- :
- Protege5 2003
This is going to be a long and wild speculation so I didn't want to inject it into the ongoing AT to MT thread here:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123633926
First of all, I agree with pretty much everybody in that thread that it's nuts to do the the work to convert an automatic into a manual, since what you end up with is something you could have for less by trading the car. But what if you want to convert the AT to something you can't buy? For lack of a better word let's call it a SemiAutomaticTransmission (SAT). There probably is already a term for this beast but I don't know it, some race cars already have transmissions more or less like this.
EDIT. Looks like the term is semi-automatic, see for instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_transmission
To go from an AT to a SAT these would be the conversion steps:
1. Replace the torque converter with an electrically controlled clutch. This clutch would also have RPM sensors on both sides. At the same time it would seal up the AT with a plate of some sort (to close the holes that previously let AT fluid pass between the AT and the torque converter.)
2. Reflash the car's computer with the MT code, so that the car's computer won't know or care what the SAT is doing.
3. Install a controller (small computer with a bunch of IO ports) and wire to it:
At this point it should be possible to have the car shift automatically (in D) or semiautomatically (using the sportronic part of the console shift). To shift gears the new controller releases the clutch, then shifts the existing automatic transmission via the solenoid lines, then engages the clutch while monitoring the input and output RPM sensors. In other words, the computer controls the clutch instead of the driver via a clutch pedal.
This new setup would allow for some features not provided by either the existing AT or MT transmissions. For intance, on the control panel G there could be a little dial or switch to control the point at which the transmission shifts (high or low RPMS), so you could set it to run sporty or economical "automatically". The sportronic could be used to downshift all the way to neutral. For instance, for those situations in really slow stop and go traffic where in a manual you just get up to 3-5mph and then put it into neutral and glide. The sportronic could conceivably also be used to go into Reverse so long as the new controller enforces some safety precautions. For intance a single downshift into R might beep (through the new control panel) and a second downshift would actually put it into reverse. Maybe best not to do this though. (Shifting from N in Sportronic to D should leave the car in N, only shifting N to D in the regular part of the transmission should actually put the car in drive. Otherwise manually downshifting to N there's no way to get to R or P without going through a forward gear.) The cruise control range could be extended downward, for instance, for those trips where the speed limit is 30 and there isn't much traffic. There are probably others I have not thought of.
At the very least this conversion would result in a car that drives just like a regular automatic but gets much better mileage in the city. If the price of gas keeps going up there might well be a point where it makes $ense to do this conversion, if it cost, for instance, $1000. A conversion kit might fit more than one car, so there may be some commerical potential here. $1000 probably should be within range since an installed replacement clutch is often around $500, and that leaves $500 for the other parts.
I don't see anything on this list that's impossible mechanically or electrically, or for that matter even all that difficult to do. Some parts aren't off the shelf but neither are they rocket science. For instance I knew a guy in college (way back in the late '70s) who put a solenoid on the clutch on his Fiat so that it could be shifted electrically. And electronic controllers are really cheap these days. In terms of installation it consists of one major surgery, replacing the TC with the fancy clutch, and some rewiring. On the down side, when all is said and done, it's still just a 4 speed transmission, albeit a really high tech one.
Just a thought...
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123633926
First of all, I agree with pretty much everybody in that thread that it's nuts to do the the work to convert an automatic into a manual, since what you end up with is something you could have for less by trading the car. But what if you want to convert the AT to something you can't buy? For lack of a better word let's call it a SemiAutomaticTransmission (SAT). There probably is already a term for this beast but I don't know it, some race cars already have transmissions more or less like this.
EDIT. Looks like the term is semi-automatic, see for instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_transmission
To go from an AT to a SAT these would be the conversion steps:
1. Replace the torque converter with an electrically controlled clutch. This clutch would also have RPM sensors on both sides. At the same time it would seal up the AT with a plate of some sort (to close the holes that previously let AT fluid pass between the AT and the torque converter.)
2. Reflash the car's computer with the MT code, so that the car's computer won't know or care what the SAT is doing.
3. Install a controller (small computer with a bunch of IO ports) and wire to it:
A. The existing automatic transmission solenoids
B. The new RPM sensors from the clutch
C. The switches fom the existing shift mechanism in the 2003 center console.
D. The switches from the existing cruise control on the steering wheel.
E. The display lines from the existing AT state display on the dash
F. The new clutch activation solenoid (PWM control)
G. A small new control panel for configuring the controller.
H. Whatever other control lines and sensor lines the existing computer uses during cruise control.
B. The new RPM sensors from the clutch
C. The switches fom the existing shift mechanism in the 2003 center console.
D. The switches from the existing cruise control on the steering wheel.
E. The display lines from the existing AT state display on the dash
F. The new clutch activation solenoid (PWM control)
G. A small new control panel for configuring the controller.
H. Whatever other control lines and sensor lines the existing computer uses during cruise control.
At this point it should be possible to have the car shift automatically (in D) or semiautomatically (using the sportronic part of the console shift). To shift gears the new controller releases the clutch, then shifts the existing automatic transmission via the solenoid lines, then engages the clutch while monitoring the input and output RPM sensors. In other words, the computer controls the clutch instead of the driver via a clutch pedal.
This new setup would allow for some features not provided by either the existing AT or MT transmissions. For intance, on the control panel G there could be a little dial or switch to control the point at which the transmission shifts (high or low RPMS), so you could set it to run sporty or economical "automatically". The sportronic could be used to downshift all the way to neutral. For instance, for those situations in really slow stop and go traffic where in a manual you just get up to 3-5mph and then put it into neutral and glide. The sportronic could conceivably also be used to go into Reverse so long as the new controller enforces some safety precautions. For intance a single downshift into R might beep (through the new control panel) and a second downshift would actually put it into reverse. Maybe best not to do this though. (Shifting from N in Sportronic to D should leave the car in N, only shifting N to D in the regular part of the transmission should actually put the car in drive. Otherwise manually downshifting to N there's no way to get to R or P without going through a forward gear.) The cruise control range could be extended downward, for instance, for those trips where the speed limit is 30 and there isn't much traffic. There are probably others I have not thought of.
At the very least this conversion would result in a car that drives just like a regular automatic but gets much better mileage in the city. If the price of gas keeps going up there might well be a point where it makes $ense to do this conversion, if it cost, for instance, $1000. A conversion kit might fit more than one car, so there may be some commerical potential here. $1000 probably should be within range since an installed replacement clutch is often around $500, and that leaves $500 for the other parts.
I don't see anything on this list that's impossible mechanically or electrically, or for that matter even all that difficult to do. Some parts aren't off the shelf but neither are they rocket science. For instance I knew a guy in college (way back in the late '70s) who put a solenoid on the clutch on his Fiat so that it could be shifted electrically. And electronic controllers are really cheap these days. In terms of installation it consists of one major surgery, replacing the TC with the fancy clutch, and some rewiring. On the down side, when all is said and done, it's still just a 4 speed transmission, albeit a really high tech one.
Just a thought...
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