6-Speed Gearbox

KANE326 said:
of corse the 6-Speed-Gearbox from the A3 will fit! All the 6 speedgearboxes are the same. only the ratio is different!
kitora.. how did you solf the problem with ur speedometer?
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I drilled 14 6,2 mm holes about 4 mm into the spacer on the right hand side drive shaft and glued in small magnets. Actually I stole the magnets from my daughters Geomag kit... :eek:)

The magnets have to be mounted as N-S-N-S polarity in order to work. The sensor is a regular sensor from a VW Golf i beleive that I cut in half and removed the rotating part. It is mounted on a homemade bracket close to the spacer and picks up the signals from the magnets as they pass by.

Simple, but it works perfectly.
 
It's a while since 6 speed gearboxes were discussed but I came across a Quaife kit for the 02J gearbox - http://www.quaife.co.uk/shop/products/qke1v
The 02J box is used on TDi's but I don't know if it would work on A2, or even if the ratios are a good match for the diesel. Has anyone checked this out?

Cheers Spike
 
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Interesting! The gears look very short, though. The longer 5th employed by most has a ratio of 0.659. The 6th gear in this product is 0.800, so considerably shorter.
It says the kit uses the standard final drive ratio, so perhaps appropriate gear sets could be bought to closely match the A2 TDI's existing gear ratios, except a 6th gear could also be added.

Tom
 
I was chatting to Vince @ Stealth about 6 speed a couple of weeks ago, it sounded possible but extremely expensive.
 
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The 6 speed gearbox is realizable for approximately ~ 2000 EUR, depending from where you get the parts from (e.g. ebay). Kane326 did it in Germany and he told me it can be accomplished within a day, knowing what parts you need and having everything available. As with every conversion, it needs somebody to try it out, then the followers have it easier. Nevertheless it needs some special adjustments/parts, so nothing for a mechanics newbie. You need some solid knowledge of VAG models
 
Here's another 6-gear kit, about half the price of the Quaife (£990 excluding labour). Basically they extend the existing 5-speed gearbox by 45mm, and put the 6th gear in there with a new gearbox casing. They claim it is possible to do it without removing the gearbox, although I am not sure if that is possible on the A2. Personally I would recommend talking to Vince first to see what he thinks about it!

http://www.eurotuning.cz/images/image/en/upravy_prevodovek-en.html

They say there will be 'up to' 1 litre saving per 100km in MPG on motorway driving which I do not think is realistic. Based on a 400rpm drop, and the BSFC chart, I think around 8-12% would be more realistic for motorway driving.
http://ecomodder.com/wiki/index.php...aps#Volkswagen_Jetta_TDI_1.9L_ALH_1999.5-2003


If their claim that it can be done without dropping the box out is true for the A2, then the labour estimate is 3 hours.


There is a writeup in the following mag (March 2012 so it's a recent product):
http://www.vwtuningmag.com/gearbox-conversion-kit/
VW Tuning said:
... the fitting can be done by new “revolutionary” procedure without taking the gearbox apart. This process was developed by EuroTuning.

Just detach front left wheel, dismantle side sheet metal, create an access from top (for example by dismantling air filter or battery), then the conversion can be done. That is highly faster, personal cars more less 3 hours and VW T4 6-7 hours (the access is more difficult).
...
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Very interesting. I have no idea how the selection of the 6th gear would work, but it seems someone on the TDIClub has figured it out. I don't really see how this could be done to an A2 without taking the box out, but it nevertheless seems the best 6th gear upgrade out there.

Tom
 
MikeMarsUK said:
They say there will be 'up to' 1 litre saving per 100km in MPG on motorway driving which I do not think is realistic. Based on a 400rpm drop, and the BSFC chart, I think around 8-12% would be more realistic for motorway driving.
http://ecomodder.com/wiki/index.php...aps#Volkswagen_Jetta_TDI_1.9L_ALH_1999.5-2003


If their claim that it can be done without dropping the box out is true for the A2, then the labour estimate is 3 hours.


There is a writeup in the following mag (March 2012 so it's a recent product):
http://www.vwtuningmag.com/gearbox-conversion-kit/
Click to expand...

Well based on just a 400rpm drop the 5th gear mod gives that anyway without going for 6th and if you really wanted to lower the gearing a bit more and only used your 5th on motorways go for the even longer 5th which i think is 0.622 from the one that most have fitted including myself which is 0.659 i very nearly went for the .622 as i got these sent wrongly when i first ordered at work as the part number is the same apart from 1 letter at the end of number

Phil
 
Indeed, Phil. I think for many, conversation about the 6-speed box is purely academic.
The 6-speed box would obviously allow you to 'fill the gap' between 4th and 0.659 5th, or use the slightly shorter 5th gear mod (which I think DJ190 has got) and have the 0.622 as your 6th (though I'm not sure how the AMF engine would cope with driving such a long set).

Tom
 
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Yes, with the country lanes throughout North Wales (and pretty quite most times, too) I always appreciated the original gearbox ratios. I got into top gear quite early (35-40 mph) and benefited along those lanes. I therefore think that my 0.681 ratio final gear is best suited for my driving environment. However, I think that the very best set-up would be a 6-speed box with a true "overdrive" ratio .... 0.622 sounds just great! I think that a visit to Czechoslovakia is certainly on the cards! Then, when I'm up to speed on my many trips to Holland and Italy, I can then enjoy those relaxed cruising speeds at significantly reduced revs! That was what the old-fashioned "overdrive" was all about!
 
I'm not entirely sure, Dan, but someone on the TDIClub took a look at a 'box they had lying around and could see how the add-on part would interface with the selector. If the selector needs modifying from above, then I'd say it's definitely a case of 'gearbox-out!' in order to perform the total mod to the A2.

Tom
 
The problem with replacing 5th for a nice long gear is that for me it'll cut down the opportunities to use 5th, i.e., I currently use 5th for 30+ speeds (on the level, when I don't need to accelerate). So I'd have to drop down a gear for that, which will offset the mpg advantages on the motorway.

On the other hand, a 135k mile payback is ridiculously long. While I intend to keep my A2 indefinitely, you still have to take into account the chance that somebody might drive into the back of it, or the engine may go.

Regarding the selector, the final step in the instructions is modifying the selector (by trimming the end of one of the bolts by 1cm). I presume that will give the gear lever more freedom to move at the right-hand edge.
 
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Indeed, Mike, the opportunities for using 5th are reduced by having the longer gear. DJ190 has a shorter-longer-5th, precisely because the areas where he drives most won't allow for the 0.659 ratio to be used, meaning a change to the 0.659 ratio would probably cause an increase in his fuel consumption.
It all depends on your circumstances, I suppose. At the moment my A2 gets used either for a very short drive to work, where I barely get the opportunity to change out of 4th, or long-distance motorway cruising. So, for me, the 0.659 ratio is a no-brainer. As my own circumstances change, I may find the gearing set-up less than ideal. I guess a 6-speed box provides the very best of all worlds and remains flexible.

Tom
 
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