I have a 5 spd tranny and I am curious if there are any mods for this transmission? I am asking because I am an aggressive driver and I really ride the gears when racing. I know the potential harm if not maintained well but are there any other mods that can prolong and perhaps strengthen the 5 spd's longevity? Thanks in advance.

 

The best thing you can do to strengthen your transmission is to cry treat the gears. While it's out you can also look to see if anything needs to be replaced/repaired, and throw in a Quaife Other than that I don't believe anyone has done extra transmission work.
-hype

 

Here are some suggestions, some as per Hype and some additional ones:

1) Quaiffe torque-sensing differential
- More traction, less understeer
2) Cryo treat the gears
- Stronger gears, less chance of rounding off corners
3) Rebuild the differential using the correct side bearing shims
- Common problem with 4th gen 5speed transmissions is incorrect shims used on the diff side bearings. Overcompression of the bearings leads to early transmission failure. Failures of the 5speeds is becoming more and more common. A proper time to do this would be during the Quaiffe diff install.

Other little things you can do easily are:
- Use Redline or other synthetic 80W90 gear lube to improve shift smoothness
- Install a SMC or other short-throw shifter. Makes the shift throws shorter and reduces the height of the shifter (looks/feels better). The only downside is an increase in notchiness, which can unfortunately be much worse than stock.

 

i always thought the clutch played a role....can't like aftermarket clutches made for street like ACT, etc. take more damage than the stock? therefore allowing more aggressiveness when shifting?

 

I've had many 5 speed woes, so when I "built" my good transmission (Quaife diffy) I took the guts of it and had them "Advance Cryogenically Processed". Hopefully this will handle alot of HP if I ever make it that far. So far so good, knock on wood. Unfortunately whoever built the Nissan 5 speed tranny did a p!$$ poor job with Quality control.

www.cryogenicprocessing.com is where I went.

 

How about urethane or other "strengthened" motor mounts to prevent engine flop and reduce wheel hop when shifting - that's got to hurt the tranny eventually. See ericdwong's posting regarding homemade urethane strengthened mounts - I tried some of those suggestions on my 5spd - results are as advertised.

 

I am very interested in preserving the life of my tranny, but would a new limited-slip differential actually be the answer? I understand they are bada$$ but the price of them is nearly the price of a new tranny. The limited-slip diff. is recommended for SC, right?!

 

Great topic--I've been wanting to investigate this myself but haven't due to lack of good info. My 5speed's 1st gear is starting to lose its synchro (grinds a little unless I'm at a full stop), so I'm thinking a rebuild by next year is in order. In doing that, I want to make sure this becomes an EXCELLENT 5speed. I've always felt the clutch engagement in this car has been a bit too sensitive. So I'd like to address that plus making the shifting smoother if possible. Are there any recommended websites for learning all about these FWD trannies and what kinds of improvements you can introduce? Has anyone here changed their gear ratios and felt it was a great move?

Also, I'm guessing an expert auto shop is the only way to go with something like this. Any chains that are good/bad?

 

A limited slip would NOT be the answer. infact a limited slip will probalby have a lesser life then an open diffy just because with a limited slip, theres more resistance for the internal transmission parts to fight agaist.

 

This tranny is never gonna be an excellent tranny. from the rod style shifter assembly, to the gears that arent removable from the input shaft, to the improperly shimmed parts to the fragile metal to the super expensive parts this transmission sux. Another thing is, you're almost hard pressed to change the gear ratios of this design. Open up a transmission and you'll see why. the final drive gear on the output shaft is built in to the shaft itself. Its gonna take some major $ to tool that thing as well as the final drive gear.

 

Hmmmm... how depressing! Well, perhaps just a few minor improvements and I'll be happy then. There's never a car that satisfies every aspect--at least the Maxima handles most of them very well (for the price!).