SSS BA Auto shifter into AU Forte Wagon Take 2

[JC]

Originally Posted by EA2BA

yeah i was first, then Ghia5L and now your the 3rd (that I know of), we can officially have our own club ........ LOL

LOL. What would we call it? The SSS club? Sounds like you would need a nissan to join!

[JC]

Originally Posted by Uncle_Ken

JC
Did your "old" AU shift have a chrome surround?
Uncle_Ken

Yes it did. It is now residing proudly in the XR8 (also an auto).

[JC]

All done. The electronics are installed, and the SSS function works a treat.

When you first start off in D, if you flick across to SSS mode, it is in first gear, and will hold first until you change to second (about 60 for me). Same with 2 - it will hold all the way through - I changed at 110 and there was still more revs to go. Didn't see how far I could get in D, as I like my licence. This was all in a 100 zone, and my car has 8 km/h speedo error at 100 according to my GPS unit, so 110 is actually really 100 (115 indicated is actually 104).

Anyway, on with the gear selection choices. If you flick across to SSS when in drive and doing about 60 on light throttle (ie 4th gear), it changes down to 3. You can then shift between 3 2 1, but it will not engage 1 in my car unless you are moving off from a standing start, or you are slowing down and the speed drops below about 25 km/h. The general downshifts are quicker than booting it down using the pedal, and probably quicker than manually selecting 2 in the old style (ie stock AU) shifter. No clunky shifts yet - they have all been smooth as silk, but then I haven't tried selecting 2 at 120, cos that would just be silly (both for the gearbox and my licence). You can shift into 4th by moving the shifter back to the D position.

So, with a quick 10 minute run, I sort of know how the gears work and what the capabilities and limitations are, and I'm pretty happy with this mod. Now for the SSS function using the audio controls on the steering wheel in the XR8 - if I can ever get that going, I will be a happy man!

[Mechan1k]

One paper mache console coming up ... hee hee
We want pics ... LOL.

BTW ... nice job so far ... excellent work.
The AU gearbox can handle manual shifting to a certain extent ... just need to use commonsense ... is useful for towing and excessive downhill usage.

Will be good when it's all completed.

[mcflux]

Excellent! Very professional looking installation! Mine looks like no-mans-land on the Somme. Well, under the console it does anyhoo

As stated in the PM, I see the shifter housing still sits high in the AUs too. Lowering it is a pain in the ****, plus the rear of the housing gets a tad close to the driveshaft :P

Have you got an S5 shift kit too? Trust me, they ROCK with the BA shifter!

Cheers,

-Dave-

[JC]

Mechan1k - I will keep this thread updated as I go. No worries about that.

Dave - The AUs come standard with the S5 solenoid anyway, but I don't have the electronic shift kit in that car - only in the XR8. The shifts are quick enough for the family hack.

[EA2BA]

Where did you get the gearbox bracket ?

[JC]

I made it using 4mm steel plate, a 5lb mini-sledge, an angle grinder and a drill.

[EA2BA]

what ball did you use for the ba cable to connect to, or how did you do that end of things.

[JC]

I used the BA bit that came attched to the end of the cable. Just took the AU actuator off and then I had to enlarge the slot/hole slightly by about 0.5mm in width on the BA actuator and it pretty much fitted on very easily.

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by JC-XRWgn

Mechan1k - I will keep this thread updated as I go. No worries about that.

Dave - The AUs come standard with the S5 solenoid anyway, but I don't have the electronic shift kit in that car - only in the XR8. The shifts are quick enough for the family hack.

Sorry, I meant the electronic shift kit that tricks the S5.

I'll stick with my bracket for now But yours is looking classy mate

[JC]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

Sorry, I meant the electronic shift kit that tricks the S5.

I'll stick with my bracket for now But yours is looking classy mate

OK, I thought you meant the replacement S5 mod you can do. I have been thinking about getting a shift kit for the wagon, but the shifts in the XR are really harsh, and I don't think the boss would be happy if I did that to the wagon. Maybe a bigger/smaller resistor would make the shifts less harsh. and then I may think about it.

[mcflux]

I used a 22 ohm / 1 ohm combo. Much milder than the suggested "normal" 20 ohm/1 ohm combo or the harsh 18 ohm / 1.5 ohm combo. It is mildly noticable moreso in quickness of the shifts (no laggy feel) rather than a harsh thump.

The shift kit I am talking about here is a basic one-stage shift kit.

Changing diff gears however changes the properties of this. Trust me on this :P

-Dave-

[JC]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

I used a 22 ohm / 1 ohm combo. Much milder than the suggested "normal" 20 ohm/1 ohm combo or the harsh 18 ohm / 1.5 ohm combo. It is mildly noticable moreso in quickness of the shifts (no laggy feel) rather than a harsh thump.

The shift kit I am talking about here is a basic one-stage shift kit.

Changing diff gears however changes the properties of this. Trust me on this :P

-Dave-

Sounds good. I like the idea of faster shifts without the thump. If you have instructions and a parts list for how to do this, I would give it a go.

[8pAc]

The au s5 is already adjustable just ask the guys at the auto shop to adjust it a little bit not to much so it is firmer but not bone smashing

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by JC-XRWgn

Sounds good. I like the idea of faster shifts without the thump. If you have instructions and a parts list for how to do this, I would give it a go.

Hmm I'd probably refer to 8pac's post to be honest.

[Headsex]

any info on the electronics side of it.. what it hooks upto, how it works?

danny

[JC]

The electronics were supplied as a control box that hooks up to a number (7) of pins in the ECU. I'm not sure what the controller box actually does, but I guess it allows the auto to work like the BA SSS shifter when using the SSS shifter lever in the manual position. If you want further info on how it ACTUALLY works, PM or email muzza - he's the electronics guru.

[JC]

OK - an important update. Went down the coast yesterday (500km round trip), and about halfway back we had a funny burning smell coming from the car. Stopped to check it out and it was the gear shifter cable burning/melting on the exhaust. It melted through the outer casing, and actually melted the outer casing to the inner cable, which meant I lost a few gears - luckily I still had neutral (so I could start the car) and D so we could get home. I've spent the day removing the BA shifter hardware (all the electronics are still there, but not engaged), and putting the AU shifter back in. I will now need another cable before I can re-install it (with heat shield this time). Bugger!

LESSON: Make sure you use heat shield around the cable where it gets close to the exhaust.

[flathead 276]

Hope the repair goes well, happened to me with a HURST shift on a C4 in a ZC.

[mcflux]

Hmm yes, well cooking the cable is better than cooking the electrics :P

I've used some heatproof bandage stuff, it's like a plaited roll of some fibreglass material. I wrapped it around my cable and kept it on with hose clamps. The roll cost about $10.

Hopefully you sort out all your woes soon mate!

I still haven't done my heat-shielding (for the electronics) yet. Gotta buy another bit of rubber matting, as I'm going for a different approach. Plan B. Or is that Plan C now, lol

-Dave-

[JC]

Dave - after the cable buring issues, and having the standard shifter back in now, I've decided to keep the standard AU shifter AND Muzz's electronic wizardry and figure out some way of attaching some padd;es or something to the steering wheel to do the shifting for me. I already miss the SSS shift features, so want to get something working to replace the actual BA shifter functions.

I think Muzza will be hearing a lot from me over the next few weeks as I work with some ideas. I'm thinking of buying a cheap PS2 wheel and ripping the paddles off that and attaching them to the momo wheel, but then I'll need something to switch the trans into SSS mode, which I think I could do using some electrical connectors in the standard AU shift mechanism utilising the little circuit board from the BA shifter. Anyway, we'll plan and fiddle and see what I can come up with, with Muzza's help probably.

[fairmont1998]

Personally, I think steering wheel mounted shift buttons aren't as good as the BA style shifter, when you're cornering and want to change gears, your hands aren't usually in the right position to change gears. I've driven heaps of VZs with the buttons and they frustrate me.

[mcflux]

Good luck with it I'm sure Muzza can conjure up something. He could probably slip an extra gear in while he's at it ;) ;)

[JC]

Resurrecting an old thread, as I've had a few enquiries on how to do this over the last few weeks. For me, the ESS buttons on the wheel is getting closer. I should be testing it in the next month or 2 (fingers crossed).

[I6corp]

Cheers for that JC, good read

[mcflux]

looking forward to the finished result!

[JC]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

looking forward to the finished result!

Me too! I've been waiting on the ESS thing for about 8 months, but I'm in no hurry. I know Muzza will finish it one day soon - I've already got the wheel in preparation, just need the electronics.

[blackers10]

so to dredge up an OLD thread... did you get the steering wheel buttons working JC?

[waggaclint]

yeah interesting reading..but my question is why not just use a set-up out of an AU T-SERIES that had the buttons on the steering wheel......