years.

Once we run out of those parts, then you will need to convert to a 2D once you burn up a R&P, or break and input shaft.

Nothing to worry about until that time comes. Keep running them and save your money for the conversion once it's required.
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Just curious, how do the r&p supplies look these days for ebox? Unfortunately though I have a 4.86 r&p in my ebox currently.
 
@SeanRitchie saw someone on Facebook in the middle of converting his convertor car to a clutch setup on an older S4d. He said the convertor is causing rounding out of the dogs. I am curious if that is actually a known problem.

I know I would never go back to a clutch in my car after driving with a properly setup convertor.
 
Reece Pettersen said:
@SeanRitchie saw someone on Facebook in the middle of converting his convertor car to a clutch setup on an older S4d. He said the convertor is causing rounding out of the dogs. I am curious if that is actually a known problem.

I know I would never go back to a clutch in my car after driving with a properly setup convertor.
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As a super ignorant question, what is the advantage to a manual trans with a converter, have always wondered.
 
Reece Pettersen said:
@SeanRitchie saw someone on Facebook in the middle of converting his convertor car to a clutch setup on an older S4d. He said the convertor is causing rounding out of the dogs. I am curious if that is actually a known problem.

I know I would never go back to a clutch in my car after driving with a properly setup convertor.
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Yeah, Ron Williams called me about that one yesterday.

That is a really old Mendi S4D trans with a TCS converter, was probably built 07/08 ish. I believe it had the old Gen 1 shift mechanism that shifts a bit slow, and is the bigger issue than the converter, which is why Weddle designed the Gen 3 mechanism to speed up the shift inside the trans. I have no real issue running the new Gen 3 mechanism with the Albins T/C system these days.

Converters can make these harder to shift as there is a "spongy" effect with engine to trans input with the fluid converter between them. The converter tends to keep spinning even though you have let off the throttle input to the engine, that can cause the dogs to stick a bit. Shift timing becomes more important to find that sweet spot where the dogs unload, allowing the shifter to release and throw into the next gear.

With a clutch being a more solid engagement between engine and trans, once you let off the throttle, the trans will react with the engine and unload the dogs much faster.

Since your car has an Albins and that fancy Motec with no-lift-shift, the tuner is able to really dial in the shift cuts based on when you push/pull on the shift lever. You might notice that the shifter will occasionally not want to release if you are ripping hard in soft sand, even with no lift shift. That is due to the converter still turning the input shaft even though the ECU has cut engine power. That is when you have lift to shift to help unload the dogs.

I still push people away from a torque converter (as I did with Ace in our last conversation). Most poeple will have more issues with shifting than what the converter does to save other parts, especially in a sand car. I really only recommend them for full blown race cars.
 
smithabusa said:
As a super ignorant question, what is the advantage to a manual trans with a converter, have always wondered.
Click to expand...
It's really only used in desert race cars (class 1) to help relieve the torque spikes on drivetrain parts. The fluid converter absorbs quite a lot of shock loads from the rough terrain, which helps save CV joints and trans components.

Fun fact, Scott Birdsall (Chuckles Garage on instagram) just ran a late model TA2 Camaro with a compound turbo diesel and Albins ST6 gearbox with a torque converter up pikes peak last weekend. That trans and engine was originally built into a Geiser trophy truck about 10 years ago, which they pulled out and put in that TA2 car about 5 years ago.
 
SeanRitchie said:
It's really only used in desert race cars (class 1) to help relieve the torque spikes on drivetrain parts. The fluid converter absorbs quite a lot of shock loads from the rough terrain, which helps save CV joints and trans components.

Fun fact, Scott Birdsall (Chuckles Garage on instagram) just ran a late model TA2 Camaro with a compound turbo diesel and Albins ST6 gearbox with a torque converter up pikes peak last weekend. That trans and engine was originally built into a Geiser trophy truck about 10 years ago, which they pulled out and put in that TA2 car about 5 years ago.
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ah ok cool thanks for the explanation! I wondered, in Michigan (silver lake) everything is always wooped out 95% of the time maybe would be nice one day when I can move up to a bigger car.
 
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